Tag Archives: learning

Three Arabic Verbs for “to Think”—and How They Differ

فِعْل root: ف-ع-ل / noun / plural: أَفْعال / definition: verb Memory is an odd thing. People’s names, for one, seem to slip from my mind like sand through an hourglass. Yet, when the idea for this post came to mind, I could very clearly remember that I had noted down the differences between threeContinue reading “Three Arabic Verbs for “to Think”—and How They Differ”

The Arabic Pages’ Vocabulary Lists

قائِمة root: ق-و-م / noun / plural: قَوائِم or قائِمات / definition: list, table When I first started this blog, I wasn’t entirely sure where The Arabic Pages would go or what it would become. But I did know that I eventually want to create and share Arabic learning resources. Now, I’ve finally taken theContinue reading “The Arabic Pages’ Vocabulary Lists”

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #3

قَصِيدَة root: ق-ص-د / noun / plural: قَصائِد / definition: poem You may remember me mentioning Badr Shakir al-Sayyab previously, when I used a quote from a poem of his to exemplify one of the Four Synonyms for “to Begin to” in Arabic. And—unsurprisingly, I suppose, considering my dissertation was centred around his poetry—al-Sayyab’s works wereContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #3”

The Attached لا Prefix

مُتَّصِل root: و-ص-ل / adjective, active participle of form VIII / definition: attached, adjoining So you think you know “لا”? Well, of course you do. It’s one of the first words we all learnt. But did you know that the Arabic “no” can also be used in some cases as an attached prefix? Hold ontoContinue reading “The Attached لا Prefix”

Small But Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know (Part 3)

نافِع root: ن-ف-ع / adjective, active participle of form I / definition: beneficial, useful It’s definitely time for another post in the small but useful phrases series, where I present you with short pieces of vocabulary that can have a big impact on your understanding and writing of Arabic. Let’s get straight into Part 3!

The Difference Between حوالي and تقريباً

فَرْق root: ف-ر-ق / noun / plural: فُروق / definition: difference Two small words, carrying the same meaning but differing in grammar: حَوالَي and تَقريباً. So what’s the difference… and why does it matter?

Arabic Books on My Bookshelf

رَفّ root: ر-ف-ف / noun / plural: رُفوف / definition: shelf While you can see eight neatly-arranged books on my tiny bedside tea shelf in the photo above, in reality, the term “bookshelf” in the title is somewhat metaphorical. Yes, some of these books are arranged on one of my actual bookshelves. But others migrateContinue reading “Arabic Books on My Bookshelf”

(Over) Seven Ways to Say “Except” in Arabic–Plus the Grammar

كَثْرة root: ك-ث-ر / noun / definition: large quantity, abundance On The Arabic Pages‘ Instagram this week, I asked everyone what type of post they wanted to see next: an addition to synonyms series or another grammar explanation. It was a 50/50 divide. So, why not hit two birds with one stone and go through aContinue reading “(Over) Seven Ways to Say “Except” in Arabic–Plus the Grammar”

Arabic Headline Analysis #3

بِيئَة root: ب-و-ء / noun / plural: بِيئات / definition: environment I hadn’t realised how long it’s been since I last did an Arabic Headline Analysis which—for those of you who don’t know—is where we go through a news headline in Arabic word-by-word to understand the vocabulary and grammar. Seeing as this week’s choice isContinue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis #3”

Arabic Observations: Words with Antonymic Meanings

ضِدّ root: ض-د-د / noun / plural: أَضْداد / definition: a word with two opposite meanings So, we’ve all looked up Arabic words before where we’ve been greeted by a whole paragraph of definitions that we have to sift through. Pretty standard when dealing with Arabic dictionaries, right? But what about those words whose definitionsContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Words with Antonymic Meanings”