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Chapter 3.1: Vocabulary and Expressions

Learning Objectives

In this chapter, you will:

  • Identify types of clothes in standard and spoken Arabic.
  • Learn about traditional clothing in different parts of the Arab world.

Vocabulary and Expressions 1

Read and listen to the following vocabulary and expressions.


English Arabic
to wear لَبِس - يلبَس - اللبس
clothes ملابس
women clothes ملابس حريمي
men clothes ملابس رجالي
kids clothes ملابس أطفال
store/s محل ج. محلات
color/s لون ج. ألوان
price/s سِعر ج. أسعار
offer/s عرض ج. عروض
sale/s تخفيض ج. تخفيضات
summer clothes ملابس صيفية
winter clothes ملابس شتوية
light of weight or texture خفيف - خفيفة
heavy of weight or texture ثقيل - ثقيلة
shirt/s قميص ج.قمصان
pant/s بنطلون ج. بنطلونات
t-shirt/s تي شيرت ج. تي شيرتات
jacket/s جاكيت ج. جواكت
suit/s بدلة ج. بِدَل
short/s شورت ج. شورتات
pajama/s بيجامة ج. بيجامات
pullover/s بلوفر ج. بلوفرات
coat/s مِعطف ج. معاطف
shoe/s حذاء ج. أحذية
sneaker/s كوتشي ج. كوتشيات
sock/s جورب ج.جوارب
glove/s قفاز ج. قفازات
dress/es فستان ج. فساتين
skirt جيبة = تنّورة
blouse/s بلوزة ج. بلوزات
tight ضيّق - ضيّقة
loose واسع - واسعة

You can see some of these here in the video.

Note on vocabulary of clothing:

Expect to see different words for some items in other resources. There are many words that describe the same item in standard Arabic as well as in different dialects. Plus there will be some clothing words that use the same English words and can have some other Arabic translation that is not frequently used. One example is بيجامة for Pajama: some standard coinage would refer to it as منامة derived from sleep.

Feel free to explore these vocabulary beyond textbooks.

 

Activity 1: Vocabulary Check

Check your vocabulary learning.

Activity 2: Question and Answer

Ask and answer questions with your classmates.

مع زميلة مع زميل
ما لونكِ المفضل في الملابس؟ ما لونكَ المفضل في الملابس؟
من أين تشترين ملابسك عادة؟ من أين تشتري ملابسك عادة؟
ماذا تلبسين عادة في الشتاء؟ ماذا تلبس عادة في الصيف؟
ماذا ستلبسين إذا كان عندك مقابلة عمل؟ ماذا ستلبس إذا كان عندك مقابلة عمل؟
ماذا ستلبسين إذا كان عندك حفلة؟ ماذا ستلبس إذا كان عندك حفلة؟
ماذا تحتاجين أن تلبسي في الشتاء والصيف؟ ماذا تحتاج أن تلبس في الشتاء والصيف؟
ما هي الملابس التي تلبسينها في البيت؟ ما هي الملابس التي تلبسها في البيت؟

Colors as Adjectives

Adjectives of color can be of two types: the regular one in the form of نسبة adjective like the following.

Examples of Nisbah Color Adjectives

  • Orange برتقالي – برتقالية : from برتقال (orange)
  • Brown بُنّي – بُنّية : from بُن (coffee beans)
  • Purple بنفسجي – بنفسجية from بنفسج (violet)
  • Silver فضّي – فضّية from فضة (silver)
  • Pink زهري – زهرية from زهرة (flower)

 

Or the other type following the pattern of أفعل, in which case it follows different patterns in feminine and plural as in the following examples.

Examples of Color Adjectives under أفعل Pattern

Plural Feminine Singular
حُمر حمراء أحمر
بيض بيضاء أبيض
سود سوداء أسود
صُفر صفراء أصفر
زُرق زرقاء أزرق
خُضر خضراء أخضر

Note that the plural form can only used with human plural. As you may remember, nonhuman plurals in Arabic are considered feminine. So if you want to use colors, you can sayرجال بيض (white men) but with clothes, for example, you would say قمصان بيضاء (white shirts). In other words, the plural colors of adjectives are not frequently used as it is not common to say رجال زرق (blue men) for example.

Activity 3: Forms of Color Adjectives

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate form of color adjectives.

Activity 4: Making Sentences

Using the pictures below, write one sentence under each picture. Use adjectives and colors as in the example provided.

You can express this using the verb يلبس/تلبس or the active participle in Egyptian Arabic لابس أو لابسة (he is wearing, she is wearing).

  1. هو لابس بدلة زرقاء

 

  1. Man wearing an orange button up under a blue suit jacket
    Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash

     

  2. Man wearing black jeans with a white graphic t-shirt and a blue distressed denim jacket
    Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash
  3. woman wearing green dress with gold detailing and a gold tiara
    Photo by Mezidi Zineb on Unsplash
  4. woman wearing a black sweater and a red skirt
    Photo by Pasha Chusovitin on Unsplash
  5. woman wearing a black hijab, a maroon long sleeve shirt under a white graphic t-shirt, and blue jeans
    Photo by Kizkopop on Unsplash

     

  6. Man wearing a yellow button up shirt and blue jeans
    Photo by Ahmed Sheraz on Unsplash

ثقافة : الزي التقليدي في الدول العربية

Culture: Traditional Clothes from Arab Countries

The Arab world comprises 22 countries. Divided into four regions: the Levant, the Gulf, North Africa, and Sudan. Each country identifies itself with a unique sense of style. The differences in each country’s form of dress influenced by factors such as weather, traditional practices, and the ruling of historic empires. The Arab world isn’t simply the stereotype of veils and robes. There is a vast diversity in these nations. When we talk about the national dress or traditional attire, we refer to it as الزِيّ الوطني or الشعبي or التقليدي. In some countries like most of the Gulf countries, the national dress is used daily in formal and informal settings. Some other countries reserve this national dress for major holidays and celebrations while they follow a regular dress code in their daily lives and formal settings.

 Learn some terms for what these customes are called

Cultural Wear in the Arab World 

And this magazine article.

Activity 5: Presentation

Pick an Arab country and research their national dress. Prepare few slides to share in class.

Key Takeaways

  • I can describe clothing using colors and appropriate adjectives.
  • I can distinguish persons from different cultures by their dress.

License

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Intermediate Arabic I Copyright © by Ayman Mohamed and Sadam Issa is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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