العربية
Arabic for kids: learn it through everyday life
By the Parler team · Updated · Read-aloud voices: Modern Standard Arabic
The short answer
Children learn Arabic best from their own everyday life and family: breakfast, school, a visit to grandma. Use a few Arabic words at home each day, read short books together, and let your child tell stories about their day. Parler turns those stories into illustrated pages in Modern Standard Arabic, read aloud with each word lighting up.
Arabic is spoken across the Middle East and North Africa, and by families all over the world. Many children learn it to talk with grandparents and cousins, to read the books their parents grew up with, or because it is taught at school. For some families it is also part of faith and community life.
There is one written Arabic used in books, news and school, called Modern Standard Arabic, and many spoken dialects used at home, such as Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf and Moroccan Arabic. If your family speaks a dialect, that is a real strength, not a problem. The dialect carries warmth and family life, and Modern Standard Arabic opens the door to reading. Most Arabic-speaking children grow up with both.
For an English-speaking child, the new alphabet and right-to-left writing take some getting used to, and a few sounds are made deep in the throat. The good news is that Arabic spelling is regular once the letters are learned, and children's books print the short vowels, so early reading is easier than it looks. If you want ideas for keeping a family language strong, see keep a heritage language alive.
What’s different
What to know about Arabic for a young learner
- It reads right to leftArabic is written and read from right to left, and books open from what English readers think of as the back. Run your finger under the words from right to left as you read so your child's eyes learn the direction.
- Letters change shapeMost Arabic letters join to their neighbors and look a little different at the start, middle or end of a word. Learn each letter as a small family of shapes, and point out the same letter in different words you see at home.
- Short vowels are small marksAdult books and signs usually leave out the short vowels. Children's books show them as small marks above and below the letters. Pick books with these marks so your child can sound words out on their own.
- Dialect at home, standard Arabic in booksIf you speak a dialect, keep speaking it. Explain to your child that books use a slightly different, shared form of Arabic. Hearing both is normal, and the two support each other over time.
- Practice the throat sounds playfullySounds like ع and ح come from deep in the throat. Make them a game, like sounding like a sleepy lion. Young children copy new sounds more easily than adults, so short, silly practice works well.
First words
Arabic words for everyday life
Start with the words for their own day: home, family, school and play. They come up every day, so they stick.
| Arabic | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| بيت | house | bayt |
| باب | door | baab |
| نافذة | window | naafitha |
| سرير | bed | sareer |
| طاولة | table | taawila |
| كرسي | chair | kursee |
| مطبخ | kitchen | matbakh |
| ماء | water | maa |
| Arabic | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| أم | mother | umm |
| أب | father | ab |
| أخ | brother | akh |
| أخت | sister | ukht |
| جدة | grandmother | jadda |
| جد | grandfather | jadd |
| طفل | child | tifl |
| عائلة | family | aa-ila |
| Arabic | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| مدرسة | school | madrasa |
| معلمة | teacher (woman) | mu-allima |
| كتاب | book | kitaab |
| قلم | pen, pencil | qalam |
| دفتر | notebook | daftar |
| حقيبة | bag | haqeeba |
| صف | class | saff |
| صديق | friend (boy) | sadeeq |
| Arabic | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| سعيد | happy (boy) | sa-eed |
| حزين | sad (boy) | hazeen |
| متعب | tired (boy) | mut-ab |
| خائف | scared (boy) | khaa-if |
| كرة | ball | kura |
| لعبة | toy, game | lu-ba |
| حديقة | garden, park | hadeeqa |
| يضحك | he laughs | yad-hak |
Family phrases
Arabic phrases to use at home today
| Arabic | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| مرحبا | Hello | marhaban |
| صباح الخير | Good morning | sabaah al-khayr |
| شكرا | Thank you | shukran |
| من فضلك | Please (to a boy) | min fadlak |
| كيف حالك؟ | How are you? | kayfa haaluk |
| أحبك | I love you | uhibbuk |
| هيا نأكل | Let's eat | hayyaa na-kul |
| هيا بنا | Let's go | hayyaa binaa |
| حان وقت النوم | It's bedtime | haana waqt an-nawm |
| تصبح على خير | Good night (to a boy) | tusbih alaa khayr |
في الصباح أذهب إلى المدرسة مع أختي.
In the morning, I go to school with my sister.
Questions
Arabic for kids: questions
Short answers. The help center has more on using Parler.
Visit helpWhat age should my child start learning Arabic?
Any age works. Toddlers pick up sounds easily by listening, and children around five or six are often ready to start learning the letters. Older children can start too and often make quick progress with reading.
Which Arabic does Parler's voice use?
Parler reads aloud in Modern Standard Arabic, the form used in books and at school across the Arab world. If your family speaks a dialect at home, keep speaking it. Your child can enjoy both, and many children do.
Is Parler free?
Yes, you can start free. First Page is free with 5 pictures a month for one learner, and the Storybook plan has a 14-day free trial with 30 pictures and no card needed. Words, translations, voices and reading scores are free.
Can my child learn Arabic if we don't speak it at home?
Yes. Short daily habits help most: a few words at meals, simple read-aloud books, and stories about your child's own day. Hearing a clear voice read each word lets you learn alongside your child.
How long does it take a child to learn Arabic?
It depends on how much Arabic your child hears each week. With regular daily practice, most children understand simple everyday phrases within a few months, while reading fluently takes a few years, as it does in any language.
Keep reading
- How do I keep a family language alive when my child is losing it?How to keep a heritage language alive when your child is losing it: daily routines, grandparents on video calls, family stories and real reasons to use it.
- How can I help my child learn a language I don't speak?Help your child learn a language you don't speak: learn alongside them, lean on native-speaker audio, involve relatives and make everyday routines the practice.
- How can I help my child read in a second language?How to help your child read in a second language: read aloud together, follow each word, hear a native voice, reread, record their own reading and pick books.
