Modern Standard Arabic has a huge vocabulary, but a small core of words carries most everyday speech and writing. These hundred are the pronouns, particles, and common verbs and nouns you will meet again and again. Get comfortable with them and the rest of the language becomes much easier to absorb.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Arabic | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | في | in | الكتاب في الحقيبة.The book is in the bag. |
| 2 | من | from | أنا من مصر.I am from Egypt. |
| 3 | إلى | to | ذهبنا إلى المدرسة.We went to school. |
| 4 | على | on | القطة على الطاولة.The cat is on the table. |
| 5 | عن | about | تحدثنا عن الكتاب.We talked about the book. |
| 6 | مع | with | أنا أسكن مع أختي.I live with my sister. |
| 7 | هذا | this (m.) | هذا بيتي.This is my house. |
| 8 | ذلك | that (m.) | ذلك الرجل مدرس.That man is a teacher. |
| 9 | الذي | which / that | الرجل الذي رأيته أمس هو أخي.The man that I saw yesterday is my brother. |
| 10 | أن | that (conj.) | أريد أن أذهب إلى البيت.I want to go home. |
| 11 | لا | no / not | لا أعرف الجواب.I don't know the answer. |
| 12 | لم | not (past) | لم أذهب إلى المدرسة أمس.I did not go to school yesterday. |
| 13 | ما | what / not | ما اسمك؟What is your name? |
| 14 | هل | (question word) | هل أنت بخير؟Are you okay? |
| 15 | و | and | أكلت التفاح والموز.I ate the apple and the banana. |
| 16 | أو | or | هل تريد شايا أو قهوة؟Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 17 | لكن | but | أنا متعب لكنني سعيد.I am tired but I am happy. |
| 18 | إذا | if | إذا أمطرت، سنبقى في البيت.If it rains, we will stay home. |
| 19 | كيف | how | كيف حالك اليوم؟How are you today? |
| 20 | لماذا | why | لماذا تأخرت؟Why are you late? |
| 21 | متى | when | متى وصلت إلى هنا؟When did you arrive here? |
| 22 | أين | where | أين تسكن؟Where do you live? |
| 23 | أنا | I | أنا طالب في الجامعة.I am a student at the university. |
| 24 | أنتَ | you (m.) | أنتَ صديقي المفضل.You are my favorite friend. |
| 25 | هو | he | هو يعمل في مستشفى.He works in a hospital. |
| 26 | هي | she | هي تحب القراءة.She loves reading. |
| 27 | نحن | we | نحن نسكن في المدينة.We live in the city. |
| 28 | أنتم | you (pl.) | أنتم مدعوون إلى حفلتنا.You are all invited to our party. |
| 29 | هم | they | هم يلعبون كرة القدم.They are playing soccer. |
| 30 | كان | was | كان الجو جميلا أمس.The weather was beautiful yesterday. |
| 31 | عند | at / to have | عندي كتاب جديد.I have a new book. |
| 32 | قال | said | قال المعلم إن الامتحان صعب.The teacher said that the exam is hard. |
| 33 | ذهب | went | ذهب أبي إلى العمل مبكرا.My father went to work early. |
| 34 | جاء | came | جاء صديقي لزيارتي.My friend came to visit me. |
| 35 | رأى | saw | رأى أحمد فيلما جديدا أمس.Ahmad saw a new movie yesterday. |
| 36 | عرف | knew | عرف الطالب الجواب الصحيح.The student knew the correct answer. |
| 37 | أراد | wanted | أراد الطفل أن يلعب في الحديقة.The child wanted to play in the garden. |
| 38 | استطاع | was able to | استطاع أن يحل المسألة بسرعة.He was able to solve the problem quickly. |
| 39 | فعل | did | لماذا فعلت ذلك؟Why did you do that? |
| 40 | عمل | worked | عمل بجد طوال حياته.He worked hard his whole life. |
| 41 | أخذ | took | أخذ الكتاب من المكتبة.He took the book from the library. |
| 42 | أعطى | gave | أعطاني أخي هدية جميلة.My brother gave me a beautiful gift. |
| 43 | وجد | found | وجدت مفاتيحي تحت السرير.I found my keys under the bed. |
| 44 | ترك | left | ترك المدينة قبل سنوات.He left the city years ago. |
| 45 | جعل | made | جعلني هذا الخبر سعيدا.This news made me happy. |
| 46 | بدأ | began | بدأ الدرس في الساعة التاسعة.The lesson began at nine o'clock. |
| 47 | انتهى | finished | انتهى الفيلم متأخرا.The movie ended late. |
| 48 | كتب | wrote | كتبت رسالة إلى صديقتي.I wrote a letter to my friend. |
| 49 | قرأ | read | قرأ الطالب الكتاب كله.The student read the whole book. |
| 50 | سمع | heard | سمعت صوتا غريبا في الليل.I heard a strange sound at night. |
| 51 | تحدث | spoke | تحدثنا طويلا عن المستقبل.We talked for a long time about the future. |
| 52 | فهم | understood | فهمت الدرس جيدا.I understood the lesson well. |
| 53 | اعتقد | believed | اعتقدت أنه سيأتي اليوم.I thought he would come today. |
| 54 | شعر | felt | شعرت بالتعب بعد العمل.I felt tired after work. |
| 55 | أحب | loved | أحب القراءة كثيرا.I love reading a lot. |
| 56 | عاش | lived | عاش جدي في هذه المدينة.My grandfather lived in this city. |
| 57 | مات | died | مات الملك القديم منذ زمن طويل.The old king died long ago. |
| 58 | أكل | ate | أكلنا العشاء في المطعم.We ate dinner at the restaurant. |
| 59 | شرب | drank | شرب كوبا من الماء.He drank a glass of water. |
| 60 | نام | slept | نام الطفل مبكرا الليلة.The child slept early tonight. |
| 61 | خرج | went out | خرجت من البيت الساعة السابعة.I left the house at seven o'clock. |
