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Expand your biology and nature vocabulary by learning the names of common insects and bugs. You will notice that many of these new words are feminine, ending in the *taa marbuta* (ة).

### Actions Already Completed

In this lesson's examples, you will often see actions that *had already happened*. To express the past perfect in Arabic (such as "had seen" or "had stung"), pair the past tense of "to be" (كان or كانت) with the particle قد and a past tense verb.

### Butterflies and Bees

The general word for an insect is حشرة. One of the most beloved insects is the butterfly (فراشة).

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Some insects bite, while others, like the bee (نحلة), can sting. Use the verb لدغ for "to sting".

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### Mosquitoes and Flies

Other common flying bugs include the mosquito (بعوضة) and the fly (ذبابة).

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### Spiders and Crawling Bugs

Let's look at some creepy-crawlies. Unlike the previous bugs, the word for spider (عنكبوت) does not end in a *taa marbuta* and is treated as masculine.

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For bugs on the ground, such as an ant (نملة), you will often use the verb زحف (to crawl). To specify the direction they are moving, use the preposition نحو (toward).

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This same action applies to the worm (دودة).

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Insects and Bugs

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
butterfly	فراشةfarâsha
insect	حشرةhasharah
Every butterfly is a beautiful insect.	كل فراشة حشرة جميلة.kullu farâshatin ḥasharatun jamîlatun
Fatima had seen a butterfly in her room.	كانت فاطمة قد رأت فراشة في غرفتها.kânat fâtimatu qad ra'at farâshatan fî ghurfatihâ
Some insects annoy people.	بعض الحشرات تزعج الناس.ba'dul hasharâti tuz'ijun-nâs.
bee	نحلةnahla
to sting	لدغladagha
A bee had stung Yusuf yesterday.	كانت نحلة قد لدغت يوسف أمس.kânat naḥlatun qad ladaghat yûsufa amsi
mosquito	بعوضةba'ûda
fly	ذبابةdhubâbah
Ahmad hates every mosquito and fly.	يكره أحمد كل بعوضة وذبابة.yakrahu ahmadu kulla ba'ûdatin wa dhubâbatin
A fly had entered the kitchen.	كانت ذبابة قد دخلت إلى المطبخ.kânat dhubâbatun qad dakhalat ilâ al-matbakhi
spider	عنكبوتankabût
The spider eats some insects.	يأكل العنكبوت بعض الحشرات.ya'kulu al-'ankabûtu ba'da al-hasharât.
The spider had built a web.	كان العنكبوت قد بنى شبكة.kâna al-'ankabûtu qad banâ shabakatan.
to crawl	زحفzahafa
ant	نملةnamla
toward	نحوnahwa
Every ant crawls toward the food.	تزحف كل نملة نحو الطعام.tazhafu kullu namlatin nahwa at-taâmi.
An ant had crawled on my hand.	كانت نملة قد زحفت على يدي.kânat namlatun qad zahafat alâ yadî
worm	دودةdûdah
Did a worm crawl toward the bee?	هل زحفت دودة نحو النحلة؟hal zahafat dûdatun nahwa an-nahlati?
This worm did not sting Maryam.	لم تلدغ هذه الدودة مريم.lam taldagh hâdhihi ad-dûdatu maryama.
That mosquito annoyed Aisha.	أزعجت تلك البعوضة عائشة.azajat tilka albaûdatu â'isha.