Vocabulary Cards — Session 21: My Bedroom

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Tape them around the bedroom — on the bed, the lamp, the bookshelf. Point and say.

Card 1

Say it: GHUR-fat nawm Means: Bedroom (literally: "room of sleep")

🎨 Picture: A cozy bedroom with a small bed, a window, and a soft rug. Slippers by the door.

Use it when: You're heading to your room. Mama asks where your sister is. You tell baba you cleaned up.

Card 2

Say it: TAKHT Means: Bed (you can also say سَرير / sa-REER)

🎨 Picture: A made bed with a folded blanket at the foot. A stuffed animal on the pillow.

Use it when: It's bedtime. You're making the bed in the morning. You jump on it (and then mama says yalla, enough).

Card 3

Say it: wi-SAA-deh Means: Pillow

🎨 Picture: A soft white pillow with a little embroidered flower on the corner.

Use it when: You fluff your pillow before bed. You build a pillow fort. You can't find yours and need help.

Card 4

Say it: hi-RAAM Means: Blanket

🎨 Picture: A folded wool blanket with red and cream stripes — the kind teta keeps in the closet.

Use it when: You're cold. You pull it up to your chin. Teta tucks you in and says tisbah 'ala khayr (goodnight).

Card 5

Say it: DAWW Means: Light / lamp

🎨 Picture: A small bedside lamp glowing warm yellow. A book open underneath it.

Use it when: You turn on the light to read. Baba says "tfee el-daww" — turn off the light. It's too bright in the morning.

Card 6

Say it: ki-TAAB Means: Book

🎨 Picture: A stack of three books on a nightstand. The top one has a cat on the cover.

Use it when: You pick a bedtime story. You finish reading and put it back. You bring one in the car.

Card 7

Say it: LU'-beh Means: Toy

🎨 Picture: A small wooden toy car next to a stuffed bear, sitting on a kid's bed.

Use it when: You're picking up your room. You can't find your favorite one. You share with your cousin.

A bonus card — the one teta will love

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: TIS-bah 'a-la KHAYR Means: Goodnight. (literally: "May you wake to goodness")

🎨 Picture: A parent leaning down to kiss a child's forehead. The lamp is dim. The blanket is pulled up.

Use it when: It's bedtime. You're saying goodnight on a video call with teta. The lights go off.

This is what every Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian family says at night. The reply is w-inta / w-inti min ahlo — "and you, from its people."

How to use these cards

1. Tape them to the real thing. وِسادة on the pillow. ضَوّ on the lamp. كِتاب on a book. Kids learn fast when the word lives where the object lives.
2. Bedtime is the magic moment. Use 2-3 cards during the bedtime routine. Yalla, head on the وِسادة. Pull up the حِرام. Turn off the ضَوّ.
3. Mix Arabic into English. You don't have to switch fully. Just sprinkle. "Did you make your تَخت?" works.
4. Let them choose the bedtime كِتاب. A simple ritual. A whole word, learned by repetition.

On takht vs sarir

Both mean bed. تَخت is what most Levantine families say at home — softer, everyday. سَرير is what you'll see in books and on TV. Both are right. Use whichever your family uses, and your child will recognize the other when they hear it.

Same with ضَوّ (Levantine, spoken) and نور / noor (more formal). Kids can hold both. They already do, in English — "couch" and "sofa," "soda" and "pop." Arabic is no different.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 21