Arabic · Unit 3 · Lesson 3
Housing
One win: say where you live, then walk into a letting office and a furniture shop and get what you want — I live in a flat in the University district · I'd like a flat, please · how many rooms? · I want a bed and a curtain.
1. Where do you live?
Unit 3 opens with the course's first I and you verbs. Lesson 2 gave you يـ he / تـ she; now the front of the verb also says I and you (Unit 3, page 1; drills 2–3):
- بَيْتٍ
- شَقَّةٍ
- حَيِّ المَطارِ
- حَيِّ الجامِعَةِ
Where do you live? — I live in the University district. Then the four places: a house · a flat · the Airport district · the University district .
أَ… = I
أَسْكُنُ · أُريدُ
I live · I want
تَ… = you (m.)
تَسْكُنُ · تُريدُ
you live · you want
تـ now does two jobs
تَسْكُنُ was “she lives” in Lesson 2 — and it is also “you (m.) live” here. Identical word; the conversation tells you which. (Only these two persons are in play; the rest of the verb table comes later in the course.)
2. House or flat — and what number?
- ask هَلْ تَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ؟
meaning
Do you live in a house?
- yes نَعَمْ، أَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ.
meaning
Yes, I live in a house.
- no لا، أَسْكُنُ في شَقَّةٍ.
meaning
No, I live in a flat. — لا is the unit's first “no”.
- number ما رَقْمُ شَقَّتِكَ؟ — ٥.
meaning
What's your flat number? — Five. رَقْم is a label-number (flat 5, bus 9), read with the plain counting word خَمْسَة. The ـكَ “your” is Lesson 1's اسْمُكَ ending on a new noun; شَقَّة opens its ة to ت first.
3. I want… — the object gets ـًا
The letting and furniture dialogues (pages 2–3) run on one verb. Watch the ending of the thing wanted: it takes ـًا (or ـةً on a feminine noun). Say the ending — it's audible, -an:
- شَقَّةً
- سَريرًا
- سِتارَةً
- فُرْناً
- ثَلاجَةً
I'd like a flat, please · I want a bed · a curtain · an oven and a fridge. The shape is all you need for now — the book's drills 1 and 5 are exactly this list.
The shopkeeper asks room by room — ماذا تُريدُ لِـ…؟ “what do you want for…?” (ماذا, not ما, because a verb follows; لِـ “for” glues onto the noun and fuses with الـ into لِلـ):
لِغُرْفَةِ النَّوْمِ for the bedroom
سَريرًا وَسِتارَةً
a bed and a curtain
لِغُرْفَةِ الجُلوسِ for the living room
أَريكَةً وَسَجّادَةً
a sofa and a rug
لِلمَطْبَخِ for the kitchen
فُرْناً وَثَلاجَةً
an oven and a fridge
لِلحَمّامِ for the bathroom
سَخّاناً وَمِرْآةً
a water heater and a mirror
4. Renting: rooms and floors
Four lines from page 2 carry the unit's numbers. Learn them as fixed exchanges here; the numbers chapter explains why خَمْسَة became خَمْسُ and where الخامِس comes from.
- how many كَمْ غُرْفَةً في الشَّقَّةِ؟
meaning
How many rooms are in the flat? كَمْ + a singular noun with the ـًا ending.
- five في الشَّقَّةِ خَمْسُ غُرَفٍ.
meaning
In the flat there are five rooms. Number without its ة + plural noun (غُرْفَة → غُرَف).
- which floor في أَيِّ دَوْرٍ الشَّقَّةُ؟
meaning
On which floor is the flat? أَيّ = which.
- fifth الشَّقَّةُ في الدَّوْرِ الخامِسِ.
meaning
The flat is on the fifth floor. “Fifth” is an adjective after the noun, both with الـ.
5. A nice house, a nice flat
The unit's other new shape: a describing word follows its noun and copies its gender — the same ة switch as طالِب / طالِبَة (drills 8–9):
he-noun → جَميلٌ
لَدَيْنا بَيْتٌ جَميلٌ · فُرْنٌ جَميلٌ · سَخّانٌ جَميلٌ
we have a nice house · oven · heater
she-noun → جَميلَة
لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلَة · سَجّادَةٌ جَميلَة · غُرْفَةٌ جَميلَة
we have a nice flat · rug · room
لَدَيْنا is “we have” — the landlord's and shopkeeper's word. Take it as a fixed frame.
6. Fixed phrases of the unit
- shop أَيَّ خِدْمَةٍ؟
meaning
How can I help? — lit. “which service?”; the shopkeeper's opener.
- admit تَفَضَّلْ، اُدْخُلْ.
meaning
Please — come in. تَفَضَّلْ is the all-purpose “go ahead / here you are / after you”; اُدْخُلْ is “enter!”.
- view أُريدُ مُشاهَدَةَ الشَّقَّةِ.
meaning
I'd like to see the flat — lit. “I want viewing of the flat”. Swap the last word: أُريدُ مُشاهَدَةَ الأَثاثِ (the furniture).
