Understanding the النَّعْت السَّبَبِيّ in Arabic grammar
The causative description (na'at sababy نعت سببي) in Arabic is pretty tricky and often misunderstood. Let's see why.
Decoding Arab family names and titles
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 a اسم مصدر 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 مصدر مؤول 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: Why is the prayer better than sleep?
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: Can you read Arabic skeleton script?
Arabic used to be written without dots in ancient times. At least it did, a long time ago. Could you read such sentences?
What is the difference between ما and لَمْ in Arabic?
Both ma ما and lam لَمْ can negate the past tense. How and when should they be used?
What does Dunya mean?
The word الدنيا (al-Dunya) means "the world". But that is only the interpretation of the word - but not the literal meaning!
Arabic swear words, curses and insults – a list
A list of Arabic swear words and curses. Collected from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and other Arab countries.
