أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا! لِقَاءَات أُولَىFirst Encounters
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Greet someone and take leave using common Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) expressions.
- Ask and answer the question "What is your name?" using the fixed expressions مَا اسْمُكَ؟ and مَا اسْمُكِ؟
- Introduce yourself using the fixed expression اسْمِي... (My name is...).
- Use basic courtesy expressions, including please, thank you, and you're welcome.
- Recognize and write the first group of Arabic letters in isolated, initial, medial, and final positions.
- Read and write right to left, joining letters correctly within this chapter's letter set.
- Recognize the three short vowel marks and the long vowels they correspond to.
- Form a simple Arabic nominal sentence stating a name, with correct gender agreement on a descriptive adjective.
Communication Scenario
You have just arrived for the first day of an intensive Arabic program at a language institute in Amman. Students from many countries are gathering in a sunny courtyard before the first class begins. Your instructor has asked everyone to greet and introduce themselves to at least three new people — in Arabic — before the session starts.
- Think about the last time you introduced yourself to a stranger. Was the greeting formal or casual? What did you say first?
- You may already recognize the word أَهْلًا, a common Arabic greeting meaning roughly "welcome" or "hello." By the end of this chapter, you will know several ways to greet someone in Arabic, and you will know how to write your own name in Arabic script.
Core Vocabulary
التَّحِيَّات — Greetings and farewells
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا | ahlan wa sahlan | Welcome / Hello | Warm, widely used greeting; appropriate in most settings |
| أَهْلًا | ahlan | Hi / Hello | Shorter, slightly more casual version of the above |
| السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم | as-salāmu ʿalaykum | Peace be upon you (Hello) | Widely used greeting across the Arabic-speaking world among Muslims and many non-Muslims alike; formal and respectful |
| وَعَلَيْكُم السَّلَام | wa ʿalaykumu s-salām | And upon you, peace (response) | The standard reply to السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم |
| صَبَاحُ الخَيْر | ṣabāḥu l-khayr | Good morning | Used in the morning |
| مَسَاءُ الخَيْر | masāʾu l-khayr | Good evening | Used from afternoon into evening |
| مَعَ السَّلَامَة | maʿa s-salāma | Goodbye (lit. with safety) | Standard farewell, appropriate in all contexts |
| إِلَى اللِّقَاء | ilā l-liqāʾ | Until we meet (again) | Slightly more formal farewell |
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم is one of the most widely recognized greetings across Arabic-speaking communities and is used by people of many religious backgrounds, not only Muslims, although it has religious roots in Islam. أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا is a religiously neutral, everyday alternative used throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
التَّعَارُف — Introductions formulaic
The expressions below are introduced as ready-to-use formulas. You are not yet expected to take them apart grammatically — that analysis begins later in the volume.
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| اسْمِي... | ismī... | My name is... | A fixed formula; the internal grammar is studied beginning in Chapter 4 |
| مَا اسْمُكَ؟ | mā ismuka? | What is your name? (to a male) | A fixed formula addressed to a man or boy |
| مَا اسْمُكِ؟ | mā ismuki? | What is your name? (to a female) | A fixed formula addressed to a woman or girl |
| تَشَرَّفْنَا | tasharrafnā | Pleased to meet you (lit. we are honored) | Common response after an introduction; used by speakers of any gender |
| فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة | furṣa saʿīda | Pleased to meet you (lit. a happy occasion) | An alternative, equally common response |
Notice that مَا اسْمُكَ؟ and مَا اسْمُكِ؟ differ only in their final short vowel. For now, simply learn each whole question as a unit matched to who you are asking: the first form for a man, the second for a woman. You are not yet expected to identify the parts inside these words.
