language – Page 16 – The Arabic Pages

Wehr Wednesdays #2

A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.

The Hardest Advice to Give… And Take

نَصيحة root: ن-ص-ح / noun / plural: نَصائِح / definition: (piece of) advice The hardest advice to give is probably the one that you have to give yourself—which is why I have (…reluctantly) forced myself to write this out and confront the truth eyes-to-screen.

Wehr Wednesdays #1

A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.

Four Simple Tips to Improve Your Essay Writing Skills in Arabic

مَقالة root: ق-و-ل / noun / plural: مَقالات /definition: essay, article So, you’ve studied Arabic for a while now. Simple sentences are old news (i.e. you’re silently pleading for your teacher not to go over jumlah ismiyyah yet again) and you’ve got a decent collection of relevant words all memorised. So you’re all set whenContinue reading “Four Simple Tips to Improve Your Essay Writing Skills in Arabic”

Far From Fluency

طَلاقة root: ط-ل-ق / noun / definition: fluency Having hiked over formidable dunes of vocabulary and marched on through harsh storms of grammatical rules, I think, finally—right there, in front of me—I see… fluency?

How Should I Begin?

بِداية root: ب-د-ء / noun / plural: بدايات / definition: beginning, start Starting is always the most difficult part, really: whether writing a blog or learning a language. Thankfully, the days of using flashcards to learn the Arabic alphabet (and practising pronouncing ع and ح until my throat ached) are tucked away around five-years-deep inContinue reading “How Should I Begin?”