Arabic Genie presents ''You already know Arabic''

YOU ALREADY KNOW
ARABIC

or

How to easily extend your Arabic vocabulary with 200
words that are shared between English and Arabic

Max Maddocks

www.ArabicGenie.com

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks

PO Box 695, Cambridge, CB1 0NQ, United Kingdom

The right of Max Maddocks to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
without prior permission in writing from the author.
First published September 2009 by Max Maddocks.

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

You Already Know Arabic Page | 3

TABLE OF CONTENT p.4
p.5
Introduction p.6
Pronunciation Key p.8
1 Food & Drinks p.10
2 Animals p.12
3 Religion p.14
4 Electronics & Technology p.15
5 Measurements p.17
6 Politics & Society p.18
7 Clothing p.19
8 Academic p.20
9 Entertainment & Sports p.21
10 Nature p.22
11 Transport & Travel p.24
12 Materials & Industry p.25
13 Miscellaneous
What Next?

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you for your interest in this free report on learning Arabic words and your
commitment to learning the Arabic language!

Over the centuries many Arabic words have been introduced into English and
other European languages. Likewise, there are also a number of words of
European origin to be found in the Arabic language.

This is a very fortunate situation for us, because we get all this vocabulary
virtually for free: these words are very similar in both languages and are very
easy to assimilate into your active vocabulary.

Just read through the list and compare the similarities and differences between
the English and the Arabic pronunciation of the words.

I won’t go into the linguistic details of which word came from Arabic into
English or the other way around. Some words are probably even completely
unrelated, such as the English “cave” and the Arabic “kahf”.

All that matters for our purposes is that the similarities exist and that this makes
our lives easier. :-)

There are more than 200 words here that you already “know” from English and
that you just need to add to your Arabic vocabulary.

The words are presented in the following way: first the English word, then the
Arabic, then the pronunciation guide and finally some comments where
necessary.

I wish you all the success with your Arabic studies. If this has whetted your
appetite for the Arabic language why not check out my quick and easy method
for learning the Arabic alphabet?

Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com
www.arabicgenie.com

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks

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PRONUNCIATION KEY

a a short <a> sound like in the name “Matt”
‫ ا‬ā long <a> sound like in the English word “mad”
‫ ’ ء‬a glottal stop
‫ ب‬b the same as our English <b>; “bread”
‫ ت‬t the same as our English <t>; “tea”
‫ ث‬th like the <th>-sound in “three”; but not like the <th> in “there”!
‫ ج‬dj as in the <j>-sound in the name “John”
‫ ح‬H similar to the English letter “h”, but stronger and more from the throat
‫ خ‬kh like the <ch> sound in the English word “loch”; if you know German, it’s the

<ch> sound in the word “Sprache”
‫ د‬d the same as our English <d>; “door”
‫ ذ‬dh like the <th> sound in “there”; but not like the <th> in “three”!
‫ ر‬r similar to the English <r> sound at the beginning of a word, e.g. in “road”, but

more towards the front of the tongue and trilled like the Spanish “r”
‫ ز‬z the same as our English <z>; “zoo”
‫ س‬s the same as our English <s>; “serpent”
‫ ش‬sh the same as our English <sh>; “shine”
‫ ص‬S similar to the English letter “s”, but more emphatic and “darker”
‫ ض‬D similar to the English letter “d”, but more emphatic and “darker”
‫ ط‬T similar to the English letter “t”, but more emphatic and “darker”
‫ ظ‬Z sounds like a “darker” version of the Arabic “dh” sound
‫ ع‬c this sounds like a high-pitched version of the English <a> sound, but from the

back of the throat
‫ غ‬gh the same position of the throat as above, but the tongue touches the roof of the

mouth; like a French “r”
‫ ف‬f the same as our English <f>; “ferry”
‫ ق‬q like the English letter “k”, but produced from much further back the throat and

much “darker”
‫ ك‬k the same as our English <k>; “kilo”
‫ ل‬l the same as our English <l>; “look”
‫ م‬m the same as our English <m>; “mouse”
‫ ن‬n the same as our English <n>; “nose”
‫ ه‬h the same as our English <h>; “hurricane”
‫ و‬w the same as our English <w>; “water”

u the same as the <u> sound in the English word “should”
‫ و‬ū a long <u> sound as in our English word “boom”
‫ ي‬y the same as our English <y>; “year”
‫ ي‬ī a long <i> sound, like the two “e”s in “three”

For a more thorough explanation of the Arabic alphabet, please click check out my book The
Magic Key To The Arabic Alphabet.

