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Free Materials for Learning Arabic

At Champolu, we provide a lot of free materials to help you learn Arabic. In this article, you can find a list of the free materials we have. Indeed, you don’t have to pay a lot of money (or any money) to get started to learn Arabic.

List of Free eBooks to learn Arabic

  • Arabic Cheat Sheet: This is a good starting point to the grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. It covers many topics with many examples and visualizations. It has an interactive version, where you can listen to the example. Also, you can download it as a PDF file from here.
Arabic cheat sheet content- list of topics
  • Arabic Reading Guide: If you cannot read Arabic script, this guide can help you. It explains all the alphabet and diacritics, and helps you sound out Arabic words. Download from here.
  • Word of the day: You need to keep working consistently on building your vocabulary. These word of the day Facebook posts help you with a new word each day.
  • Vocabulary sheets: These are different sheets to learn vocabulary for different topics, in different varieties of Arabic. This is a sheet for basic vocabulary of Modern Standard Arabic.
  • Word of the day: Here you can find a list of word of the day posts, that we publish on our Facebook page.
  • Noun Phrases in Arabic: One of the things that shows your command of grammar is how to build a noun phrase. This interactive lesson helps you get a full understanding on noun phrases, and how to build and understand them.
  • Which Arabic to learn Guide: Arabic has different varieties. There is Modern Standard Arabic and many dialects in different Arab countries. This guide helps you understand the difference and know what and how to learn. (Coming Soon)

List of Free Arabic Learning Apps

You cannot learn a language without practice and consistency. Therefore, one of our goals is to build apps that can help you with this to learn more effectively. Here is a list of our apps:

  • ALIF (Arabic Learning Is Fun): ALIF helps you learn Arabic reading, vocabulary, verbs and grammar in a methodological and fun way. You can go to the app here. It is still in the development phase, so your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Arabic Word Search: To polish your vocabulary and reading skills, you can play this simple game. Each word search has a theme, where you need to find.

List of Free Videos to learn Arabic

You can learn a lot by watching a video. Here are some of the playlists we have. In these playlists, you can get more skills in Arabic reading, grammar, and listening to actual media. For more, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Arabic Reading Video Playlist
Arabic Grammar Playlist
Alice videos with Arabic and English subtitles

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What is the best Arabic Learning App??

It’s not easy to tell what the best Arabic learning App is. There are so many on the market and on the app stores. However, in this article we will not talk as much about a list of apps. You may find such lists in this and this. Instead, we will talk about what would make a good language learning app. This will also include a shameless promotion to our experimental app (ALIF) ?. ALIF is a free app that attempts to address all these points, so you may give it a try and tell what you think!

Arabic Variety Coverage

Many learning apps, whether specializing in Arabic, or just including it, focus mainly on Modern Standard Arabic. While MSA can be a useful starting point, it is not enough on its own. When you speak to people in the streets in Cairo, Beirut or Casablanca, you can hardly hear anyone speaking MSA. Therefore, to communicate with people and understand them, you need dialects. A good Arabic learning app would support MSA in addition to other dialects.

Alphabet and Reading

A common assumption in several Arabic learning apps is that learners need to learn the alphabet from a very basic level. For such apps, lessons and practices focus on individual alphabet letters. Other apps have a completely opposite assumption: that any learner can read Arabic script without a problem. Duolingo introduces some lessons where you can indirectly learn the alphabet, but this may not be sufficient. A useful learning app would have options where you can start with learning the alphabet specifically, including diacritics. It also needs to include letter shapes, sounds and extended alphabet. Ultimately, it would help learners sound out anything written in Arabic script. If a learner can already read Arabic script, then they simply wouldn’t need this part.

Arabic Vocabulary Support

Many apps that focus on vocabulary, such as Memrise and various flash cards apps, such as Anki. While this is useful, it needs to be very organized. There are thousands of vocabulary words that you can find in books or that native speakers use. A good language learning app would organize these into categories. For Arabic in particular, the app must also include plurals, because Arabic plurals are not consistent. Therefore, you need to learn each word with its plural. You also need to learn the pronunciation of the word through correct use of diacritics and romanization if needed.

