Vocabulary Cards — Session 47: I Can Write a Story Too

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Keep them on the desk while you write. Slide one into the cover of your story notebook.

Card 1

Say it: AK-tub Means: I write

🎨 Picture: A kid hunched over a notebook, pencil in hand, tongue sticking out a little in concentration.

Use it when: You're starting a story. You're doing homework. Someone asks what you're doing and you're writing — ana aktub qissah! (I'm writing a story!)

Card 2

Say it: qis-SA-ti Means: My story

🎨 Picture: A child holding up a small handmade book, beaming, with a crayon drawing on the cover.

Use it when: You want to show someone what you made. You're talking about the story you're working on. You finish your mini-book and say hayy qissati! (here's my story!)

The ending ـي (–i) means "my." Same as mama-i, baba-i, bayt-i (my house).

Card 3

Say it: al-bi-DAA-yeh Means: The beginning

🎨 Picture: Page 1 of a tiny book. A door opening. A character standing at the edge of a path.

Use it when: You're talking about how a story starts. You open a book to page one. You begin anything — a game, a song, a school year.

Every story has a bidayeh. Yours does too. Where does your character live? What are they doing on page 1?

Card 4

Say it: al-WA-sat Means: The middle

🎨 Picture: Page 2 of the tiny book. The character running, looking surprised — something is happening.

Use it when: You're in the middle of a story. You're in the middle of a movie. Someone interrupts and you say "wait, I'm in the wasat!"

The middle is where the problem happens. The character wants something. Something goes wrong. This is the exciting part.

Card 5

Say it: an-ni-HAA-yeh Means: The end

🎨 Picture: Page 3 of the tiny book. The character home again, smiling, holding something they didn't have on page 1.

Use it when: You finish a book. You finish a movie. You write the last page of your own story and draw a little flower or a star next to an-nihayeh.

In Arabic books, you'll sometimes see تَمّ (tamm — "done") or النِّهاية written at the very end. Try it on your own story!

Card 6

Say it: BA-tal (boy) / ba-TA-leh (girl) Means: Main character / hero

🎨 Picture: Two kids back-to-back in capes made of bedsheets — one with a sword made of a wooden spoon, one with a notebook tucked under her arm.

Use it when: You're describing the main character of your story. You're talking about who the movie is about. You're cheering for someone — ya batal! (you hero!) is something Lebanese parents say to a kid who did something brave or kind.

Your batal or batalah can be anyone: a kid, a cat, a piece of bread that runs away from the table. Stories belong to whoever you put in them.

A bonus card — for the writer's desk

Card 7 (bonus)

Say it: MAR-ra min al-mar-RAAT Means: Once upon a time (literally: "one time of the times")

🎨 Picture: An open notebook with these words written across the top of page 1, a kid's hand just lifting the pencil.

Use it when: You start a story. Any story. Out loud at bedtime, or written in your notebook.

This is how Levantine grandmothers begin stories. Teta sits down, the kids gather, she says marra min al-marraat... and everyone goes quiet. Now you can begin your stories the same way.

How to use these cards

1. Tape them above your writing spot. Desk, kitchen table, the floor where you actually do your homework.
2. Use them as a story map. Card 3 → Card 4 → Card 5. Beginning, middle, end. Three pages. Done.
3. Say the words out loud as you write each page. Al-bidayeh... and start. Al-wasat... and keep going. An-nihayeh... and finish.
4. Don't worry about perfect Arabic spelling. Draw. Write a few words. Add English if you need to. The story matters more than the letters today.

On the alphabet you'll see

You've now met the whole Arabic alphabet across Levels 1–4. You'll see old friends in every card: ب in bidayeh and batal. ق in qissati. ن in nihayeh. ك in aktub.

You don't have to recognize every letter to write a story. Real writers — grown-up writers — still look words up. Just start.

Marra min al-marraat... Once upon a time, a kid sat down with a pencil and wrote.

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 47