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[ARCHIVE] [SASSYandsisters] Arabic Word of the Day [1-10]

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Jacko079
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[ARCHIVE] [SASSYandsisters] Arabic Word of the Day [1-10]

Post by Jacko079 »

These posts were originally written by SASSYandsisters.

Number 1

https://archive.ph/OexdA

Sorry, I won't be able to show (anyone interested) the alphabet or the sound because it's probably not possible to do it on a post - you could always check Memrise or Busuu or you could watch some Youtube :) I'll just put on words then I'll give the meaning and the English transcription and maybe similar words... And personally I think knowing how to speak to someone is possibly the most important skill so...

*أنا (That's spelt:- name: alif -noon- alif / sound: a - n - a )

Meaning: I / Me ...(aka: you*)

*Transcription: "Anaa" ( when using long vowels I'll use double letters)

*Similar words: أنت - you (m) "anta"/ أنت - you (f) - the only difference is you say (anti) instead of (anta) - this is because of short vowels on the word which I can't seem to print (sorry) but we're learning how to speak, so it shouldn't matter too much :)

  • If there's a group of people you'd say: "antum" أنتم (m), "antun" أنتن (f) and unfortunately (for feminists) "antum" is also used for mixed groups as well. (I think this is also in a lot of other languages too so... ya). If this isn't helpful please tell me how to improve :)

  • I've also added a short phrase/sentence somewhere below, if you want (but I thought it's better to start with words then move to phrases and sentences) :)

Number 2

https://archive.ph/oitJS

*Quick Recap of last words: anaa (I/me), anta (you - male), anti (you - female), antum (group of guys/mixed group), antun (group of awesome ladies) ;p

*هو Spelt:- name(of letters): ha' - wow / sound(of letters): h - w

*Meaning: He/him

*Transcription(how you'd say it) : "Huwa" (short vowels)

*Similar word(s): هي - she/her "Heya" <- As you've probably already noticed, when switching between male/female the word only changes slightly. I also want to note that you don't say it like "hey" then add "a", you say it more like "he" then you add "ya" + and the same goes with 'huwa' - you say "hu" then add "wa" (but obviously make sure you say it together).

*Simple phrase to begin with (using words above): هو و هي - he and she, you might've noticed already, their is a word you might not know already: (و) "wa" it means 'and' - it is also a letter in the alphabet (just like 'a' and 'i' in English, it is a word and a single letter too).

Number 3

https://archive.fo/4Cokk

  • Recap of last post: Huwa (he/him), Heya (she/her) and Wa (and).

*نحن Spelt:- name: noon - ha^ - noon / sound: n - h^ - n

*Meaning: We/Us

*Transcription: nahnu

  • Ok so basically, I just want to explain what this (^) sign next to the letter means. So the letter (ح ) isn't in the English alphabet. It is similar to the letter (٥) which isn't really in the English alphabet either. So (ح) is like an English "h" only you say it using your throat and (٥) is also like an English "h" but it is a bit stronger (so I'll keep "٥" as "h" and "ح" as "h^") . These to letters are quite easy to confuse but when you get the hang of it, you see the obvious difference. This is kinda hard to explain without sound (you wouldn't want to hear my voice anyways) but I found a video that explains the difference between the two letters (it is kinda weird) but it is probably one of the best, I think it's some kind of English guy trying to speak Arabic (I'm going to admit it is on-the-spot Arabic) but he pronounces the two letters perfectly. There's some more good videos he's made so I'd recommend you check it out, here's the link (the beginning is kinda weird but keep watching):

[

*Similar word(s): هم "hum" (they) - It is used for both girls and boys (phew) :o

*Phrase: نحن وهم "nahnu wa hum" (we and them).

Number 4

https://archive.ph/Om01d

*Quick Recap of last post: nahnu (we/us) and hum (they)

*I'm just going to go through a few important verbs and ,because there's only three people in my life: me, myself and I, I'm going to start with verbs that I am doing so like "I have" and "I don't have" :p So if you care about yourself, read on:

*لدي Spelt:- name: Lam - dal - ya/ sound: l - d - y/ee (depending on short vowels)

*Meaning: I have. I just want to note, just like in some other languages, in Arabic the verb tells you who it's about. It is optional to add "أنا" (anaa - I) before the verb as "لدي" already shows that the sentence is about you. So for example, in Spanish, 'I' is "yo" and 'I have" is 'Yo tengo" but if you wish, you could say "tengo" because the ending of the word proves that it is about you; the same is in Arabic, only different endings. (I will show you how the endings work in another post, but for now, just remember the different words).

