Tag Archives: learning

Seventeen Arabic Words for Peace

سَبْعة root: س-ب-ع / noun / definition: seven Only seven days to go, I remind myself, willing away the days but craving more hours. I’m restless with the wait, yet overwhelmed by all I need to get done before next Tuesday. Despite the dull pangs of stress in my head, my heart is at peaceContinue reading “Seventeen Arabic Words for Peace”

Journeys with Arabic: Mohammed N.

خَريف root: خ-ر-ف / noun / definition: autumn It’s that time of year, as September dips into the mid-autumn of October, that I start worrying about the narrowing window of daylight and almost-inevitable wintery mood that draughts in through closed curtains. And if I weren’t so distracted by the spring of a new season inContinue reading “Journeys with Arabic: Mohammed N.”

Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting

التَّأَمُّل root: ء-م-ل / form V verbal noun / definition: reflection, contemplation I’ve been in a reflective mood lately. And it’s the type of reflection that is directly opposed to productivity rather than one that drives it: consuming, daydreamy, paralysing. As such, it made sense for me to write a reflective post today, adding toContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting”

A Useful Structure: ما إن ـــــ حتى ـــــ

إبْريق root: ب-ر-ق / noun / plural: أَباريق / definition: teapot, jug With the pouring of a never-emptying teapot and the stealing of smiling glances, another Sunday passed and this week has left me in unfamiliar but exciting territory. I served the dolma and wondered if any of the leaves had gotten stuck between myContinue reading “A Useful Structure: ما إن ـــــ حتى ـــــ”

A Final Call, a Third Year

نِداء root: ن-د-و / noun / plural: نِداءات / definition: call, public announcement If you saw four dishevelled passengers racing through Istanbul Airport to catch their transfer flight and making it just before their gate closed on Saturday evening… that was me and my family. Gate F1—why did you have to be so far. AContinue reading “A Final Call, a Third Year”

Five Arabic Words for the Metaphorical Heart

وَطَن root: و-ط-ن / noun / plural: أَوْطان / definition: homeland Is your homeland still your homeland if you’ve never set foot on its soil? I don’t give myself much time to come up with an answer because my flight is due to take off in a matter of hours. But perhaps it’s not thatContinue reading “Five Arabic Words for the Metaphorical Heart”

Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence

التَّدَرُّج root: د-ر-ج / form V verbal noun / definition: gradual advance or progression I’ve gone straight from floating to hitting the ground running. And between that landing and my approaching take-off, things have progressed unexpectedly quickly in the space of a week. I could get used to this pace. But Arabic’s form VI verbsContinue reading “Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence”

Arabic Prepositions: Common and Less So

تَنْفيس root: ن-ف-س / form II verbal noun / definition: catharsis Someone told me yesterday that I seem to do a lot of work without much financial return. Exhibit A: this blog. But this passion project doesn’t feel like work in any sense of the word. Except for the part where I spend hours planningContinue reading “Arabic Prepositions: Common and Less So”

Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases

العَوْم root: ع-و-م / form I verbal noun / definition: floating I returned to London yesterday with my glasses broken, heart full, and mind a mess. Those four weeks in Majorca, in my childhood home and bedroom with the sea-blue curtains I’ve had for the past twenty years, felt like too little time to honourContinue reading “Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases”

Dictionary Finds: A Page of Woe

مُخَلِّص root: خ-ل-ص / form II active participle / definition: saviour, Salvador These days, I’ve been thinking a lot about Salvador—the diabetic former boxer who drove my mum and I to the airport two years ago. He was driving between motorway lanes whilst scrolling through photos on his phone to share with us and pullingContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: A Page of Woe”