Hello and welcome to our new series called Arabic for Life – a series we hope will introduce you to Arabic that you can not only use for everyday life but also Arabic that will last you all of your life. 


Each week we’ll present you with situations that you’ll likely come across while visiting or living in the Arab world. You’ll learn how to greet people, take a taxi, go shopping, and much, much more.


Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word at first. By the end of the week, you’ll still know enough to understand and be understood. After a few weeks, you’ll notice that you’ve picked up a lot more words than we’ve presented in the vocabulary, and before you know it, you’ll be speaking Arabic like a native. 


So, if all of this sounds interesting to you, let’s get started.


Arabic at the Airport


Whether you’re coming or going to the Middle East, the first place that you’re most likely to speak Arabic is at the airport. With that in mind, today we’ll introduce you to some vocabulary that is useful for airports, customs and immigration, renting a car, and travel in general.


English

Transliteration

Arabic

arrivals

/alwuSool/

الوُصول

departures

/almughaadiroon/

المُغادِرون

window seat

/almaqʻadu bijiwaari innaafiTHah/

المَقعَدُ بِجِوارِ النَّافِذَة

Aisle seat

/alkursey illaTHee fee ilmamarr/

الكُرسِيّ الّذي في المَمَرّ

available

/mutaaH/

مُتاح

immigration

/alhijrah/

الهِجرَة

immigration forms

/namaTHiju ilhijrah/

نَماذِجُ الهِجرَة

proceed

/yutaabiʻ/

يُتابِِع

customs

/jamaarik/

جَمارِك

gate

/bawwaabah/

بَوّابَة

unlimited mileage

/ghayru maHdoodin min ilʼamyaal/

غَيرُ مَحدودٍ مِن الأَميال

mandatory

/ʼilzaamey/

إِلزاميّ

included

/mutadhamminah/

مُتَضَمِّنَة

drop off

/inzaal/

اِنزال

pick up

/iSTiHaab/

اِصْطِحَاب

pleasure

/suroor/

سُرور


Later this week in Part 2, you’ll read a dialogue about a student’s experience at the airport that uses these words in Arabic, so be sure to remember them. 


Of course, these are just some of the basic words you’ll hear when you’re at the airport in an Arabic-speaking country. For more Arabic lessons, be sure to visit our website at kaleela.com and start learning Arabic the right way when you download the Kaleela Arabic language learning app today!