Vocabulary Cards — Session 42: Telling a Tiny Story

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Carry them in your pocket. These six little words let you tell a whole story.

Card 1

Say it: fee YAWM Means: One day... (literally: "on a day")

🎨 Picture: An open storybook with a sun rising over a village on the first page.

Use it when: You start a story. You tell someone about something that happened. You begin a daydream out loud: "One day, I will..."

This is your story-starter. Every good story in Arabic can begin with these two words.

Card 2

Say it: wa Means: And

🎨 Picture: Two hands holding — one small, one bigger. The letter و curling between them like a hook.

Use it when: You list things. You connect two ideas. You say "me and my brother," "bread and cheese," "mama and baba."

This is also our Letter of the Day — و (waw). It looks like a little hook. In Arabic, you write it right onto the next word: وَأَنا (wa-ana — "and I").

Card 3

Say it: THUM-ma Means: Then / after that

🎨 Picture: A child brushing teeth, then an arrow, then the same child climbing into bed.

Use it when: You tell what happened next. You list steps. You explain your morning: "I woke up, thumma I ate breakfast, thumma I went to school."

This is the middle of every story. The "and then..." word.

Card 4

Say it: a-KHEE-ran Means: Finally / at last

🎨 Picture: A child at the finish line of a race, arms up, smiling big.

Use it when: You finish a story. You finish a long task. You sit down after a long day: "Akhiran! I'm home."

This is the ending word. The "and finally..." that wraps everything up.

Card 5

Say it: QIS-sa Means: Story

🎨 Picture: A grandmother (teta) sitting on a balcony with two kids on her lap, telling them something with her hands.

Use it when: You ask for a bedtime story. You tell someone "I have a story for you!" You talk about a book you read.

In Lebanese homes, "khabbreeni qissa" — "tell me a story" — is one of the warmest things a kid can say to a grown-up.

Card 6

Say it: HA-ka Means: He told (a story) / he said

🎨 Picture: A father sitting on the edge of a bed, hands moving, telling a story to a sleepy child.

Use it when: You talk about someone who told you something. "Jiddo haka a story about the mountains." "My friend haka what happened at recess."

In Levantine, you'll also hear حَكَى (haka) just to mean "he spoke" or "he talked." "Shu haka?" = "What did he say?"

A bonus card — for storytellers

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: wan-ni-HAA-ya Means: ...and the end!

🎨 Picture: A child closing a storybook with a satisfied smile. The last page says "النِّهايَة".

Use it when: You finish telling a story. You close a book. You want to be dramatic about something being done: "I finished my homework. Wan-nihaaya!"

Notice the وَ (and) tucked right into the front of this word. That's our letter of the day, doing its job — connecting.

How to use these cards

1. Lay out cards 1, 3, and 4 in a row. Fi yawm... thumma... akhiran... That's the shape of every story. Beginning, middle, end.
2. Make up a silly story together. Pick anything — a cat who lost a sock, a falafel that rolled away. Use all three connector words.
3. One card at a time is fine. If your kid only loves thumma, let them say thumma all week. The rest will come.
4. Tell a real story. What happened at school today? In three sentences: Fi yawm... thumma... akhiran...

On the letter و (waw)

You'll spot و everywhere now. It's the little hook that means "and." It glues words together.

Look back at your cards: it's hiding in يَوم (yawm — day), and it IS the whole word وَ (wa — and).

One letter. One job. Connecting things — just like a good story does.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 42