Author Archives: thearabicpages

Explaining “Although”

تَفسير root: ف-س-ر / verbal noun of form II / plural: تَفاسير / meaning: explanation The phrase “بالرغم مِن أنّ ــــــ إلّا أنّ ـــــــ” means “although”–but how do we actually use it and what goes where?

Arabic Observations: Word Twins

تَوْأَم root: ت-و-ء-م / noun / plural: تَوائِم / definition: twin You notice many things when you look at the pages of Hans Wehr more than you see daylight. And time and time again, I’ve noticed this one phenomenon which I call (in my head) “word twins”.

Arabic Headline Analysis

تحليل root: ح-ل-ل / verbal noun of form II / plural: تَحليلات or تَحاليل / definition: analysis Sometimes you might see a news headline in which you understand all of the words, yet you can’t make enough sense of the grammar to get to the meaning. And sometimes you just don’t know the words. SoContinue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis”

Is Motivation Enough?

دافِع root: د-ف-ع / active participle of form I / plural: دَوافِع / definition: incentive, motive I think it’s now been over eight months since my last Arabic lesson at university, which feels very odd to think about. It’s almost felt like I’ve just been on a long summer break this whole time, with thatContinue reading “Is Motivation Enough?”

Different Ways to Learn Vocabulary Through Association

عَلاقة root: ع-ل-ق / noun / plural: علاقات or عَلائق / definition: association, relation, connection There are some words in your target language that will cling on in your memory and others that will dig in their heels and refuse to go any further than the “vaguely familiar” section of your brain. For those stubbornContinue reading “Different Ways to Learn Vocabulary Through Association”

Small but Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know

مُفيد root: ف-ي-د / adjective / definition: useful, beneficial As much as most of us, as Arabic students, love to learn all sorts of complex and specific vocabulary, knowing the small, simple stuff that fills up sentences is really important too. So, below, I’ve made a fairly compact list of small but useful Arabic phrasesContinue reading “Small but Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know”

The Best Arabic Podcast I’ve Found So Far

اِستِماع root: س-م-ع / verbal noun of form VIII / definition: listening Listening skills are essential to build when you’re learning a language. But for many students, it can be hard to find listening resources that are: (a) at the right level and (b) interesting enough to maintain your focus.