Translating words from Arabic into English and vice versa has become pretty easy thanks to the Internet. I would like to share some useful tools for Arabic. Most of them are freeware. Here is a selection of the best available online Arabic tools for Standard and Classical Arabic, for[…]
How do you watch Netflix with ARABIC subtitles?
One of the best ways to learn Arabic is watching movies. Unfortunately there are hardly any movies or TV series on Netflix which have Arabic audio. How about watching Stranger Things with ARABIC subtitles? (Screenshot – copyright: Netflix) How does it work? There are two possibilities: OPTION 1: If you are lucky,[…]
The Arabic verb: “to behave like Adolf Hitler”
Have you ever had a look at the root ه–ت–ل–ر in Hans Wehr’s dictionary? You will be surprised to find the following information: تَهَتْلَرَ “tahatlara” to behave like Adolf Hitler. To imitate Adolf Hitler. In the present tense, it is: يَتَهَتْلَرُ (“yatahatlaru”). To be honest, I never came across this[…]
لَبَّيْكَ – What does it mean?
In this blog post we will examine a pretty tricky expression: لَبَّيْكَ “Labbaika” is said during the pilgrimage before the pilgrims enter Mecca: لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ . It means: Here I am! At your service! But what kind of word is that? Let us check it step by step: 1. The[…]
“Black Crows” is online – with English subs
Many people have asked me where to find the TV series “Black Crows” (غرابيب سود) on Youtube – with English subtitles. It depicts life under the terrorist network ISIL. The New York Times wrote about it recently. The good news is: MBC has started to upload them with English subtitles.[…]
Which verb in Egyptian Arabic can mean to be, to become, no longer, or to begin?
Answer: It is the verb ba’a (بَقى) in Egyptian Arabic. You will hear this verb in many situations. In general it is used with a following past tense verb – and has various meanings. Let’s look at some examples. Note that the vowel markers correspond to the pronunciation in Egyptian[…]
Are there TV shows in Classical Arabic with English subtitles?
Sounds like wishful thinking… But the answer is YES! It is very difficult to find stuff in Classical Arabic online. There is religious stuff, yes, but if you are more into TV series à la Netflix, it sounds like wishful thinking. No contemporary TV drama will be filmed in Classical[…]
Common mistakes in Arabic – and how to avoid them (part 1)
Native Arabic speakers make mistakes in Arabic as well. In many cases they are spelling mistakes. The همزة is a good example in Modern Standard Arabic as many native speakers just don’t know the rules for writing the همزة. They same is true for verbs that have a و or[…]
Why do Arabic letters always look too small on your screen? (and how to fix it)
I am not sure why. But I can tell you how to fix it. The default settings for the Arabic alphabet on most operating systems and programmes are just weird. I recently wrote that reading Arabic (newspapers, books, etc.) on the Internet can be irritating. Many people told me that they would love to[…]
…ما…does not always mean “what” or “not” – the adverbial particle in Egyptian Arabic
Today we focus on some common expressions in Egyptian Arabic that can be very tricky. They are all connected by the word ما. The word ما is one of the most powerful and difficult ones in Classical but also in Modern Standard Arabic. In Egyptian Arabic it is mainly used[…]