Vocabulary Cards — Session 41: Asking Questions

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Carry them in your pocket. Tape them to the fridge. Ask one question a day.

Card 1

Say it: SHOO Means: What? (Levantine — also ماذا؟ MAA-tha in MSA)

🎨 Picture: A child holding up a wrapped gift, head tilted, eyebrows up.

Use it when: Someone hands you something and you don't know what it is. You hear a strange sound from another room. Your sibling whispers and you missed it.

Try it: شو هادا؟ — Shu hada? — What is this?

Card 2

Say it: WAYN Means: Where? (Levantine — also أَين؟ AYN in MSA)

🎨 Picture: A child looking under a couch cushion, searching for a missing shoe.

Use it when: You can't find your shoes. Mama walked into another room. The cat disappeared again.

Try it: وَين ماما؟ — Wayn mama? — Where is Mama?

Card 3

Say it: MEEN Means: Who? (Levantine — also مَن؟ MAN in MSA)

🎨 Picture: A child standing at the front door, hand on the knob, listening to a knock.

Use it when: Someone knocks on the door. The phone rings. You hear footsteps in the hallway.

Try it: مين عَ الباب؟ — Min 'al-baab? — Who's at the door?

Card 4

Say it: EEM-ta Means: When? (Levantine — also مَتى؟ MA-ta in MSA)

🎨 Picture: A child looking at a calendar on the wall, finger pointing at a date.

Use it when: Baba promised ice cream. You want to know when teta is visiting. Dinner smells ready — but is it?

Try it: إيمَتى العَشا؟ — Eimtah al-'asha? — When is dinner?

Card 5

Say it: LAYSH Means: Why? (Levantine — also لِماذا؟ li-MAA-tha in MSA)

🎨 Picture: A child with one finger on their chin, looking up, thinking hard.

Use it when: Mama says no. The sky is suddenly dark. Your little brother is crying again.

Try it: لَيش؟ — Lesh? — Why? (The most-used word by every kid, in every language.)

Card 6

Say it: KEEF Means: How?

🎨 Picture: A child watching teta fold grape leaves at the kitchen table, leaning in close.

Use it when: You want to learn something. You don't understand how a toy works. You ask someone how they are.

Try it: كيفَك؟ — Kifak? (to a boy) / Kifik? (to a girl) — How are you?

A bonus card — for the curious kid

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: KAM Means: How many? / How much?

🎨 Picture: A child at a falafel stand, holding up coins, counting.

Use it when: You're buying something. You want to know how many cousins are coming. You're counting sheep before bed.

Try it: كَم واحِد؟ — Kam waahid? — How many?

How to use these cards

1. Play "Question of the Day." Pick one card in the morning. Use that question at least three times before bed.
2. Make it a game. Parent or teacher hides an object. Kid uses وَين؟ to find it. Switch roles.
3. The Question Jar. Drop the cards in a jar. Pull one at dinner. Whoever pulls it has to ask a real question using that word.
4. Don't correct too much. If a heritage kid says shu and a beginner says madha — both are right. Both are Arabic.

On Levantine vs. MSA

You'll notice two columns for most of these words. The first (shu, wayn, min, eimtah, lesh) is what you hear at home, on a Beirut sidewalk, in a Damascus kitchen, in an Amman taxi. The second (madha, ayn, man, mata, limadha) is what you'll read in books, on the news, in a school textbook.

Kids should know both. Use the Levantine when you talk. Recognize the MSA when you read.

كيف؟ (kif?) is the same in both — a free gift.

On the letter of the day: ه (ha)

You'll spot ه hiding inside some of these question words and answers — at the end of هادا (hada — this), in هَلَّق (halla' — now), in هون (hon — here).

It's a soft breath sound. Like the h in hello. Say it gently — haaa.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 41