عِبَارَات المُجَامَلَة — Courtesy expressions
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| شُكْرًا | shukran | Thank you |
| شُكْرًا جَزِيلًا | shukran jazīlan | Thank you very much |
| عَفْوًا | ʿafwan | You're welcome / Excuse me / Pardon |
| آسِف | āsif | Sorry (said by a male speaker) |
| آسِفَة | āsifa | Sorry (said by a female speaker) |
| نَعَم | naʿam | Yes |
| لَا | lā | No |
Treat these courtesy expressions as ready-to-use formulas for now. Where a word changes form for a male or female speaker (such as آسِف / آسِفَة), this previews the gender agreement you will study formally later in this chapter and in much greater depth across the volume.
كَلِمَات الصَّفّ — Classroom survival expressions
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| نَعَم | naʿam | Yes |
| لَا | lā | No |
| حَسَنًا | ḥasanan | OK / Fine |
Numbers are not introduced in this chapter. Counting in Arabic begins in Chapter 2.
Arabic Script
Arabic is written from right to left in a connected, cursive script. Most letters change shape depending on their position in a word — isolated, initial (at the start of a word), medial (in the middle), or final (at the end) — and depending on whether they connect to the letter that follows. This chapter introduces six letters that you will learn to write productively, plus a small number of additional letters you will recognize inside whole formulaic words.
Arabic words are read and written from right to left. Never reverse Arabic letters manually to "fix" their order; the correct order is right to left, and font rendering handles the joining automatically.
المَجْمُوعَة الأُولَى — First letter group introduced
These six letters form your first productive reading and writing set. Three letters — ا, د, and ذ — do not connect to the letter that follows them, even though a letter can still connect to them from the right.
Two additional nonjoining letters appear in this chapter for recognition only, inside whole formulaic words you have already met:
These two letters are presented here for recognition only, as part of words like هَذَا-type vocabulary you will meet later. You are not asked to produce them independently yet; full productive treatment of the special letters begins in Chapter 4.
ب (bāʾ), ت (tāʾ), and ث (thāʾ) share the same base shape. The only difference among them is the number and position of dots: ب has one dot below, ت has two dots above, and ث has three dots above. Dots are not decoration — they are essential to letter identity. A missing or misplaced dot changes the letter entirely.
حَرَكَات — Short vowel marks (diacritics)
Arabic short vowels are written as small marks above or below a letter rather than as separate letters. This chapter introduces the three short vowels.
| Mark | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| بَ | فَتْحَة fatḥa | short /a/ | بَ = "ba" |
| بِ | كَسْرَة kasra | short /i/ | بِ = "bi" |
| بُ | ضَمَّة ḍamma | short /u/ | بُ = "bu" |
All new vocabulary in this textbook will be fully or substantially vocalized, meaning the short vowel marks will be shown. As you progress through the volume, this support will gradually be reduced for familiar words, matching how literate adults actually read Arabic. The sukūn (no-vowel mark) and other diacritics are introduced beginning in Chapter 2.
تَدْرِيب — Practice: Copy each letter of the first group in its isolated form three times, paying attention to the direction of your pen strokes (most letters begin at the top right). Then write your own first name using only the letters available to you so far, substituting the closest available sound if needed.
Pronunciation
Short and long vowels
Arabic vowel length is contrastive — meaning a short vowel and its long counterpart are different sounds that can change a word's meaning entirely, not just a matter of emphasis. Compare:
- بَ — short /a/, as in the first syllable of "ah-bout"held briefly
- بَا — long /aː/, roughly like the "a" in "father" but held noticeably longerheld about twice as long as the short vowel
The long vowels you can already recognize in this chapter's letters are written using ا (ā) and ي (ī) combined with the matching short vowel mark on the preceding consonant.
The word أَهْلًا begins with a brief catch in the throat, similar to the sound between the two syllables of the English interjection "uh-oh." This sound is a true Arabic consonant. For now, simply pronounce أَهْلًا as a whole, formulaic greeting; the spelling rules that govern this sound are introduced beginning in Chapter 4.
The letter ث
The sound represented by ث (thāʾ) does not exist in English as a separate consonant phoneme in most dialects, but it is close to the "th" sound in English think (voiceless). Keep the tongue lightly between the teeth. English speakers usually find this sound approachable from the start, since a close equivalent exists in English.
