Arabic Reading Practice: Intermediate

Level: Intermediate. At this stage a text stops living in one tense: it moves between what was true before, what is true now, and what will happen. This page gives one short, fully-vowelled text about learning Arabic and a clear method to work through it — a few focused minutes that push your reading forward.

By the end of this page you can…

…read a short intermediate Arabic text that mixes tenses, follow it through its time markers, pick out the writer’s opinion, and answer comprehension and discussion questions about it.

How to read an intermediate Arabic text

Do not translate word by word. Work in passes, each with its own goal:

1. First read — the gist. Read the whole text once without stopping. Who is speaking, and what is the situation?
2. Second read — the timeline. Read again and mark the time markers مُنْذُ (mundhu, since/for), الآنَ (al-āna, now) and القَادِمَة (al-qādima, next); they tell you past, present or future.
3. Third read — the opinion. Find where the writer gives a view: أَعْتَقِدُ (aʿtaqidu, I think), أَتَمَنَّى (atamannā, I hope).
4. Word list, then answer. Only now check the glossed words below, then do the questions, returning to the text to confirm each answer.

The text: Learning Arabic

أَدْرُسُ اللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ مُنْذُ سَنَتَيْنِ. (adrusu l-lughata l-ʿarabiyyata mundhu sanatayni.) — I have been studying Arabic for two years. فِي البِدَايَةِ كَانَتِ القِرَاءَةُ صَعْبَةً جِدًّا. (fī l-bidāyati kānati l-qirāʾatu ṣaʿbatan jiddan.) — At first, reading was very difficult. الآنَ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ قِصَصًا قَصِيرَةً. (al-āna astaṭīʿu an aqraʾa qiṣaṣan qaṣīratan.) — Now I can read short stories. أَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ أَصْعَبَ شَيْءٍ هُوَ القَوَاعِدُ. (aʿtaqidu anna aṣʿaba shayʾin huwa l-qawāʿidu.) — I think the hardest thing is the grammar. كُلَّ يَوْمٍ أَقْرَأُ الأَخْبَارَ بِالعَرَبِيَّةِ. (kulla yawmin aqraʾu l-akhbāra bi-l-ʿarabiyyati.) — Every day I read the news in Arabic. وَأَكْتُبُ الكَلِمَاتِ الجَدِيدَةَ فِي دَفْتَرٍ. (wa-aktubu l-kalimāti l-jadīdata fī daftarin.) — And I write the new words in a notebook. فِي السَّنَةِ القَادِمَةِ سَأُسَافِرُ إِلَى مِصْرَ. (fī s-sanati l-qādimati sa-usāfiru ilā miṣra.) — Next year I will travel to Egypt. أَتَمَنَّى أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ مَعَ النَّاسِ هُنَاكَ. (atamannā an atakallama maʿa n-nāsi hunāka.) — I hope to speak with people there.

New words

Listen and repeat

Play each line, then say it aloud before you read on.

Comprehension practice

Quick recap before you answer.

Quiz

Discussion

Try answering in simple Arabic, reusing the text’s words: مُنْذُ مَتَى تَدْرُسُ العَرَبِيَّةَ؟ (mundhu matā tadrusu l-ʿarabiyyata?) — How long have you been studying Arabic? مَا أَصْعَبُ شَيْءٍ بِالنِّسْبَةِ لَكَ؟ (mā aṣʿabu shayʾin bi-n-nisbati laka?) — What is hardest for you? There is no single right answer; borrow مُنْذُ (mundhu), القَوَاعِد (al-qawāʿid) and أَتَمَنَّى (atamannā) to build your own sentences.

Next

• Go back over the elementary text: Arabic Reading Practice: Elementary
• Build the grammar behind the text in the Arabic grammar section
• New here? Start with Start Learning Arabic Here