Vocabulary Cards — Session 18: My Body, Part 1

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Tape them to the bathroom mirror. Look at one while brushing teeth, washing face, before bed.

Card 1

Say it: RA's (a tiny catch in the throat in the middle — like "uh-oh") Means: Head

🎨 Picture: A child pointing to the top of their own head, grinning.

Use it when: You bump your head on the table. You put on a hat. Mama is brushing your hair and says "stay still."

Card 2

Say it: WIJH Means: Face

🎨 Picture: A child washing their face at the sink, water dripping, smiling at the mirror.

Use it when: You wash your face in the morning. You make a silly face at your sibling. Teta cups your face in her hands and says "habibi."

Card 3

Say it: 'AYN (start deep in the throat — like a tiny squeeze) Means: Eye

🎨 Picture: A close-up of one big brown eye with long lashes.

Use it when: Something gets in your eye. You play "close your eyes." Someone says "ya 'ayni" (my eye) — a Levantine way to say "my darling."

💛 Little note: In Arabic, calling someone 'ayni — "my eye" — is one of the sweetest things you can say. Your eye is precious. So are you.

Card 4

Say it: U-dhun (the dh sounds like the th in "this") Means: Ear

🎨 Picture: A child cupping a hand around their ear, listening hard.

Use it when: You hear music from the neighbor's balcony. Baba whispers a secret. You play "what do you hear?" with eyes closed.

Card 5

Say it: FAM Means: Mouth

🎨 Picture: A child opening their mouth wide, showing a missing front tooth.

Use it when: You brush your teeth. You eat a big bite of manouche. The dentist says "open."

Card 6

Say it: ANF Means: Nose

🎨 Picture: A child sniffing a pot of stew on the stove, eyes closed happily.

Use it when: You smell something delicious from the kitchen. You have a cold and need a tissue. You boop your baby cousin's nose.

Card 7

Say it: SHA'r (with that little throat-catch on the ') Means: Hair

🎨 Picture: A child with curly hair being brushed by their mom on the balcony, the mountains behind them.

Use it when: Mama braids your hair. You get out of the shower. You see your own wild hair in the mirror and laugh.

✨ This is also our letter of the day word — ش (shin). Shhhh. Listen for it at the very start: SHA'r.

A bonus card — for the whole family

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: WAYN AN-fak? (to a boy) / WAYN AN-fik? (to a girl) Means: Where's your nose?

🎨 Picture: A parent pointing at a giggling toddler, who is pointing to their own nose.

Use it when: You play the body-parts game with a little brother or sister. You're killing time in the car. You want to make someone laugh.

Swap in any body part: wayn 'aynak? (where's your eye?), wayn shi'rak? (where's your hair?). This is how Levantine families have been teaching toddlers Arabic for generations — on couches, on balconies, on knees.

How to use these cards

1. Play the pointing game. Say the word. Your kid points to that part on their own body. Then switch — they say, you point.
2. Mirror practice. Stand at the mirror together. Touch your nose, say anf. Touch your ear, say udhun. 60 seconds is plenty.
3. One card a day is enough. Pick the card for today. Stick it on the fridge. Use that word three times before dinner.
4. Sing the body. Make up a tune: ra's, wijh, 'ayn, anf, fam, udhun, sha'r. Kids remember songs forever.

On the letter ش (shin)

Today's letter is ش — shin. It makes the sh sound, like in shhh, like in شَعر (hair).

You can spot it by its three little dots on top — like three tiny sprinkles. Next time you see ش anywhere — on a sign, a food package, a book — point and whisper shhh. That's how letters become friends.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 18