Learn common nouns in Arabic language- 2023

Nouns are one of the major parts of any language, as the main vocabulary that you can learn in Arabic. Unlike English nouns, nouns in Arabic are divided into three categories: Singular المفرد, Dual المثنى, and Plural الجمع. In this article, we are going to talk about singular nouns, a part of grammar related to Arabic nouns in addition to nouns in some fields.

The definite article “Al”ال 

The definite article in Arabic is called “أداة التعريف adatu atta’rif” and it is added to the beginning of nouns and adjectives to make them definite, it is the equivalent of the word “the” in English. The first letter after ال is either sun or moon letter.

Sun letters “الحروف الشمسية” are 14: (ﻥ ,ﻝ ,ﻅ ,ﻁ ,ﺽ ,ﺹ ,ﺵ ,ﺱ ,ﺯ ,ﺭ ,ﺫ ,ﺩ ,ﺙ ,ﺕ).

When ال is added to a noun starts with a sun letter, ل will be silent and called “لام شمسية lam shamsya” and the first letter will be doubled with shadda ّ. For example: 

Before adding ال	After adding ال
شمس	الشّمس

The word شمس shams meanس “sun”. As you see in the example, the letter ش has not shadda ّ over it before adding the definite article ال. You can read this article for more details about shadda.

Moon letters “الحروف القمرية” are the rest of the alphabet: ( ه ,ﻱ ,ﻭ ,ﻡ ,ﻙ ,ﻕ ,ﻑ ,ﻍ ,ﻉ ,ﺥ ,ﺡ ,ﺝ ,ﺏ ,أ).

When ال is added to a noun that starts with a moon letter, nothing will be changed and ل will be called “لام قمرية lam qamariya”.

An exercise on the definite article “Al”ال 

Practice adding the definite article ال to these nouns in arabic:

	English	Arabic (without ال)	Pronunciation	Arabic (with ال)
1.	Giraffe	زرافة	Zarafa	______________
2.	Turtle	سلحفاة	Sulhufa	______________
3.	Cat	قط	Qett	______________
4.	Bat	خفاش	Khaffash	______________
5.	Deer	غزال	Ghazal	______________
6.	Peace	سلام	Salam	______________
7.	Summer	صيف	Sayf	______________
8.	Sun	شمس	Shams	______________
9.	Evening	مساء	Masaa’	______________
10.	Dress	ثوب	Thaub	______________

When a noun or adjective is indefinite, it has tanween above or below the last letter. You can read this article for more details about it, Harakat.

Arabic nouns for Family members

In the following table, we mentioned the main family members with an example for each one.

	Arabic	English	Pronunciation
1.	أب	Father	Ab
	اشترى الأب بيتاً جديداً لعائلته.	The father bought a new house for his family.	Ishtaraa al’ab bytaan jdydaan li’ayilateh.
2.	أم	Mother	Um
	تحضّر الأم الطعام كل يوم.	Mother prepares food every day.	Tuhaddiru al’umu attaeam kulla yawm.
3.	أخ	Brother	Akh
	ربّ أخ لم تلده أمك.	There may be a brother (for you) not born by your mother.	Rubba akhin lam taliduhu ummuk.
4.	أخت	Sister	Oukht
	تساعد الأخت أمها في أعمال المنزل.	The sister helps her mother with the housework.	Tusa’idu al’oukht umaha fi a’mali almanzil.
5.	ابن	Son	Ibn
	يعمل ابني أستاذاً في المدرسة.	My son works as a school teacher.	Ya’malu ibni oustathaan fi almadrasata.
6.	ابنة	Daughter	Ibna
	لديّ ابنة واحدة عمرها خمس سنوات.	I have one daughter who is five years old.	Ladyya ibna wahida oumruha khamsu sanawat.
7.	زوج	Husband	Zawj
	زوجي يعمل مهندساً.	My husband works as an engineer.	Zawji ya’amalu mhndsaan.
8.	زوجة	Whife	Zawja
	زوجتي تسافر كل عام إلى فرنسا.	My wife travels to France every year.	Zawjati tusafiru kulla a’am ilaa faransa.
9.	عمّ	Paternal uncle	A’m
	يعمل عمّي مزارعاً في الأرجنتين.	My uncle works as a farmer in Argentina.	Ya’amalu ammi muzari’an fi al’arjantin.
10.	خال	Maternal uncle	Khal
	يأتي خالي لزيارتنا كل أسبوع.	My uncle comes to visit us every week.	Ya’ti khali liziaratina kulla usbuu’.

Arabic nouns At the restaurant 

In the next table, we mentioned some of the vocabulary used in a restaurant with an example for each one.

