Essential tips for improving Arabic fluency

We all know the problem on our journey to learn Arabic: you feel stuck, think you have gaps in your knowledge, and struggle to find the right books because the texts seem either too easy or too difficult.

So, how do we get out of this situation?

In this article, we will look at some practical tips to help you make the leap to a higher level of Arabic.

Learning plateaus as a problem

Why we all get stuck at some point

You know pretty much all the basics but feel like you are not improving anymore. This is because getting better (in any field, not only Arabic) is much harder once you know the basics.

It is weird, but if you are a beginner, it is much easier for you to understand what needs to be studied and what does not. If you want to improve, you need to address your particular weaknesses.

I noticed many times that no matter how much you read, watch or listen to Arabic, you feel like you are stuck – that you do not learn much anymore. These moments when you feel like “hey, wow, I am really improving” are getting rare. Why?

The problem with the “I am fluent” statement

When people tell me that they are fluent, I always ask: What do you mean by that? Oftentimes, people think that they are fluent when they sound like a native. However…

• You may sound fluent, but your brain gets lazy and always uses the same vocab and expressions. It is natural to use what you know best and what may be sufficient.
• You sound fluent, but you probably cannot join a discussion because it is about a topic that you are not familiar with.
• You may sound fluent, but you cannot describe your feelings or emotions.
• You may sound fluent, but you cannot explain a simple word like “circle” in Arabic.

How to know if you are “really” fluent in Arabic

• You can express difficult stuff related to politics, economics, philosophy, history, religion, medicine in simpler words.
• You can rephrase any sentence so that people eventually get what you intend to say – no matter what their background is.
• You always ask yourself: Is there a better way to express things you already know?

Dictionaries to become truly fluent in Arabic

If you read a text in Arabic, using certain dictionaries can improve your understanding of Arabic dramatically.

Arabic-Arabic dictionary that kids use in Arab schools

In this dictionary, you find 11,000 words explained in a simple language. You will start to learn how to describe and explain words and concepts and things in Arabic.

Furthermore, the dictionary tells you common plural forms; if you deal with verbs, you will find the مصدر and certain verb forms. Big bonus: every word is fully vowelled!

The dictionary follows the alphabetical order and not the root – which saves time if you look up words

For example: If you look up the word كتاب, the dictionary will not only give you the vowels but also plural forms and a description in Arabic. These descriptions are one big step if you want to develop eloquence and “real” fluency in Arabic.

• ISBN: 978-9953-16-798-5
• Pages: 581
• Price: around 12 to 15 US-Dollars
• You can order it at Dar al-Salam or Sifatusafwa

A dictionary of synonyms and antonyms

This book contains words with similar meanings (synonyms) and words that give the opposite meaning (antonyms) of almost any Arabic word.

• Authors: سعدي الضناوي and جوزيف مالك
• Pages: 848
• Price: around 16 US-Dollar
• Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an ISBN.
• You can order it at Neelwafurat or Jamalon

A pocket dictionary of synonyms and antonyms

This pocketbook is great fun to read on a train or bus. In the dictionary, you will find synonyms and words that give the opposite meaning. Fits into every bag.

• Author: مسعد ابي الرجال
• Pages: 100
• Price: around 6 US-Dollars
• You can order it at Sifatusafa or Dar al-Salam

App for mobile phones

This is a great app for synonyms and antonyms for your mobile phone.

You can download it for free at the Google Play store! It is also available for iPhones.

Tips from readers

Some useful suggestions from Kenan (a reader):

I am a bit of a purist, so I like learning each word properly. What I mean by “properly” is that for each noun I learn both the singular and the plural, and for each ثلاثي verb I learn the past, imperfect and the masdar(s).

Many of the vocabulary-building dictionaries only provide nouns in the singular and verbs in past or present tense, depending on the context. This makes life difficult for the student, who, although he knows how to say “man”, “woman”, “walked” and “street”, cannot formulate a
simple sentence like “Men and women are walking on the streets” :-(.

It is not easy to find dictionaries which are consistent in this regard and which furthermore contain all the harakat to help students acquire the vocabulary correctly.

At this point, I would like to point you to two excellent dictionaries for students of Arabic. Both are tied to specific popular book series (courses) for non-native Arabic speakers, but the vocabulary in them is universally useful:

1. An Arabic-English glossary of words used in the series “Duroos al-lughah al-arabiyya li ghayri al-natiqina biha” available for free from: https://www.lqtoronto.com/madinaglossary.html
2. The official Arabic-Arabic dictionary of the “Al-arabiyyatu bayna yadayk” series:

How did you improve your Arabic? If you want to share your ideas, please leave a comment below!