One simple way to ask a yes-or-no question in spoken MSA is to use rising intonation at the end of a statement, similar to English. Notice the contrast in this chapter's question مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — the voice rises slightly at the end, signaled in writing by the Arabic question mark ؟, which is the mirror image of the English question mark, consistent with right-to-left writing.
تَدْرِيب — Practice: With a partner, or using a recording, practice the contrast between short and long vowels by repeating بَ / بَا and بِ / بِي several times each, exaggerating the length difference until it feels natural.
Grammar Instruction
1.1 اسْمِي... — Saying your name formulaic
Purpose: introduce yourself using a complete, ready-made formula.
Treat اسْمِي... as a complete formula meaning "My name is...":
- اسْمِي سَارَة.ismī Sāra. — My name is Sara.
- اسْمِي يُوسُف.ismī Yūsuf. — My name is Yusuf.
Notice that اسْمِي سَارَة contains no word corresponding to English "is." Arabic present-tense sentences of identity, classification, and description normally do not use an overt present copula — the sentence simply places two elements side by side. This is called a nominal sentence. اسْمِي سَارَة already means a complete sentence, "My name is Sara," with no extra word needed.
1.2 مَا اسْمُكَ؟ / مَا اسْمُكِ؟ — Asking someone's name formulaic
Purpose: ask another person's name, choosing the correct fixed form based on whether you are addressing a man or a woman.
Learn each question as a complete, separate formula:
- مَا اسْمُكَ؟mā ismuka? — What is your name? (to a man)
- مَا اسْمُكِ؟mā ismuki? — What is your name? (to a woman)
Treat the small difference between these two questions as a fixed feature of the formula for now. You are not expected to build new sentences using this pattern yet; the underlying grammar is introduced gradually beginning in Chapter 4.
1.3 نَوْع الاسْم — A first look at noun gender introduced
Purpose: recognize that every Arabic noun has a grammatical gender, and notice the most common written signal of feminine gender.
Every Arabic noun is either masculine or feminine. There is no neutral "it" category for nouns the way some other grammatical systems have. Many feminine nouns and adjectives end in a special letter called tāʾ marbūṭa ة, usually pronounced as a short /a/ in pause:
- أُسْتَاذustādh — instructor (masculine)
- أُسْتَاذَةustādha — instructor (feminine)
This is your first encounter with gender as a system, not a complete account of it. Number, plural formation, and the full range of feminine markers are introduced beginning in Chapter 4.
1.4 صِفَة المُجَامَلَة — A descriptive adjective and gender agreement introduced
Purpose: build a complete nominal sentence using a name and a simple descriptive word, with the adjective correctly agreeing in gender.
In Arabic, a descriptive adjective must match the gender of the noun it describes. Compare a sentence describing a man's class and one describing a woman's class, using the adjective جَدِيد / جَدِيدَة (new):
- الصَّفُّ جَدِيدٌ.aṣ-ṣaffu jadīdun. — The class (masc.) is new.
- الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ.al-jāmiʿatu jadīdatun. — The university (fem.) is new.
Both sentences are nominal sentences — there is no separate word for "is." The adjective simply takes the feminine ending ة when it describes a feminine noun, and stays without it when describing a masculine noun.
Gender touches the whole sentence. English marks gender mainly on a small set of pronouns (he, she, it). Arabic marks gender on nouns and on the adjectives that describe them, and — as you continue through this volume — on pronouns, demonstratives, and verbs as well. Learning to notice the tāʾ marbūṭa ending now will make every later stage of the course easier.
Practice — Choosing the correct question
For each person, decide whether you would ask مَا اسْمُكَ؟ or مَا اسْمُكِ؟
- Your male classmate
- Your female instructor
- A young boy you just met
- A woman at the registration desk
- Your male roommate
Practice — جَدِيد or جَدِيدَة؟
Choose the correctly agreeing form of جَدِيد for each noun.
