Vocabulary Cards — Session 12: My Family Poster

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. These are your poster words — the words your child will paste, point to, and say out loud when they show off their family.

Card 1

Say it: HA-tha (the th is soft, like in "this") Means: This is — for a boy or man

🎨 Picture: A child pointing proudly at a photo of their dad on a poster.

Use it when: You point at baba in a picture. You introduce your brother. You show someone your jiddo (grandpa) on the family poster.

Try: هَذا بابا — hatha baba — "This is dad."

Card 2

Say it: HA-thi-hi Means: This is — for a girl or woman

🎨 Picture: A child pointing at a photo of their teta (grandma) on a poster, smiling.

Use it when: You point at mama in a picture. You introduce your sister. You show someone your teta on the family poster.

Try: هَذِه ماما — hathihi mama — "This is mom."

Card 3

Say it: AA-i-la-tee Means: My family (the fancy book-Arabic way)

🎨 Picture: A poster with photos of mama, baba, siblings, jiddo, and teta — all connected with hearts.

Use it when: You show your poster at school. You write the title of your project. You say the big proud sentence: "This is my family."

Heritage note: At home, your family probably says عَيلَتي — 'ayleti. Both are right! 'Ayleti is what we say at the dinner table. 'Ailati is what we write on the poster.

Card 4 — Review

Say it: MA-ma / BA-ba Means: Mom / Dad

🎨 Picture: A child between two parents on a balcony, the Mediterranean behind them.

Use it when: Every single day. On the poster, under their photos. When you call them from the other room.

Card 5 — Review

Say it: JID-do / TEE-ta Means: Grandpa / Grandma

🎨 Picture: A grandpa with a coffee cup, a grandma with a tray of ka'ak. A child between them.

Use it when: You FaceTime them. You put their picture on the poster. You tell your teacher who lives in your house — or far away across the sea.

Card 6 — Review

Say it: akh / okht Means: Brother / Sister

🎨 Picture: Two kids on a couch, one holding a book, one peeking over.

Use it when: You point to your siblings on the poster. You complain about them (in Arabic!). You introduce them at the door when guests come.

If you're an only child — that's okay. Skip this card, or put your cousin or best friend here instead. Family is who you love.

Card 7 — Review

Say it: AH-na Means: I / Me

🎨 Picture: A child pointing to themselves in the middle of the family poster, beaming.

Use it when: You point at your own picture. You say your name: أَنا... — ana... — "I am..."

A bonus card — for showing off the poster

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: SHOO-foo Means: Look! / Look, everyone!

🎨 Picture: A child holding up their finished family poster to a room full of smiling people.

Use it when: You finish your poster. You want grandma to see it on FaceTime. You walk into the kitchen with something you made.

Try the whole sentence: شوفوا، هَذِه عَيلَتي! Shoofu, hathihi 'ayleti! "Look, this is my family!"

How to use these cards

1. Use them WHILE you make the poster. Don't drill the cards first. Lay them next to the glue stick. Pick one up when you need it.
2. Say the word out loud as you paste the photo. هَذِه ماما. Paste. هَذا بابا. Paste. The word and the face become one memory.
3. Practice the "show-off" moment. When the poster is done, your kid will want to present it. Use Card 8 (shoofu) plus Cards 1 and 2 (hatha / hathihi) — that's the whole presentation.
4. Send a photo to family. Jiddo and teta will cry. (In a good way.)

On the two ways to say "my family"

You'll see this a lot in Arabic: one word for the dinner table and one word for the page.

• عَيلَتي ('ayleti) — what mama and baba say at home. Levantine. Warm. Spoken.
• عائِلَتي ('ailati) — what you write on a poster, in a book, in a school project. MSA. Formal. Written.

Same family. Two outfits. Your kid will learn to switch — just like switching between sneakers and dress shoes.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 12 · Project Day 🎨