Around town
Arabic is printed without its short vowels, so one spelling can carry two words. This lesson adds ten town words, and seven of them are spelled like a word you already know. The sentence tells you which one you are reading.
| you know | the new word |
|---|---|
| رَصِيف platform (at a station) | رَصِيف sidewalk |
| مَوْقِف situation | مَوْقِف (bus) stop; car park |
| دَفَعَ to pay | دَفَعَ to push |
| دُرْج drawer | دَرَج staircase |
| وَقَّعَ to sign | وَقَعَ to fall; to happen |
| ظَهْر back | ظَهَرَ to show up |
| عَالِم scientist | عَالَم world |
Three more have no twin yet: قِيَادَة driving, بُرْج tower and ضَغَطَ عَلَى to press.
The same word in a new place
رصيف, موقف and دفع are one word each, used in a new place. A رصيف is the raised edge you walk along: at the station the platform, in the street the sidewalk. A موقف is where something stops: a bus, or your car.
| Walk on the sidewalk, kids; the street is dangerous. | امشوا على الرصيف يا أولاد، الشارع خطير.imshû 'alâ ar-rasîfi yâ awlâdu, ash-shâri'u khatîrun |
| The man paid the bill, then pushed the door and went out. | دفع الرجل الحساب، ثم دفع الباب وخرج.dafa'a ar-rajulu al-hisâba, thumma dafa'a al-bâba wa kharaja |
The first دفع takes the bill, so he paid; the second takes the door, so he pushed.
Vowels you hear but do not see
The other pairs differ only in their short vowels, or in a doubled letter. Ask two questions: is the word a verb or a noun here, and which meaning makes sense?
| The girl fell on the stairs. | وقعت البنت على الدرج.waqa'ati l-bintu 'ala d-daraj |
وقعت has a subject, البنت, and no paper to sign: she fell (وَقَعَتْ). دُرْج and دَرَج are both nouns, so here the meaning decides: you fall on stairs, not on a drawer, so الدرج is دَرَج the stairs.
| My friend suddenly showed up in front of the entrance. | ظهر صديقي فجأة أمام المدخل.zahara sadîqî faj'atan amâma al-madkhal. |
ظهر opens the sentence, there is no other verb, and فجأة suddenly needs an action: it is the verb ظَهَرَ showed up, not the noun ظَهْر back.
| This is the tallest tower in the world. | هذا أطول برج في العالم. |
عَالَم and عَالِم are both nouns too: a tower is the tallest in the world (عَالَم), not in a scientist (عَالِم).
