Media Arabic Booster (11/23)
This month (11/23) in Media Arabic Booster: The verb احتضر and a translation of "The importance of documenting all the Israeli crimes" (al-Quds al-Arabi)
Christmas isn't far away. So what should you get someone who is learning Arabic and loves Arabic culture? Here are some gift ideas for Arabic nerds.
"Jais" is an Arabic language AI and is celebrated in the media as the Arabic ChatGPT. But how good is Jais? A practical test.
The word Ibil – إِبِل – appears twice in the Qur'an. But what does it mean? Camels or rain clouds? An investigation.
Media Arabic Booster (11/23)
This month (11/23) in Media Arabic Booster: The verb احتضر and a translation of "The importance of documenting all the Israeli crimes" (al-Quds al-Arabi)
Media Arabic Booster (11/23)
This month (11/23) in Media Arabic Booster: The verb احتضر and a translation of "The importance of documenting all the Israeli crimes" (al-Quds al-Arabi)
9273 roots
Interviews with people who teach, work with or simply love Arabic.
Dialects
It’s the spoken word: tricky and essential things about Arabic dialects.
Grammar
Grammar (nahw) is fun: Learn about syntax, conjugations and I’rab.
Media Arabic Booster
Elevate your Media Arabic skills: once a month
Tools and Apps
Tools, software and mobile apps for learning Arabic.
A Classic
Alephia 2053 – a dystopian animated film about the Arab world
The animated movie Alephia 2053 portrays a dystopian future of a fictional Arab state. It was viewed 8 million times on YouTube. A bonus for Arabic learners: it is in Standard Arabic with subtitles (English, French, Arabic).
How do you use prepositions to emphasize in Arabic?
You can use ب or من to emphasize in Arabic. They are extra letters to convey emphasis. The rules are simple.
Latest Discussion
Thanks Gerald for the information on K-f-r. What about Takfir / Takfiri? How does this relate to the root, and…
How to learn Quranic Arabic from absolute beginning? I don’t like the Madinah books and want to get to the…
In case you missed it
How to use AI to transcribe Arabic videos
Creating Arabic transcripts has never been easier thanks to Whisper from OpenAI. You can even automatically translate videos – here's how.
Collective nouns in Arabic: Do you use the same word for camels and a camel?
Collective nouns, plurals and singular units are tricky in Arabic. What are the correct patterns, are they masculine or feminine and should we treat them as singular or plural? An overview
Arabic letters in the “Gray Zone”: a technique for guiding novice learners
Arabic beginners who have only learned a few letters often have difficulties in class. A new concept, The Gray Zone, could help, writes Dr. Roger W. Anderson
The 70 most important Arabic words related to camels
Arabic learners know the word جمل for camel. But Arabic has hundreds of terms and descriptions for the camel/dromedary. I've collected 70 fascinating Arabic words related to camels – a list
What happens in your brain when you learn Arabic?
Learning Arabic requires different brain activity than learning German. What does this mean for adult learners? Can the brain adapt to the new demands? A study from the Max Planck Institute provides answers. In this in-depth interview, Dr. Matthias Schwendemann, who was part of the research team, provides fascinating insights into what happens in our brains when we learn Arabic or German.
How good is your Arabic? A quiz
Vocabulary is one of the indicators of how well you know a language. In this test, you will be asked ten questions, randomly selected from a database containing the 6000 most common words in Arabic. Are you ready?
What gender should you use for Arabic grammar terms?
In Arabic, do you say مبنيّ or مبنيّة for "indeclinable"? Well, you can use both: masculine or feminine. Here is why.
“He gives it to me” – How to add two pronoun suffixes in Arabic
In Arabic, some verbs can take 2 objects. But as soon as you have 2 pronominal suffixes, it gets tricky. Here's why.
What are the names of Hell and Hellfire in Islam?
In Islam, there are many names for hell and hellfire. Most of them are found in the Holy Qur'an. A list.
New feature: Hear how ARABIC words are pronounced
Arabic for Nerds offers a NEW service to subscribers (plus members): Mark any Arabic text with mouse or finger (mobile) and hear how the word is pronounced in Arabic.
What are the best dictionaries for Palestinian Arabic?
Maknuune is a new dictionary of Palestinian Arabic. I had a look at the excellent lexicon, but also checked other encyclopedias and study tools dealing with Palestinian Arabic.
What did the al-Andalus conqueror do to motivate his warriors?
Tariq Ibn Ziyad (allegedly) burnt his own fleet after his warriors set foot on Iberian soil. His speech is legendary.
When do you have to use إِنَّ in Arabic?
The particle إِنَّ is often misused. In fact, there are not many situations when you have to use it. An overview.
22 things you did not know about the Oxford Arabic dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary is the most up-to-date Arabic dictionary on the market today. In this interview, Tressy Arts, the dictionary's editor-in-chief, talks about the creation of this gigantic work. We learn why swear words aren't easy to translate into Arabic, how computers helped create the dictionary, and which Arabic words are particularly tricky.
LibreOffice: How to fix an annoying bug when writing in Arabic
There is an annoying behavior in LibreOffice: if the system language (English) differs from the writing language (Arabic), the font cannot easily be changed. A new extension by Mejlad Alsubaie, a developer from Kuwait, addresses this issue.
In case you missed it
We are one of the best Arab(ic) blogs
WANNA BUY ME A COFFEE?
Passion doesn’t need money. Unfortunately, my web provider does. Your contribution ensures that this site will grow and grow.