- الصَّفُّ ______. (class, masc.)
- الجَامِعَةُ ______. (university, fem.)
Practice — Completing introductions
Fill in the blank with the correct word: اسْمِي / تَشَرَّفْنَا.
- أَهْلًا، __________ كَرِيم.
- مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — __________ نُور.
- اسْمِي هُدَى. — __________.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Courtyard of a language institute, Amman. First morning. Layla, an Egyptian student, meets Tom, an American student. Then their instructor, Ustādh Khālid, welcomes them.
السِّيَاق: فِنَاء مَعْهَد لُغَات، عَمَّان. الصَّبَاح الأَوَّل. تَلْتَقِي لَيْلَى، طَالِبَة مِصْرِيَّة، بِتُوم، طَالِب أَمْرِيكِيّ. ثُمَّ يُرَحِّبُ بِهِمَا أُسْتَاذُهُمَا، الأُسْتَاذ خَالِد.
(يَصِلُ الأُسْتَاذ خَالِد — Ustādh Khālid arrives.)
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- مَا اسْم الطَّالِبَة المِصْرِيَّة؟ (What is the Egyptian student's name?)
- What title does Layla and Tom use for their instructor, and what does it tell you about the register of their interaction?
- Which response to an introduction does Layla use — تَشَرَّفْنَا or فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة? Which does Tom use with the instructor?
- What expression does Ustādh Khālid use to say goodbye?
Listening
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following four short introductions aloud at a moderate pace. Listen twice without reading along. Then answer the questions below.
١. نُور: «أَهْلًا! اسْمِي نُور. تَشَرَّفْنَا!»
٢. دَاوُد: «أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا! اسْمِي دَاوُد. فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة!»
٣. مَايَا: «مَسَاءُ الخَيْر. اسْمِي مَايَا. تَشَرَّفْنَا.»
٤. عَلِيّ: «صَبَاحُ الخَيْر، أُسْتَاذ. اسْمِي عَلِيّ.»
مُهِمَّة الاسْتِمَاع — Listening task:
Listen and complete the table.
| Speaker | Name | Greeting used | Response used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| 2 | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| 3 | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| 4 | ______ | ______ | ______ |
Bonus question: Which speaker uses a notably more formal register with their instructor? What word signals this?
Reading
Read the following three name badges from the institute's registration desk. Then answer the questions below.
Badge 1 — Student
الاسْم: سَارَة أَحْمَد
Badge 2 — Student
الاسْم: بِنْيَامِين سْمِيث
Badge 3 — Instructor
الاسْم: الأُسْتَاذَة رِيم سُلَيْمَان
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- مَا اسْم الأُسْتَاذَة؟ (What is the instructor's name?)
- Is Benjamin Smith a student or an instructor? How can you tell from the badge?
- Look again at Reem Suleiman's title. What letter at the end of الأُسْتَاذَة tells you this is the feminine form?
The title أُسْتَاذ (ustādh, masculine) or أُسْتَاذَة (ustādha, feminine) means "instructor" or "professor" and is a respectful, widely used form of address for teachers across the Arabic-speaking world, in both academic and everyday settings. The feminine form adds ة (tāʾ marbūṭa) to the masculine form — the same feminine marker you just studied in this chapter's grammar section.
Writing Workshop
In this chapter you will write two short texts: a personal name card and a short self-introduction, using only the letters and vocabulary introduced so far.
- Study the model. Look at Badge 1 above. Identify the field for the name (الاسْم).
- Create your own name card. Using the letters you know, write your name as closely as you can approximate it in Arabic script, or choose an Arabic name to practice with if your own name uses sounds not yet covered.
- Write your self-introduction. Using Layla's lines in the model dialogue as a guide, write three short sentences introducing yourself. Include: a greeting, your name using اسْمِي..., and a polite closing such as تَشَرَّفْنَا.
- Revise. Check your draft against the editing checklist below, paying special attention to letter joining and dots.
