Vocabulary Cards — Session 7: Yes and No

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: NA-'am Means: Yes (formal)

🎨 Picture: A child nodding, looking up at a grown-up asking a question.

Use it when: A teacher asks if you're ready. Someone calls your name from another room. You answer the phone and someone asks for your mama.

Card 2

Say it: AAH Means: Yeah / yes (Levantine, everyday)

🎨 Picture: A kid at the kitchen table, mouth full, nodding to "do you want more?"

Use it when: Mama asks if you want juice. A cousin asks if you saw the cat. Anyone asks anything casual. This is what Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian families actually say at home.

Card 3

Say it: LAA Means: No

🎨 Picture: A child shaking their head, hand up, smiling but firm.

Use it when: You don't want more food. You didn't take the toy. You're not tired yet. Say it kindly — la is a small word that does a big job.

Card 4

Say it: YUM-kin Means: Maybe

🎨 Picture: A child shrugging with one shoulder, head tilted, thinking face.

Use it when: Someone asks if you'll come to the park later. Baba asks if you want pizza or pasta. You're not sure yet. Yumkin is the polite middle — it keeps the door open.

Card 5

Say it: ma BA'-rif Means: I don't know

🎨 Picture: A kid with hands up, palms open, eyebrows lifted — the universal "I dunno" face.

Use it when: Someone asks where your sister went. Someone asks what's for dinner. Someone asks a hard question on a worksheet. It's okay not to know. Say it out loud.

Card 6

Say it: a-KEED Means: For sure! / Definitely!

🎨 Picture: A child with both thumbs up, big grin, totally certain.

Use it when: A friend asks if you want ice cream. Teta asks if you love her. Someone asks if you want to come to the beach. Akeed is a strong, happy yes.

Card 7

Say it: kha-LAAS Means: Okay / done / enough / that's it

🎨 Picture: A child closing a notebook with a satisfied face, pencil down.

Use it when: You finished your homework. Two siblings stop arguing. Mama says "time to clean up — khalas." It can mean "I agree, let's stop talking about it" or "I'm finished" or just "okay, fine."

This word starts with our letter of the day: خ (kha) — the scratchy sound from the back of the throat, like you're gently clearing it.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: TAB-'an Means: Of course!

🎨 Picture: A grandparent handing a cookie to a child who asked — "of course, habibi."

Use it when: Someone asks something where the answer is obvious. "Do you love your brother?" Tab'an. "Can I have a hug?" Tab'an. It's warm. It's the answer family gives family.

How to use these cards

1. Play "yes or no" all day. Ask your kid anything — bidak teen? (you want figs?) — and they answer with one of these cards. That's it. That's the whole game.
2. Mix formal and Levantine. Na'am sounds grown-up and proper. Ah sounds like home. Both are right. Kids should hear both.
3. Practice the shrug. Yumkin and ma ba'rif come with face and shoulders. Teach the gesture with the word — they live together.
4. Use khalas tonight. When it's bath time, when the screen goes off, when the meal is over. Say khalas instead of "okay, that's enough." Your kid will pick it up in two days. Promise.

On the letter of the day

Today's letter is خ (kha). It lives in khalas (خَلاص) and in lots of food words — khubz (bread), khyaar (cucumber), khookh (peach). It's a sound English doesn't have, so it feels funny in the mouth at first. That's good. Funny means new.

Have your kid say khhh like they're fogging up a window. That's it. That's the letter.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 7