Arabic Language - اللغة العربية

Arabic Language – اللغة العربية

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Nelson Mandela

The United Arab Emirates is a modern country, which is home to over two hundred different nationalities. While the country’s official language is Arabic, English is widely spoken. However, learning basic Arabic can make your stay much more memorable. Embrace cross-cultural interactions and make new friends.

Modern Standard Arabic – Al-Fusha الفصحى

MSA is used in formal settings such as new broadcasts, political speeches, schools and in university education and is seen as the highest form of language throughout the Arabic speaking world. Basically, it is the language used for writing and formal speaking.

The Arabic Alphabet

The Arabic language contains 28 letters. Arabic letters are simple in their shape but there is similarity between some groups. By adding dots to the letter or by changing the place of these dots, new letters can be formed. Arabic language is written from right to left.

Column1	Column2	Column3	Column4	Column5
Letter	Trans	Final	Mid	Init
ا	a	ـا	ـا	ا
ألف alif
ب	b	ـب	ـبـ	بـ
باء baa
ت	t	ـت	ـتـ	تـ
تاء taa
ث	th	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ
ثاء thaa
ج	j	ـج	ـجـ	جـ
جيم jiim
ح	H	ـح	ـحـ	حـ
حاء Haa
خ	x	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ
خاء xaa
د	d	ـد	ـد	د
دال daal
ذ	dh	ـذ	ـذ	ذ
ذال dhaal
ر	r	ـر	ـر	ر
راء raa
ز	z	ـز	ـز	ز
زاي zayn
س	s	ـس	ـسـ	سـ
سين siin
ش	sh	ـش	ـشـ	شـ
شين shiin
ص	S	ـص	ـصـ	صـ
صاد Saad
ض	D, DH	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ
ضاد Daad
ط	T	ـط	ـطـ	طـ
طاء Taa
ظ	DH	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ
ظاء DHaa
ع	^	ـع	ـعـ	عـ
عين ^ayn
غ	gh	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ
غين ghayn
ف	f	ـف	ـفـ	فـ
فاء faa
ق	q, g, j	ـق	ـقـ	قـ
قاف qaaf
ك	k, ch	ـك	ـكـ	كـ
كاف kaaf
ل	l	ـل	ـلـ	لـ
لام lam
م	m	ـم	ـمـ	مـ
ميم miim
ن	n	ـن	ـنـ	نـ
نون nuun
ه	h	ـه	ـهـ	هـ
هاء haa
و	w, uu, oo	ـو	ـو	و
واو waaw
ي	y	ـي	ـيـ	يـ
ياء yaa

ة (taa marbuuTa, or ‘hidden t’) is not a letter but a variant of ه. It is the last letter of many feminine adjectives and nouns. If it is joined to the previous letter, it is written ـة .

The combination of ل lam and ا alif is written لا (pronounced ‘laa’, meaning ‘no’) as an initial and independent, and ـلا as a middle or final.

To form words, the letters are joined from right to left. Only the letters alif, daal, dhaal, raa, zayn, and waaf are not connected to the left.

Basic Arabic Words and Expressions

Column1	Column2
Hello	Marhaba
	مرحبا
Peace be upon you	Salam Aaleikom
	السلام عليكم
Good morning	Sabah il-klair
	صباح الخير
Good evening	Masa il-khair
	مساء الخير
Welcome	Ahlan
	أهلا
Good bye	Maa is-salamah
	مع السلامة
Please	Min fadlik
	من فضلك
Excuse me	Affwaan
	عفوا
Thanks	Shukran
	شكرا
Yes	Naam
	نعم
No	La
	لا
How are you?	Kayfa haluk
	كيف حالك
Fine, thank god	Il-ham-di-lellah bi-khair
	الحمدلله بخير
So god will	Inshallah
	إن شاءالله
My name is	Ana ismi
	أنا اسمي
I am from	Ana min
	أنا من
Nice to meet you	Fursah saaeedah
	فرصة سعيدة
Where is	Wayn
	وين

Arabic Dialect

Arabic dialect is used in informal conversations among friends, colleagues and at home. Spoken Arabic varies from country to country and from city to city. The greater geographic distance between countries, the greater is the difference between the spoken dialects. The difference between MSA and Arabic dialect can be observed in pronunciation and vocabulary. Despite these dialectal variations, most Arabic speakers understand each other.

Emirati Dialect

The Emirati dialect is one of the many Arabic dialects spoken in the United Arab Emirates. This dialect shares the characteristics of the south Arabian spoken Arabic variety as well as that of the gulf region.

Visit the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding and practise Emirati dialect with the Emirati Representatives!
https://emirates-information.com/culture/majlis/