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Lesson 8 of 10

Getting around in Arabic

Left, right, the station, one ticket, where is the toilet. Play the ten Arabic words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.

Elephant Rock in the desert near Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia
Getting around
10 words · 20 seconds each · 8 of 10 to pass
What it meansHow to say it
Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All 10 Arabic phrases in this lesson

أين الحمام؟AY-na al-ham-MAM
Where is the toilet?

Hammam means bathroom/toilet (and historically, public bath). In speech: "wayn al-hammam?" (Gulf), "fein al-hammam?" (Egypt). Mosques always have toilets accessible to visitors; hotels and malls have reliable facilities. Many public toilets have an attendant; 5 to 10 local units is courteous.

كيف أصل إلى...؟KAY-fa A-sil i-la
How do I get to...?

Showing a phone map with the place name is often quicker.

يساراًya-SA-ran
To the left

In speech: "yisaar". Right: "yameen". Straight: "dughri" (colloquial, from Turkish doğru) is understood everywhere. The formal "ala tool" (straight ahead) also works. Arabic direction-giving often involves landmarks more than street names.

يميناًya-MEE-nan
To the right

In speech: "yameen". Direction vocabulary plus a destination name is the whole taxi conversation you need. Many drivers in tourist cities speak enough English; in smaller towns a phone map shown silently communicates clearly.

على طولa-la TOOL
Straight ahead

Literally "on the length" (straight on). Also "dughri" (DUGH-ree) in colloquial speech across the region, a loanword from Turkish meaning straight. Both are understood by any taxi driver in any Arabic-speaking country.

هناHU-na
Here

"Stop here" to a taxi driver: "waqqif hina" (WAK-kif HI-na). Hunaa is the written form and hina the spoken one across most dialects; either is understood. Its opposite is hunaak (there). Pointing is understood alongside or instead of the word.

محطة القطارma-HAT-ta al-qi-TAR
Train station

Not all countries have significant train networks. Egypt has an extensive rail network; the Gulf has metros in Dubai and Riyadh; Jordan and Lebanon are car-dependent. Check modes of transport before arriving in a new city.

حافلةHA-fi-la
Bus

In speech nearly everyone says "baas" (BAAS).

المطارal-ma-TAR
Airport

"Al-matar min fadlak" (the airport please) works in any taxi. Major airports across the Gulf are modern, English-signposted, and navigable without Arabic. Regional airports are more variable.

تذكرة واحدة من فضلكtath-KA-ra WA-hi-da min FAD-lak
One ticket, please

Dubai Metro, Riyadh Metro, and Cairo Metro all have clear signage in English and Arabic. The stored-value cards are Nol in Dubai and Darb in Riyadh, both tap-and-go. Single tickets are available at machines.

Where Arabic is spoken

Next lesson: Time and days →