Latest Discussion
Hi Rob, sorry for the late reply, I have simply overlooked your question. My apologies. Takfīr (تكفير), as I understand…
Thanks Gerald for the information on K-f-r. What about Takfir / Takfiri? How does this relate to the root, and…
How to learn Quranic Arabic from absolute beginning? I don’t like the Madinah books and want to get to the…
In Case You Missed It
Christmas isn't far away. So what should you get someone who is learning Arabic and loves Arabic culture? Here are some gift ideas for Arabic nerds.
"Jais" is an Arabic language AI and is celebrated in the media as the Arabic ChatGPT. But how good is Jais? A practical test.
The word Ibil – إِبِل – appears twice in the Qur'an. But what does it mean? Camels or rain clouds? An investigation.
Creating Arabic transcripts has never been easier thanks to Whisper from OpenAI. You can even automatically translate videos – here's how.
Collective nouns, plurals and singular units are tricky in Arabic. What are the correct patterns, are they masculine or feminine and should we treat them as singular or plural? An overview
Arabic beginners who have only learned a few letters often have difficulties in class. A new concept, The Gray Zone, could help, writes Dr. Roger W. Anderson
Arabic learners know the word جمل for camel. But Arabic has hundreds of terms and descriptions for the camel/dromedary. I've collected 70 fascinating Arabic words related to camels – a list
Learning Arabic requires different brain activity than learning German. What does this mean for adult learners? Can the brain adapt to the new demands? A study from the Max Planck Institute provides answers. In this in-depth interview, Dr. Matthias Schwendemann, who was part of the research team, provides fascinating insights into what happens in our brains when we learn Arabic or German.
Vocabulary is one of the indicators of how well you know a language. In this test, you will be asked ten questions, randomly selected from a database containing the 6000 most common words in Arabic. Are you ready?
In Arabic, do you say مبنيّ or مبنيّة for "indeclinable"? Well, you can use both: masculine or feminine. Here is why.
In Arabic, some verbs can take 2 objects. But as soon as you have 2 pronominal suffixes, it gets tricky. Here's why.
In Islam, there are many names for hell and hellfire. Most of them are found in the Holy Qur'an. A list.
Arabic for Nerds offers a NEW service to subscribers (plus members): Mark any Arabic text with mouse or finger (mobile) and hear how the word is pronounced in Arabic.
Maknuune is a new dictionary of Palestinian Arabic. I had a look at the excellent lexicon, but also checked other encyclopedias and study tools dealing with Palestinian Arabic.
Tariq Ibn Ziyad (allegedly) burnt his own fleet after his warriors set foot on Iberian soil. His speech is legendary.
What are the best Christmas gifts for Arabic nerds in 2023?
Christmas isn't far away. So what should you get someone who is learning Arabic and loves Arabic culture? Here are some gift ideas for Arabic nerds.
How good is JAIS, the Arabic ChatGPT?
"Jais" is an Arabic language AI and is celebrated in the media as the Arabic ChatGPT. But how good is Jais? A practical test.
Camels or rain clouds? The intriguing word إبل in the Qur’an
The word Ibil – إِبِل – appears twice in the Qur'an. But what does it mean? Camels or rain clouds? An investigation.
How to use AI to transcribe Arabic videos
Creating Arabic transcripts has never been easier thanks to Whisper from OpenAI. You can even automatically translate videos – here's how.
Collective nouns in Arabic: Do you use the same word for camels and a camel?
Collective nouns, plurals and singular units are tricky in Arabic. What are the correct patterns, are they masculine or feminine and should we treat them as singular or plural? An overview
Arabic letters in the “Gray Zone”: a technique for guiding novice learners
Arabic beginners who have only learned a few letters often have difficulties in class. A new concept, The Gray Zone, could help, writes Dr. Roger W. Anderson
The 70 most important Arabic words related to camels
Arabic learners know the word جمل for camel. But Arabic has hundreds of terms and descriptions for the camel/dromedary. I've collected 70 fascinating Arabic words related to camels – a list
What happens in your brain when you learn Arabic?
Learning Arabic requires different brain activity than learning German. What does this mean for adult learners? Can the brain adapt to the new demands? A study from the Max Planck Institute provides answers. In this in-depth interview, Dr. Matthias Schwendemann, who was part of the research team, provides fascinating insights into what happens in our brains when we learn Arabic or German.
How good is your Arabic? A quiz
Vocabulary is one of the indicators of how well you know a language. In this test, you will be asked ten questions, randomly selected from a database containing the 6000 most common words in Arabic. Are you ready?
What gender should you use for Arabic grammar terms?
In Arabic, do you say مبنيّ or مبنيّة for "indeclinable"? Well, you can use both: masculine or feminine. Here is why.
“He gives it to me” – How to add two pronoun suffixes in Arabic
In Arabic, some verbs can take 2 objects. But as soon as you have 2 pronominal suffixes, it gets tricky. Here's why.
What are the names of Hell and Hellfire in Islam?
In Islam, there are many names for hell and hellfire. Most of them are found in the Holy Qur'an. A list.
New feature: Hear how ARABIC words are pronounced
Arabic for Nerds offers a NEW service to subscribers (plus members): Mark any Arabic text with mouse or finger (mobile) and hear how the word is pronounced in Arabic.
What are the best dictionaries for Palestinian Arabic?
Maknuune is a new dictionary of Palestinian Arabic. I had a look at the excellent lexicon, but also checked other encyclopedias and study tools dealing with Palestinian Arabic.
What did the al-Andalus conqueror do to motivate his warriors?
Tariq Ibn Ziyad (allegedly) burnt his own fleet after his warriors set foot on Iberian soil. His speech is legendary.
Hi Rob, sorry for the late reply, I have simply overlooked your question. My apologies. Takfīr (تكفير), as I understand…