*Transcription: Laday'a - so between the "y" and the "a" I just want you to pause, so like this: "laday" and then pause for a second and then say "ya" (say this aloud while you read this, it is very helpful). The whole idea is that the (') sign represents a double letter but you say the letters separately so when I show this sign it's because it's a double letter.

  • (this part is not really important as we're learning how to speak but I'll show you guys anyways, if you get confused, pretend I didn't say this at all): In Arabic we have a weird sign above the letter (called "shad'a") to show you must double the letter below it when you speak (ironically this word has a "shad'da" on it too). It looks like: ّ < this (no it's not a smudge on your screen but I can't make it bigger). Basically, draw a capital "B", take off the straight line on the left side, then rotate it 90 degrees clockwise and make it a little smaller and you've drawn the sign I'm talking about - sorry for the maths lesson but I can't make it bigger :'( .

*Similar word(s): (ليس لدي) "láysa laday'a" - 'I don't have' - So as you can tell, "láysa" is the word which makes the phrase negative. "Láysa" means "not" but when you put it with "laday'a", it becomes "I don't have".

*Sorry guys, this isn't exactly the best explanation but it's hard to do it on this post. There is a video I will link, you might not understand some of it, but all I want you to listen out to, is how the man in the video pronounces the words with the "double letter" that I failed to explain above :) Any improvements that could be made, please criticise me below - I don't mind if it's not exactly constructive ;)

*[

Number 5

https://archive.ph/jERl1

*Last Post Recap: Laday'a (I have) and láysa laday'a (I don't have)

*So I picked these exact verbs because we want to start describing what we have (including how we look)... To do this, we'll have to go through some colours:

*أحمر = red = "ahmar" (h^) - I've already gone through this letter (ح) in one of my posts [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31891661] there's also a video on how to pronounce it

[

*أزرق = blue = "azraq^" (q^) - So it's the letter (ق) which is basically a letter "q" only stronger

*أخضر = green = "akhdar" (kh) - the letter (خ) is one of the hard letters, it's like the sound you make when you try to clear your throat (sounds a bit like the Spanish 'j') here's a video:

[

*أصفر = yellow = "asfar" (s^) - It sounds more like the "s" in "sorry" only a little stronger, I'll try to find a video: [

*برتقالي = orange = "burtuqaalee" (q^) - same as the one for "blue" ^ - the double letters means they are long vowels so you just have to make it a little bit longer when you say those letters

*بنفسجي = purple = "banafsajee"

*أسود = black = "aswad"

*أبيض = white = "abyad^" (d^) - It's like a really weird version of (d) - i'll have to find a video for this one as well: [

*بني = brown = "bunee"

*لون = colour = "lawn" and the plural is ألوان = "alwaan" - btw you don't say "lawn" like 'lawn' in English you say "la" then you say "wn" (if that makes sense) :)

*Here's a video that goes through the colours, it also goes through masculine and feminine colours, I'll try to go through that in another post but this one is pretty good

[

Number 6

https://archive.ph/yyQz5

*Recap Colours (last post): [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31916669]

Code: Select all

(شعر) Spelling:- name: sheen - 3ayn - ra /sound: sh - 3 - r

*Meaning: hair

*Transcription: "Sha3r" - There's a letter which also isn't in the English alphabet which is (ع) and because it looks like the number "3" only flipped round, if you ever see this in an Arabic transcription, that's the letter we're talking about. it sounds like this: [ - He does go through some boring ol' science but listen to the way he pronounces this letter :)

*Similar word: "Shi3r" - Be careful! Don't get mixed up between the two because "shi3r" means poetry! If you say to your bald English teacher "ana laday'a shi3r" they'll ask to read it! ;p

*Now we can make a short sentence to describe the colour of our hair. Remember!: in Arabic (just like in Spanish and French) the adjective goes after the noun! Example sentence: (أنا لدي شعر أسود ) "Anaa laday'a sha3r aswad" means "I have black hair" but if you translate literally it is "I have hair black".

*Also, if you're blonde (just like in Enlgish) you don't say "as'far" (yellow), you say "ashk'ar" (أشقر ) meaning blonde. Oh yeah, and sorry gingers, there is, as far as I know, no word for it in Arabic, instead they say "ah'mar" which is red :p

Number 7

https://archive.ph/3QGUT

*So last time we went through hair colour and this time we're going to go through the length of our hair and style.