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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1 FOOD & DRINKS

Evidently, food is an extremely important topic and so it should be no surprise that there has
been a thriving exchange of food related terms from Arabic into English and in the opposite
direction.

kebab ‫كباب‬ kabāb A type of grilled meat dish.
hummus ‫حًض‬ H‎ umus A dip made from chickpeas, tahini, oil, lemon and
falafel ‫فلافم‬ falāfil garlic.
sugar sukar Fried little balls made from chickpea (and or beans).
saccharin ‫ضكر‬ sakkarīn
cola ٌٍ‫ضكر‬ kūlā Note that Arabic doesn’t have a <p> sound and uses
pepsi bībsī a <b> to approximate it.
pizza ‫كىلا‬ bītzā
salad ً‫بٍبط‬ salaTa How about a sandwītsh falāfil, a sandwich filled
rice aruzz with falafel and salad?
potatoes ‫بٍخسا‬ baTāTis
tomatoes ‫ضهطت‬ TamāTim
sandwich sandwītsh
biscuit ‫أرز‬ biskwīt
cake ‫بطاطص‬ kack
‫طًاطى‬
‫ضُذوٌخش‬
‫بطكىٌج‬

‫كعك‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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beer ‫بٍرة‬ bīra
djarra
jar ‫جرة‬ mazza
djawāfa
mezze ‫يسة‬ līmūn Appetizers/starters.
māndjū Sugar candy.
guava ‫جىافت‬ kākāū
kammūn
lemon ٌ‫نًٍى‬ qand
simsim
mango ‫ياَجى‬

cocoa ‫كاكاو‬

cumin ٌ‫كًى‬

candy ‫قُذ‬

sesame ‫ضًطى‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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2 ANIMALS

Over the centuries, many animal names have been introduced into the Arabic language from
English and French. However, this has gone the other way too, with words such as camel,
giraffe, and gazelle all deriving from Arabic.

camel ‫جًم‬ jamal Also abbreviated as ‫( كنغر‬kanghar).
giraffe ‫زرافت‬ zirāfa
gazelle ‫غسال‬ ghazzāl E.g. the hoof of a horse. The similarity of sounds is
chimpanzee ‫شًباَسِي‬ shimbānzī most likely a coincidence.
gorilla ‫غىرٌلا‬ ghūrīlā
fur farū
cat ‫فرو‬ qiTT
kangaroo ‫قط‬ kanghārū
llama ‫كُغارو‬ lāma
tuna ‫لايت‬ tunn
octopus ٍ‫ح‬ ukhTubūT
salmon ‫أخطبىط‬ sālmūn
salamander ٌ‫ضانًى‬ samandar
dolphin ‫ضًُذر‬ dalfīn
hoof ٍٍ‫دنف‬ Hāfir
‫حافر‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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tail ‫رٌم‬ dhīl This refers to the trunk of an elephant and is exactly
kharTūm the same as the capital of Sudan (Khartoum)
trunk ‫خرطىو‬ diinaaSuur
iSTabl I.e. a stable for horses; can also refer to a barn more
dinosaur ‫دٌُاطىر‬ generally.

stable ‫إططبم‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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3 RELIGION

Due to an influx of immigrants from the Arab World into the West, many people are now
increasingly aware and have a greater knowledge of Islam. The more you know about Islam
the more terms will be familiar to you already. It is also important to bear in mind that
Christianity and Judaism originated in the Middle East and still have a strong presence there.
And therefore we can find their presence in the Arabic language too.

Islam ‫إضلاو‬ islām Literally, meaning “submission” (to God).
Moslem ‫يطهى‬ muslim
Koran ٌ‫انقرآ‬ al-qur’ān A follower of Islam; literally someone who
jihad ‫جهاد‬ djihād submits.
haraam ‫حراو‬ Harām In Arabic it is “the Koran”, hence the al article.
halaal ‫حلال‬ Hallāl
imam ‫إياو‬ imām Religious struggle (including by the sword).
Allah allāh
mufti ‫الله‬ muftī That which is forbidden according to Islam.
fatwa ً‫يفخ‬ fatwa
muezzin ‫فخىة‬ mu’adhin That which is permitted according to Islam.
minaret ٌ‫يؤر‬ manāra
caliph ‫يُارة‬ khalīfa Refers to the person leading the prayers.
Sufi ‫خهٍفت‬ Sūfī
ً‫طىف‬ Also refers to God in the other monotheistic
religions, i.e. Christianity and Judaism.
Someone (usually a scholar) who issues religious
opinions.
A religious opinion issued in a formal way.

