13 Arabic Question Words You Must Learn Now

Questions Words In Arabic Ling App

Whether you are traveling or working with Arab-speaking people, there’s no denying that the best way to break the ice is by asking سؤال (sual) or questions. Depending on the question you ask, you can easily get a conversation going. The trick is to ask open-ended questions that don’t require one-word answers. Want to learn more tricks and ادوات الاستفهام (adawat aliastifham) or Arabic question words? Keep reading below!

Learning how to formulate questions in another language proves to be an essential life skill. For instance, learning the basic translations for the 5Ws and 1H will certainly help you express yourself better and communicate without barriers. When you visit Arab countries, you’ll be surprised that many locals speak English pretty well, but speaking to the locals in their native language will help ease the conversation and show respect for the culture.

Arabic Question Words

Arabic-Question-Words-Ling-App

As an Arabic learner, you must want to learn some common Arabic question words. You might think they are challenging but pretty easy to understand, but they are pretty straightforward! Our advice? Look at this list of top question words and learn more about them.

EnglishArabicRomanization
HowكيفKayf
How Manyكم العددKamu Aleadad
How Many/Much/Longكم عدد / الكثير / طويلةKam Eadad / Alkathir / Tawila
How Muchكم الثمنKam Althaman
Whatماذا او ماMadha Aw Ma
What Kind Ofأي نوع منAyu Nawe Min
What (Kind Of)أي نوع من)Ayu Nawe Min)
WhenمتيMati
WhereأينAyn
WhichأيّAy
WhoمنMan
WhyلماذاLimadha

ماذا او ما (Madha Aw Ma)

The first word you should know is “what” in Arabic. You can use two words to ask what in Arabic: ماذا او ما (madha aw ma). او (aw) means or. You use ما (ma) for questions that don’t have a verb. For instance, What is your name? would be ما اسمك؟ (ma asmuk?) in Arabic. ماذا (madha) is used when you have a verb in your question. To ask, “what are you doing?” you could say ماذا تفعل؟ (madha tafaeala?). 

لماذا (limadha)

The word لماذا (limadha) means why in English. Arabic is not a gender-neutral language considering the verbs like in English and the conjugations in Arabic are different for both men and women.

For a girl, you could say, لماذا هي مريضة؟ (limadha hi maridatun?), meaning, why is she sick? The same question for a boy will be لماذا هو مريض؟ (limadha hu maridun?), meaning, why is he sick? For plural, it will be something like لماذا نحن مرضى (limadha nahn mardaa), meaning, why are we sick?

أين (ayn)

The word أين (ayn) means where. This word is also different for both masculine and feminine pronouns. “Where is she?” will be أين هي؟ (‘ayn hy?), while “Where is he?” will be أين هو؟ (‘ayn hu?).

Words & Questions In Arabic

List of Questions Ling App
EnglishArabicRomanization
Can you give me an example?هل تستطيع أن تعطيني مثالا؟Hal tastatie ‘an tuetiani mithala?
Could you please send her my live location?هل يمكنك أن ترسل لها موقعي المباشر؟Hal yumkinuk ‘an tursil laha mawaqiei almubashiri?
Could you please translate this sentence for me?هل يمكنك ترجمة هذه الجملة لي من فضلك؟Hal yumkinuk tarjamat hadhih aljumlat li min fadlika?
Did she give you some examples?هل أعطتك بعض الأمثلة؟Hal ‘aetatk baed al’amthilati?
How do you say nouns in Arabic?كيف تقول اسم في اللغة العربية؟Kayf taqul asm fi allughat alearabiati?
Interrogative particlesجسيمات الاستفهامJusaymat aliastifham
Is that a formal party, or should we dress casually?هل هذه حفلة رسمية أم يجب أن نرتدي ملابس غير رسمية؟Hal hadhih haflat rasmiat ‘am yajib ‘an nartadi malabis ghayr rasmiatin?
Negative statementبيان سلبيbayan salbiun
What is the word for the verb in Arabic?ما هي كلمة الفعل في اللغة العربية؟Ma hi kalimat alfiel fi allughat alearabiati?
What’s her story?ما قصتها؟Ma qistuha?
What’s the price for this one?ما هو سعر هذا؟Ma hu sier hadha?
What’s this called in modern standard Arabic?ماذا يسمى هذا في اللغة العربية الفصحى الحديثة؟Madha yusamaa hadha fi allughat alearabiat alfushaa alhadithati?
Where are your tags?أين العلامات الخاصة بك؟Ayn alealamat alkhasat bika?
Where did Mohammed go at the eleventh hour?أين ذهب محمد في الساعة الحادية عشرة؟Ayn dhahab muhamad fi alsaaeat alhadiat eashrata?
Where did you throw her pen?أين رميت قلمها؟Ayn ramayat qalamiha?
Where is my device?أين جهازي؟Ayn jihazi?
Where is your post?اين منشوركAyin manshurik
Who is that person?من يكون ذلك الشخص؟Man yakun dhalik alshakhsa?
Whose book is this?لمن هذا الكتاب؟Limin hadha alkitabi?
Who’s driving your car?من يقود سيارتك؟Man yaqud sayaarataka?
Why are there so many dialects of Arabic?لماذا يوجد الكثير من اللهجات العربية؟Limadha yujad alkathir min allahajat alearabiati?
Why don’t you delete all such comments?لماذا لا تحذف كل هذه التعليقات؟Limadha la tahdhif kulu hadhih altaeliqati?
Why has she posted that?لماذا نشرت ذلك؟Limadha nasharat dhalika?
Why is the road covered in snow?لماذا الطريق مغطى بالثلج؟Limadha altariq mughataa bialthalja?
Would you like to introduce me to her?هل تود أن تقدمني لها؟Hal tawadu ‘an tuqadimani laha?
Would you like to learn a new languageهل ترغب في تعلم لغة جديدةHal targhab fi taealum lughat jadida

Wrapping Up

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Wow! Now you can start making and answering questions in Arabic with all these question words! Want to take it a step further? Now you must be thinking of working hard enough to become fluent in Arabic, but as long as you desire to learn, we bet it will take you just far. But to help you enhance your process, we highly recommend that you check out Ling!

Ling is a language learning app that focuses on smart learning, and it provides you access to sixty-plus languages you can start learning immediately. Some of the perks of learning a new language with the Ling App are that you can do quizzes, use chatbots, and much more. Sounds too good to be true? Check it out for yourself. Install our app from Google Play Store or App Store and start learning Arabic!

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