Beginning Arabic Trivia Quiz

Answer: anaa ___

"Anaa" in Arabic means "I". In Arabic, one would not say "I am John", but literally, "I John". "Anta" is "you (masc. sing.)", "anti" is "you (fem. sing.)", and "wa" is "and". "Ismi" is also an acceptable answer, because it means "my name". "Ismi John" means, "My name is John", literally "My name John."

Answer: tasharrafna

"Tasharrafna" literally means "we've been honored". "Ila lliqa" means "see you later", and "bikhayr" means "fine", as in "anaa bi khayr": "I am fine."

Answer: min ayna anta?

"min" = "from"; "ayna" = "where"; "anta" = "you (masc. sing.)". If I were speaking to a female, then I would say, "Min ayna anti?" "Man" means "who", so "Man anta?" means "Who are you?" "Hal" is a question marker that doesn't have a direct translation in English but is used in yes/no questions, so "Hal ayna anta?" does not make sense. "Antum" is the plural form of "anta", so "Ayna antum?" means "Where are you (masc. pl.)?"

Answer: taalibun

"Anaa taalibun", with a pharyngealized T, means "I am a student". If you are female, you say "Anaa taalibatun." "Jaami'atun" means "a university"; "kuliyatun" means "a department"; and "shaqatun" means "an apartment".

Answer: jaami'ati New York

"Jaami'at" means "university", and when you add "i" to the end, it means "university of". "Bayt" means "house" and "madiinat" means "city". So if I said, "Min ayna anta?", you could answer, "Anaa min madiinati New York": "I am from New York City"!

Answer: ayndaka qalamun?

You only had two choices for each part of the sentence. "Ayndi" means "I have", while "ayndaka" means "you have (masc. sing.)" "Kitaab" means "book,", while "qalam" means "pen". This sentence would be appropriate to use with "hal", as in, "Hal ayndaka qalamun?": "Do you have a pen?" Or, if you are female, "Hal ayndaki qalamun?"

Answer: khamsa

"Khamsa" = 5; "waahid" = 1; "arba'a" = 4; "tis'a" = 9. Don't confuse "khamsa" with "hamza"! Hamza is the indicator of a glottal stop in Arabic -- as in the beginning of "anaa", "anta", and "anti". An English equivalent is the sound in the beginning and middle of the expression, "Uh-oh!"

Answer: False

In an Arabic verbal sentence, the subject pronoun is implied. For example, if you said "Askunu fii baytun (I live in a house)", the subject pronoun "anaa" is implied and unnecessary. Spanish and Italian are some other languages like this. English, however, is not. Neither is French.

Answer: laa naktubu

Again, you only had two choices for each part of the sentence. Verbal sentences like this are negated by "laa", where as a sentence like "ayndi kitaabun (I have a book)" are negated by "laysa": "Laysa ayndi kitaabun": I" don't have a book." ("Have" is not a verb in Arabic.) And the correct conjugation for "we write" is "naktubu". "Laa naktubu": "We don't write."

Answer: ayn

Ayn is a consonant in Arabic. It is often the most difficult for native English speakers to perceive because the English letter it sounds most like is the vowel A. No Arabic letter is limited to being just a vowel. Alif alone is a long A, but with a hamza atop it, it is two sounds: glottal stop and A. Waw can either function as W (a glide) or long U (a vowel). Yin can either function as Y (glide) or long I (vowel).

As a native English speaker, Arabic phonology has fascinated me! Hope you enjoyed my quiz!