Learning in two directions

An important thing to keep in mind when you learn a language is that there are two directions. In one direction, you need to learn how to say the things you want in the language you’re learning.

Arabic Expressions and Phrase Books

You may have seen things such as “phrase books” before. These are designed to help you communicate when you travel.

Arabic Verbs

You cannot build a sentence with just nouns and adjectives. You always need a verb. Things such as “want”, “go”, “eat”, “understand” are essential. It

Grammar

Although apps such as Duolingo would implicitly teach grammar through sentence examples, this is not sufficient. It is important to have specific focus on each grammar topic separately. This way, you will know whether you have mastered this topic well, or you still to work more on it. For example, topics such as prepositions, pronouns, relative pronouns need special attention. These are the building blocks of the language, and you need to make sure to understand each topic on its own very well.

Audio

Language is primarily spoken.

Progress and Mistakes

You cannot learn anything unless you make mistakes.

Streak and habit formation

This is perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Duolingo.

Conclusion

As we have seen, there are several elements for a language learning app or approach. A clever learner would want to combine these, even from different apps and resources. These are ultimately tested and improved with actual communication with native speakers. Immersion in an enivironment of the target language would be very useful, only assuming that you have some of the basics for communication: basic reading, vocabulary, expressions, verbs and grammar. It is our hope to build an app that can help with this different aspects, while allowing tracking progress and building habits. You can try our new app (ALIF) here.

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New Arabic Learning App Announcement

We are pleased to announce that we are at the final stages of building our newest app for learning Arabic: ALIF- Arabic Learning Is Fun!

The app helps build Arabic language skills for both Modern Standard Arabic and other dialects:, in the following:

  • reading and writing skills
  • vocabulary in different areas
  • verbs, with both tenses and conjugations
  • Build grammar, by first memorizing grammar words, and then building sentences
  • Learn common expressions and basic conversations

If you are interested to be notified with the updates of the app, please fill in your information below.

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Noun Phrases in Arabic – 5 grammar topics in 10 minutes

Noun phrases as subject and object in Arabic
Noun phrases as subject and object in Arabic

Learning noun phrases in Arabic (or in any language) is a crucial part of building a sentence. A noun is a word that refers to an object, person, or concept. Therefore, a noun phrase is a structure that is based on a noun. In this lesson, we will learn how to build and use noun phrases in Arabic, together with 5 grammar topics that we will go through in the next 10 minutes. You can listen to all examples marked with an audio icon on the interactive lesson.

Suppose that you have the noun “book”, there are different ways of using a noun phrase with it. For example, you can say “a book”, “the book”, or “this book”. Also, you can combine it with an adjective, such as “a new book” or “the old book”. In terms of possession, you can use a possessive pronoun such as “my book/his book”. In addition, it can be part of a genitive expression, such as “The teacher’s book”, “the law book”, or “the book of grammar”.

What is common among all these structures? They can all be used in similar contexts and in similar grammatical roles. For example, you can say “I saw a book” or “I saw this new book” as an object of the sentence. Also, you can use it as the subject of a sentence “The new book fell on the floor” or “the teacher’s book fell on the floor”.

The bottom line is that: noun phrases in Arabic are essential parts of the sentence. However, understanding and using them usually spans different grammar topics. Such topics include: definite and indefinite nouns, adjectives, demonstratives, possessives and genitive expressions. Luckily, we cover all of these topics in our course “Basic Arabic Grammar” on Udemy.

Learn and practice building Noun Phrases in Arabic

For now, let’s start practicing how to build simple noun phrases in Arabic. Here are the examples for the five types of structures, corresponding to different grammar topics.

Examples for noun phrases in Arabic – for the word kitaab = book

Notice that there are five types of noun phrases we are using here. The first is single noun, whether indefinite or definite (preceded by al- ال). Then we have noun phrases combining nouns and adjectives. In this case, it is important to also notice that if the noun is definite (i.e. has al- prefix), the adjective has to have al- prefix as well. Then, we have noun phrases with demonstratives (e.g. this), and in this case the noun has to be definite, and consequently the adjective, if any.

