Modern Standard Arabic course · 27 languages in one app
Modern Standard Arabic is the Arabic of news, books, signs and speeches from Morocco to Oman. Talvo teaches it in Arabic script with the vowel marks shown and romanization alongside, and gets you saying it out loud from your first lesson.
First lesson free · iPhone and Mac, one subscription
Modern Standard Arabic · First phrasesمرحباً
marhaban
Hello
Twelve phrases in Modern Standard Arabic, understood wherever Arabic is spoken. Where two forms are given, the first is for talking to a man and the second to a woman.
| Arabic | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| مرحباً | marhaban | Hello |
| السلام عليكم | as-salaamu 'alaykum | Peace be upon youA greeting you can use anywhere. The reply is wa 'alaykum as-salaam |
| كيف حالك؟ | kayfa haaluk? / kayfa haaluki? | How are you?To a man / to a woman |
| أنا بخير، شكراً | ana bikhayr, shukran | I'm fine, thank you |
| ما اسمك؟ | maa ismuk? / maa ismuki? | What's your name?To a man / to a woman |
| اسمي سام | ismii Sam | My name is Sam |
| تشرفت بمعرفتك | tasharraftu bi-ma'rifatik | Nice to meet you |
| من فضلك | min fadlik / min fadliki | PleaseTo a man / to a woman |
| شكراً جزيلاً | shukran jaziilan | Thank you very much |
| كم السعر؟ | kam as-si'r? | How much is it? |
| أين الحمّام؟ | ayna l-hammaam? | Where is the bathroom? |
| لا أفهم | laa afham | I don't understand |
An apostrophe (') marks ع, a tight sound from deep in the throat. The h in haaluk and hammaam is ح, a strong, breathy h. Double vowels are long.
Checking in at a hotel, in the polite Modern Standard Arabic you'd use at any reception desk. The tutor plays the receptionist.
Modern Standard Arabic is the shared language of news, books and formal speech. At home, people speak their own dialect, like Egyptian Arabic. Learn Standard to read and follow the news, and add a dialect to chat.
Everyday texts leave out the short vowels, so كتب can be kataba (he wrote) or kutub (books). Talvo's vocabulary shows the vowel marks, as in كَتَبَ, so you know how each word sounds.
The al- of “the” blends into some letters: الشمس is ash-shams (the sun), but القمر stays al-qamar (the moon).
You changes with who you're talking to: كيف حالكَ؟ (kayfa haaluk) to a man and كيف حالكِ؟ (kayfa haaluki) to a woman. Verbs change too.
Choose Modern Standard if you want to read, follow the news or use Arabic for work across the Arab world. Choose Egyptian Arabic if you mainly want to talk with people in Egypt. Talvo has both as separate courses, and plenty of learners do both.
No. Every phrase shows romanization alongside the Arabic script, and you can answer in romanization while you learn the letters.
Yes, to start. Your first lesson, three live-interpreter exchanges, your reviews and your deck are free. Talvo Pro unlocks unlimited lessons and conversations, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
Yes. Talvo is a native app for iPhone and Mac, and one subscription covers both.
The first lesson is free. It takes about five minutes.
