SACE Stage 2 Arabic (beginners) key terms

A common informal greeting meaning 'hello' or 'welcome', used with friends, classmates and people of similar status in everyday spoken Arabic.

A formal greeting meaning 'peace be upon you', answered with 'وعليكم السلام'; it suits adults, strangers and formal settings and signals respect.

A warm welcoming phrase meaning 'welcome', often said to a guest or visitor on arrival; it can stand alone or follow another greeting.

A question asking 'how are you?' addressed to a male; the reply often begins with a state word such as 'بخير' (fine) followed by thanks.

An adjective meaning 'well' or 'fine', used to describe one's condition in answer to a greeting question about how one is feeling.

The standard expression of thanks, meaning 'thank you'; the reply is usually 'عفوا', meaning 'you're welcome' or 'don't mention it'.

A polite phrase meaning 'you're welcome' after thanks, and also 'excuse me' or 'pardon' when attracting attention or apologising for a small mistake.

An adjective meaning 'sorry', said by a male speaker to apologise; a female speaker says 'آسفة', and the word fits both small and serious apologies.

A polite request marker meaning 'please', used when asking for something or asking someone to do something; it can follow the request.

A farewell meaning 'goodbye' or literally 'until we meet'; it is more formal than 'مع السلامة' and suits leaving a class or office.

A common farewell meaning 'go in safety' or 'goodbye', said to someone who is leaving; the departing person may reply 'الله يسلمك'.

A phrase meaning 'my name is', made of the noun 'اسم' (name) plus the possessive suffix 'ي' (my); it introduces a speaker's name.

A phrase meaning 'your name', formed from the noun 'اسم' plus the possessive suffix 'ك'; it appears in the question 'ما اسمك؟'.

A question meaning 'what is your name?', addressed to one person; the answer usually begins with 'اسمي' followed by the name.

A question meaning 'where are you from?', used to ask about someone's country or city of origin; the answer uses a place name after 'من'.

A third-person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it' for masculine nouns; it is also used as a subject marker before a noun in a nominal sentence.

A third-person feminine singular pronoun meaning 'she' or 'it' for feminine nouns; it often begins a nominal sentence describing a female person or thing.

A third-person masculine plural pronoun meaning 'they'; it refers to a group of males or a mixed group and takes plural verb agreement.

A first-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'; it is optional before a verb because the verb ending already shows the speaker, but it adds emphasis.

The definite article, written 'ال' and attached to a noun, making it definite like English 'the'; it also marks an adjective that describes a definite noun.

A nominal sentence, one that begins with a noun or pronoun rather than a verb and usually has two parts: a topic and a comment about it.

A verb: a word showing an action or state, such as 'كتب' (he wrote) or 'ذهب' (he went); Arabic verbs carry person, gender and number endings.

The past tense form of the Arabic verb, used for completed actions; it changes suffix according to person and gender, as in 'كتبت' (I wrote).

The present or imperfect verb form, used for ongoing or habitual actions; it takes prefixes and suffixes to show person, gender and number.

The direct object of a verb: the noun that receives the action, normally placed after the verb and subject and often marked by the accusative ending 'ـَ'.

Grammatical gender: every Arabic noun is masculine or feminine, and feminine nouns often end in 'ة'; adjectives and verbs must agree in gender.

An adjective that describes a noun and follows it, agreeing in gender, number and definiteness, as in 'بيت كبير' (a big house).

A noun or name: a word for a person, place, thing or idea; Arabic nouns carry gender and can be definite or indefinite.

A pronoun such as 'أنا' (I), 'أنت' (you) or 'هو' (he), used to replace a noun and to show who performs the action.

The family, a core topic in beginner Arabic; texts often describe parents, siblings and relatives and use possessive suffixes to say 'my brother', 'her father'.

A holiday or vacation period; reading passages often describe travel plans, destinations and activities during school or summer holidays.

Travel or travelling; common in texts about journeys, with related vocabulary for airports, tickets, luggage and destinations.

Food; a frequent topic in listening and reading texts, including meals, restaurants, shopping and favourite dishes.

A restaurant: a place where meals are served; texts may include ordering, asking for the bill and describing prices or preferences.

A message or letter, a common text type; candidates may read or write a short personal message with a greeting, body and closing.

Email: an electronic message format used in the exam for short personal or semi-formal writing, with a subject line, greeting and sign-off.

The purpose or aim of a text, such as to invite, inform, persuade or complain; identifying it is a key reading and writing skill.

The audience: the intended readers of a text; choosing vocabulary, formality and layout depends on whether readers are friends, teachers or the public.

Formal, describing language or writing that follows polite conventions and avoids slang; it suits letters to officials, applications and announcements.

A title or address; in a written text the title signals the topic, while in a letter it gives the postal or email destination.