The next type is noun phrases with possessive pronouns (e.g. my/his), where the word itself has to be indefinite (without al- prefix), but grammatically it becomes definite by adding the possessive pronoun/suffix. The last type is for genitive expressions, indicating that something belongs to something or someone. In this case, the noun for the thing that belongs is indefinite, while the other noun is definite.

Study these examples well. Do you see the patterns? Also, open the link to the interactive lesson and listen to the audio for each example. Try to repeat what you hear. This way, you will start to develop your listening and speaking skills. To further enhance your grammar skills, you will need to practice. In the following image, you will see empty templates, where we removed the noun “book” and its equivalent from the examples. Now it is your turn to try new words. Use the words indicated above, as much as you can, to build new noun phrases.

Noun Phrase templates – use them to build simple phrases in Arabic

What about feminine words?

As you may know, nouns in Arabic have gender: either male or female. In the examples above, noun phrases were based on the noun “book”, and other nouns of male gender in the exercises. Does it make a difference if we use a word of feminine gender? Yes it does. First, for a feminine word, the adjective has to be also feminine. In many cases, we do this by adding taa2 marbootah (this letter: ة ـة , a letter that sounds as “h” at the end of the word).

Noun phrases for a feminine word “fikrah = idea”

Now you get the idea. The only prominent difference involves words ending with taa2 marbooTah. If such words have a possessive suffix, this taa2 marbooTah becomes a normal taa2, in both writing and pronunciation. However, in case of genitive, where the word for the thing that belongs is followed by a word for what it belongs to; and in this case, the taa2 marbooTah is still written, but its pronunciation becomes a regular taa2.

Now also do your practice by filling the templates with other feminine words.

Practice building noun phrases with feminine words

Going further

It is important to know that Arabic grammar is highly complex. There are different complexities when learning Modern Standard Arabic and when learning dialects, so it is important to learn the differences. There are so many topics which are interrelated and can be tackled on different levels of sophistication. That’s why the focus of our lessons is to go as simple as possible. You don’t need to study dozens of other topics just to learn the topic at hand. Just understand it well, practice it as much as you can, and then it will give you a useful piece of the puzzle, and a useful tool to help you navigate the complexity of the language. Good luck and keep learning! Please leave any questions you have in the comments or on our social media.

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Egyptian Songs in Marvel’s Moon Knight Series

A few days ago the last episode of Marvel’s Moon Knight series was released. The story and acting were quite good, but there was an aspect that many people liked. It is basically how Egypt, and its civilization and culture were portrayed. One significant aspect of Egyptian culture was the choice of the songs used in the intro and ending of each episode, as well as those that served as background music. As language learners, we may be curious about what these songs actually say, so in this post, we will cover a number of these songs, with their lyrics and explanation.

Marvel’s Moon Knight Series

Nagat – ba7lam ma3aak

This song appeared in the first episode while the main character was waiting for his romantic date. The song itself is quite romantic, but its words portrays some interesting picture, which apparently have some significance in a later episode (No spoilers here 🙂 ). The singer of this song is Nagat (or Nagat al-Sagheerah, the little Nagat, apparently to distinguish her from another singer called Nagat).

Song by Nagat – I dream with you – ba7lam ma3aak – بحلم معاك

ba7lam ma3aak lyrics

These are the lyrics of the song.