- Introduce another person. Using the badge information for Benjamin Smith (Badge 2), write his name card field correctly, beginning with: الاسْم:
قَائِمَة المُرَاجَعَة — Editing checklist:
- I wrote my letters from right to left.
- I connected letters correctly within words, except where a letter does not connect to what follows (ا، د، ذ).
- I included all necessary dots in the correct position.
- I used a complete greeting at the start.
- I used اسْمِي correctly to give my name.
- I ended with the Arabic question mark ؟ if I asked a question.
Speaking Practice
تَدْرِيب مُوَجَّه — Controlled practice
With a partner, take turns asking and answering these questions. Use your real information or invent a role. Switch after each round.
- أَهْلًا! مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (or: مَا اسْمُكِ؟)
- تَشَرَّفْنَا! إِلَى اللِّقَاء.
مُهِمَّة تَوَاصُل — Communicative task: First meetings
Move around the room and introduce yourself to four different people, as if you had just arrived at the language institute. For each person:
- Greet them appropriately.
- Give your name and ask theirs, using the correct form of the name question.
- Respond with تَشَرَّفْنَا or فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة.
- Say goodbye using one of the farewell expressions from the vocabulary section.
Keep a mental note: did you choose the correct question formula for each person each time?
لِلْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ المُسْتَقِلِّينَ — Solo alternative
Create two imagined Arabic-speaking people — give each a full name. Record yourself playing both sides of a first meeting. Include: a greeting, a name exchange, and a farewell. Listen back and identify one thing to improve.
Culture and Communication
Across many Arabic-speaking communities, greeting someone warmly before making a request or starting a transaction is expected, much as it is in many other cultures. Beginning an interaction abruptly without any greeting can come across as cold. A simple أَهْلًا or السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم before a request costs nothing and sets a respectful tone for the interaction.
This expectation is widely shared, though norms always vary by individual, setting, region, and relationship. As a learner, making a habit of greeting first will serve you well throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
Arabic is spoken across more than twenty countries spanning North Africa, the Nile Valley, the Levant, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, and beyond, and it is used by communities of many religious backgrounds — Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and others — as well as by people of no religious affiliation. Learning Arabic is not learning about one country, one religion, or one culture — it is gaining access to a wide and varied linguistic world.
This course teaches Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the shared formal and cross-regional standard used in education, media, and writing throughout the Arabic-speaking world. In everyday spoken interaction, however, people generally use a regional spoken variety rather than MSA — for example, greetings may sound noticeably different in Cairo, Beirut, Casablanca, or Riyadh. أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا and السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم are both widely understood and used across regional varieties as well as in MSA, which is part of why they make an excellent starting point. As the course progresses, regional forms will be introduced and clearly labeled for recognition; the productive standard taught throughout remains MSA.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing or typing Arabic letters in left-to-right order, producing a reversed or scrambled word.
Correction: Arabic is written and read from right to left. Begin each word at the rightmost letter. If you are typing, use an Arabic keyboard layout or input method rather than typing letters in English order and hoping the software corrects it — it will not.
Error: Omitting dots, or placing the wrong number of dots, when writing ب, ت, or ث.
Correction: These three letters share the same base shape and are distinguished only by their dots: one dot below for ب, two dots above for ت, three dots above for ث. Check every letter for the correct number and position of dots — this is not optional.
Error: Asking مَا اسْمُكِ؟ to a man, or مَا اسْمُكَ؟ to a woman.
Correction: Match the question to the listener: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ for a man, مَا اسْمُكِ؟ for a woman. Listening carefully for this kind of final-vowel difference will become an essential habit throughout the course.
Error: Trying to add a separate Arabic word for "is" into اسْمِي سَارَة, modeled on the English sentence "My name is Sara."
Correction: Arabic present-tense identity sentences normally do not use an overt word for "is." اسْمِي سَارَة already means a complete sentence on its own.
Error: Using جَدِيد with a feminine noun, as in *الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيد.