	Arabic	English	Pronunciation
1.	طاولة	Table	Tawila
	هناك خمس عشرة طاولة في حديقة المطعم.	There are fifteen tables in the restaurant’s garden.	Hunaka khamsata ashrata tawila fi hadiqati almat’am.
2.	كرسي	Chair	Kursi
	كم عدد الكراسي في المطعم؟	How many chairs are in the restaurant?	Kam a’dadu alkarasii fi almat’am?
3.	صحن	Plate	Sahn
	أعطني صحناً نظيفاً، من فضلك	Give me a clean plate, please.	A’atini s-hnaan nzyfaan, min fadlik
4.	كأس	Glass	Ka’as
	أريداً كأساً من الماء البارد، لو سمحت.	I would like a glass of cold water, please.	Uridu ka’san min almaa’ albared, law samaht.
5.	ملعقة	Spoon	Mil’aqa
	هلّا وضعت ملعقة من السكر في كوب الشاي؟	Can you put a teaspoon of sugar in the cup of tea?	Halla wada’ta mil’aqa min assukar fi kubi ashaay?
6.	شوكة	Fork	Shawka
	بعض الأشخاص يستخدمون أعواد الطعام بدلاً من الشوكة.	Some people use chopsticks instead of a fork.	Ba’adu al’ashkhas yastakhdimuna a’wad atta’am badalaan min ashuwka.
7.	سكّين	Knife	Sekkin
	هناك شوكة وسكين بجانب كل صحن على الطاولة.	There is a fork and knife next to each plate on the table.	Hunaka shawka wa sikiyn bijaneb kulla sahn ‘alaa ataawila.
8.	طبق رئيسي	Main dish	Tabaq ra’esi
	ما هو الطبق الرئيسي لديكم اليوم؟	What is your main dish today?	Ma huwa attabaq alra’ysi ladaykum alyawm?
9.	مقبلات	Appetizers	Muqabbilat
	هناك الكثير من أنواع المقبلات على لائحة الطعام.	There are many types of appetizers on the menu.	Hunaka alkathir min anwaa’ almuqbbilat ‘alaa la’yihati atta’am.
10.	حمّام	WC\bathroom	Hammam
	أين الحمام في هذا المطعم؟	Where is the bathroom in this restaurant?	Ayna alhammam fi hatha almat’am?

Nouns in arabic for School tools 

In the following table, you can see some vocabulary related to the classroom with an example for each one.

	Arabic	English	Pronunciation
1.	مقعد صف	class seat	Maq’ad saff
	كم مقعد هناك في الصف؟	How many seats are there in the class?	Kam maq’ad hunaka fi assaf?
2.	ورقة	Piece of paper	Waraqa
	اكتب إجاباتك على ورقة بيضاء.	Write your answers on a white piece of paper.	Iktub iijabatek ‘alaa waraqa bayda’a.
3.	مقص	Scissors	Miqass
	قص الورقة إلى أربعة أجزاء متساوية باستخدام المقص	Cut the paper into four equal parts using scissors.	Quss alwaraqa ilaa arba’ati ajzaa’ mutasawia bi’stikhdam almiqas.
4.	قلم	Pen	Qalam
	أعطني ورقة وقلم، من فضلك.	Give me a pen and a piece of paper, please.	A’atini waraqatan wa qalma, min fadleka.
5.	دفتر	Notebook	Daftar
	اكتب في دفترك هذه التمارين الجديدة.	Write in your notebook these new exercises.	Oktob fi daftark hathihi attamarin aljadida.
6.	كتاب	Book	Kitab
	أريد أن أشتري هذا الكتاب.	I want to buy this book.	Uridu an ashtari hatha alkitab.
7.	حقيبة	Bag	Haqiba
	حقيبتي اليوم ثقيلة جداً، وضعت فيها الكثير من الكتب.	My bag today is very heavy, I put a lot of books in it.	Haqibati alyawm thaqila jiddaan, wada’tu fiha alkathir min alkutub.
8.	سبورة	White\black board	Sabbora
	أكتب الدرس المكتوب على السبورة في دفترك	Write the written lesson on the board in your notebook.	Oktob addarsa almaktob ala assabora fi daftarek.
9.	باب	Door	Baab
	هناك ضجيج في الخارج، أغلق باب الصف.	There is a noise outside, close the classroom door.	Hunaka dajij fi alkharij, aghliq bab alsaf.
10.	سلة المهملات	Trash can	Sallatu almuhmalat
	ارمِ أوراق المسودة في سلة المهملات.	Throw the draft papers in the trash can.	Irmi awraq almisawadda fi sallati almuhmalat.

Arabic nouns At the office

In the following table, we mentioned some words related to the office with an example for each one.

	Arabic	English	Pronunciation
1.	نافذة	Window	Nafitha
	الطقس حار، افتح النافذة، من فضلك.	It’s hot, open the window, please.	Attaqs har, iftah annaafitha, min fadlek.
2.	خزانة	Office cupboard	Khizana
	وضعت جميع الأوراق في هذه الخزانة.	I put all the papers in this office cupboard.	Wad’atu jamee’ al’awraq fi hathihi alkhizana.
3.	أدراج	Drawers	Adraj
	أفرغت أدراج الطاولة من الملفات القديمة.	I emptied the table’s drawers of old files.	Afraghatu adraj attaawila min almalafaat alqadima.
4.	حاسوب	Computer	Hasoub
	أستخدم هذا الحاسوب كل يوم.	I use this computer every day.	Astakhdimu hatha alhasoub kulla yawm.
5.	طابعة	Printer	Tabi’a
	هذه الطابعة قديمة، لا تعمل.	This printer is old, not working.	Hathihi attaabi’a qadima, la ta’mal.
6.	أريكة	Couch\sofa	Arika
	هذه الأريكة مخصصة للضيوف.	This sofa is for guests.	Hathihi al’arika mukhassasa lidduyuf.
7.	آلة حاسبة	Calculator	A’ala hasiba
	من الضروري وجود آلة حاسبة في المكتب.	It is necessary to have a calculator in the office.	Mn addarurii wujud aala hasiba fi almaktab.

To wrap up the nouns in arabic

Nouns in Arabic or any other language can refer to people, plants, animals, objects, etc… That is why they make up a huge part of the Arabic vocabulary and it is important to focus on learning them when learning Arabic.

Answers to the exercise on the definite article ال  

	Nouns in Arabic	Pronunciation
1.	الزَّرافة	Azz-zarafa
2.	السُّلحفاة	ass-sulhufa
3.	القِط	alqett
4.	الخَفاش	alkhaf-fash
5.	الغَزال	alghazal
6.	السَّلام	ass-salam
7.	الصَّيف	ass-sayf
8.	الشَّمس	ash-shams
9.	المَساء	almasaa’
10.	الثّوب	ath-thaub

Related Lessons

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