I Dream with youba7lam ma3aakبحلم معاك
I dream with you .. of a shipba7lam ma3aak … be-safeenahباحلم معاك.. بسفينة
and a harbour .. to anchor uswe be-meenaa .. terasseenaaوبمينا….ترسينا
and sail againwe-neba77ar taaneeونبحّر تاني
the wind resists ..and i found youel-ree7 te3aaned … we-ala2eekالريح تعاند … وألاقيك
in your eyes .. and your handsfee 3enaik .. we-eedaikفي عينيك …..وإيديك
my shore and my safetyshhaTTee we amaaneeشطي وأماني
the whole worldel-3aalam kollohالعالم كله
with its secretsbe-asraarohبأسراره
living with me3aayesh wayyaayaaعايش ويايا
living inside me3aayesh gowwaayaaعايش جوايا
as long as you’re .. in the journey with meTool ma-enta … fee el-re7lah ma3aayaaطول ما انت ..في الرحلة معايا
my name and your name .. my darlingesmak we esmee … ya 7abeebeeاسمك واسمي…. يا حبيبي
my town .. and my storymadentee … we-7ekaayteeمدينتي…… وحكايتي
my home and my rovingsakanee we-ter7aaleeسكني وترحالي
the whole worldel-3aalam kollohالعالم كله
with its secrets16be-asraarohبأسراره
living with me3aayesh wayyaayaaعايش ويايا
living inside me3aayesh gowwaayaaعايش جوايا
as long as you’re .. in the journey with meTool ma-enta … fee el-re7lah ma3aayaaطول ما انت ..في الرحلة معايا

Lyrics are adapted from Lyrics translate website 

Ahmed Saad – el-molook (the kings)

This song appeared in the outro of the second episode. It belongs to a genre of music in Egypt called mahraganaat (literally means “carnivals”). This kind of music was at first mainly the music of more certain areas of cairo (manaatiq sha’beyyah = literally means popular areas but refer to more crowded and poorer areas). However, this music spread in popularity everywhere. It is similar to rap music in terms of some focus on “dissing” (or expressing disrespect) to other unnamed rivals. Of course there are also carnivals about romantic love and others about contemplating life and human nature. However, this song “el-melook” belongs to the first category, with a message of “we are better than you”.

