Picture a crowded Dubai street. What do you see? Maybe you thought of towering skyscrapers, sweltering sunshine, luxury cars. Who do you see? Men in flowing white kandurahs? Women in abayas? Or a sea of faces from all over the world? The United Arab Emirates is made up of eighty percent expats. That’s an astounding number. But they must be doing something right. The average annual income in the UAE is nearly US $130,000. That means that aside from a strong sense of business savvy, the expats living, working, and thriving in the UAE have something truly special. They understand and embrace the local business culture. It’s not an easy task. That’s why we’ve compiled this one-size-fits-all guide to UAE... Show more

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here. Arabic is a difficult language to learn. In fact it was ranked in the most difficult category of foreign languages by the US Foreign Service Institute, alongside other notoriously difficult languages like Mandarin and Japanese. If you’re new to Arabic it’s going to take consistent and concerted effort to start using the language fluently. However this fact shouldn’t discourage you. While learning Arabic is hard, it’s far from impossible. In this post we outline five practical tips you can use to take some of the edge off of learning Arabic. Follow these pointers to learn the language in a way that is efficient and effective! 1. Limit yourself to no English when you practice The... Show more

Most everyone is familiar with this day, as it is celebrated nearly everywhere the world. Yet, when exactly is April Fools’ Day? And where did April Fools come from? April Fools’ Day is observed on April 1st every year. This day of jokes and pranks is believed to have stemmed from the 16th-century calendar change in France, when New Year’s Day was moved from April 1 to January 1. This action was taken due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. However, a few people were resistant to the calendar change, so they continued to observe New Year’s Day on April 1st, rather than the new date. They were referred to as the “April Fools”, and others started playing mocking tricks on them. This custom endured, and is practiced to this day... Show more

Imagine yourself spending your holidays in Lebanon. You haven't gotten the hang of speaking Arabic yet. You're enjoying your time there, but you still feel strongly disconnected from where you are. Many Lebanese don't speak English, and you don't even know how to let people know that you do not speak Arabic. This is where the importance of learning basic Arabic phrases comes in. Not only will it help you communicate with the local community; it will also help you gain that connection you would otherwise be yearning for. I would highly recommend that you start by learning (at least some of) the Arabic alphabet. While using transcriptions might seem like a really nice way to get a head start, I promise you’re doing yourself... Show more

As salam alaykum! (Hi!) If you’ve ever visited or lived in an Arabic country, you have probably noticed the repetitive use of Arabic sayings, especially in rural areas. If that’s you, I can safely assume that it wasn’t easy for you to understand many of those Arabic sayings—even if you had someone to translate them for you. The reason why you failed to grasp the meaning of these sayings is that the translation of a certain saying in Arabic doesn’t usually mean its equivalent in English. As a learner myself, not understanding those sayings has often disappointed me and made me doubt my language skills. This made me realize that I must dive deeper into Arabic and explore the meanings of these sayings. After conducting a... Show more

In most cultures, it is custom to express gratitude in some way or another. The dictionary defines gratitude as follows: it is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. Giving a sincere, thankful response to someone’s actions or words is often the ‘glue’ that keeps relationships together. This is true in most societies! Doing so in a foreign country also shows your respect and appreciation for the culture. Words have great power - use these ones sincerely and often! Table of Contents 12 Ways to say ‘Thank you’ in Arabic Video Lesson: Learn to Say ‘Thank You’ in 3 Minutes Infographic & Audio Lesson: Survival Phrases - Thank You Video Lesson: ‘Thank You’ in 31... Show more

Learn 4 tools and techniques to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Going through lessons is enough to get by and learn the basics of , but to truly become fluent you need to be able to think in . This will allow you to have conversations with ease, read smoothly, and comprehensively understand natives. To do this, you need to go beyond just completing daily or weekly lessons. We naturally translate in our heads because it's viewed as the easiest way to learn the definitions needed when learning a language. This way of learning can actually hinder your skills and fluency later on. If your brain has to make neural connections between the word you're learning, what it means in your native tongue, and the physical object... Show more

Learn a little Arabic everyday with the free Arabic Word of the Day Widget. Check back daily for more vocabulary!فهد (fahd) cheetah (noun)الفهد جالس علي التلal-fahdu ǧālis ʿala ʾl-tallThe cheetah is sitting on the hill.الفهد هو أسرع حيوان بري علي وجه الأرضal-fahd huwā ʾasraʿ ḥaiyaūān barriyy ʿalā wajh ʾl-ʾrdThe cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth.الفهد يبحث عن طعام في الأرض العشبيةal-fahd yabḥaṯ ʿan ṭaـʿāmin fī al-ʾrḍ al-ʿašibahThe cheetah is searching for food in the grassland.فهد مرقطfahd muraqqaṭspotted cheetahOwn a blog or website? Share free language content with your readers with the Arabic Word of the Day with Audio Widget. Click here for instructions on how to embed and customize this free widget!

Your Learning, Streamlined – The New Lesson Interface Your learning is about to get a whole lot easier. More than ever, learners are choosing mobile as the platform to study Arabic. Mobile has always been a part of our DNA. We began our life on your iPod, and have remained by your side ever since. In our 11th year, we’re returning to our roots as a way to learn Arabic on-the-go. How? With a brand-new lesson interface just for you. Hint: It will launch in beta later this month! If you want to secure access to this brand new upgrade, take advantage of the upcoming All Access Pass Sale! Click Here to Get 25% OFF All ArabicPod101 Subscriptions! (example taken from japanesepod101.com) It’s built from the ground-up to be a... Show more

Have you ever returned to ArabicPod101 lessons you’ve completed? Accessing a lesson once is enough to learn more Arabic. But to master what you’ve learned, to understand Arabic the second you hear it, to read with just a quick glance, and to speak smoothly, without thinking... you need to review. In this blog post, you’ll learn the 5 review tactics and learning tools that will truly sharpen your Arabic (all of which I’ve been able to resources for on ArabicPod101.com). Create Your Free Lifetime Account and Start Learning the whole Arabic Language from the Beginning! 1. Listen to lines over and over again! One of the best ways to learn Arabic (or any language) is to listen to native speakers over and over again until you... Show more