*مجعد = "muja3ad" = curly

*مموج = "mumawaj" = wavy

*ناعم = "naa3im" OR أملس = "amlas" = straight (hair only). In fact, both of these words, literally translate to "smooth/soft" but they are used to describe hair as being straight as well :)

*أصلع = "as'la3" = bald (just makes life easier for you, no need to brush anything, no need to say much either :p )

*طويل = "t'aweel" = long (also used for height, meaning tall)

*قصير = "qaseer" = short (also used for height as well)

*متوسط الطول = "mutawasit' alt'ool" = medium length (also used for height)

*So now we can make the sentence a bit longer: so last time we said "أنا لدي شعر أسود " (I have black hair) now all we have to do is add "and" and a word above^. So, do you remember the word for 'and' (take a moment to pause this video and wait till the class has answered...) ... Yes! you are right Andres, it's "و" (wa) - a small letter with a big impact! Now here's an example:

  • (أنا لدي شعر أسود و طويل) "anaa laday'a sha3r aswad wa t'aweel" = meaning, "I have long, black hair"... But literally: "I have hair black and long" (don't forget! In Arabic, the adjective goes after the noun!) You could also make the sentence longer and add the style all you need is the power of a punctuation mark! So: (أنا لدي شعر أسود ، طويل و مجعد) meaning: "I have long, black and curly hair" - notice, that the comma is upside down in Arabic writing. One last thing, in English, you could just say "I have long, black, curly hair" but in Arabic, since the adjective is after the noun, you must add "and" in the list (if that makes sense... hopefully!)

*Thanks for reading :) Any questions, improvements, or if a proof-reader has noticed a slop, please tell me! ;)

*Number 8**

https://archive.ph/TRhFW

*Last time we went through hair colour, length and style now we're going to go through height which is similar to the hair length:

*طويل = " Taweel " meaning 'tall', if you're a woman/girl, you'll just add the sound 'a' at the end. Remember, it's the sound 'a' , meaning (ة) "Ta' marboot'a" not (ا) "alif". So it will be (طويلة) "Taweela". This is how you basically turn an adjective into feminine form 99% of the time (there's probably some that don't follow this rule).

*قصير = "Qaseer" meaning 'short'. Same goes here, if you're a woman/girl, you add the sound 'a' here as well to become (قصيرة) "Qaseera".

  • متوسط الطول = "mutawasit^ altool ". Yep, here's an example of an adjective which doesn't follow the rule. Instead you'll have to remember this one, it becomes "mutawasitat altool" (متوسطة الطول ) so you add "at", at the end.

Just to make things even more complicated, it's better to add (القامة ) = "alqaama" after one of the words above, but if you are medium, and you want to use it, use it instead of the second word which is "altool". "Alqaama" is another word for "height" but is normally just used for a person's height. Remember it is better to say it, but there's no need, as it does make sense without it as well. Oh yeah, Sorry girls, again. If you are going to use this word, you also must add "at" just like for medium. So if you were to say "tall" using this word, you'd say "taweelat alqaama" (if this is confusing you, there's no need to use this word).

*So to composing a sentence: (أنا متوسطة القامة ) "Anaa mutawasitat alqaama" = I am of medium height (f). Another example: (أنا طويل القامة) "Anaa taweel alqaama" = I am tall (m). Just to prove that there is no difference whether you use "alqaama" or not: (أنا طويل ) "Anaa taweel" = I am tall (m).

  • Thanks for reading my (now realising) not so great, but better than nothing, explanation. If you need a better explanation or have any questions please feel free to tell me. Any ways of improvement, any proof-reading, you know where to write [me now realising there's no button on the keyboard for "down"] ;)

Number 9

https://archive.ph/6ndOg

Now to eyes (los ojos) :

*(عين ) = "3ayn" - You say it just like you'd call the letter (ع). "3ayn" means 'eye'.

