Travel Tips

These phrases can be used anywhere in the Arabic-speaking world...it will sound very formal, but you will be understood. If you are visiting lots of Arab countries, then these are the phrases to concentrate on, as it will be too difficult to try and learn each dialect unless you plan on staying a long time in each place. Standard Arabic has different case endings for male and female, so I've marked these by (m) and (f).

Pronunciation....
kh = as in Scottish loch or Russian kh
gh = a bit like the "r" in vraiment in French...sort of a gargled noise!!
q = like a "k" but in the back of your throat
dh = a cross between "z" and "th"...hard to explain!
th = there are two letters for th, so this makes it hard for me to say how each is different. One is pronounced as in "thin", and the other as in "this".
There is more than one letter for "s", "t", "dh" and "d", but it is impossible for me to distinguish between them writing in transliterated Arabic....and for a beginner, it doesn't really matter!
' = this is one of the hardest letters to pronounce...it is like the sound when you swallow, only it has a voice....impossible for me to describe!! It comes from deep in your throat, and always makes my friends who don't know Arabic laugh!!
' = a glottal stop...usually at the beginning of words (when you can forget about them) or at the end, when it just stops the word. When you say "Uh-oh", it is the sound you make between the two syllables.

This is just my system of transliteration...it is hard for beginners to distinguish between certain letters, so I'm not going to attempt to...if you try to follow the above rules when reading a phrase, I think most people will understand what you are trying to say...

Marhaba = Hello
As-salaamu 'aleykum = literally "peace be upon you"...a standard greeting throughout the Islamic world, to which the reply is:
Wa 'aleykum as-salaam = "and upon you be peace"
(Some Christian Arabs might get upset if you use this greeting...if you think the person could be Christian, play safe and use "Marhaba". I found this in Syria, as my landlord once told me off for greeting hims with this phrase. But this isn't always the case...apparently some Arab priests use this greeting )

Sabah al-khayr = Good morning
Sabah an-noor = reply to Good morning
Masaa' al-khayr = Good evening/afternoon (use any time after midday)

Kayf Haluka (m)/Kayf Haluki (f)? = How are you?
Ana bikhayr alhamdulillah = I'm fine, thanks (Alhamdu lillah, translates as "praise be to Allah)
Wa anta (m)/ anti(f) ? = And you?

Matha ismuka/ismuki (m/f) = What is your name?
Ana ismi.... = my name is...

Shukran (jazilan) = thank you (very much)
Min fadlek = please
Lau samaht (m)/ samahti (f) = another word for please

Fursa sa'ida = pleased to meet you

Min 'ayna anta/anti? = Where are you from?
Ana min... = I'm from...
Baritaniya = Britain
Faransa = France
Almaniya = Germany
Hisbaniya = Spain
Hollanda = Nethrelands
Nemsa = Austria
Turkiya = Turkey
Yunaan = Greece
Amreeka (al janubiyya/al latiniyya) = America (South/Latin)
Al-Hind = India
(Janoob) Afreeqiya = (South) Africa
Beljika = Belgium
Yabaan = Japan
Seen = China
Habesha = Ethiopia
(Most other countries are either the same as they are in English, or with an extra "a")

Na'am = Yes
Laa = No

Matha tureed (m)/ tureedee (f)? = What do you want?
Ana ureed = I want...
shay = tea
qahwa = coffee
maa' = water
ghorfa = a room

Ana laa ureed = I don't want

Ana ureed an ath-hab ila.... = I want to go to...

fii al-baas = by bus
fii al-qitaar = by train
fii at-tayyara = by plane

'Ayna? = where (is)?
Matha? = what?

Limatha = why?
Mata? = when?

Al-yowm = today
Ghadan = tomorrow
Ams = yesterday

fii as-sabah = in the morning
fii ba'ad adh-dhuhr = in the afternoon
fii al-masaa' = in the evening
fii al-layl = in the night

ilaan = now
ba'ad = after
qabla = before

daqiqa = minute
saa'a = an hour (also a watch)
yowm = day
usboo' = week
shahr = month
sana = year

Ana ureed an... = I want to...
ashtiree = buy
ath-hab = go
azoor = visit
ara = see
abqa = stay
a'ood = return
ashrab = drink
aakul = eat
ajlis = sit
amshee = walk
anaam = sleep
a'arif = know

sharaba = to drink
Ashrab = I drink (I am drinking) Nashrab = we drink
Tashrab/Tashrabee = you drink (m/f) Tashraboon = you drink (plural or polite)
Yashrab = he drinks Yashraboon = They drink (any group with a man)
Tashrab = she drinks Tashrabna = they drink (an all female group)

To make it future tense, add "sa" before the verb....sa ashrab = I will drink
To make it past, it becomes more complicated....

