Who Am I? - Family and Personal Characteristics
Start reading Arabic and talking about your family. Learn the key words in script and sound, meet the feminine ending, and see how the writing works.
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Reading Arabic 📖
Arabic is written in a beautiful flowing script, and it is read from **right to left**, the opposite of English. In this module, every Arabic word is shown three ways: the **script**, the **sound** (transliteration in brackets), and the **English**. That way you learn to recognise it and say it.
Saying who you are 🙋
Two words to introduce yourself: - **أنا (ana)** = I - **اسمي (ismi)** = my name (is) So اسمي سارة (ismi Sara) means "my name is Sara". Simple building blocks come first.
The family 👨👩👧
The core family words: - **أب (ab)** = father, **أم (umm)** = mother - **أخ (akh)** = brother, **أخت (ukht)** = sister - **ابن (ibn)** = son, **بنت (bint)** = daughter - **عائلة (aaila)** = family
Match each Arabic word to its meaning
- أب (ab)
- أم (umm)
- أخ (akh)
- أخت (ukht)
- عائلة (aaila)
- father
- mother
- brother
- sister
- family
Spot the word
Which word means "father"?
- أب (ab)
- أم (umm)
- أخ (akh)
- صديق (sadiq)
The feminine ending ♀️
Arabic often marks a **female** person with the ending **ة** (called taa marbuta), added to the male word. For example **صديق (sadiq)** is a male friend, and **صديقة (sadiqa)** is a female friend. Look for that rounded ة at the end of a word.
Match each male word to its female counterpart
- أب (ab) - father
- أخ (akh) - brother
- ابن (ibn) - son
- صديق (sadiq) - male friend
- أم (umm) - mother
- أخت (ukht) - sister
- بنت (bint) - daughter
- صديقة (sadiqa) - female friend
Make it female
A male friend is صديق (sadiq). Using the feminine ending ة, what is a female friend?
- صديقة (sadiqa)
- صديق (sadiq)
- أخت (ukht)
- أم (umm)
Direction and "the" 👈
Two facts about how Arabic works: - It is read and written **right to left**. - The word for **the** is **الـ (al-)**, joined to the front of a noun. So بيت (bayt) is "a house", and البيت (al-bayt) is "the house".
Which way?
In which direction is Arabic written and read?
- Right to left
- Left to right
- Top to bottom
- It changes with every word
Family members
Select ALL THREE words that are family members.
- أب (ab)
- أم (umm)
- أخت (ukht)
- صديق (sadiq)
- اسمي (ismi)
- أنا (ana)
Introduce yourself
An interactive activity.
The right word
Using the transliteration, complete: "father" is _____, "mother" is _____, "family" is _____, and "my name" is _____.
Arabic summary
Arabic is read from _____ to left. Many feminine words add the ending _____, so صديق (male friend) becomes صديقة (female friend). The word for family is _____, and the word for "I" is _____.