ArabicPod – Blog

The most basic words for love in Arabic (حُبّ), English and French (aimer) don’t look anything alike, but they do share the same set of meanings. If I say alternately ‘I love you’ or ‘je t’aime’ or ‘أُحِبّك,’ I could be speaking to a lover, a parent, a sibling, a friend, a pet or even an inanimate object. I might even just mean, “I like you.” It’s all about the context – and this is also a handy word to know in Arabic, السِياق.

If I’m speaking to a male, I’m going to say أُحِبُكَ (u7ebbuka), whereas if I’m speaking to a female, I’ll say أُحِبُكِ (u7ebbuki).

Of course, if I’m in الشام area of the Arab world, I might add a ‘بَ’ to the beginning of the word to signify that it’s in the present tense (and, in this case, tweak the internal vowels). In the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan) and in Egypt, for instance, I’d say بَحَبك (ba7ebbak/ik). If I’m just talking about love in general, I’ll use the مصدر or verbal noun and be sure to make it definite: الحُبّ.

This particular verb, however, is hardly the only one you’ll hear used to describe love. In London-based Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif’s 1999 novel,The Map of Love, one of her characters – an avid Arabic student – goes looking for love in the Arabic language. In a lyrical journal entry, she writes about what she has discovered:

” ‘Hubb’ is love, ‘3ishq’ [عِشْقَ] is love that entwines two people together, ’sha3′af’ [شَغَفَ] is love that nests in the chambers of the heart, ‘hayam’ [هامَ/هَيم] is love that wanders the earth, ‘taym’ [تامَ/تَيْم] is love in which you lose yourself, ‘walah’ [وَلَهَ] is love that carries sorrow within it, ‘9abaabah’ [صَبَّ/صَبابة] is love that exudes from your pores, ‘hawa’ [هَوَى] is love that shares its name with ‘air’ and with ‘falling,’ ‘3′arem’ [غَرِمَ - pass.] is love that is willing to pay the price.”

If you’re yearning to know more about these specific words – well, yallah, look them up in our dictionary!

A common misconception about Arabic today is that it is an extremely difficult language to learn. I am writing this article to eliminate this misconception. Yes, Arabic can be hard, but no, it does not take years to learn if some effort is put into learning the language on a weekly basis. Everyone can learn Arabic, both young and old!

I generally try to back my claims with evidence. If Arabic is that difficult, then how is it that Hamza Yusuf, an American raised in California who started learning Arabic in his 20s, now speaks Arabic so fluently that many assume him to be a born Arab. Moreover, how has Tim Winter, also known as Abdal Hakim Murad and a lecturer at Cambridge University, mastered the language? Both of these men travelled to Arab countries to seek knowledge and, although they started learning Arabic as adults, they can now speak the language skillfully. This proves that Arabic is not such a difficult language to learn. My own mother, born and raised in Britain, managed to learn Arabic in her early 30s and can now have competent conversations with people.

The biggest challenge for Arabic learners is the lack of available resources and native-Arab people to practice with. Recently, with the emergence of sites such as ArabicPod.net, people are starting to realise that learning Arabic can be a great and pleasurable experience, far from the complex and stressful experience many claim it to be. Of course it’s inevitable that the learning of a new language means also understanding new grammatical rules different from those of your mother tongue. However, this shouldn’t mean that learning the language is exceptionally difficult. Every foreign tongue is different and unique in its own way. Thus, acquisition of a new language always requires determination and motivation.

We often see questions over the internet concerning the difficulty of learning Arabic. When People worldwide think about learning Arabic one of the first questions they ask is: “Is Arabic difficult?”. To summarize, it certainly is a challenge, but a challenge that can be easily surmounted . Do not listen to those who don’t speak a word of Arabic but claim it to be the most difficult language to learn. Give the language a chance, you will find it is well worth it!

As I was walking down the Grand Bazaar Market in Istanbul, Turkey, while on holiday, I stopped to buy a cheap watch when the salesman asked if I spoke Arabic. I was surprised to hear near perfect Arabic being spoken by this salesman. He was a local Kurd and not from an Arab descent and said that Arabic was a must for him to learn. It was then when it struck me that Arabic really is a universal language with a World Wide user base.  

Arabic is one of the most spoken languages in the World. It is the official language in 22 countries and is also learnt as a second language by millions of people due to the influences of Islam, culture and others. I found a good article on http://www.vistawide.com/arabic/why_arabic.htm called “10 excellent reasons to study Arabic” which is worth a read if you’re wondering why you should study Arabic.

From a personal point of view, I find Arabic very rich. The vast number of words that are available and the way they are formed can deliver a very powerful and touching speech, for example, more so than if it was done in another language. If I was to compare the language to a Swiss Army Knife then it would be a fully loaded one with all the tools needed to easily provide vivid explanatory speech.  Those romantic gestures that you might give to your loved one can sound even more romantic using this tool.

If you have started learning with us at ArabicPod then we urge you to continue and promise you will find the outcome rewarding, and if you are thinking of learning Arabic then all we can ask is what are you waiting for? Start downloading those podcasts and embark on a journey that will lead you to the treasure at the end of the rainbow.