Song by Ahmed Saad Ft. 3enaba and double Zuksh – the kings- el-molook – الملوك

El-melook lyrics

Here are the lyrics of the song

The Kingsالملوك
[Singer: 3enaba][عنبة]
I can see non of youanaa mesh shaayef feekom 7addأنا مش شايف فيكم حد
y’all bunch of boys, wheedling for a livingentoo 3eyaal 3aayshah 3alaa el-7akkإنتوا عيال عايشين ع الحك
Everyone knows that y’all are minisculekoll el-naas 3arfaakoo 3al-2adكل الناس عارفاكوا ع القد
Everyone knows that i’m fiercekoll el-naas 3aarfah enne ghasheemكل الناس عارفة إني غشيم
Never needed backup3omree fee yoam maa e7tagt le-7addعمري في يوم ما أحتجت لحد
Not bragging, swear to god it’s true.mesh tafkheem wallaahee begaddمش تفخيم و الله بجد
Like a lion, standing in front of everyonewaa2ef west el-koll asadواقف وسط الكل أسد
Wasn’t meant1 to be meanmaa etrabbet-sh ennee ab2aa la2eemما أتربتيش إنى أبقى لئيم
When it’s serious, i got the missiles (name of a band)fee el-tanfeez 3andee el-Sawaareekhفي التنفيذ عندى الصواريخ
I am 3enab from mars, dudeanaa 3ennaab yasta el-marreekhأنا عناب ياسطى المريخ
In my wars i use RPGswest 7oroobee baDrab bawaazeekوسط حروبي بضرب بوازيك
In my county, i make historywest belaadee bakteblee tareekhوسط بلادي بكتبلي تاريخ
[Singer: Young Zuksh][يانج زوكش]
Dude,7abeebeeحبيبى
Papa,baabaaبابا
Here comes the gang7aDarnaa gainaa 3eSaabahحضرنا جينا عصابة
We live…3eshnaaعيشنا
ModestlybasaaTahبساطة
You’ll make it, if determinedhatenga7 law feeh eraadahهتنجح لو فى إراده
Never needed support, i am on my own (Alone)ma7tagtesh 7add, anaa saaned nafsee aloneAlone ما احتاجتش حد أنا ساند نفسى
Ringing and buzzing daily, is my phone.arqaam betrenn be-tezenn 3ala el-telephoneأرقام بترن بتزن على التليفون
Now that i made it, they love me, took my side!7abboonee lammaa weSelt etlawwenoo 100 loanحبونى لما وصلت اتلونوا 100 لون
Your shot hits the post, mine scores a goalkortak teegee 3aarDah kortee teegee goanكورتك تيجى عارضه كورتى بتيجى جوون
[Singer: Ahmed Saad][أحمد سعد]
hush hush hush hush.sokoot sokoot sokoot sokootسكوت سكوت سكوت سكوت
The kings, kings, kings, kings are heregatt el-molok molook molookجت الملوك ملوك ملوك ملوك
There is no escape, escape escapemafeesh horoob horoob horoobمفيش هروب هروب هروب
from the lions, the lionsmen el-osood men el-osoodمن الأسود من الأسود
No sales talk!e7naa mesh be-nebee3 kalaamإحنا مش بنبيع كلام
We get to the point!e7naa naas doghree we-tamaamإحنا ناس دوغرى و تمام
(We) do not care who says whatmesh shaaghelnaa meen ellee 2aalمش شاغلنا مين اللى قال
The envious have no placeel-7aqood malhoosh makaanالحقود مالهوش مكان
[Singer: Young Zuksh][يانج زوكش]
Mess with me, you get a taste of lunacytenkosh-nee teshoof genaanتنكشنى تشوف جنان
People would gather2we-tetlam el-geraanوتتلم الجيران
God blessed me with a wise tonguerabbak eddaanee 7ekmah fee el-lesaanربك إدانى حكمة فى اللسان
(with which) I’d win battlesakol-kom bel-kalaamأكلكم بالكلام
Yang Zuksh is from El-Salamyough zoksh gaay men el-salaamيانج زوكش جاي من السلام
Do not trust meakhook malhoosh amaanأخوك مالهوش أمان
I’m decent, so don’t yell “man” at meanaa 3ala el-mazboot tamaam fa mat2olleesh yaa manأنا على المظبوط تمام فمتقوليش يا مان
hitting the gas, wining all trophies, bottled poison, quenched their thirst!anaa daayes we faayez kesebt kol el-gawaayez .. 7aTTait el-semm fee azaayez .. sherebt koll ellee 3aayezانا دايس و فايز كسبت كل الجوايز حطيط السم فى ازايز شربت كل اللى عايز
I want you to understand me, distinguish! (as i’m doing), and know what’s right!anaa 3aayez zayy maa-anaa 3aayez amayyez 3aayzak tefham-nee we-temayyez we-teshoof el-Sa77 we-dah kowayyesانا عايز زى مانا عايز أميز عايزك تفهمنى و تميز و تشوف الصح ده كويس
[Singer: Ahmed Saad][أحمد سعد]
Look, look, look where have we beenshoof shoof shoof konnaa fainشوف شوف شوف كنا فين
And where are we nowwe-ba2ainaa delwa2tee fainو بقينا دلوقتى فين
You, who forgot about me in your good few days, i will forget you for yearsyaa ellee neseetoo-nee fee yomain-kom anaa hansaa-kom seneenياللى نسيتونى فى يومينكم انا هنساكم سنين
Thanks for hardships, that opened my eyes,kattar khair el-Zoroof ellee tekhalleenee ashoofكتر خير الظروف اللى تخلينى أشوف
some i did truly love, others do not deserve considerationnaas 7abbait-haa be-amaanah we-naas taanyah maa-yetshaafoo-shناس حبيتها بأمانه وناس تانيه مايتشافوش
[Singer: 3enaba][عنبة]
Everyone was blown away when i’m presentlammaa gait el-koll Taarلما جيت الكل طار
Undeliberate, i’m an explosionghaSb 3annee anaa enfegaarغصب عنى انا انفجار
It’s hard to see you in spaceSa3b ashoofak fee el-faDaa2صعب اشوفك فى الفضاء
If you came to me, we’ll make a messlaw gait a3mel ma3aak 7ewaarلو جيت اعمل معاك حوار
Stay away, i vigorous, from Cairo, yet stronger than any foreignereb3ed 3annee 3ashaan anaa ghabee, qaaheraawee we-agmad men el-agnabeeابعد عنى علشان انا غبى قاهراوى و اجمد من الاجنبى
Dude, your planet is different from minekawkabkoo yasTaa ghair kawkabeeكوكبكوا ياسطى غير كوكبي
Alone, can drive an army of TatarsbeToolee wa7dee asoo2 tataarبطولى وحدي اسوق تاتار
[Singer: Young Zuksh][يانج زوكش]
I’m cool, i’m cool, i’m chicanaa gaamed anaa gaamed anaa sheekانا جامد انا جامد انا شيك
If you have money, a car gets anywherelaw ma3aak feloos 3arabeyyah be-temashsheekلو معاك فلوس عربيه بتمشيك
Bro, befriend no hobos, it’s a givenma3roof ya zemeelee ma-teSaa7eb-sh halaafeetمعروف يازميلى متصحبش هلافيت
(Are you) Cultured? Welcome aboardlaw betefham fee el-oSool ahlan beekلو بتفهم فى الاصول اهلا بيك
We’d want youneshtereekنشتريك
You’ll be on topteb2aa foa2تبقى فوق
Gray-haired?, meh, it’s just a colour.we-law yesheeb el-sha3r loanو لو يشيب الشعر لون
Till the end we’ll keep upmekammeleen le-aakher yoamمكملين لآخر يوم
Success is hard, requires no sleepaSl el-nagaa7 dah sa3b mesh me7taag el-noamأصل النجاح ده صعب مش محتاج النوم