*Now we make it into plural so it becomes (عيون) "3uyoon" (don't worry if you don't know how to change a singular to plural, as I'll try to go through it at some point, for now just try to remember these words). I also want to note, in Arabic, there's also a 'dual' so for every noun, there's a singular, a dual (so only two) and a plural - for now we'll stick to plural because it works with plural and dual and I don't want to confuse anyone :)

*Ok, now we want to describe the colour of our eyes. This isn't as easy as with hair as the adjective must follow the noun (so if the noun is plural, the adjective must too become plural itself). So I'll just show you what the colours are when you are describing plural nouns:

*أزرق becomes زرقاء "azraq^" becomes "zarqaa' " (blue)

*بني becomes بنية "bunee" becomes "bun'niya" (brown)

  • أخضر becomes خضراء "akhdar" becomes "khadraa' " (green)

  • أسود becomes سوداء "aswad" becomes "sawdaa' " (black)

  • رمادي becomes رمادية "ramaadee" becomes "ramaadiy'a" (grey - I forgot to tell you guys this one before)

*So to compose a sentence (remember, adjective after the noun).

*e.g. (لدي عيون رمادية ) "Anaa laday'a 3uyoon ramaadiy'a" - 'I have grey eyes'. (I wish I did). Ps: this sentence won't change whether you're a male or female ( it's 2019 equality! XD).

*Now you can link this to the last posts so:

"anaa laday'a sha3r aswad, taweel wa muja3ad. Anaa laday'a 3uyoon ramaadiy'a wa anaa taweelat alqaama"

(أنا لدي شعر أسود، طويل و مجعد. أنا لدي عيون رمادية و أنا طويلة القامة)

I have long, curly, black hair. I have grey eyes and I am tall.

*Sorry because I wasn't able to show you how to change the colours from single to plural as it is quite difficult to show on a post. Thanks for reading anyways, and if you have any questions or your eye colour hasn't been mentioned above, comment below and I will be pleased to answer it.

Number 10

https://archive.ph/1ioyq

(Hi friends)

*Today we're going to be looking at how to transform the descriptions about ourselves that we've been working on so that we are able to describe others. Honestly, it's not too difficult as long as you can remember the last couple of words we've went through, so:

*We already know how to say 'I have' (we do... don't we?). In case you've forgotten, it's "anaa laday'a" or just simply "laday'a" ,as the verb already tells us who is the subject. To say 'he has' all we need to do is change the ending to become "ladayhe" (لديه) so all we do, is swap the "ya" sound at the end with a "he" sound (remember! There's a double 'y' in "laday'a" which I have shown with this (') sign) .

  • To say "she has" we say "ladayhaa" (لديها ). So in short: with a boy we swap the "ya" ending with a "he" ending, and with a girl we swap the "ya" ending with a "haa" ending.

*In Arabic, when we say something belongs to a (girl/woman) we use an ending of "haa" just like above^. With a (boy/man) however, it is different to the one above (haha Finally!)... When something belongs to a male we use and ending of "hu". < Anyways, this doesn't really link to what we are learning right now but I thought I'll just note it

*So we're going to make a sentence. This is simple; all you have to do is change the subject so if I were to say "laday'a sha3r bunee", "laday'a" tells me the subject (me) so I'll swap it with one of the above^ so now: "ladayhaa sha3r bunee" (she has brown hair).

*Now with the description of eyes and hair that's exactly what you are going to do^ but when we talk about our height, we use a different verb; the verb "to be". So what is 'I am' again guys? Yes, it's the same as 'I' which is "anaa". And luckily, we've already been through how to say "he is and she is" in my second post [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31874591] . In case you've forgotten that as well, "huwa" is 'he is' (or just he) and "heya" is 'she is' (or just she). REMEMBER! in Arabic there is NO word for "is", it comes with the pronoun!

*So I'll give you an e.g. I'm going to describe... My bro! in Arabic, transcription and English:

*(هو متوسط القامة. لديه شعر أسود، قصير و مموج. لديه عيون عسلية)

*Huwa mutawasit^ alqaama. ladayhe sha3r aswad, qaseer wa mumaw'aj. ladayhe 3uyoon 3asliya"

*He is of medium height. He has short, wavy, black hair. He has "honey" eyes.

*Literal translation: He is medium height. He has hair black, short and wavy. He has eyes honey. XD

*Btw: (عسلية) "3asliya" is the term used for the "honey" eye colour. It's a rare eye colour and it looks really cool it's like the colour of honey but... basically, it's a mix of brown and green but leans more to brown :3 I'm jealous!!! I got stuck with brown!!! :'(

*Thanks for reading! Any Qs, write below... Any proof-reading, also right below... Any wishes (as in; what you want to learn, what I could improve on etc...)... you know where to go! ;p Oh yeah, and I might do more than one tomorrow because tomorrow's a special day :D and the special post will be there too :3 have a nice rest-of-afternoon, night whatever time it is... ;)

Learning: Italian and Arabic.

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