Vocabulary Cards — Session 28: Animals We Know

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: ha-ya-WAAN Means: Animal

🎨 Picture: A child at a zoo fence, pointing at all the animals at once — too many to name.

Use it when: You see any creature with fur, feathers, or fins. You open an animal book. You watch a nature show with jiddo.

Card 2

Say it: QIT-ta Means: Cat

🎨 Picture: A striped cat curled on a sunny balcony in Beirut, tail tucked under its chin.

Use it when: You see a cat on the street. A neighbor's cat sneaks onto the balcony. You're drawing whiskers on a paper plate.

Card 3

Say it: KALB Means: Dog

🎨 Picture: A scruffy brown dog wagging its tail beside a kid in the village.

Use it when: You pass a dog on a walk. Your cousin's dog barks on the video call. You see a dog in a story book.

Card 4

Say it: hi-MAAR Means: Donkey

🎨 Picture: A gray donkey carrying baskets of figs up a stone path in a mountain village.

Use it when: You see a donkey in a picture of teta's village. You read a folk tale. You play farm animals with little toys.

Card 5

Say it: us-FOOR Means: Little bird / sparrow

🎨 Picture: A tiny brown bird on a balcony railing, head tilted, watching crumbs.

Use it when: A bird lands near you. You hear chirping in the morning. Mama opens the window and birds are singing.

This word starts with our letter of the day: ع ('ayn). Put your hand on your throat when you say it — ع comes from deep down.

Card 6

Say it: SA-ma-keh Means: Fish (one fish)

🎨 Picture: A silver fish swimming in the blue Mediterranean, near the rocks of Batroun.

Use it when: You eat fish for dinner. You see fish at the market or aquarium. You draw a fish in art class.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: a-saa-FEER Means: Little birds (more than one)

🎨 Picture: A whole flock of sparrows lifting off a village rooftop at sunrise.

Use it when: You see a bunch of birds together. You hear them all chirping at once. Teta calls a group of giggling kids "يا عصافير" — "oh little birds." It's one of the sweetest things you can call a child.

This one also starts with ع — practice that throat sound!

How to use these cards

1. Keep them somewhere visible. Fridge, backpack pocket, by the bed.
2. Play "spot the animal." On a walk, in a book, out a window — name what you see in Arabic.
3. Make animal sounds together. القِطّة says meow. الكَلب says woof. الحِمار says hee-haw. Kids remember words attached to sounds.
4. Pick a favorite. Most kids latch onto one animal. Lean into that card.

On the letter of the day: ع ('ayn)

Today's special letter is ع. It's in عُصفور (little bird) and عَصافير (little birds).

ع is a sound English doesn't have. It comes from the back of the throat — like you're about to say "ah" but you squeeze gently first. Don't worry about getting it perfect. Heritage kids hear it from birth. Beginner kids will hear it more and more.

Try this at home: put your hand on your throat. Say ahhh. Now squeeze just a little and say 'ahhh. That's ع waking up.

You'll see ع again — it lives inside lots of beautiful words: عَين (eye), عَائِلة (family), and yes, عَرَبي — Arabic itself.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 28