Sabah – Sa3aat Sa3aat (Sometimes … sometimes)

This song appeared at the end of episode 5. A very melancholic song by the amazing Lebanese singer and actress Sabah. The song portrays a complex psychological state, about a person oscillating between feelings of unexplained happiness and sadness. 

Song by Sabah – sometimes sometimes – saa3aat saa3aat – ساعات ساعات

saa3aat saa3aat lyrics

Here are the lyrics of the song.

Sometimes. ..Sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات…ساعات
Sometimes. sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات…ساعات
I love my life & adore the things ( issues) .a7ebb 3omree, we a3sha2 el-7agaatأحب عمري و أعشق الحاجات
I love all peoplea7ebb koll el-naasأحب كل الناس
and how much of feeling (I have)we-add eih e7saasو أد ايه احساس!
and I feel inside me hundred melodieswe-a7ess gowwaayaa be-meet naghamو احس جوايا بميت نغم
hudred melodies filling up the silencemeet nagham yemloo el-sokaatميت نغم يملوا السكات
Sometimes. ..Sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات .. ساعات
Sometimes. ..Sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات …ساعات
I feel how much I am lonely !a7ess add eih wa7eedahأحس أد ايه وحيدة
the words that are in my mouth are not new !,we-add eih el-kelmah fee lesaanee ma-hesh gedeedahو أد ايه الكلمة في لساني مهيش جديدة
and how much I am not happy! ,we-add eih maa-anee-sh sa3eedahو أد ايه منيش سعيدة
and that the stars are so far !,we-enn el-negoom be3eedahو ان النجوم بعيدة
And how heavy the time step is !we-te2eelah khaTwet el-zamanو ثقيلة خطوة الزمن
How heavy theticking of the clocks!te2eelah da22et el-sa3aatثقيلة دقة الساعات
Sometimes. Sometimessa3aat sa3aatساعات…ساعات
refrain
I laugh & play like a spring birdaD7ak we-al3ab zayy 3aSfooret rabee3أضحك و ألعب زي عصفورة ربيع
Like the breeze ..as it comes.. then it suddenly vanisheszayy el-naseem maa ye3addee we-fee la7zah yeDee3زي النسيم ما يعدي و في لحظة يضيع
I get very happy ..and laugh so very muchafra7 awee … we-aD7ak awee aweeأفرح قوي ..و أضحك قوي قوي
and love my life and adore the passing day .we-a7ebb 3omree we a3sha2 el-yoam ellee faatو أحب عمري و اعشق اليوم اللي فات
Sometimes. Sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات …ساعات
it’s strange, it is strangeghareebah, we-ghareebahغريبة ..و غريبة
the same thing that makes me happy, doesn’t make me happynafs elle beyfarra7-nee maa yefarra7-neeنفس اللي بيفرحني ما يفرحني
and it’s strangewe-ghareebahو غريبة
the same thing that comforts me doesn’t comfort menafs elle yerayya7-nee maa yerayya7-neeنفس اللي يريحني ما يريحني
and I feel my lifetime is gone bywe-a7ess enn 3omree faatو احس ان عمري فات
without me loving me life and adoring thingsmen ghair ma-a7ebb 3omree we-a3sha2 el-7agaatمن غير ما احب عمري و اعشق الحاجات
like this sometimeskedah saa3aatكدة ساعات
and like that sometimeswe-kedah saa3aatو كدة ساعات
and it’s strange, the ticking of time passingwe-ghareebah, ghareebah da22et el-zamanو غريبة..غريبة دقة الزمن
and it’s strange, strange how the clock game iswe-ghareebah ghareebah … le3bet el-saa3aatو غريبة غريبة ..لعبة الساعات
Sometimes. Sometimessaa3aat saa3aatساعات…ساعات

