From the world of international business to global politics, the Arabic language is a modern day ‘must’. But it’s equally important – and simply good manners – for anyone living in an Arab country such as the UAE to have a basic comprehension of everyday usage. Here’s the second instalment of our regular ‘read and keep’ introduction to the Arabic tongue

Daily situations: 1
A’tini give me
Min fadlak (m)/min fadlik (f) please
Hada (m)/Hadi (f) this
ktab book
Shukran thank you
Tafaddal (m)/ tafaddali (f) here you are
Hadak (m)/hadeek (f) that
Hada ktab this is a book
Hadi jareeda this is a newspaper
La hada msh ktab no this is not a book
Hada telephone this is a telephone

Try to say in Arabic: “Please give me this book”. Your answer should be ... A’tini min fadlak hada al ktab

Vowels
There are six vowels in Arabic: three long ones which are written and three short ones which are not normally written – except in the Quran and children’s books where small marks representing the short vowels are placed above or below the consonant letters:

SHORT LONG
A? Aa ?
U? Uu ?
I? Ii ?

Special offer!

Arabic becomes an increasingly important language around the world, Abu Dhabi Week teams up with Berlitz to offer readers an unmissable opportunity to speak out – and have your with a very special offer! Until the end of May each reader of Abu Dhabi Week to register for a Berlitz course will receive a special 10 percent discount on production of a copy of the magazine.

For more details contact Berlitz on 02 448 6667 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
More on the web at www.berlitz.ae.

 

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 20]