Arabic Basics

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. All letters represent consonants (or long vowels in some cases), while short vowels are marked with optional diacritics above or below the letters.

The informal Arabic greeting is 'مرحبا' (marhaba), meaning 'hello' or 'welcome'. A more formal greeting is 'السلام عليكم' (as-salaamu alaykum), meaning 'peace be upon you'.

The Arabic word for 'one' is 'واحد' (waahid) for masculine, or 'واحدة' (waahida) for feminine. It is the first cardinal number in Arabic.

The Arabic pronoun for 'I' is 'أنا' (ana). It is used for both males and females and is a separate, independent pronoun in Modern Standard Arabic.

The verb 'kataba' (to write) conjugated for 'I' in the past tense is 'كتبت' (katabtu). The suffix '-tu' indicates the first-person singular subject.

The Arabic word for 'mother' is 'أم' (umm) or 'الأم' (al-umm). It is a fundamental family term, written with the letter alif and mim.

The Arabic word for 'water' is 'ماء' (maa'). It is a common noun used in daily life, particularly when ordering drinks or discussing food.

To ask 'Where is the bathroom?' in Arabic, say 'أين الحمام؟' (ayna al-hammaam?). It is a useful travel phrase when navigating public spaces.

A common cultural greeting is placing the right hand over the heart after a handshake, especially with elders. Verbal greetings like 'as-salaamu alaykum' are also important and should be reciprocated with 'wa alaykum as-salaam'.

There are 14 sun letters (حروف شمسية) in Arabic. When preceded by the definite article 'ال', the 'l' assimilates to these letters, e.g., 'الشمس' (ash-shams, the sun).

The Arabic phrase for 'thank you' is 'شكرا' (shukran). A more emphatic version is 'شكرا جزيلا' (shukran jazeelan), meaning 'thank you very much'.

The Arabic numeral for '5' is ٥. Note that Arabic numerals used in the Arab world (٠-9-11) differ from those used in Western countries (0-1-2), though both systems exist.