100 most used nouns
adult – raashid
aeroplane – ta’irah
arm – thira
back – thahir
bathroom – hammam
bed – sahrir
beef – lahm baqari
boat – qarib
body – al gassad
book – kitab
boy – walad
boyfriend – habib
bread – hubz
bus – hafilah
calendar – taqwim
car – sayyara
chest – sadr
chicken – dajaj
child – tifl
clothing – malabis
cloud – sah’abah
coffee – qahwah
computer – hasub
cup – finjan
daughter – ibnah
doctor – tabib
dress – fusten
father – abu
finger – isba
fish – samak
food – ta’am
foot – qadam
friend – sadiq
fruit – fakihah
girl – bint
girlfriend – habibah
hand – yed
head – ra’as
hotel – founduq
hour – sa’a
husband – zauj
ice – thalj
jacket – sutrah
kitchen – matbah
lamb – hairuf
leg – saq
man – rajul
manager – mudir
minute – daqiqa
morning – sabah
mother – um
pants – sirwel
plate – tabaq
rain – matar
salt – milh
second – thaniyah
shirt – qamis
shoe – hitha
snow – thalj
sock – jowrab
sofa – arikah
son – ibin
stomach – ma’aidah
store – mahzan
sugar – sukkar
sun – shams
tea – shai
teacher – ustatha
today – al yawm
tomorrow – gadan
train – qitar
vegetable – hudar
water – miya
week – usbua
wife – zawjah
women – mara’a
year – su’ana
yesterday – ams
Arabic Dialects Vary
Remember that Arabic has different dialects across the Arabic speaking world. In Wadi Rum we speak a classical dialect that is closer to old Arabic. However this is not well understood throughout the Arabic world. Although modern standard Arabic is widely taught, Egyptian Arabic is most widely understood.
Because Egypt is both the biggest population of Arabic speakers and has the most widely dispersed popular culture it is the most useful to be understood throughout the Arabic speaking world. This is a good place for people to start. If you pick up some basics then when you visit us in Wadi Rum we can give you some Bedouin Arabic to supplement your vocabulary.
Differences in Latin character spelling
Because the alphabets do not overlap phonetically you will see many spelling differences as you travel. This is because for place names there is often not agreed Latin spellings. Likewise you will see some variation in other words as people attempt to represent the sounds differently.
