Vocabulary Cards — Session 4: How Are You?

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Carry them in your pocket. Look at one card during car rides, snack time, before bed.

Card 1

Say it: KEE-fak Means: How are you? (to a boy/man)

🎨 Picture: A boy at the door with his backpack, his friend asking him with a smile.

Use it when: You see baba after work. You greet your brother in the morning. A boy cousin walks into the house.

Card 2

Say it: KEE-fik Means: How are you? (to a girl/woman)

🎨 Picture: A girl hugging her teta on the balcony, asking how she is.

Use it when: You see mama in the kitchen. You greet your sister. You call teta on the phone.

Same word, tiny change. -ak for boys. -ik for girls. That's it!

Card 3

Say it: MNEEH Means: Good. (Levantine)

🎨 Picture: A kid giving a thumbs-up, smiling, holding a piece of manousheh.

Use it when: Someone asks how you are and you feel good. Your day went well. You finished your homework and feel proud.

Girls say مْنيحة (MNEE-ha). Boys say مْنيح (MNEEH).

Card 4

Say it: ta-MAAM Means: Fine. All good. Everything's okay.

🎨 Picture: A child with an "OK" hand sign, calm and easy.

Use it when: Someone asks how you are and you feel okay — not amazing, not bad. Mama asks if you're ready. The teacher asks if you understand.

Card 5

Say it: ta'-BAAN Means: Tired.

🎨 Picture: A child yawning on the couch after a long day at school, shoes still on.

Use it when: It's late and your eyes are heavy. You just came back from running around outside. You don't want to do one more thing.

Girls say تَعبانة (ta'-BAA-neh). Boys say تَعبان (ta'-BAAN).

Card 6

Say it: al-HAM-du-LIL-lah Means: I'm well, thanks. (literally: "praise to God" — but Arabs of every background say it, every day, like "I'm good, thanks")

🎨 Picture: A grandmother on a balcony with a cup of coffee, saying it with a soft smile.

Use it when: Anyone asks how you are. After a good meal. When something works out. Almost any time.

This is THE answer. Every Arab — kid, teta, the man at the bakery — says this when asked how they are. Even if you're tired, you might still say al-hamdu lillah, ta'baan shway ("I'm well, thanks — a little tired").

A bonus card — for the family

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: SHOO al-akh-BAAR Means: What's the news? / What's up?

🎨 Picture: Two cousins on the phone, one in Beirut, one in Detroit, catching up.

Use it when: You haven't seen someone in a while. You want to ask more than just "how are you." A cousin calls from far away.

This is what teta says when she calls. It's what uncles say when they walk in the door. It means: tell me everything.

How to use these cards

1. Stack them by the door. Every time someone comes home, pull one out. Ask. Answer.
2. Practice the boy/girl switch. kifak to baba. kifik to mama. kifak to your brother. kifik to your sister. Make it a game.
3. Use the real answer. When someone asks how you are today, answer in Arabic. Even one word. Mnih. Tamam. Al-hamdu lillah.
4. Don't worry about perfect. Heritage kids will hear teta say it differently. That's beautiful. Both are right.

On the letter of the day

Today's letter is ث (tha) — it makes the th sound in "think." You won't see it in most of today's cards (these are spoken Levantine words). But you'll meet it in words like ثَلاثة (thalaatha — three) and ثوب (thawb — a dress/robe).

Listen for it. It's a soft, breathy sound — tongue between your teeth, like a tiny whisper.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 4