Correction: The adjective must agree in gender with the noun it describes: الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ (feminine noun, feminine adjective). Watch for the tāʾ marbūṭa ending on both the noun and the adjective.
Error: Assuming that السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم can only be used by or with Muslims, or avoiding it out of uncertainty.
Correction: While the expression has roots in Islamic tradition, it functions as a widely used everyday greeting across many Arabic-speaking communities, used and understood by people of various religious backgrounds. أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا remains a useful, religiously neutral alternative whenever you prefer it.
Chapter Review
Section A — المُفْرَدَات (Vocabulary)
1. Write the Arabic word or phrase for each: hello (welcome) · goodbye · thank you · you're welcome · pleased to meet you.
2. What is the difference in meaning and use between صَبَاحُ الخَيْر and مَسَاءُ الخَيْر?
3. What does تَشَرَّفْنَا literally mean? When is it used? (A one-sentence English explanation is fine.)
4. Is السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم used only by Muslims? Explain in one or two sentences.
Section B — الكِتَابَة وَالقَوَاعِد (Script and Grammar)
1. Which letters in this chapter's first letter group do not connect to the following letter?
2. Write the isolated, initial, medial, and final forms of ن (nūn).
3. Choose مَا اسْمُكَ؟ or مَا اسْمُكِ؟ for each: (a) your male instructor, (b) a female classmate, (c) a boy you just met, (d) a woman at a registration desk.
4. Correct the error: *الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيد.
5. Explain in English: why does اسْمِي سَارَة not need a separate word for "is"?
Section C — اسْتِيعَاب المَقْرُوء (Reading comprehension)
1. Look at Badge 3 again. What is Reem Suleiman's title, and what letter at the end tells you it is feminine?
2. In the model dialogue, why does Tom say فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة to the instructor rather than repeating تَشَرَّفْنَا? Is either choice incorrect?
3. Which greeting in the dialogue would be inappropriate to use at night? What should replace it?
Section D — الكِتَابَة (Writing)
1. Write a three-sentence self-introduction in Arabic. Include: an appropriate greeting, your name using اسْمِي..., and a polite closing expression. Check your draft against the editing checklist in the Writing Workshop.
Section E — التَّعْبِير الشَّفَهِيّ (Speaking)
1. Without looking at the book, greet a partner, introduce yourself, ask their name using the correct form, respond politely, then say goodbye.
مُرَاجَعَة تَرَاكُمِيَّة — Cumulative review
Complete Speaker B's lines to make a natural exchange at a formal morning meeting. Speaker A's lines are already written.
أ: صَبَاحُ الخَيْر! اسْمِي عُمَر.
ب: ______________________________________
أ: تَشَرَّفْنَا.
ب: ______________________________________
أ: إِلَى اللِّقَاء!
ب: ______________________________________
Chapter Performance Task
مُهِمَّة الأَدَاء
بِطَاقَة هُوِيَّة لُغَوِيَّة — Language identity card
You have been asked to create a short presentation of yourself for the institute's welcome board. Complete the following tasks:
- Written: Design a name badge for yourself (real or imagined), including your name written in Arabic script.
- Written: Write a three-sentence self-introduction to accompany the badge. Use اسْمِي... and one courtesy expression.
- Spoken: Read your introduction aloud to a partner or record it. Your partner asks you a follow-up question using the vocabulary from this chapter. You respond.
- Reflection: Write one sentence in English identifying one thing you found easy and one thing you want to improve.
Assessment focus: appropriate greeting and farewell, correct use of اسْمِي, correct choice between مَا اسْمُكَ؟/مَا اسْمُكِ؟, accurate letter joining and dots, natural spoken delivery.
Answer Key
Practice — Choosing the correct question
1. مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — male classmate. 2. مَا اسْمُكِ؟ — female instructor. 3. مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — a boy. 4. مَا اسْمُكِ؟ — a woman. 5. مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — male roommate.