| 62 | دخل | entered | دخل الأستاذ الصف بهدوء.The teacher entered the classroom quietly. |
| 63 | وصل | arrived | وصلنا إلى المطار في الوقت.We arrived at the airport on time. |
| 64 | رجع | returned | رجع من السفر أمس.He returned from his trip yesterday. |
| 65 | جلس | sat | جلسنا في الحديقة نتحدث.We sat in the garden talking. |
| 66 | وقف | stood | وقف الرجل أمام الباب.The man stood in front of the door. |
| 67 | مشى | walked | مشينا على الشاطئ في المساء.We walked on the beach in the evening. |
| 68 | رجل | man | التقيت برجل لطيف في السوق.I met a kind man at the market. |
| 69 | امرأة | woman | المرأة تعمل طبيبة.The woman works as a doctor. |
| 70 | ولد | boy | الولد يلعب في الشارع.The boy is playing in the street. |
| 71 | بيت | house | بيتنا قريب من المدرسة.Our house is near the school. |
| 72 | يوم | day | كان يوما طويلا في العمل.It was a long day at work. |
| 73 | سنة | year | أدرس اللغة العربية منذ سنة.I have been studying Arabic for a year. |
| 74 | وقت | time | ليس لدي وقت كاف اليوم.I don't have enough time today. |
| 75 | مكان | place | هذا المكان هادئ جدا.This place is very quiet. |
| 76 | شيء | thing | لا أفهم أي شيء.I don't understand anything. |
| 77 | ناس | people | كان هناك ناس كثيرون في الحفلة.There were many people at the party. |
| 78 | عالم | world | العالم يتغير بسرعة.The world is changing quickly. |
| 79 | ماء | water | أحتاج إلى كوب من الماء.I need a glass of water. |
| 80 | مال | money | ادخر بعض المال لشراء بيت.He saved some money to buy a house. |
| 81 | مدرسة | school | أطفالي يذهبون إلى مدرسة قريبة.My children go to a nearby school. |
| 82 | كتاب | book | قرأت هذا الكتاب مرتين.I read this book twice. |
| 83 | اسم | name | اسمي سارة.My name is Sarah. |
| 84 | يد | hand | أمسك الطفل يد أمه.The child held his mother's hand. |
| 85 | عين | eye | لها عينان جميلتان.She has beautiful eyes. |
| 86 | مدينة | city | القاهرة مدينة كبيرة.Cairo is a big city. |
| 87 | بلد | country | مصر بلد جميل.Egypt is a beautiful country. |
| 88 | طعام | food | الطعام في هذا المطعم لذيذ.The food in this restaurant is delicious. |
| 89 | سيارة | car | اشترى سيارة جديدة الأسبوع الماضي.He bought a new car last week. |
| 90 | كلب | dog | كلبي يحب اللعب في الحديقة.My dog loves playing in the garden. |
| 91 | قطة | cat | القطة نائمة على الأريكة.The cat is sleeping on the couch. |
| 92 | جيد | good | هذا مطعم جيد.This is a good restaurant. |
| 93 | كبير | big | يسكنون في بيت كبير.They live in a big house. |
| 94 | صغير | small | لديهم كلب صغير.They have a small dog. |
| 95 | جديد | new | اشتريت هاتفا جديدا.I bought a new phone. |
| 96 | قديم | old | هذا كتاب قديم جدا.This is a very old book. |
| 97 | جميل | beautiful | المنظر من هنا جميل جدا.The view from here is very beautiful. |
| 98 | كثير | much / many | لدي عمل كثير اليوم.I have a lot of work today. |
| 99 | قليل | little / few | بقي قليل من الوقت.There is little time left. |
| 100 | دائما | always | هي دائما تصل في الوقت.She always arrives on time. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
root letters
Most Arabic words are built from a three-letter root that carries a core meaning. The root k-t-b (ك ت ب) gives you كتب (he wrote), كتاب (book), and مكتبة (library). Once you notice the pattern, you can often guess the general meaning of a new word just from its root.
sun and moon letters
The definite article ال (al-) is spelled the same before every noun, but its pronunciation changes with 'sun letters': الشمس is said 'ash-shams' (the sun), not 'al-shams', because the ل assimilates into the following consonant. Before 'moon letters' like ق, the ال is pronounced as written, as in القمر (al-qamar, the moon).
no verb for 'to have'
Arabic has no single verb meaning 'to have'. Possession is shown with a preposition plus an attached pronoun, most often عند (near, at): عندي كتاب literally means 'at me a book', but it is how you say 'I have a book'.
gender agreement
Adjectives and verbs change form to match the gender of the noun they describe. كبير means 'big' for a masculine noun, but a feminine noun needs the added ة: كبيرة. Even numbers agree with nouns in ways that often feel backwards to English speakers.
dual number
Besides singular and plural, Arabic has a dedicated dual form for exactly two of something, made by adding ان to the noun: كتاب (a book) becomes كتابان (two books), a different word from the plural كتب (books).
reading without short vowels
Printed Arabic, in newspapers, books, and signs, almost never marks the short vowels, so a word like كتب could be read 'kataba' (he wrote) or 'kutub' (books) depending on context. Learners lean on sentence context and vocabulary rather than sounding words out letter by letter.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Arabic and following it.