And here is a list of all songs (Egyptian and non-Egyptian) used in the series.

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Which Arabic to learn?

When learning Arabic, it is important to have a clear understanding of your goals. Otherwise, you may spend a lot of time, money and effort without a satisfactory outcome. The first thing to know is that there are two different types of Arabic. The first is Formal language (known as fuSHaa, meaning the most eloquent). FuSHaa includes both classical Arabic and the more popular Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)d. MSA is used mainly in written and formal materials. On the other hand, the informal/colloquial language is mainly spoken, with different dialects and varieties across different countries. In this post, you’ll see the different possible goals associated with each type. Then, you will know which type of Arabic to focus on, so that you can achieve your goals.

Two types of Arabic: Formal/fuSHaa/Modern Standard Arabic – and dialects

Suppose that you need to learn Arabic to read some official documents or read a book in Arabic. In this case, it makes sense only to learn MSA. Otherwise, if you want to:

  • watch Arabic speaking media
  • listen to songs or other cultural production

then in most cases you will need to study one dialect or another.

Which type of Arabic to learn?

An ideal learning strategy would be to combine both types. In fact, this is what most Arabic native speakers do. They just switch between the two types according to context.

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What is fuSHaa: classical Arabic + Modern Standard Arabic

In order to understand Arabic better, it i important to make a few distinctions, and to see some overlaps.

The first distinction is between Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. Although Arabic speakers call both of them al-fuSHaa (or the most eloquent), classical Arabic refers mainly to Arabic used in literary and religious texts many centuries ago, while Modern Standard Arabic is the Arabic that is used nowadays for most of formal contexts. Here are a few points from this figure:
1- There is a lot of overlap between MSA and classical Arabic. The grammar is basically identical

2- many words in ancient texts (classical Arabic) that are not used nowadays (MSA)

3- many modern words that were coined to reflect many areas of technology, economics, business and so on

4- Some words had a certain meaning in classical Arabic and a different meaning in MSA. For example the word “sayyaarah” was used in Quran to mean “a caravan”, but in modern use, it means “a car/au automobile”

FuSHaa is the combination of classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic

The relationship between fuSHaa and dialects

And there are a few important points about the distinction between fuSHaa and dialects:

1- There are different dialects for the different Arabic speaking countries

2- Some dialects can be grouped together, like Levantine, Maghreb, and Gulf groups since these dialects are similar to each other

3- Each dialect has an overlap with fuSHaa, many words and verbs either are the same as in MSA, or has an origin from classical Arabic

4- Each dialect has overlaps with other dialects, dialects with closer geographical proximity have greater overlap

5- Dialects are also influenced by other local languages, such as Egyptian Arabic being influenced by Coptic, and Maghreb dialects by Tamzight

6- Dialects are also influenced by foreign languages, such as French, English, Turkish … etc

Dialects can be grouped together, showing the overlap with fuSHaa and other local and foreign languages

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