The person calling others to prayer.

This is the tower of the mosque from which the
muezzin issues the call to prayer.

A Sufi is a Muslim who is trying to get closer to
God through prayer and mysticism.

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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genie ًُ‫ج‬ djinni A supernatural creature that can be either good or
al-masīH bad. Aladdin finds a genie in a lamp.

the Messiah ‫انًطٍِح‬

Christianity ‫يطٍحٍت‬ masīHīyya

Christian ً‫يطٍح‬ masīHī

Protestantism ‫بروحطخاَخٍت‬ brūtistāntīyya

Protestant ً‫بروحطخاَخ‬ brūtistāntī

Catholic ً‫كاثىنٍك‬ kāthūlīkī

Copt ً‫قبط‬ qibTī A Copt is someone adhering to a branch of
yisūc Christianity practiced primarily in Egypt.

Jesus ‫ٌطىع‬

cathedral ‫كاحذرائٍت‬ kātidrā’īyya

Buddha ‫بىرا‬ būdhā

Buddhist ‫بىري‬ būdhī

Buddhism ‫بىرٌت‬ būdhīyya

Hinduism ‫هُذوضٍت‬ hindūsīyya

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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4 ELECTRONICS & TECHNOLOGY

Together with the technology of the West, the Arab world has adopted the terminology to
describe it.

television ٌ‫حهفسٌى‬ tilfizyūn Commonly abbreviated as ‫ حهفس‬talfaz.
video ‫فٍذٌى‬ fīdīyū Plural: ‫( افلاو‬aflām)
electronic iliktrūnī
film, movie ًَ‫إنكخرو‬ film Can also be used to refer to a biological virus.
radio ‫فهى‬ rādīyū
telephone talīfūn
computer ‫رادٌى‬ kumbyutar
internet ٌ‫حهٍفى‬ intarnit
e-mail ‫كًبىحر‬ īmaīl
virus ‫إَخرَج‬ fīrūs
cinema ‫إًٌٍم‬ sīnimā
CD ‫فٍروش‬ sīdī
technology ‫ضًٍُا‬ tiknūlūdjīyā
gigabyte ‫ضً دي‬ djīghābaīt
megabyte ‫حكُىنىجٍا‬ mīghābaīt
gigahertz ‫ِجٍغابٍِج‬ djīghāhirtz
‫يٍِغابٍِج‬
‫جٍغاهرحس‬

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modem ‫يىدو‬ mūdim
baTTārīya
battery, pile ‫بطارٌت‬

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5 MEASUREMENTS

In the past many Arab Countries used to have their own units of measurement. Nowadays,
however, Western measurements are slowly but steadily pushing aside the old terminology.

metre ‫يخر‬ mitr Plural:‫( ايخار‬amtār)
kilometre ‫كٍهىيخر‬ kīlūmitr
centimetre ‫ضُخًٍخر‬ sintīmitr Plural: ‫( أطنان‬aTnān)
gram ghrām Plural: ‫( ايٍال‬amyāl)
kilogram ‫غراو‬ kīlūghrām
ton ‫كٍهىغراو‬ A unit of measurement for the quality of diamonds.
litre tunn
millilitre ٍ‫ط‬ lītr
mile ‫نٍخر‬ millīlītr
carat ‫يهٍهٍخر‬ mīl
Fahrenheit ‫يٍم‬ qīrāT
‫قٍراط‬ fahrinhāīt
‫فهرَهاٌج‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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6 POLITICS & SOCIETY

Politics are certainly crucial in the Middle East and you will come across many of the words
in this list on a daily basis.

strategy ‫اضخراحٍجٍت‬ istrātījīya This refers to the diplomatic protocol
diplomacy ‫دبهىياضٍت‬ dīblūmāsīya
democracy ‫دًٌقراطٍت‬ dīmuqrāTīya A wide-spread phenomenon in the Middle East (and
maneuvre munāwara an export from the West).
nazism ‫يُاورة‬ nāzīyya An international political movement that supports
nazi ‫َازٌت‬ nāzī the state of Israel as a Jewish state in Palestine.
protocol ‫َازي‬ brūtūkūl Someone who suports zionism.
bureaucracy bīrūqrāTīya
zionism ‫بروحىكىل‬ Sahyūnīyya
zionist ‫بٍروقراطٍت‬ Sahyūnī
‫طهٍىٍَِت‬

