Vocabulary Cards — Session 8: Please and Thank 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: min FAD-lak Means: Please (said to a boy or man)

🎨 Picture: A child at the kitchen counter, pointing to a piece of bread, looking up at baba.

Use it when: You ask baba for water. You ask your brother to pass the remote. You ask a man at the bakery for a manousheh.

Card 2

Say it: min FAD-lik Means: Please (said to a girl or woman)

🎨 Picture: A child tugging gently on mama's sleeve, holding up an empty cup.

Use it when: You ask mama for juice. You ask teta to read a story. You ask your sister to share her crayons.

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

Card 3

Say it: SHUK-ran Means: Thank you

🎨 Picture: A child holding a plate of cut watermelon, smiling at jiddo who just handed it to them.

Use it when: Someone gives you something. Someone helps you tie your shoe. Someone holds the door. Anytime, really — you can never say it too much.

Card 4

Say it: al-'AF-w Means: You're welcome

🎨 Picture: Teta handing a cookie across the table, waving her free hand like "it's nothing."

Use it when: Someone says shukran to you. That's it — it's the answer. Like a little echo back.

The little ' is the letter ع (ʿayn) — a sound from deep in the throat. Don't worry about getting it perfect. Just try.

Card 5

Say it: AA-sif Means: Sorry (said by a boy)

🎨 Picture: A boy looking down at a spilled cup of water on the floor, hand on his head.

Use it when: You bump into someone. You spill something. You forgot to say please. You stepped on the cat.

Card 6

Say it: AAS-feh Means: Sorry (said by a girl)

🎨 Picture: A girl picking up a knocked-over plant, looking up at mama with big eyes.

Use it when: Same situations as Card 5 — just said by a girl.

Boys say آسِف (asif). Girls say آسفة (asfeh). In Arabic, sometimes the word itself changes depending on who's saying it. Wild, right?

Card 7

Say it: ma'-LESH Means: No worries / it's okay / don't sweat it

🎨 Picture: Two kids on a balcony — one just dropped a toy, the other shrugs with a smile.

Use it when: Someone says sorry to you. Something small goes wrong. Your little brother knocks over your tower. The wifi cuts out.

This is the most Levantine word on this card. Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian — everyone says maʿlesh, all day, every day. It's a whole feeling: life happens, it's fine, keep going.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: TIK-ram Means: With pleasure / of course / you got it

🎨 Picture: An uncle handing his car keys to an older cousin, smiling.

Use it when: Someone asks you for a favor and you want to say "yes, happily." It's warmer than just "okay." For a girl, you'd say تِكرَمي (TIK-ra-mee).

You'll hear grown-ups in Lebanese families say this constantly. It means you are honored, more or less. A beautiful little word.

How to use these cards

1. Keep them somewhere visible. Fridge, backpack pocket, by the bed.
2. Practice 30 seconds a day. Just pick one card. Say it. Use it once that day.
3. Pair them up. Shukran → al-ʿafw. Asif → maʿlesh. Min fadlak → tikram. These words travel in pairs.
4. Catch each other. Anytime someone in the family says "please" or "thank you" in English, tap the card. Say it in Arabic too. No pressure — just notice.

On boy words and girl words

You may have noticed something today: مِن فَضلَك / مِن فَضلِك and آسِف / آسفة change depending on who's listening or speaking.

This happens a lot in Arabic. Don't memorize the rule yet. Just hear it. Kids pick it up by ear, the same way they learned which English words sound right.

For now: just say the words. The grammar will arrive on its own time.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 8