Work

The world of work

This module teaches the Arabic words for jobs and workplaces. Every word comes with three things: the Arabic script, a transliteration in brackets to help you say it, and the English meaning. Remember that Arabic is read right to left. You will not type in Arabic here - you will recognise the words and their meanings. (A native speaker should review the script before launch.)

Words about work

Start with some general words about working life:

Match each job to its English meaning

Which job?

Which Arabic word means 'doctor'?

• طبيب (tabib)
• معلم (muallim)
• ممرض (mumarrid)
• سائق (saiq)

Where people work

Now some words for the places where people work: - مكتب (maktab) = office - مستشفى (mustashfa) = hospital - مدرسة (madrasa) = school - مطعم (matam) = restaurant Read each Arabic word right to left, and use the transliteration to say it aloud.

Match each workplace to its English meaning

Spot the jobs

Select the TWO words that are names of jobs (professions), not places.

• طبيب (tabib)
• معلم (muallim)
• مكتب (maktab)
• مستشفى (mustashfa)

The person and the place

Keep two kinds of word apart: the person who does a job, and the place where they do it.

Which place?

Which Arabic word means 'hospital'?

• مستشفى (mustashfa)
• مكتب (maktab)
• مدرسة (madrasa)
• مطعم (matam)

Jobs and workplaces in Arabic

A doctor is a _____ and works in a _____. A teacher is a _____ and works in a _____. The money you earn each month is your _____.

Getting a job

Put the steps of starting a working life into a sensible order.

• Finish school
• Train or study for a career
• Apply for a job
• Have an interview
• Start work and earn a salary

Arabic needs no word for is or am

You already have the two halves - أنا (ana - I am) and في (fi - in). Joined up they make a whole sentence, and Arabic needs no word for "am" or "is": - أنا طبيب في المستشفى = "I am a doctor at the hospital". أنا, then the job, then the workplace. Nothing at all stands for "am". - ليس المدير في المكتب = "the manager is not in the office". To make a sentence like this negative, put ليس (laysa) at the front. Without it, المدير في المكتب means "the manager is in the office".

Arabic has no word for "am"

Arabic has no word for "am". Which of these says "I am a doctor at the hospital"?

• أنا طبيب في المستشفى (ana tabib fi al-mustashfa)
• أنا أكون طبيب في المستشفى (ana akun tabib fi al-mustashfa)
• أنا مستشفى في الطبيب (ana mustashfa fi al-tabib)
• ليس المدير في المكتب (laysa al-mudir fi al-maktab)

Who does this job?

Read what each person does, and pick the Arabic word for their job.

• This person looks after sick people in a hospital and gives them medicine. Which job?
• This person teaches children in a school. Which job?
• This person drives a bus or a taxi to take people around. Which job?

Your turn: write in Arabic

Write two or three sentences IN ARABIC about a job and where that person works. Write in Arabic script - the transliteration in brackets is a reading aid only.

• Use the whole pattern from step 12, not the halves: أنا طبيب في المستشفى (ana tabib fi al-mustashfa - I am a doctor at the hospital)
• Swap in another job: معلم (muallim - teacher), ممرض (mumarrid - nurse) or سائق (saiq - driver), and another workplace: مدرسة (madrasa - school), مكتب (maktab - office) or مطعم (matam - restaurant)
• Say what is NOT the case with ليس (laysa): ليس المدير في المكتب (laysa al-mudir fi al-maktab - the manager is not in the office)
• Say what you like with أحب… (uhibbu - I like): أحب العمل (uhibbu al-amal - I like the work)
• You may add راتب (ratib - salary) or زميل (zamil - a colleague)

Two groups of words

For the top marks, keep two groups of words clear and linked. First, the jobs - who someone is: طبيب (tabib) doctor, معلم (muallim) teacher, ممرض (mumarrid) nurse, سائق (saiq) driver. Second, the workplaces - where they work: مستشفى (mustashfa) hospital, مدرسة (madrasa) school, مكتب (maktab) office. Learn each with its script AND transliteration, and you will recognise them instantly in the exam.