Sharabtu = I drank Sharabnaa = we drank
Sharabta/Sharabti = You drank (m/f) Sharabtum/Sharabtunna = you drank (m/f)
Sharaba = he drank Sharaboo = they drank (group incl. male)
Sharabat = she drank Sharabna (all female group)

Arabic is one of the few languages to have a dual case as well as singular and plural (I know Slovene does also, but can't think of any others)...however, I won't include it here, as it is very complicated, and Arabs don't generally use it much in speech!

Huna = here
hunaaka = there

Hatha (m)/ hathihi%c* (f) = this
Thalika (m)/ tilka (f) = that
Ha'ulaa' = those (used for people only...if you are referring to objects, use hathihi)

Waahid = one Ahad 'ashar = eleven
Ithnayn = two Ithna 'ashar = twelve
Thalaatha = three Thalaathat 'ashar = thirteen
Arba'a = four etc...
Khamsa = five
Sitta = six
Saba'a = seven
Thamaniya = eight
Tisa'a = nine
'Ashara = ten

'Ashreen = twenty Wahid wa 'ashreen = twenty one, etc...
Thalaatheen = thirty
Arba'een = forty
Khamseen = fifty
Sitteen = sixty
Saba'een = seventy
Thamaaneen = eighty
Tisa'een = ninety
Mi'a = one hundred Mi'a wa waahid = 101
Mi'a wa waahid wa ashreen = 121
Mi'atayn = 200
Thalaath mi'a = 300, etc...

Alf = 1000
Alfayn = 2000
Thalaatha aalaaf = 3000
Milyoon = 1Million

Bikam? = how much?
Hatha ghaalee = that's expensive
Hatha rakhees = that's cheap (DON'T say this if you are trying to bargain, though!)
Hal andek shay' arkhas = do you have something cheaper?

Insha'allah = "if God wills it"...you'll hear this a lot...Arabs use it all the time when talking about the future...
examples...
Sa ath-hab ila Dimashq ghadan, insha'allah = I will go to Damascus tomorrow, Inshallah
Bukra Insha'allah! = Tomorrow, Inshallah! (a good reply to "welcome, come into my shop, mister!")

Maa sha'allah = used when something or somebody is very beautiful. Also very common.
Bismillah = "In the name of God" (opening of any qur'anic verse), this is said by many Muslims before eating or drinking.
Wallahi! = By God! (swearing!!)

Hal tatakallum al-'arabiyya? = do you speak Arabic?
Ana Atakallum al-Injileeziya = I speak English
Faransiya = French
Almaniya = German
Hisbaaniya = Spanish

Ma'assalaama = goodbye
ila al-Liqa' = until we meet again (sounds strange, but Arabs use it a lot)

Tisbah 'ala al-khayr = goodnight

(Anybody think of some essential phrases I've forgotten?)

Thanks to "thevoyager" for correcting me in a few places :@P shukran ya Alya!

To learn more about this region, visit my Syria , Jordan and Beirut pages. Individual city pages can be found from there.

I've called this the "Syrian dialect" as I learnt it in Damascus, but most of these phrases are used (or at least understood) in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
Pronunciation....
- "soft th" becomes "t"
- "hard th" becomes "z"
- q is not normally pronounced
- the "a" at the ends of words is pronounced more like "eh"

Keefak (m)?/ Keefek (f)? = how are you?
Shlownak? = how are you? (literally "what colour are you?...don't try and be funny by answering "green" or "blue", as people generally won't understand!)
Shu Akhbarak? = another way of saying how are you (literally "What is your news?")

(Ana) mneeh (m)/ mneeha (f) , alhamdulillah = I'm fine thanks
Maash il-hal = Everything's fine (lit. "the condition is walking!")

Wayn? = where?
Shu? = what?
Laysh? = why?
Aymta? = when?
Keef? = how?
'Addesh? = how much?

Shu biddek? = what do you want?
Biddi... = I want...
Maa biddi = I don't want
arooh - to go
ashoof - to see

May (not pronounced like the month, but more like "my") = water
'ahweh = coffee

Wayn bitrooh (m)/ bitroohee (f) = where are you going?
Barooh la Sooriya = I'm going to Syria
Dimashq = Damascus
Halab = Aleppo
Tadmor = Palmyra
Al-laazikiya = Latakia
Lubnaan = Lebanon
Tarablus = Tripoli
Al-Urdun = Jordan
Al-'Agba = Aqaba
Filusteen = Palestine
Al-Quds = Jerusalem

Ash-Shaam = within Syria, this is used for Damascus...outside Syria, it is used to mean Syria, although many people in lebanon use it to mean Damascus...can be confusing at times!!!

