r/learn_arabic

As-salamu alaykum everyone,

I’m planning to move abroad within the next two years, with the goal of seriously learning Arabic and studying the Qur’an and Islam in general. I’m currently considering either Egypt or Saudi Arabia, but I’m not sure which would be the better choice.

Egypt really attracts me, especially because of Al-Azhar and the long-standing tradition of Islamic scholarship there. I’d ideally like to do some basic/introductory studies at a university or institute similar to Al-Azhar, while also immersing myself in Arabic and everyday life.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia also really interests me, especially because of the access to Islamic studies, the Arabic environment, and the possibility of studying in places like Madinah or elsewhere.

My main priorities would be:

Becoming fluent in Arabic

Learning Qur’an and improving my recitation

Studying Islam in a structured way

Living in an Arabic-speaking environment for 1–2 years

Finding a good balance between studying and family life

I’m married and have one child, so I also need to consider things like the cost of living, housing, family life, schools, visas/residency, and whether it’s realistically possible to study while supporting a family.

For those who have lived or studied in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, which would you recommend for my situation?

What are the main advantages and disadvantages of each? And if you could go back and choose one for learning Arabic and studying Islam, which would you pick and why?

Jazakum Allahu khayran for any advice or personal experiences you can share!

Salam Aleikum,

I can read and write in Arabic, and know Arabic to a basic level. Learning Arabic has been a dream of mine for a long time. Khaliji specifically. After I finally had the time, I found absolutely no resources and no way to study. Not a single app, website, translation service. Asking AI was useless - always wrong and giving mistakes.

I'm thinking of giving up on khaliji. I can't learn something that doesn't exist for learning.

I'm tired of learning things so hard, just to discover that they're wrong. Or seeing contradicting things every time. Or not having any materials.

Shami is more accessible to me in various aspects. I got a free Shami course, follow Arabic learning influencers, a voacbulary app, etc.

The thing is, I only need khaliji, as I want to live in the Khalij. Learning a dialect you don't need isn't smart, but it's better than practically not learning anything. What's the point of "I learn khaliji" - but not learning anything? How good/worth it - is it to learn Shami and switch to khaliji later (before moving to the Khalij)?

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and her family are Jordanian. She has been teaching me some words here and there. But I would really like to practice and learn more consistently. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best way to go about this or any resources?

I seem to be having a hard time at least finding this dialect being taught.

Hello!, I’m looking for budget friendly or free tools to transcribe long audios (30-90 minutes) with Levantine accents as accurately as possible, I’m a native speaker so I can correct the inaccuracies but I can’t do everything from scratch because they’re a lot. Bonus if the software also provides translation.

I would truly appreciate any tips.

Salam everyone, I am planning on taking a trip to Palestine this summer because it's where I am from. I went when I was a child but I could only speak English but ever since I've always wanted to learn to speak with my people. I've never been able to speak with people like my grandparents or non English speakers. My situation is a little different which is why I needed some advice I can read and write just fine and understand a lot about the language I can count to 1000, know colors, and I know a lot of basic words like I can name almost anything in a room, I also have good pronunciation because I still spoke a little and also from praying. When I try and use apps they usually never have a Palestinian dialect (especially Falahi which is what I'm trying to learn). I used the qalam app and they did have Palestinian dialect but it wasn't teaching me anything I didn't already know. Apps seem to not work with me and I'm a little to busy managing work, school, and things in my life to hire a teacher. Both of my parents speak fluent but they're terrible at teaching. People also told me to listen to shows or people talk but I've done that my whole life and it's only helped so much. If anyone has a proper method that can help me learn to just speak with people smoothly that would be great. (sorry for the long paragraph).

And who's your fav poet? Let's put some poetry on this sub

Ive just got my head wrapped around the script but now but how do people go about reading without the vowel sounds present?

It feels like something that I would always need there and from all the asking around hearing "you get used to it" or "you will just know" feels like a giant hill that will never be overcome.

I posted 3 days ago about my struggle with pronouncing some of the alphabets…

I kept practicing them, repeating after the sheikh Manshawi, going over and over again with the Ayahs that have letters I misspell.

Today, I had a class with my Quran teacher again and she is genuinely impressed! She only had me repeat 2 Surahs once, usually I’d have to repeat most of the Surahs in Juzz Amma at least 2-3 times, which’s a lot of progress! She had me read the alphabet and she didn’t correct me even once! I’m honestly proud of myself, and hearing her constantly say أحسنتِ in a happy voice really motivated me to keep on practicing!!!

Guys, if you're a beginner to intermediate Arabic learner, you might know the grammar, the letters and most of the basics, but still feel like vocabulary is holding you back.

And maybe you know a decent amount of MSA vocabulary, but you want to start understanding other dialects too.

For me, one of the biggest problems is when I'm scrolling through social media or watching clips from shows. I'll come across a word I don't know, look up the translation, think "oh, that's a useful word"... and then completely forget it later.

I wanted something where I could actually keep all these words I'm coming across in one place and come back to them later.

https://reddit.com/link/1vrlbx3/video/2c2mtj5w14kh1/player

You can save newly learned Arabic words and notes to your own personal collection, then quickly search through them whenever you need to. There's also interactive flashcards to help reinforce the words you've saved, and a feature called Connections, where you can group Arabic words together based on their shared meaning or category.

The main idea is pretty simple: when you come across a new Arabic word, don't just look up the translation and forget about it. Save it, come back to it, and actually build your vocabulary over time.

If you have any questions about the app, feel free to ask in the comments or DM me.

Edit: The link to the app is in the video’s end card.

Having a background in linguistics, I've long been interested in Arabic for a variety of reasons. However, after trying to find some information online, I can't seem to decide what the best starting point for me is. I often even find conflicting information.

My interest in Arabic is mostly cultural. I'm not looking to learn "the most popular one" for career reasons, for example. I'd love to learn Arabic to travel, meet new people, and be able to consume movies and literature in the original (roughly in that order).

What would you advise me to start with?

A little rant i tried to find a fusha teacher and i also got one in my desired budget but but the money transfer process was too damn difficult that it couldnt happen pls someone professional and experienced who can teach fusha contact me

And make sure the payment process is easy

JazqkAllah

Hi! I've been studying MSA for quite some time know and am making good progress. I am at a point where I can start watching the news and read novels and it works quite ok. What I have trouble with is ammiyya - I have studied some Egyptian but just some grammar basics and very little vocab.
Does anyone have advice or a strategy on how to move to dialect (ideally Egyptian but not necessarily) without going back to absolute beginner material?
Advice on resources or strategies is highly appreciated!

Hi everyone! As a foreigner interested in Egyptian language there are some things I'd like to ask you... if I may, of course.

1. Can you tell when a song in Egyptian Arabic is sung by someone who's not from Egypt? Do non-Egyptians have an accent when speaking Egyptian Arabic?
2. How easy it is it for the average Egyptian to understand the other Arabic dialects?
3. How easy is it to understand MSA without studying it? Would someone who only speaks Egyptian Arabic be able to read, let's say, a book in MSA?
4. Are there any cartoons in Egyptian Arabic?
5. Would you please recommend some other interesting Egyptian series like Raya w Sakina (2005)?

Thank you in advance!

I’m curious is there any thing in Arabic like liar liar pants on fire, hanging in a telephone wire or nah nah boo boo stick your head in doodoo in English.
I gpted it but no satisfying answer is given.
Maybe native speakers who also have been children may know something about it