8 of the Most Common Arabic Words

The largest Arabic dictionary contains over 120,000 words which can seem quite daunting to someone just starting out learning the language. However, if you’re one of the many just starting to learn Arabic, don’t despair because you can take comfort in the fact that, to have a fluent conversation, you only need to know about 5% of those words. 

Yep, that’s right. If you learn only 100 Arabic words, you can understand 50% of a magazine article or book.  Learn 1000 words and you can understand three-quarters of that article or book. Add to that the fact that, with every word you learn, you can guess the meaning of up to 60 new words you didn’t know. So, if we do the math, that means 100 words can help you learn 6,000 words, 1000 words equal 60,000 new words and so on. Not so difficult now, is it?

As exciting as that sounds, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. Let’s start with eight of the most commonly used words in Arabic first and watch our Arabic grow from there.

1. مرحبا/ marhaba/ Hello

            The easiest way to start a conversation with any native Arabic speaker and meet new people to practice your new language with.

• حب / hub / love

            Love makes the world go around and you’ll hear this word used quite frequently among Arab     friends and families.

• سعادة / sayeeda / happy

            Who doesn’t want to express their happiness at learning one of the most beautiful languages in the world and meeting the wonderful people who speak it?

• يبتسم / yabtasim / smile

            Now that you know how to talk about love and happiness, you have reason to smile.

• نعم / nam / yes

            Do you love learning Arabic and are you happy and smiling with your choice? ! نعما

• لا / la / no

            Because sometimes you’ve got to say no.

• شكرا لك / shukran / Thank you.

            A little thanks goes a long way in everything you do.

• مع السلامه / masalamah  / Good-bye.

            No polite Arabic conversation can ever end without saying “الى اللقاء”.

So, that’s only eight Arabic words you’ve learn so far, but remember that from these eight you can understand 480 more!  If you would like to learn more about the Arabic language, come check out our website kaleela.com where you can learn more Arabic vocabulary, Arabic grammar, and maybe even a thing or two about Arab culture.

And while you’re there, don’t forget to download our new Arabic language learning app to help not only learn vocabulary, but also how to speak Arabic, read Arabic, and write Arabic. Using the app every other day to learn just 10 new vocabulary words in Arabic means that in one year you can potentially learn a little over 10,000 new Arabic words. 

You are now on your way to learning one of the most beautiful and enriching languages in the world. Think about the possibilities! Arabic doesn’t seem so difficult now, does it?