All other major place names stay the same.

Mneen inta/inti? Where are you from....sometimes squeezed even further to...
Mneennta?

Shu ismak? = what is your name?
Ismi... = my name is...

Lau samaht = Please (used more often than Min fadlek)
Bislamou = alternative to shukran, thank you (shukran is more common though)

Aywa = yes Laa = no
An even shorter version of aywa is "eh", which is surprisingly easy and annoying to pick up!

'ala al-yameen lau samaht = on the right please (say this when you want to get off a minibus)
tfaddal/tfaddali = here you are! (say this when handing anything over (e.g.money), or to offer someone a seat, or let someone through a door ahead of you, etc...there are thousands of uses!)

ta'all! = come! rooh! = go! kohl! = eat! shrab! = drink!
(for feminine forms, add "ee" to the end)

waahit = 1
tneen = 2
tlaateh = 3
arba'a = 4
khamseh = 5
sitteh = 6
saba'a = 7
tmaniyeh = 8
tisa'a = 9
'ashra = 10

Biddi = I want Biddna = we want
Biddek = you want Biddkun = you want
Bidduh = he wants Biddhun = they want
Biddha = she wants

Ba'arif = I know Bna'arif = we know
Bta'arif (ee)(f) = you know Bta'arifoo = you know
Bya'arif = he knows Bya'arifoo = they know
Bta'arif = she knows

It is quite common to add a "b" before any verb form.

To learn more about Yemen, visit my Yemen page. Individual cities can be found from there.

Oh no! It seems this chapter has disappeared! I can't remember all my Yemeni phrases, so this will do for now until I can relocate my old notebooks...

Yemenis claim their dialect to be the purest form of Arabic, and while I admit that a lot of aspects do seem close to Fusha, it took me a long time to understand people chatting in the streets.

A couple of the letters change their pronunciation the main one being:
"q" becomes a hard g

Kayf halek? = how are you? (to a man)
Kayf halesh? = how are you? (to a woman)

aysh? = what?
laysh?/ lilma? = why?
fayn? = where?

ashti = I want
tishti = you want
yishti = he wants
tishti = she wants
nishti = we want
tishtoo = you want
yishtoo = they want

Aysh tishti? = what do you want?
Ashti ashtiri... = I want to buy

Agdar, tagdar, yagdar etc... = I can, you can, he can etc...

To make it negative, you add "sh" to the end of a verb

Maa ashteesh = I don't want
Maa a'arifsh = I don't know
Maa agdarsh = I can't

A lot of people stare at you in Yemen if you stand out...sometimes it can get a bit much, so for an amusing thing to shout at an annoying starer, try this:
maa lak tabsirni ya 'ali gabeeli!
which translates as something like "what you looking at, Ali tribesman?" If you get it correct, it will totally embarrass the gawper and amuse everyone else in the street.

To learn more about Sudan, visit my Sudan page. Individual towns and cities can be found from there.

Sudanese Arabic for me sounded comical at first, and I had real problems understanding it. There are many words of African origin and also one or two Turkish words which pop up unexpectedly. Sudanese people have a habit of talking rather quickly, which really does not help if you are struggling to learn Arabic.
Pronunciation:
"q" becomes a hard g
"th" becomes "s"
"TH" becomes "z"

Kayf? = how are you?
Tamam = I'm fine
Tamama tamam? = what, really fine?
Tamamayn! = doubly fine
Mushtageen wallayy! = my god, we've missed you!
(this little conversation might sound ridiculous, but I have heard it quite a lot!)
Kullu tamam = Everything's fine
Kullu kwayyis = Everything's good

Sudanese can easily greet each other for a full five minutes, often repeating a pattern of words over and over again at speed...with a bit of practice, you can challenge them to a greeting contest.
Common greetings:
Allah yusallamek = God greets you
Allah yubarek fiik = God bless you
For the advanced, you might try to memorize this:
kayfalhalalhamdulillahallahyusallamekallahyubarekfiiktamamkayfalhalalhamdulillah............(keep on going until your face goes purple, take a breath, and start again with the next person.)

khabar shinu? = what's your news?
shamarat fii shinu? = what's the gossip?
wayn inta? wayn inti? = where have you been? (implying they haven't seen you for ages...in reality, they probably saw you just ten minutes ago. However, when I say it to greet late students, it is often quite true!)

shinu? = what?
minu? = who?
lay? = why?
wayn? = where?
metayn? = when?

