Are you planning a trip to an Arabic-speaking country? When do you leave? And how do you say that in Arabic? Yup, you’ll need to know about telling time in Arabic to get around very well and be on time.  You wouldn't believe how many tourists get confused and frustrated at bus stations, taxi stands, airports, and train terminals all over the world simply because they don't understand how to talk about time in the local language. That's pretty surprising, to be honest, because you'd think that time words would be one of the things you would prioritize in a new language.  But it still always just seems like something to learn later—until your taxi driver is laughing at you because you misheard what time the bus leaves, and... Show more

Did you ever just kinda…skip over the directions chapter in a language book? Sitting at home or in your classroom, it’s hard to imagine yourself in the position of actually needing to know how to say these phrases. But I actually just went traveling to a new country where I barely spoke the language, and I noticed right away that I needed to talk about directions if I wanted to find out where anything was. Now, just for you, we’ve arranged the most critical directions in Arabic: right to left, the cardinal directions, and handy phrases you’ll be glad you know! We’ve also included some ways you can expand your knowledge and end up speaking more Arabic than you thought possible! Table of Contents Basic Cultural Notes and... Show more

Have you gotten a nice compliment recently? The right compliment, delivered genuinely, can make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. That's exactly the feeling you want to be giving locals when you're speaking to them in Arabic. A polite and well-placed compliment in Arabic is going to be an absolute hit anywhere, from the boardroom to the hotel lounge. So why is a word of praise in Arabic so highly valued? First, Arab culture values expansive and literary-sounding compliments. If you can take care of the language side, you'll come across as very well-read and educated. Second, a foreigner who can speak good Arabic is still a rarity in today's world. You'll very much stand out from the crowd and make yourself remembered. So how do you go... Show more

Many foreigners throughout the years have gotten high praise for speaking "correct" Arabic. And many others have spoken "broken" Arabic. Obviously, there are a lot of things that could go into that distinction, but one of the most important is grammatical gender. If you get those word endings wrong on nouns, adjectives, and verbs, you’ll still be understood—but it’ll sound strange. That’s not a word you want to associate with your Arabic level! If you’re not yet comfortable with word gender in Arabic, don’t worry. Simply read on, and let the knowledge come to you. Table of Contents What is Grammatical Gender? The Arabic Noun Gender System: See a Word, Guess its Gender Gender in Arabic Pronouns and Verbs Plural Nouns Noun... Show more

A lot of people stereotype Arabic as an "angry language." What does that even mean? They’re only talking about how it sounds. Anybody who knows any Arabic understands that it’s a language famous for its poetry and scripture, with elegant, untranslatable words for love and beauty. But Arabs get angry too. And in this article, we’ll guide you through the process of using the Arabic language to talk about frustration and anger, and even share with you some juicy insults. You won’t find any vulgar curse words here—those are members-only at ArabicPod101.com. This is just a list of angry Arabic phrases to get you started. Since this topic is personal and emotional, we’re using a lot of colloquial Arabic phrases. It may not all be perfect... Show more

Language is really about making connections. If you know how to chat with somebody about the weather or the food you’re eating, well, good for you. That might lead to an interesting conversation. But when you know a little bit more about your target language culture, and you can pull out the right phrase for the right situation (like how to wish a happy birthday in Arabic), you show that you’ve gone beyond just knowing a handful of words. And when that phrase is about some major life event, something that really has an emotional effect on somebody? That’s when you make a fantastic impression. So that’s what this article is all about: the absolute essential phrases that you need in Arabic to show somebody that you care, no matter... Show more

Psst. Hey. Wanna buy an adjective? The appropriate adjectives can really go a long way toward making your Arabic speech more careful and precise. Right here, right now, you can pick up more than 100 Arabic adjectives—these are the good ones, too. We’ve hand-selected the words on this Arabic adjectives list to cover the most common situations that might come up. We use adjectives in every conceivable part of life, and for that reason, your efforts to learn Arabic adjectives are vital to ensuring total language mastery! Table of Contents A Quick Overview of Arabic Adjectives List of the 100+ Best Arabic Adjectives Conclusion 1. A Quick Overview of Arabic Adjectives Adjectives in Arabic require a bit of thought to use... Show more

There are two things that make for a fantastic language-learning environment. The first is people chatting naturally, as actual people do, without any kind of stilted usage meant for learners. No "How are you?" "I’m fine, thank you." You want: "Hey, what’s up?" "Hey." Or, you know, that in Arabic. The second is to have something interesting to care about. If you’re not interested in what’s happening, and you don’t care which way it ends up at the end, your mind won’t be focused enough to really remember what you’re picking up language-wise. Watching Arabic shows on Netflix—long and engaging—is seriously one of the best things you can do for yourself. And when you think of great television in 2019, you probably think of Netflix. So... Show more

When you consider studying a new language, you never really think about all the little bits and pieces you have to learn. For instance, the "conjunction" meaning in Arabic. Arabic learners think longingly of the beautiful script, the challenging sounds, and the rich literary vocabulary. Mastering all the uses of how to say "and" ranks pretty low on people’s lists. But here’s the thing—you can change your mindset about this. You can treat these little bits of grammar as stepping stones to producing elegant and elaborate language. And longer, complex sentences actually tend to be more regular than shorter sentences, which makes sense. More frequent things get repeated so much that the irregularities become natural, while more... Show more

Everybody knows that numbers are just no fun to learn in other languages. I’ve had plenty of language teachers—fluent, expressive users of English—fall back on their native tongues when quickly counting out handouts. Sorry to tell you, but the numbers are easy. It’s dates you have to worry about. Especially Arabic dates. Ever read through an article in a foreign language, and just mentally read the dates out in your head in English because you didn’t want to figure out how to really say them? Everybody has. If you’re not used to reading numerals aloud in Arabic, check out our article on numbers in Arabic for a little bit of practice. It’s good to have a strong foundation in number-reading before you tackle date-reading; this way,... Show more