Is حرب masculine or feminine?
Strangely, the word for war - حَرْب - is feminine. There are many words in Arabic that look or feel masculine but are feminine.
إذْ and إذا and إذًا – What is the difference?
The Arabic word إذا (idha) is very tricky. Sometimes it is written without an Aleph - the spelling matters.
What are the ten different types of ما ma?
The Arabic word ma ما has several meanings. Here is a list of the ten most common applications of ma in Arabic: negation, relative clause, etc.
Which letters can you add to an Arabic root?
In Arabic, you can only add certain letters to a root - what are they?
The causative description in Arabic: السّيارَةُ الْجميلُ لونُها – Is there a mistake?
The causative description (na'at sababy النَّعْت السَّبَبِيّ) in Arabic is pretty tricky and often misunderstood. Let's see why.
How are family names constructed in Arabic?
In Europe or the USA we have a first name (given name), maybe a middle name, and a surname (family name). How is it in the Arab world?
What is the ism al Masdar in Arabic?
The Ism al-Masdar اسم المصدر and the regular masdar sometimes mean the same, sometimes not. Let's check why.
What is a masdar mu’awwal in Arabic?
In Arabic, you often use an "interpreted infinitive", a masdar muawwal - المصدر المؤول. This is formed by an أن plus verb in منصوب mood.
الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ: “Prayer is better than sleep” – Is it really “better”?
The Islamic call to prayer is a tricky construction. In Sunni Islam, the muezzin uses khayr (خير) which strangely denotes a comparative (better). Why?
Arabic letters without dots – Does it work?
Arabic used to be written without dots in ancient times. At least it did, a long time ago. Could you read such sentences?