Arabic · Unit 1 · Lesson 1
Greetings & Introductions
One win: meet someone, greet them, learn their name and where they're from, and get every word correctly gendered — out loud.
1. The five exchanges
Unit 1 is five question–answer pairs. Say each aloud before pressing 🔊, then compare. This order is the whole conversation the unit builds:
- greet السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم — وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلام
meaning
Peace be upon you — and upon you be peace. The fixed opener + its fixed reply, whoever you are talking to.
- name ما اسْمُكَ؟ — اِسْمي خالِد
meaning
What is your name? — My name is Khalid. اِسْم name · ـي my · ـكَ your (to a man).
- state كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟ — بِخَيْرٍ، وَالحَمْدُ لله
meaning
How are you? — Fine, praise be to God. Literally “how is your state?” — the answer is a fixed phrase.
- origin مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟ — أَنا مِنْ باكِسْتان
meaning
Where are you from? — I am from Pakistan. مِنْ from + أَيْنَ where. Countries: باكِسْتان · تُرْكِيا · مِصْر · سورِيا.
- check هَلْ أَنْتَ باكِسْتانِيٌّ؟ — نَعَمْ، أَنا باكِسْتانِيٌّ
meaning
Are you Pakistani? — Yes, I am Pakistani. هَلْ turns any statement into a yes/no question. It has no translation.
Hear all six textbook dialogues line-by-line in the Unit 1 dialogue reader.
2. The machine under it: who are you talking to?
Every “you” word in Unit 1 changes with the listener. Same letters — the vowel does the work:
To a man → a
أَنْتَ · ما اسْمُكَ؟ · كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟
anta · ends in -ka
To a woman → i
أَنْتِ · ما اسْمُكِ؟ · كَيْفَ حالُكِ؟
anti · ends in -ki
Listen for it
أَنْتَ and أَنْتِ are spelled with the same three letters. In speech only the final vowel separates them — this is why the class drills them as pairs (Unit 1, pages 1–2: the same dialogue twice, once masculine, once feminine).
3. Talking about people: هُوَ، هِيَ and the ة
To describe someone, pick the pronoun, then make the description agree. The feminine is built from the masculine by adding ة — one letter carries all the agreement in this unit (Unit 1, page 8, drills 1–2):
- طالِبٌ
- مُدَرِّسٌ
- طَبِيبٌ
- مِصْرِيٌّ
- طالِبَةٌ
- مُدَرِّسَةٌ
- طَبِيبَةٌ
- مِصْرِيَّةٌ
student · teacher · doctor · Egyptian — masculine, then feminine.
Nationality words are just country + ـيّ (the nisba ending): مِصْر ← مِصْرِيّ، سورِيا ← سُورِيّ. Add ة and it's feminine: مِصْرِيَّة.
4. Introducing someone
Point with the right “this”, then describe with the right pronoun — the two choices must match the person (Unit 1, pages 5–6):
- him هَذا أَخي. هُوَ مُدَرِّسٌ.
meaning
This is my brother. He is a teacher.
- her هَذِهِ أُخْتي. هِيَ طَبِيبَةٌ.
meaning
This is my sister. She is a doctor. The reply to any introduction: أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً — welcome!
5. Count to five
واحِد 1 · اِثْنان 2 · ثَلاثَة 3 · أَرْبَعَة 4 · خَمْسَة 5
6. Build it yourself
Tap the word-chips into order (right to left, as Arabic runs). A correct build is read back to you. Say it aloud as you build — the mission is speech, not tiles. The later ones are whole exchanges — build both roles.
“This is my brother. He is a teacher.”
هَذا أَخي. هُوَ مُدَرِّسٌ.
هَذِهِ مُدَرِّسَةٌ
“Where are you from?” — asking a woman.
مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتِ؟
أَنْتَ هَلْ
“I am from Egypt. I am Egyptian.” — a woman speaking.
أَنا مِنْ مِصْرَ. أَنا مِصْرِيَّةٌ.
مِصْرِيٌّ هِيَ
“Is he Syrian? Yes, he is Syrian.”
هَلْ هُوَ سُورِيٌّ؟ نَعَمْ، هُوَ سُورِيٌّ.
سُورِيَّةٌ هِيَ
“Peace be upon you. — And upon you be peace.”
السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم. وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلام.
مَعَ السَّلامَةِ
“My name is Khalid — what's your name?” — to a man.
اِسْمي خالِد، ما اسْمُكَ؟
اسْمُكِ مَنْ
“How are you? — Fine, praise be to God.” — to a woman.
كَيْفَ حالُكِ؟ بِخَيْرٍ، وَالحَمْدُ لله.
حالُكَ أَيْنَ
“Are you Pakistani? — Yes, I am Pakistani.” — two men.
هَلْ أَنْتَ باكِسْتانِيٌّ؟ نَعَمْ، أَنا باكِسْتانِيٌّ.
أَنْتِ باكِسْتانِيَّةٌ
“I am Turkish. I am from Turkey.” — a woman speaking.
أَنا تُرْكِيَّةٌ. أَنا مِنْ تُرْكِيا.
تُرْكِيٌّ في
“This is my sister. She is a student. — Welcome!”
هَذِهِ أُخْتي. هِيَ طالِبَةٌ. أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً.
هَذا طالِبٌ
“What is your nationality? — I am Syrian.” — two men.
ما جِنْسِيَّتُكَ؟ أَنا سُورِيٌّ.
جِنْسِيَّتُكِ سُورِيَّةٌ
7. Quick check
You are greeting a woman. “How are you?” is:
- كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟
- كَيْفَ حالُكِ؟
- كَيْفَ حالُهُ؟
- كَيْفَ حالُها؟
“She is Egyptian” is:
- هُوَ مِصْرِيٌّ
- هِيَ مِصْرِيٌّ
- هِيَ مِصْرِيَّةٌ
- أَنا مِصْرِيَّةٌ
Someone says السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم. You reply:
- وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلام
- أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً
- مَعَ السَّلامَة
- الحَمْدُ لله
Ask a man where he is from — say it aloud, then check.
مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟ — min ayna anta?
Introduce your sister, the student — two short sentences, aloud.
هَذِهِ أُخْتي. هِيَ طالِبَةٌ.
8. Where this came from
- Class textbook (Al-Arabiyyah Bayna Yadayk, Book 1), Unit 1 — dialogues pp.1–6, numbers p.7, drill tables p.8. Photos in your library; this lesson's frames are exactly the book's drill frames.
- Word readings and glosses verified against Wiktionary's Arabic entries (2026-08-23; see the vocabulary set header for what the check caught).
Next: drill the words in the Unit 1 flashcard deck, then speak the full dialogues in the dialogue reader. Anything unclear? Bring it to your teacher — in class.