Questions

Arabic Lesson 9 (Questions and Misunderstanding)

Duration: 30 mins

Lessons Arabic Lessons
Linguistic Arabic Vocabulary
Culture Arabic Phrases
Structure Arabic Grammar

This 9th lesson teaches an important aspect in Arabic which is the interrogative form also called questions. In addition, there is a list of vocabulary terms about misunderstanding and finally some commonly used phrases. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Arabic Classes.

Questions

Being able to ask questions is what makes us curious beings, which in turns broadens our knowledge. It is no different when it comes to learning Arabic. You will always be asking questions, and the following are some tools to help you in that quest.

The following are the 5 Ws + "how" commonly used adverbs to express the interrogative form. Most likely, whenever a question needs to be asked, one of them should be used. The table contains 4 columns (English, Arabic, Pronunciation and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Interrogative Form in Arabic

Questions Arabic Pronunciation Audio
How?كيف؟kayf?
What?ماذا؟maza?
When?متى؟mata?
Where?أين؟ayn?
Who?من؟man?
Why?لماذا؟lemaza?

Now we will try to implement the adverbs above into full Arabic sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Arabic Questions in a Sentence

Can I come?هل يمكنني المجيء؟hal yumkenuni almajee'?
Can I help you?أيمكنني مساعدتك؟ayumkenuni musa'adatak?
Can you help me?هل يمكنك مساعدتي؟hal yumkenuka musa'adati?
Do you know her?هل تعرفها؟hal ta'refuha?
Do you speak English?هل تتكلم بالإنجليزية؟hal tatakalam belenjlizia?
How difficult is it?ما مدى صعوبتها؟mamaza su'ubateha?
How far is this?كم هو بعده؟kam huwa bu'duh?
How much is this?بكم هذا؟bekam haza?
How would you like to pay?كيف تريد أن تدفع؟kaifa tureedu an tadfa'?
What is this called?ما إسم هذا؟ma ism haza?
What is your name?ما إسمك؟ma ismuk?
What time is it?كم الساعة؟kam assa'a?
When can we meet?متى يمكننا ان نلتقي؟mata yumkenuna an naltaqi?
Where do you live?أين تعيش؟ayna ta'eesh?
Who is knocking at the door?من يطرق الباب؟man yatruqu albab?
Why is it expensive?لماذا هي مكلفة؟lemaza hiya mukalefa?

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me If you simply want to ask a question, please Arabic contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about Misunderstanding

There are times when you will not understand what a person said in Arabic, or simply that you want them to repeat a word. The following are 24 expressions used to clear misunderstandings. Very essential to any conversation!

Misunderstanding in Arabic

Misunderstanding Arabic Pronunciation Audio
Can you repeat?هل يمكنك تكرير ما قلته؟hal yumkenuka takreer maqultah?
Can you speak slowly?هل يمكنك التحدث ببطء؟hal yumkenuka attahaduth bebut'?
Did you understand what I said?هل فهمت ما قلته؟hal fahemta maqultuh?
Don't worry!لا تقلقla taqlaq!
Excuse me? (i.e. I beg your pardon?)المعذرة؟alma'zera?
How do you say "OK" in French?كيف يمكنك أن تقول "اوكي" بالفرنسية؟kaifa yumkenuk an taqool "okay" belfaransia?
I don't know!لا أعرفla a'ref!
I don't understand!لا أفهمla afham!
I need to practice my Frenchأنا بحاجة لممارسة الفرنسيةana behaja lemumarasat alfaransia
Is that right?هل هذا صحيح؟hal haza saheeh?
Is that wrong?هل هذا خطأ؟hal haza khata'
Mistakeخطأkhata'
My French is badلغتي الفرنسية ليست جيدةlughatee alfaransia laysat jayeda
No problem!ليس هناك أي مشكلlaysa hunaak ay mushkel
Quicklyبسرعةbesur'a
Slowlyببطءbebut'
Sorry (to apologize)آسفasef
To speakيتحدثyatahadath
What does that word mean in English?ماذا تعني هذه الكلمة بالإنجليزية؟maza ta'ni hazeh alkalema belinjlizia?
What is this?ما هذا؟ma haza?
What should I say?ماذا يجب أن أقول؟maza yajeb an aqul?
What?ماذا؟maza?
What's that called in French?ماذا يسمى هذا بالفرنسية؟maza yusamma haza belfaransia?
Write it down please!أكتبها من فضلكuktubha men fazlek!

Daily Conversation in Arabic

Finally, a list of some common phrases that you might come across from time to time. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Arabic Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Arabic

English Arabic Pronunciation Audio
Thisهذاhaza
Thatذلكzalek
Hereهناhuna
Thereهناكhunaak
In The Morningفي الصباحfesabah
In the eveningفي المساءfelmasaa
At Nightفي الليلfelayl
Really!حقاhaqqan!
Look!أنظرunzur!
Hurry up!بسرعةbesur'a

Fun Facts

Language Quote: The oldest written language was believed to be written in about 4500 BC.

Congratulations! You finished your 9th lesson in Arabic about questions, and misunderstanding. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Arabic Lesson 10. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Arabic homepage.

Lessons Arabic Lessons
Linguistic Arabic Vocabulary
Culture Arabic Phrases
Structure Arabic Grammar