Vocabulary Cards — Session 39: Sentences: I am...

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Keep them on the fridge. Pull one out at dinner. Let your kid point at themselves and read.

Card 1

Say it: ANA Means: I / I am

🎨 Picture: A child pointing at their own chest with a big grin.

Use it when: Someone asks "who?" You want to start a sentence about yourself. You're showing a photo and pointing at the kid version of you.

This tiny word is the start of every sentence today. Every "I am ___" begins with أنا.

Card 2

Say it: ANA ka-BEER (boy) / ANA ka-BEE-reh (girl) Means: I am big. / I am grown up.

🎨 Picture: A kid stretching up on tiptoes next to a doorframe, measuring how tall they've gotten.

Use it when: You tied your own shoes. You carried the groceries in. Someone says you've grown. You feel proud of doing something on your own.

In Levantine homes, كَبير also means "old enough" — old enough to help, old enough to know better.

Card 3

Say it: ANA sa-EED (boy) / ANA sa-EE-deh (girl) Means: I am happy.

🎨 Picture: A child on a balcony with ice cream, swinging their legs, the sun on their face.

Use it when: Something good just happened. Your team won. It's Friday. Your cousin came over. You finished your homework and there's still daylight.

Card 4

Say it: ANA fi al-BAYT Means: I am at home / I am in the house.

🎨 Picture: A child waving from an apartment balcony, laundry drying behind them, mountains in the distance.

Use it when: Mama calls to ask where you are. You just got back from school. Someone on the phone asks, "Wayn-ak?" (Where are you?)

البَيت means "the house." You'll meet that ال (the) again and again.

Card 5

Say it: ANA ma'a MA-ma Means: I am with mama.

🎨 Picture: A child holding mama's hand at the vegetable stand, both picking out tomatoes.

Use it when: You're at the store with mama. You're in the car with mama. Someone asks who you're with. (Swap in بابا, تيتا, جدّو — works for everyone you love.)

Card 6

Say it: HA-dha ANA Means: This is me.

🎨 Picture: A kid pointing at themselves in a family photo on the wall.

Use it when: You're showing someone a picture. You're flipping through baby photos with teta. Someone asks "who's this?" in a drawing you made.

For a girl pointing at herself in a photo, you can also say هذي أنا (HA-di ana) — both work, both are warm.

A bonus card — for the family

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: ANA joo-AAN (boy) / ANA joo-AA-neh (girl) Means: I am hungry.

🎨 Picture: A child peeking into the fridge, one hand on the door, looking hopeful.

Use it when: It's almost dinner. You just got home from school. You smell something cooking. You want a snack and you're trying out your Arabic to ask for it.

This is the sentence kids will actually use the most. Try it before dinner tonight and watch what happens.

How to use these cards

1. Point at the kid, then read the card. That's the whole game. "Who is happy? أنا سَعيد!"
2. Mix and match. Card 1 (أنا) plus any adjective from earlier levels = a new sentence. أنا تَعبان (I'm tired). أنا جاهز (I'm ready). Try it.
3. Boy/girl forms. If your kid is a girl, she says كَبيرة، سَعيدة، جوعانة (with the -eh ending). Boys drop the -eh. That little sound is the difference.
4. Photo album game. Open the family photos on your phone. Have your kid say هذا أنا every time they see themselves. By the end of the album, the phrase is theirs forever.

On the letter of the day: م (mim)

You'll see م all over today's cards: ماما, مَع, and tucked inside سَعيد is its cousin. م is one of the friendliest letters — round at the start, a little tail at the end. It makes the mmm sound, just like in English.

Have your kid hunt for every م on these six cards. There are more than you think.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 39