Ismak minu? = what's your name?
da shinu? dee shinu? = what's that?
fii shinu? = what is there?
fii shinu? = what's the matter? (a useful one in lectures, when a group of students are not paying attention)

ya zol! = oi person! (used for either someone you don't know, or as a kind of joke when greeting a friend)
ya walad! ya bit! = oi boy! oi girl!
ya hajj! ya hajja! = oi old man! oi old woman!
This might sound rude, but it isn't...any man or child you don't know the name of can be called "walad", and "bit" can be used for any youngish woman. "Hajj" and "hajja" are usually affectionate or respectful terms for someone older than you.
Ya khawaja! = oi foreigner!
This is how they will get your attention, and will be one of the very first phrases you will learn.

Dair (m)/daira (f) = want
ana dair amshi = I want to go
hu dair yshrab = he wants to drink
hi daira tshoof = she wants to see

ayz (m)/ayza (f) = I want....not as common as the above though.

maashi (m)/maashiya (f) = going
maashi wayn? = where are you going?
ana maashi as-soog = I'm going to the souq
namshi? = shall we go?

bas/laakin = but
aywa = yes
ay (pronounced like "eye", tone rising upwards) = yeah
la = no

jeeb lay... = bring me...
fuul (mashed up beans, the Sudanese national dish)
bi-jibna wa simsim = with cheese and sesame oil
bi-shamaar = with a herb like thyme
bi-bayd = with egg
bi-ta'amiya = with felafel

adeeni... = give me...
shay = tea
shai laban = milky tea
bisukker khafeef = with little sugar
bidoon sukker nihaayy = without any sugar at all (bound to shock!)
shai kerkedeh = hibiscus tea
jabbana = strong Sudanese coffee
fii funjaan = in a little cup
fii kobbaya = in a tea glass
bi zinjebeel = with ginger
bi girfa' = with cinnamon
bi dawa shadeed/khafeef = with lots of/a bit of ginger (dawa is used in Kassala as a term for a mixture of ginger and other spices)
shai faransi = literally "French tea", this is actually coffee with hot milk

laban = milk (unlike in other countries where it means yoghurt)
moya = water
baarid = any fizzy drink served cold in a glass bottle, my favourite being...
biziyanos = a locally produced maroon coloured fizzy drink
aseer = juice
manga = mango
jawaaf = guava
burtugaan = orange
greyfoon = grapefruit
sha'eer = a juice made from wheat powder
'aradeyb = dark brown local juice
tabaldi = orangey brown local juice

tashrab shisha? = do you smoke nargile?
shisha tufaah = apple-flavoured nargile
shisha jeraak = a harsh plain tobacco nargile, a speciality of Halfa
jeeb naar ya weled! = bring me coals!
jeeb hajar jadeed! = bring another clay top! (if you have used all the tobacco, or if you are not happy with the one you've been given)

tashrab sijaara? = do you smoke?
adeeni sijara = give me a cigarette (you might hear this from friends, and you can also use it in shops, as cigarettes are sold individually)
adeeni brinji = give me a cigarette (Brinji is the local brand of cigarettes)

tasiff? = do you take tobacco ? (commonly mis-translated as "snuff" by the Sudanese. this is tobacco soaked in water. You place it between lips and gums for a few minutes to get a rush)
su'ood = tobacco sold in pouches all over Sudan
siffa = slang term for one 'dose" of tobacco

bukra = tomorrow
al-layla = today
umbara' = yesterday

tfoddal ma'ana = this is an invitation to do something with the speaker, whether it be eating something, drinking something or going somewhere
tghadeyt? = have you eaten lunch? (whatever your answer, you'll probably be invited to eat lunch)
ta'asheyt? = have you had dinner?
fatarrta? = have you had breakfast? (not as strange as it sounds, as Sudanese generally have breakfast around 11am)
ta'aal, ghasl al-yad = come and wash your hand (before a meal)
beyyit ma'ana = stay with us
iga'ad! = sit!
khod raahtek! = take your rest!

a'ajabatek? = did you like it?
a'ajabatni = I liked it

semih (m)/semha (f) = beautiful
sheyn (m)/sheyna (f) = ugly
shadeed = very
marra wahdeh = extremely

baarid = cold
sukhn/saakhin = hot

fundug = hotel
lokanda = basic hotel, just a courtyard with beds, unsuitable for women
sareer = bed
milaya = sheet
oda = room (ghurfa is also used)

muwasilaat = public transport
wayn muwasilaat Khatmiya? = where are the buses for Khatmiya?
mowgif al-aam = central bus station
taaks = taxi
ruksha = motorized rickshaw (only in Khartoum, so far)

kamsaari = the boy who collects money on the buses
To get off the bus, the Sudanese don't use words...why bother, when loud clicking does the job! Practice clicking your fingers before you go!

kubri = bridge
bahr = literally "sea" but often used for the river Nile