- more? هَلْ تُريدُ شَيْئاً آخَرَ؟ — شُكْراً.
meaning
Do you want anything else? — Thank you (= no, thanks). شَيْء thing · آخَر other.
- some أُريدُ بَعْضَ الأَثاثِ.
meaning
I want some furniture. بَعْض + the noun with الـ.
7. The days of the week
Page 4 is a strip of seven names, starting from Saturday — the Arabic week's first day. Five of them hide a number you already know; the numbers chapter shows which.
السَّبْت · الأَحَد · الإِثْنَيْن · الثُّلاثاء · الأَرْبِعاء · الخَميس · الجُمْعَة
Saturday · Sunday · Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday · Friday
8. Build it yourself
Tap chips right-to-left, say it aloud as you build. The later ones are whole exchanges — build both roles.
“I live in a flat in the University district.”
أَسْكُنُ في شَقَّةٍ في حَيِّ الجامِعَةِ.
تَسْكُنُ بَيْتٍ
“I want a sofa and a rug, please.”
أُريدُ أَريكَةً وَسَجّادَةً مِنْ فَضْلِكَ.
تُريدُ سَريرًا
“What do you want for the kitchen?”
ماذا تُريدُ لِلمَطْبَخِ؟
ما لِلحَمّامِ
“We have a nice flat.”
لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلَة.
جَميلٌ بَيْتٌ
“Where do you live? — I live in the Airport district.”
أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟ أَسْكُنُ في حَيِّ المَطارِ.
الجامِعَةِ يَسْكُنُ
“Do you live in a house? — No, I live in a flat.”
هَلْ تَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ؟ لا، أَسْكُنُ في شَقَّةٍ.
نَعَمْ إِلى
“How many rooms are in the flat? — In the flat there are five rooms.”
كَمْ غُرْفَةً في الشَّقَّةِ؟ في الشَّقَّةِ خَمْسُ غُرَفٍ.
خَمْسَةُ غُرْفَةٌ
“On which floor is the flat? — The flat is on the fifth floor.”
في أَيِّ دَوْرٍ الشَّقَّةُ؟ الشَّقَّةُ في الدَّوْرِ الخامِسِ.
الخامِسَةِ الخَميس
“I want a bed and a curtain for the bedroom.”
أُريدُ سَريرًا وَسِتارَةً لِغُرْفَةِ النَّوْمِ.
لِلنَّوْمِ سَريرٌ
“Do you want anything else? — Thank you, I'd like to see the furniture.”
هَلْ تُريدُ شَيْئاً آخَرَ؟ شُكْراً، أُريدُ مُشاهَدَةَ الأَثاثِ.
مُشاهَدَةً الشَّقَّةِ
“I'd like a flat, please. — We have a nice flat.”
أُريدُ شَقَّةً مِنْ فَضْلِكَ. لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلَة.
جَميلٌ بَيْتٌ
9. Quick check
“I live in a house” is:
- تَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ
- يَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ
- أَسْكُنُ في بَيْتٍ
- أَسْكُنُ في شَقَّةٍ
Which is the correct “I want a bed”?
- أُريدُ سَريرًا
- أُريدُ سَريرٌ
- تُريدُ سَريرًا
- أُريدُ سَريرٍ
“We have a nice flat” is:
- لَدَيْنا بَيْتٌ جَميلٌ
- لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلٌ
- لَدَيْنا بَيْتٌ جَميلَة
- لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلَة
Which asks “what do you want for the bedroom?”
- ما تُريدُ لِغُرْفَةِ النَّوْمِ؟
- ماذا تُريدُ لِغُرْفَةِ النَّوْمِ؟
- ماذا تُريدُ لِغُرْفَةِ الجُلوسِ؟
- هَلْ تُريدُ لِغُرْفَةِ النَّوْمِ؟
Say aloud: “Where do you live?” — then answer “I live in the Airport district.”
أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟ — أَسْكُنُ في حَيِّ المَطارِ.
Say aloud, room by room: what you'd buy for the bathroom.
أُريدُ سَخّاناً وَمِرْآةً لِلحَمّامِ.
10. Where this came from
- Class textbook (Al-Arabiyyah Bayna Yadayk, Book 1), Unit 3 — where-do-you-live dialogue p.1, renting dialogue p.2, furniture-shop dialogue p.3, days of the week p.4, drill tables p.5. Photos in your library. Two print quirks are flagged in the dialogue reader (a question mark on a statement, a full stop on a question).
- Word readings and glosses verified against Wiktionary's Arabic entries (2026-08-30). The check caught that the bare spellings of حي (“alive” first), دور (“role, turn” first), آخر (other / last) and كم (how many / sleeve) are ambiguous without vowels — details in the vocabulary set's notes.
Next: the Unit 3 flashcard deck (54 cards — the furniture is most of it), then speak all three dialogues in the dialogue reader, and read the numbers chapter before class. Anything unclear? Bring it to your teacher — in class.