ArabicPod101.com Blog

Today, classrooms are no longer the only or even best place to learn a new language like Arabic. More and more people are finding that they can easily learn a language just about anywhere they have a few minutes of spare time, including their daily commute to work. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American spends over 50 minutes a day commuting to and from work, or over 300 hours a year. Rethinking Your Daily Commute to Work But rather than simply sitting in traffic and wasting the time, you can instead use your daily commute to literally learn Arabic in just a few short months! ArabicPod101 has developed specialized learning tools that you can use on your commute to work (and home again) to master the language in... Show more

What word passes between native speakers a dozen times a day without a second thought, but leaves a learner tongue-tied, terrified of making a faux pas? It’s “hello”—but it’s also all the cultural knowledge that comes with it. Saying hello in Modern Standard Arabic is no picnic if you don’t know the cultural context! Keep reading if you’ve ever wondered “How do Arabs say hello?” Every Arabic phrasebook or guidebook has an entry for “hello,” but I’ll bet that they didn’t tell you how to use it. No matter how good your grammar is, slapping Arabic words into English cultural contexts will leave anybody confused. Fortunately, you’ve got this guide to keep you on the right path. Arabs are legendary for their hospitality, and putting a... Show more

The UAE is not a big place. Its geographical area fits neatly between Austria and Ireland on a list of countries. And yet, it has some staggering numbers attached to it. One of the most interesting is that expats vastly outnumber locals—in some places, by a factor of nine to one. That means that any customer-facing business venture in the UAE has to take into account not just the local culture, but a mix of cultures from all around the world. As someone in charge of that customer service, you’ll be faced with an unenviable task. How is it that some businesses thrive in such an environment, while others fade away into the dust? It’s simple, really, and it’s a lesson that can be applied to all aspects of expat life: ... Show more

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

Do you remember your first time being invited to a meal in another country? I was petrified. I had all these conflicting thoughts and fragments of advice running through my head: Leave food on your plate. Eat it all. Sit up straight. Lean back in your chair. Eat quietly. Burp as loud as you can. It’s a challenge to know what other people might be expecting of you at mealtimes. Every culture has different norms about eating. We’re sure you’ve read some pretty crazy things about food culture in guidebooks (or even heard about it second- or third-hand). Some information may have you asking, “They do WHAT at the table!?” Who wouldn’t be afraid of something going wrong? But it’s a challenge you’ve got to take head-on if... 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

Learn all the Arabic New Year wishes online, in your own time, on any device! Join ArabicPod101 for a special Arabic New Year celebration! Can you relate to the year passing something like this: “January, February, March - December!”? Many people do! Quantum physics teaches us that time is relative, and few experiences illustrate this principle as perfectly as when we reach the end of a year. To most of us, it feels like the old one has passed in the blink of an eye, while the new year lies ahead like a very long journey! However, New Year is also a time to celebrate beginnings, and to say goodbye to what has passed. This is true in every culture, no matter when New Year is celebrated. So, how do you say Happy New Year in... Show more

Do you know any ways to wish someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ in Arabic? ArabicPod101 brings you easy-to-learn translations and the correct pronunciation of Arabic Christmas phrases! Christmas is the annual commemorative festival of Christ’s birth in the Western Christian Church. It takes place on December 25th and is usually celebrated with much food and fanfare! However, not all cultures celebrate Christmas. In some countries, Christmas is not even a public holiday! However, many countries have adapted Christmas and its religious meaning to tally with their own beliefs, or simply in acknowledgment of the festival’s importance to other cultures. If you want to impress native Arabic speakers with culturally-appropriate Christmas phrases... Show more