ًَ‫طهٍى‬

consul ‫قُظم‬ qunsul
consulate ‫قُظهٍت‬ qunsulīyya
sultan ٌ‫ضهطا‬ sulTān
emirate imāra
emir, prince ‫إيارة‬ amīr
‫أيٍر‬

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tariff ‫حعرٌفت‬ tacrīfa
dīmūghrāfīyā
demography ‫دًٌىغرافٍا‬ batrūl

petrol ‫بخرول‬

bank ‫بُك‬ bank
shaīkh
sheikh ‫شٍخ‬ bakhshīsh Refers to a person with a respected position as a
mīlīshīyā
bakshish ‫بخشش‬ djinirāl tribal leader, religious authority etc.
Refers to a “tip” (i.e. money given for a small

service); a ubiquitous concept in the Middle East.

militia ‫يٍهٍشٍا‬

army general ‫جُرال‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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7 CLOTHING

Here are a few words related to clothing:

jacket ‫جاكٍج‬ djākīt Important: not to be confused with ‫( جُص‬djins),
jeans ‫جٍُس‬ djīnz
headscarf ‫حجاب‬ Hidjāb which means “sex”.
niqab ‫َقاب‬ niqāb
burqa ‫برقع‬ burquc A type of face veil, usually only revealing the eyes
shawl ‫شال‬ shāl
caftan ٌ‫قفطا‬ quftān A type of Islamic dress covering the whole body
henna ‫حُاء‬ Hinnā’ worn in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
cotton ٍ‫قط‬ quTn
sandal ‫طُذل‬ Sandal A type of men’s attire usually made from cotton or
blouse ‫بهىزة‬ blūza silk.
pyjamas bīdjāma This is a substance used to color the skin for a few
fur ‫بٍجاوة‬ farū weeks. Usually in brown or reddish tones.
‫فرو‬
Plural: ‫( طُادل‬sanādil).

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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8 ACADEMIC

During the “Golden Age” of Islam (7th-13th centuries A.D.), the Middle East was a
powerhouse for science and learning. Not only did the Moslems preserve the knowledge of
the ancient Greeks, but they added to it considerably, in the areas of mathematics,
architecture, medicine and other fields of study.

bachelor’s ‫بكانىرٌىش‬ bakālūrīyūs
degree ‫ياجطخٍر‬
‫كهٍت‬ mādjīstīr
master’s ‫بٍىنىجٍا‬ kullīya
degree
biyūlūdjīya
faculty, djīyūlūdjīya
college al-djabr
djughrāfīya
biology kīmīyā’
fīzīyā’
geology ‫جٍِىنُى ِجٍا‬ faīlusūf
falsafa
algebra ‫انجبر‬ malgham
fūbīya
geography ‫جغرافٍا‬

chemistry ‫كًٍٍاء‬

physics ‫فٍسٌاء‬

philosopher ‫فٍهطىف‬ Plural: ‫( فلاسفة‬falāsifa).

philosophy ‫فهطفت‬

amalgam ‫يهغى‬

phobia ‫فىبٍت‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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9 ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

With increased globalization, pastimes and hobbies from specific countries are spreading all
around the globe. This is reflected in the Arabic language too.

stadium ‫إضخاد‬ istād As in e.g. football stadium.
tennis ‫حُص‬ The English equivalent of American football.
rugby ً‫ركب‬ tinis A popular martial art.
hockey ً‫هىك‬ rukbī
judo ‫ٌىدو‬ hūkī A Spanish musical genre from Andalusia, referring to
folklore ‫فىنكهىر‬ yūdū both songs and dance.
balloon ٌ‫بانى‬ fūlklūr
ballet ‫بانٍه‬ bālūn
piano ‫بٍاَى‬ bālīh
casino ‫كازٌُى‬ bīyānū
music ‫يىضٍقى‬ kāzīnū
musical note ‫َىحه‬ mūsīqa
cinema ‫ضًٍُا‬ nūta
flamenco ‫فلايُكى‬ sīnimā
flāminkū

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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10 NATURE

The natural scenery in the Middle East is extremely diverse, ranging from desert to green
pastures and high mountains. Here are a few words to describe nature.

