Vocabulary Cards — Session 37: Two-Letter Words

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. These are tiny words — but they show up in almost every Arabic sentence. Master these seven, and reading gets a lot easier.

Card 1

Say it: fee Means: in

🎨 Picture: A cat sitting inside a cardboard box, just its head poking out.

Use it when: Something is inside something else. "The book is fi the bag." "Mama is fi the kitchen." "We live fi Beirut."

Card 2

Say it: min Means: from

🎨 Picture: An airplane with a dotted line trailing back to a small map of Lebanon.

Use it when: You're telling where something or someone comes from. "I am min America." "This cheese is min the village." "A letter min teta."

Card 3

Say it: i-LAA Means: to / toward

🎨 Picture: An arrow pointing from a house to a school.

Use it when: Someone is going somewhere. "I'm going ila school." "From Beirut ila Tripoli." "Send the message ila baba."

Card 4

Say it: ma'a Means: with

🎨 Picture: Two kids holding hands, walking together on a balcony.

Use it when: You're with someone or something. "I'm ma'a my sister." "Bread ma'a zaatar." "Come ma'a us!"

Card 5

Say it: laa Means: no

🎨 Picture: A child shaking their head, one hand up, smiling a little.

Use it when: You're saying no — kindly or firmly. "La, thank you." "La, I don't want any." "La la la!" (kids say this one a lot.)

This is one of the first words Arab babies learn. Maybe the very first.

Card 6

Say it: hal Means: (question word — turns a sentence into a yes/no question)

🎨 Picture: A big question mark floating above a kid's head.

Use it when: You want to ask a yes-or-no question in MSA. "Hal you are hungry?" "Hal the door is open?" "Hal she is here?"

In books and on TV, you'll see hal at the start of questions all the time. At home, Levantine families usually just raise their voice at the end instead — but hal is the proper written way.

Card 7

Say it: kam Means: how much / how many

🎨 Picture: A kid at a manoushe stand pointing at the menu, holding up coins.

Use it when: You want to know an amount or a price. "Kam this costs?" "Kam years old are you?" "Kam cousins do you have?"

This is today's letter — ك (kaf) — in action. Look at the first letter of kam. That's our letter of the day.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 8 (bonus)

Say it: yaa Means: Hey / O (used before someone's name when you call them)

🎨 Picture: A mom leaning over a balcony, calling down to the street.

Use it when: You're calling someone by name. "Ya mama!" "Ya habibi." "Ya Lina, come here!"

Every Lebanese household runs on ya. Ya albi, ya rouhi, ya hayati — terms of love that all start with this tiny two-letter word. Once you hear it, you'll hear it everywhere.

How to use these cards

1. Stack them by the door. These seven words show up in nearly every Arabic sentence your kid will ever read. The more they see them, the faster reading gets.
2. Play "spot the word." Open any Arabic book. Race to find fi or min or ma'a. They're everywhere.
3. Build silly sentences. "Ana (I) min the moon!" "I'm going ila the freezer ma'a the dog!" Mix English and Arabic — that's how heritage kids really talk.
4. Don't drill. Sprinkle. Use one word at dinner. One at bedtime. One in the car. They stick better that way.

On the letters you'll see

Every word on these cards is only two letters. That's the magic of today's session — kids who couldn't read a week ago can read these. Point to each letter. Sound it out. Then say the whole word.

Today's letter is ك (kaf) — you can spot it in kam (كَم). Look for it in books, on signs, on cereal boxes. It's a friendly letter with a little tail.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 37