Latest Articles

Arabic Verb Types

Arabic Verb Types Familiarity with Arabic verb types is important for correct verb conjugation and usage. These types are based on the structure of the verb root, the component letters of the verb root, whether the verb requires an object, and the tense or time of verb. Verb Root Structure: (1) The Simple Verb الْفِعْلُ الْمُجَرَّد: The verbs in (أ) are …

Ali Ahmed Bakathir

Ali Ahmed Bakathir عَلِي أَحْمَد بَاكَثِيْر Born in Surabaya Indonesia in 1910, Ali Ahmed Bakathir is a renowned and highly regarded Arab literary figure and playwright. As was the case with many Yemeni fathers in southeast Asia at the time, namely Indonesia and Malaysia, his father decided that the family go back to their homeland—Say’un سَيْئون city in Hadhramautحَضْرَمُو…

Shafoot: A Starter Yemeni Dish

Shafoot شَفُوْت: A Starter Yemeni Dish saltah سَلْتَة, faHsah فَحْسَة, mandi مَنْدِي, fattah فَتَّة, sousi سُوْسِي, ‘aSiiT عَصِيْد, bint aS-SaHn بِنْت الصَّحْن and shafoot شَفُوت are very popular local dishes that are unique to Yemen. You might have tried or heard of mandi because it has found its way to neighboring gulf states and other Arab countries and will soon become int…

Attached Subject Pronouns with Irregular Imperfective Verbs

As explained earlier, the irregular verb الْفِعْلُ الْمُعْتَل in Arabic is the verb that includes a weak letter حَرْفُ عِلَّة (i.e. ا ، و ، ي). It is considered irregular because its root changes while appending attached subject pronouns to it. This change can be leaving a weak letter out or changing it to another weak letter. In this lesson, we will focus on the imperfectiv…

Pre-Islamic Beliefs of Arabs

Pre-Islamic Beliefs of Arabs In the pre-Islamic period or Jahiliyyah الْجَاهِلِيَّة, Arabs were not all monotheists. Like many other nations at the time, they had more than one faith دَيَانَة. Quraish قُرِيْش and neighboring tribes were principally paganist وَثَنِي. Judaism was the main religion in Yemen. Across different tribal regions, Individuals and small groups practiced …

Attached Subject Pronouns with the Irregular Perfective Verbs

A regular perfective verb الفِعْل المَاضِي الصَّحِيْح, explained in a previous lesson, is the verb that does not include a long vowel حَرْفُ عِلَّة (i.e. و ، ا ، ي). The absence of the long vowel makes its conjugation with different persons / pronouns straightforward. That is, the root verb does not change when pronoun suffixes (or affixes) are added. By contract, the ir…
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Latest Tests

Reading Comprehension Test (41)

Arabic Reading Comprehension Test (41) Read the Story أُغْنِيَةُ الْعَظْمَةِ and answer the following questions.

Reading Comprehension Test (40)

Arabic Reading Comprehension Test (40) Read the Story الْحَيَّةُ الْبَيْضَاءُ and answer the following questions.

Reading Comprehension Test (39)

Arabic Reading Comprehension Test (39) Read the Story التَّاجِرُ مَرْمَرُ and answer the following questions.

Reading Comprehension Test (38)

Arabic Reading Comprehension Test (38) Read the Story الشَّيْخُ الْهِنْدِيُّ and answer the following questions.

Latest E-books & Handouts

Ibnulyemen Arabic Attached Pronouns

Attached pronouns in Arabic are the pronouns that we attach to verbs, nouns, prepositions, or particles. Generally speaking, pronouns in Arabic are separate, attached, or implicit (i.e. implied or not overt). The separate pronouns  in Arabic are similar to the subject pronouns found in most world languages in addition to the dual and feminine forms that exist in Arabic. As for …

Ibnulyemen Arabic Alphabet and Cursive Writing

Arabic is a right-to-left cursive language. This short e-book "Ibnulyemen Arabic Alphabet and Cursive Writing" typographically shows how the Arabic letters are connected to to form words. There are twenty-eight letters in Arabic. Each letter has four shapes: at the beginning of the word, in the middle of the word, at the end of the word, and in isolation. This, as a result, see…

Ibnulyemen Arabic Short Stories for Non-natives

This is a short e-book of eleven short stories written in simplified Arabic. The original versions of these stories were written by Kamel Kilani and Mohammed Al-Abrashi, both Egyptian writers. They are fairly long and meant for native speakers of Arabic. The wording and structures of these stories have been tweaked and simplified to make them suitable for (advanced) beginner le…

Attached Pronouns

Attached pronouns in Arabic are pronominal suffixes; for each separate pronoun there is a corresponding attached pronoun. These pronominal suffixes are are attached to nouns, prepositions, and verbs. With nouns, they function as possessive pronouns. With preposition, they function as object of prepositions. With verbs, they function as either subjects or objects.  In the table …