desert ‫طحراء‬ SaHrā’ This is easy to remember when you think of the
cave ‫كهف‬ kahf Sahara desert.
typhoon ٌ‫حٍفى‬ taīfūn As far as I know this is a coincidence and the two
island ‫جسٌرة‬ djaziira words are not linguistically related.
bacterial baktīrī
bacteria ‫بكخٍري‬ baktīrīyā As in the Arab TV channel Aljazeera, meaning “the
malaria ‫بكخٍرٌا‬ malārīya island”.
tsunami ‫يلارٌت‬ tsūnāmī
ozone ً‫حطىَاي‬ ūzūn
oxygen ٌ‫أوزو‬ uksīdjīn
ٍٍ‫أكطج‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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11 TRANSPORT & TRAVEL

When you are travelling in the Middle East you will need to use transport of some kind.

While it is unlikely that you would travel in a gondola anywhere in the region, these words

are effortless to pick up, so you might as well learn them. Plus, it is certainly useful to know
the words for “cab” and “bus”.

autobus ‫أحىبٍص‬ utūbīs This refers to the little boats they have in Venice.
bus ‫باص‬ bāS
taxi cab ً‫حاكط‬ tāksī Referring to a canal for boats and ships.
gondola ‫جُذول‬ djundūl Referring to a captain of a ship.
yacht ‫ٌخج‬ yakht The fuel used for airplanes.
canal ‫قُاة‬ qanāt
captain ٌ‫قبطا‬ qubTān E.g. a car mechanic.
kerosene kīrūsīn This is the origin of our English word “safari”.
diesel ٍٍ‫كٍروض‬ dīzil
mechanic ‫دٌسل‬ mīkānīkī
journey safar
ً‫يٍكاٍَك‬
‫ضفر‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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12 MATERIALS & INDUSTRY

Here are some terms related to materials and industries.

plastic ‫بلاضخٍك‬ blāstīk Plural: ‫( أفران‬afran).
furnace ٌ‫فر‬ furn Plural: ‫( كوابل‬kawābil).
cigarette sidjāra
plutonium ‫ضجارة‬ blūtūnīyūm
zinc ‫بهىحىٍَىو‬ zink
ozone ūzūn
gas ‫زَك‬ ghāz
phosphate ٌ‫أوزو‬ fūsfāt
chlorine klūr
uranium ‫غاز‬ ūrānīyūm
turbine ‫فىضفاث‬ tūrbīn
cable kābl
dynamite ‫كهىر‬ dīnāmīt
torpedo ‫ٌىراٍَِىو‬ tūrbīd
napalm ٍٍ‫حىرب‬ nābālm

‫كابم‬
‫دٌُايٍج‬
‫حىربٍذ‬

‫َابانى‬

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mechanic, ً‫يٍكاٍَك‬ mīkānīkī
makhāzin
magazine ٌ‫يخاز‬ alūminyā Referring to a place of storage.
asfalt
aluminium ‫أنىيٍُا‬ asmant

asphalt ‫أضفهج‬

cement ‫أضًُج‬

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13 MISCELLANEOUS

Finally, there are a few words that did not fit into any of the other categories.

tall ‫طىٌم‬ Tawīl
mūmīyā’
mummy ‫يىيٍاء‬ faqīr
sakritīr
poor ‫فقٍر‬ baidj This‎is‎the‎origin‎of‎the‎word‎“fakir,‎i.e.‎a‎poor man
mīlūdrāmā who needs to perform on the street to earn money.
mīlūdrāmī
secretary ‫ضكرحٍر‬

beige (color) ‫بٍج‬

melodrama ‫يٍهىدرايا‬

melodramatic ً‫يٍهىدراي‬

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com

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WHAT NEXT?

I hope you were pleasantly surprised by the amount of Arabic words you already know from
English. Just revisit the lists from time to time to keep the words fresh in your mind.

If you are completely new to the Arabic language, now would be the time to take your
learning to the next level and to master the Arabic writing system.

Visit my website to discover how a 7-year-old from Yemen taught me a secret learning
technique that can help you too master the Arabic alphabet within a few hours.

I’d be delighted to hear your experiences with this free report. So please do drop me an email
at max@arabicgenie.com or leave a comment on my blog at arabicgenie.com/blog .

Copyright © 2009 by Max Maddocks www.ArabicGenie.com