Learn Modern Standard Arabic, from English.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, الفصحى) is the shared written and formal spoken standard used across the Arab world — in books, news, education, and formal speech. This course teaches MSA for English-speaking beginners: the alphabet and right-to-left writing, the sounds English speakers find hardest, core grammar, and the essential phrases you need first — all with a consistent transliteration and clear audio.
Start here
Your recommended route through the course.
- START Learn Modern Standard Arabic: How to Start Begin with the big picture — what MSA is, where it's used, and how to approach it.
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STEP 1 Script & sounds The Arabic alphabet, right-to-left writing, pronunciation, and vowel marks.
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STEP 2 Grammar Sentence structure, gender, definiteness, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, questions, and negation.
- Arabic Sentence Structure: Nominal and Verbal Sentences Made SimpleRead this article
- Arabic Nouns: Gender, the Definite Article ال, and Tāʾ MarbūṭaRead this article
- Arabic Adjectives and Possession: Agreement and the Iḍāfa LinkRead this article
- Arabic Pronouns: I, You, He, She — and the Possessive EndingsRead this article
- Arabic Verbs for Beginners: Past, Present, and Future — the Essential PatternRead this article
- Arabic Questions and Negation: Asking and Saying No CorrectlyRead this article
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STEP 3 Words & conversation Greetings, politeness, numbers, time, and everyday exchanges.
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STEP 4 Practical Arabic Airports, hotels, directions, transport, and restaurants.
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Getting started
The big picture — what MSA is and how to approach it.
Script & sounds
The alphabet, pronunciation, and vowel marks.
- The Arabic Alphabet: Letters, Shapes, and Right-to-Left Reading Learn the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, how letters join cursively, initial/medial/final shapes, and how right-to-left reading works for English speakers.
- Arabic Pronunciation for English Speakers: The Sounds That Matter Learn the Arabic sounds English speakers find hardest — ع غ ق ḥ kh and the emphatic consonants — with honest articulation guidance and audio for every example.
- Arabic Vowels and Diacritics: Reading What's Written — and What Isn't Learn fatḥa, kasra, ḍamma, sukūn, shadda, and tanwīn — the marks that show short vowels and doubling — and why normal Arabic text omits most of them.
Grammar
Sentence structure, gender, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, questions, and negation.
- Arabic Sentence Structure: Nominal and Verbal Sentences Made Simple Learn the two basic Arabic sentence types — nominal (noun-first, no 'is') and verbal (verb-first) — with agreement and beginner-safe predicate patterns.
- Arabic Nouns: Gender, the Definite Article ال, and Tāʾ Marbūṭa Learn how Arabic nouns work — masculine vs feminine, ال for 'the', the ة feminine ending, and the dual and plural basics every beginner needs.
- Arabic Adjectives and Possession: Agreement and the Iḍāfa Link Learn adjective agreement and noun-adjective order in Arabic, plus the iḍāfa construction for possession — 'X of Y' without any word for 'of'.
- Arabic Pronouns: I, You, He, She — and the Possessive Endings Learn the independent Arabic pronouns, the gendered 'you', and the possessive suffixes like -ī 'my' and -ak/-ik 'your' that attach directly to nouns.
- Arabic Verbs for Beginners: Past, Present, and Future — the Essential Pattern Learn the two core Arabic verb forms — perfect (past) and imperfect (present/future) — plus سوف for the future, and the high-frequency verbs you'll use daily.
- Arabic Questions and Negation: Asking and Saying No Correctly Learn Arabic question words (what, where, when, who, why, how), yes/no questions with هل, and the negation words ليس، لا، ما، لم، لن every beginner needs.
Words & conversation
Greetings, numbers, time, and everyday phrases.
- Arabic Greetings and Politeness: The Everyday Essentials Learn the standard MSA greetings — السلام عليكم, صباح الخير, شكرا, من فضلك, عفوا — and the polite exchanges every learner uses first.
- Arabic Numbers and Time: Counting, Telling Time, Days, and Prices Learn Arabic numbers 0–100, how to tell time, the days of the week, and how to ask and understand prices — kept at a beginner-safe depth.
- Essential Arabic Words and Everyday Conversation Learn the highest-frequency MSA words — pronouns, connectors, everyday nouns and verbs — plus self-introduction and simple daily exchanges for beginners.
Practical Arabic
Travel, food, and transport essentials.