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To talk about building and construction in Arabic, you will need a specialized set of vocabulary to describe the structures, materials, and equipment found on a site.

### Structures and Foundations

When talking about building, a common verb is شيد (to construct or build).

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Every building starts with an أساس (foundation) and is supported by structural elements like a عمود (column). 

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### Raw Materials

Construction relies heavily on raw materials. Words for materials such as خرسانة (concrete) and أسمنت (cement) are treated as mass nouns (uncountable).

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Similarly, the word for "bricks" (طوب) is a collective noun. When referring to the material as a whole, it is treated grammatically as a singular masculine noun.

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### Equipment and Finishing

To move heavy materials and reach high places, workers use specific equipment. A رافعة (crane) does the heavy lifting, while a سقالة (scaffold) provides a temporary platform for workers to stand on.

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As the building takes shape, you will see materials like حصى (gravel) being mixed, allowing the structural pieces to come together until the final حائط (wall) is complete.

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Building & Construction

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
to construct	شيدshayyada
The contractors constructed a new building.	شيد المقاولون مبنى جديدا.shayyada al-muqâwilûna mabnan jadîdan.
column	عمودamûd
The engineer constructed a high column.	شيدت المهندسة عمودا عاليا.shayyadati al-muhandisatu amoodan aaliyan.
The columns are strong in this building.	الأعمدة قوية في هذا المبنى.al-a'midatu qawiyyatun fî hâdhâ al-mabnâ
foundation	أساسasâs
concrete	خرسانةkharasâna
The foundations need strong concrete.	تحتاج الأساسات إلى خرسانة قوية.tahtâju al-asâsâtu ilâ kharasânatin qawiyyatin
The worker laid the foundation yesterday.	وضع العامل الأساس أمس.wada'a al-'âmilu al-asâsa amsi.
Is the concrete ready now?	هل الخرسانة جاهزة الآن؟hal al-kharasâna jâhiza al-ân?
The engineers poured the concrete in the morning.	صبت المهندسات الخرسانة في الصباح.sabbati l-muhandisâtu l-kharasânata fi s-sabâh.
cement	أسمنتasmant
The cement is plentiful in the warehouse.	الأسمنت كثير في المستودع.al-asmantu kathîrun fî-l-mustawda'i
The contractors bought a lot of cement.	اشترى المقاولون أسمنتا كثيرا.ishtarâ al-muqâwilûna asmantan kathîran
bricks	طوبtôb
Are the red bricks cheap?	هل الطوب الأحمر رخيص؟hal at-tûbu al-ahmaru rakhîs?
The worker carried the bricks.	حملت العاملة الطوب.hamalati l-'âmilatu t-tûba.
scaffold	سقالةsaqâlah
The contractor stood on the scaffold.	وقف المقاول على السقالة.waqafa al-muqâwilu 'alâ as-saqâlah
The scaffolds are very high.	السقالات عالية جدا.as-saqâlâtu 'âliyatun jiddan
crane	رافعةrâfi'ah
The crane moved the heavy materials.	نقلت الرافعة المواد الثقيلة.naqalati r-râfi'atu l-mawâdda th-thaqîlata
The engineer saw a huge crane at the site.	رأت المهندسة رافعة ضخمة في الموقع.ra'ati l-muhandisatu râfi'atan dakhmatan fi l-mawqi'i
gravel	حصىhasâ
The truck unloaded the gravel.	أنزلت الشاحنة الحصى.anzalati ash-shâhinatu al-hasâ.
The worker mixed the gravel with the cement.	خلط العامل الحصى مع الأسمنت.khalata al-aamilu al-hasâ maa al-'ismanti
wall (of a building/room)	حائطhâ'it
The workers put the paint on the wall.	وضعت العاملات الطلاء على الحائط.wadaati l-aamilaatu t-tilaa'a alaa l-haa'iti
The engineer checked the wall.	فحص المهندس الحائط.fahasa al-muhandisu al-hâ'ita