Vocabulary Cards — Session 5: Brother and Sister

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: AKH Means: Brother

🎨 Picture: Two kids on a couch, the older one showing the younger one something on a tablet.

Use it when: You talk about your brother. You point him out in a photo. You tell a friend who lives in your house.

Card 2

Say it: UKHT Means: Sister

🎨 Picture: Two sisters on a balcony, sharing a plate of watermelon.

Use it when: You talk about your sister. You introduce her to someone new. You tell teta who came with you today.

Card 3

Say it: sa-GHEER Means: Small / younger

🎨 Picture: A big kid holding hands with a much smaller kid in the doorway of an apartment.

Use it when: You talk about a younger sibling. You describe a little cousin. You point out the small one in a photo.

For a sister, you'd say صَغيرة (sa-GHEE-ra). Arabic words change a little for girls — we'll learn this slowly.

Card 4

Say it: kbeer Means: Big / older

🎨 Picture: A tall teenager standing next to a smaller sibling, both laughing.

Use it when: You talk about your older brother or sister. You describe the tallest kid in the family. You point to the oldest cousin.

For a sister, you'd say كبيرة (k-BEE-ra).

Card 5

Say it: IN-di Means: I have

🎨 Picture: A child pointing to themselves, then holding up two fingers.

Use it when: You say what you have. "عِندي أَخ" — I have a brother. "عِندي أُخت" — I have a sister. "عِندي قطة" — I have a cat.

This is one of the most useful words in Levantine Arabic. Once you know it, you can say a hundred things.

Card 6

Say it: ma IN-di Means: I don't have

🎨 Picture: A child shrugging, hands open and empty, with a small smile.

Use it when: You don't have something. "ما عِندي أَخ" — I don't have a brother. "ما عِندي وقت" — I don't have time (you'll hear mama say this one).

The little word ما (ma) is how Levantine speakers say "not." Put it in front of almost any verb and it flips to the opposite.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: TAW-am Means: Twin

🎨 Picture: Two kids with the same haircut, making the same silly face.

Use it when: You meet twins. You talk about twins in your family. You and your best friend are dressed the same and someone laughs.

Lots of Lebanese families have twins. If you have a tawam in the family — this is their word.

How to use these cards

1. Keep them somewhere visible. Fridge, backpack pocket, by the bed.
2. Pair them up. Put عِندي next to أَخ. Now you have a sentence: I have a brother. Try أُخت next. Now: I have a sister.
3. Make it real. Use the cards to talk about YOUR family. Not a pretend family — yours. Say the names of your actual brothers and sisters out loud in Arabic.
4. Big and small. Hold up كبير and صَغير and have the kids point to the bigger and smaller person in any picture, any book, any room.
5. 30 seconds a day. One card. Say it. Use it. Move on.

On the letter of the day

Today's letter is ج (jim) — it makes the "j" sound (in Levantine, sometimes a soft "zh"). You'll hear it in names like جَوَاد (Jawad), جُود (Jude), جَنى (Jana), and in the word جَدّ (jadd — grandfather).

You won't see ج in today's vocabulary words — that's okay. Letters and words don't always line up on the same day. Just listen for the j sound this week. It's everywhere.

A note for grown-ups

If your kid has no siblings, that is perfectly fine — ما عِندي أَخ and ما عِندي أُخت are real, useful sentences. Cousins count too. So do close family friends. So do the kids next door. Family in Arabic is a wide, warm circle.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 5