Practice — جَدِيد or جَدِيدَة؟
1. الصَّفُّ جَدِيدٌ. 2. الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ.
Practice — Completing introductions
1. أَهْلًا، اسْمِي كَرِيم. 2. مَا اسْمُكَ؟ — اسْمِي نُور. 3. اسْمِي هُدَى. — تَشَرَّفْنَا.
Dialogue — Comprehension
- The Egyptian student's name is Layla.
- They use أُسْتَاذ (Ustādh), a respectful title for an instructor, signaling a more formal register than the earlier exchange between the two students.
- Layla uses تَشَرَّفْنَا with Tom; Tom uses فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة with the instructor. Both are equally correct and standard responses.
- Ustādh Khālid uses إِلَى اللِّقَاء to say goodbye.
Listening
- 1 — Nūr — أَهْلًا — تَشَرَّفْنَا
- 2 — Dāwūd — أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا — فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة
- 3 — Maya — مَسَاءُ الخَيْر — تَشَرَّفْنَا
- 4 — ʿAlī — صَبَاحُ الخَيْر — (no closing response given; addresses instructor with the title أُسْتَاذ)
Bonus: ʿAlī (No. 4) uses the most formal register, signaled by addressing the listener as أُسْتَاذ.
Reading — Comprehension
- The instructor's name is Reem Suleiman (رِيم سُلَيْمَان).
- Benjamin Smith is a student; his badge is labeled "Student."
- The final ة (tāʾ marbūṭa) on الأُسْتَاذَة signals the feminine form.
Chapter Review — Section A
- أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا · مَعَ السَّلَامَة · شُكْرًا · عَفْوًا · تَشَرَّفْنَا
- صَبَاحُ الخَيْر means "good morning" and is used in the morning; مَسَاءُ الخَيْر means "good evening" and is used from afternoon into evening.
- تَشَرَّفْنَا literally means "we are honored." It is used as a polite response immediately after being introduced to someone.
- No. While it has roots in Islamic tradition, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم is used and understood by people of many religious backgrounds across the Arabic-speaking world as an everyday greeting.
Chapter Review — Section B
- ا، د، ذ do not connect to the following letter.
- Isolated: ن — Initial: نـ — Medial: ـنـ — Final: ـن
- (a) مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (b) مَا اسْمُكِ؟ (c) مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (d) مَا اسْمُكِ؟
- *الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيد. → الجَامِعَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ.
- Arabic nominal sentences expressing present-tense identity or description normally do not include an overt copula; the two parts of the sentence are simply placed next to each other, and the meaning "is" is understood from context.
Chapter Review — Section C
- Reem Suleiman's title is الأُسْتَاذَة (instructor, feminine); the final ة tells you it is feminine.
- Tom uses a different but equally valid formula; both تَشَرَّفْنَا and فُرْصَة سَعِيدَة are standard responses to an introduction, and choosing either is correct.
- صَبَاحُ الخَيْر ("good morning") would be inappropriate at night; مَسَاءُ الخَيْر should replace it.
Chapter Review — Section D, model answer
أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا! اسْمِي [your name]. تَشَرَّفْنَا! Other well-formed, accurate answers are equally acceptable. Check against the editing checklist in the Writing Workshop.
Cumulative Review — Model responses for Speaker B
ب: صَبَاحُ النُّور! اسْمِي [name].
ب: تَشَرَّفْنَا.
ب: إِلَى اللِّقَاء!
Exact wording will vary. Check that the response maintains consistent register and contains correct letter joining and dots.
Looking Ahead
مَا الَّذِي تَسْتَطِيعُ فِعْلَهُ الآن — What you can do now
You can greet someone appropriately, introduce yourself by name, ask and answer a name question, use basic courtesy expressions, and say goodbye. You have also written your first six Arabic letters in their isolated, initial, medial, and final forms, you can recognize the feminine tāʾ marbūṭa ending, and you understand that Arabic present-tense identity sentences do not require a separate word for "is."