Category Archives: resources/reference

Resource: Free Arabic e-Books

مَجّانًا root: م-ج-ن / adverb / definition: for free, without charge Saying I had “errands to run” this morning feels very grown-up. Then I remember I’m 27, and I am a grown-up. I somehow feel like my twenties are round-two of being a toddler: here I am, bobbing about, experiencing every new first with pitifulContinue reading “Resource: Free Arabic e-Books”

A New Resource and a New Schedule

جَلْسة root: ج-ل-س / noun / plural: جَلسات / definition: session I coerced myself into attending an online writing session starting at 10am this morning so the sense of accountability from strangers’ faces in boxes on my screen would push me to finally write up and send off the short article that hadn’t made itContinue reading “A New Resource and a New Schedule”

“Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!”: Life Through Literature

غَزّة root: غ-ز-ز / proper noun / definition: Gaza A tidal wave of sleep overwhelmed me late yesterday afternoon, with its undercurrents pulling me further into the depths of somnia until I washed up on the shores of wakefulness this morning and listlessly stretched my way out of bed. I basked in the sun forContinue reading ““Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!”: Life Through Literature”

Resource: Recorded Lectures from a Palestinian University

مُسَجَّل root: س-ج-ل / adjective, form II passive participle / definition: recorded When you’ve written hundreds of posts like I have on this blog, you start to forget what you have and haven’t posted about. And I was half-certain I’d mentioned this resource before on here, but—after a few seconds with the search box—I guessContinue reading “Resource: Recorded Lectures from a Palestinian University”

Resource: Palestinian Literature Arabic Podcast

تَضاؤُل root: ض-ء-ل / form VI verbal noun / definition: waning It’s an unseasonably warm evening here in London and I’m feeling grateful for this flare of heat that’s allaying the melancholy that inevitably arises from the waning of summer. But with my graduate school inductions beginning in less than two weeks, I sit hereContinue reading “Resource: Palestinian Literature Arabic Podcast”

Resource: Arabic Literature Podcast

حَلْقة root: ح-ل-ق / noun / plural: حَلَقات / definition: episode I’m rushed off my feet this week and to top it off, I have an important deadline lying menacingly in wait on the footstep of Friday evening when it will, assuredly, catch me off-guard and drag me into the lair of panic that I’veContinue reading “Resource: Arabic Literature Podcast”

Form I Verb Vowelling Patterns

حَرَكة root: ح-ر-ك / noun / plural: حَرَكات / definition: vowel Have you ever come across some information about Arabic, long after you began studying, and you’re just like: how did I not know this before?! Well, that’s how I felt reading Arabic for Nerds‘ post “What does the vowel on the second root letterContinue reading “Form I Verb Vowelling Patterns”

Listening Resource for Arabic Dialects

العامِّيّة root: ع-م-م / noun / definition: the colloquial language So I’m now seven weeks into this master’s course and we’ve just had our first عامية lesson. It sort of feels like being transported back to the first year of undergrad, except that the stakes are a bit higher now because in a matter ofContinue reading “Listening Resource for Arabic Dialects”

Arabic Vocabulary Resource for Students

مَورِد root: و-ر-د / noun / plural: مَوارِد / definition: resource It’s reading week already—which means this year is going entirely too fast and I’m mildly wildly panicking about what I’m going to do next September. At least, though, I finished writing the first essay that I actually enjoyed researching so far this year. Anyway,Continue reading “Arabic Vocabulary Resource for Students”

The Online Dictionary for Arabic Dialects

لَهْجة root: ل-ه-ج / noun / plural: لَهْجات / definition: dialect I can’t believe we officially hit the 200th-post mark with Wehr Wednesdays #99, where we looked at the phrase ضاح للشمس—a phrase which has been allocated to the “I love this bit of vocab and I can’t explain why” section of my brain (whereContinue reading “The Online Dictionary for Arabic Dialects”

Quadriliteral Active Participles in Arabic

اِسم فاعِل root: ف-ع-ل / phrase / definition: active participle If you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have told you that I lead a somewhat minimalist life—I hate having *things* cluttering up spaces around me which could very well be left empty. (This is, of course, ignoring my book-filled shelves and surfaces—books are entirelyContinue reading “Quadriliteral Active Participles in Arabic”

The Grammar of Using Arabic Numbers

عَدَد root: ع-د-د / noun / plural: أَعْداد / definition: number I remember learning the grammar for using Arabic numbers at university. It seemed fairly simple as there were essentially three sets of rules: one for the numbers 3-10, one for 11-99, and another for whole hundreds, thousands, etc. But when I looked a littleContinue reading “The Grammar of Using Arabic Numbers”

Two of My Favourite Arabic Blogs

مُدَوَّنَة root: د-و-ن / noun / plural: مُدَوَّنات / definition: a blog The Arabic Pages certainly isn’t the only blog out there focused on the Arabic language, and I’ve come across so many brilliant online resources since I started studying Arabic. My intention is to (eventually) make a list of all the best Arabic resourcesContinue reading “Two of My Favourite Arabic Blogs”

Dissertation Topic Ideas for Arabic Language Students

رِسالة root: ر-س-ل / noun / plural: رَسائِل or رِسالات / definition: dissertation I remember—back in autumn 2018, starting my final year of BA Arabic and Linguistics—I was searching for dissertation ideas. I’m not sure why I was surprised, given the general lack of specific resources for Arabic students, but I didn’t find anything helpfulContinue reading “Dissertation Topic Ideas for Arabic Language Students”

Arabic Books Currently in My Basket

سَلّة root: س-ل-ل / noun / plural: سِلال / definition: basket It’s been quite a few months since I told you about the useful Arabic books I have on my bookshelf. And while I’ve advised against overwhelming yourself with resources (advice mainly directed at myself), this hasn’t stopped me from steadily filling up my AmazonContinue reading “Arabic Books Currently in My Basket”

My Favourite Arabic Podcast is Back!

عَودة root: ع-و-د / verbal noun of form I / definition: return Over a year ago, I shared with you the best Arabic podcast I’d found—recordings from The Arabic Circle, by the University of Chicago. The only issue was that new uploads stopped years ago and I was desperate for some new listening material. (TheContinue reading “My Favourite Arabic Podcast is Back!”

Arabic Verb Forms XI-XV

أَكْثَر root: ك-ث-ر / comparative, superlative / definition: more, most As you can see, I couldn’t wait too long for another post about Arabic roots following our look at quadriliteral (four-letter-root) verb forms. But this time, we’re going back to triliteral (three-letter) verb forms and exploring the ones above X—i.e. forms XI-XV (yes, they exist!).

Quadriliteral Arabic Verb Forms

وَزْن root: و-ز-ن / noun / plural: أَوْزان / definition: form, pattern We’ve come across some Arabic words from quadriliteral roots before on this blog—that is, roots comprising four letters. And I even went into a little depth about a quadriliteral verb form in Wehr Wednesdays #23. But “a little depth” doesn’t really do itContinue reading “Quadriliteral Arabic Verb Forms”

Reference: A List of Abbreviations in the Hans Wehr Dictionary

اِخْتِصار root: خ-ص-ر / noun / plural: اِختِصارات / definition: abbreviation So, admittedly, this may not be the most interesting post you’ll read on this blog. But anything that helps with understanding the Hans Wehr dictionary—and, by extension, Arabic—is worth posting, in my opinion.