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Chapter 5 of 8

Food, Drink, and Daily Objects

Food vocabulary in Arabic reflects everyday life. 'Water' is maa' (ماء), 'tea' is shaay (شاي), 'coffee' is qahwa (قهوة), and 'milk' is Haleeb (حليب). 'Sugar' is sukkar (سكر), often added to tea or coffee as a sign of hospitality. 'Bread' is khubz (خبز), a staple often served with hummus and tagines, while 'rice' is aruzz (أرز), central to dishes like kabsa and maqlouba. 'Meat' is laHm (لحم), 'fish' is samak (سمك), and 'fruit' is faakiha (فاكهة), with tuffaHa (تفاحة) meaning a single apple. 'Vegetables' is khudaar (خضار) or khudrawaat (خضروات).

Common everyday objects include 'house' (bayt, بيت), 'door' (bab, بَاب), 'key' (miftaah, مِفْتَاح), 'table' (tawula, طَاوِلَة or ma'ida, مَائِدَة), 'pen' (qalam, قَلَم), and 'book' (kitab, كِتَاب). 'Car' is sayyara (سيارة), and 'glass' as a material is zujaj (زُجَاج). For larger buildings, 'school' is madrasa (مدرسة), 'hospital' is mustashfa (مستشفى), and 'restaurant' is mat'am (مَطْعَم).

Body parts also appear frequently in conversation. 'Hand' is yad (يَد), plural aydi (أَيْدِي), 'eye' is 'ayn (عَيْن), with the dual 'aynayn and plural 'uyun (عُيُون). 'Head' is ra's (رَأْس), plural ru'us (رُؤُوس). Other useful nouns include 'sun' (shams, شمس), 'moon' (qamar, قمر), 'star' (najma, نجمة or nujum, نجوم), 'rain' (matar, مَطَر), 'fire' (nar, نَار), 'sea' (bahr, بَحْر), 'city' (madeena, مَدِينَة), and 'night' (layl, لَيْل or laylah, لَيْلَة).

All chapters
  1. 1Alphabet, Letters, and Sounds
  2. 2Greetings, Politeness, and Everyday Phrases
  3. 3Family, People, and Relationships
  4. 4Numbers, Time, and Counting
  5. 5Food, Drink, and Daily Objects
  6. 6Verbs, Pronouns, and Grammar Basics
  7. 7Culture, Travel, and Practical Conversations
  8. 8Religion, Colors, Adjectives, and Beyond

Drill it

Reading is not remembering. These come from the Arabic Basics deck:

Q

How many letters are in the Arabic alphabet?

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

Q

What is the Arabic word for 'hello' (informal)?

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

Q

How do you say 'one' in Arabic?

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

Q

What is the Arabic pronoun for 'I'?

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.