Learning common adjectives in Arabic is essential for describing people, places, and things, which greatly enhances your language skills. Our interactive course presentation introduces you to a variety of commonly used adjectives with images and audio pronunciations by native speakers.
Click on the audio icons to listen and repeat, and practice using these adjectives in sentences to describe various aspects in Arabic. Share in the comments your favorite adjectives and how this course has helped you!
Positive adjectives in Arabic
Why Learn Common Arabic Adjectives?
Adjectives in Arabic (الصِّفات as‑ṣifāt) are powerful tools. They let you describe people, places, and things in more detail — not just a house, but a beautiful house (bayt jamīl). For beginners, mastering a set of common adjectives helps make your Arabic more expressive and real.
Plus, knowing adjectives improves your speaking and writing: you’ll sound more natural, and your sentences will carry more meaning.
Basics of Arabic Adjectives
Here are a few key points to help beginners understand how adjectives work in Arabic:
- Agreement: Adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender (masculine / feminine), number (singular / plural), and definiteness (if the noun is “the …”). (adrosverse.com)
- Order: In English, adjectives come before the noun (“beautiful woman”), but in Arabic the noun comes first (“woman beautiful”) in many cases. (Kaleela App)
- Patterns: Many Arabic adjectives follow common root‑patterns (like فَعِيل, فَعَّال) that help form descriptive words. (Institut Al-dirassa)
Useful Everyday Adjectives for Beginners
| Arabic | Transliteration | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كبير | kabīr | big, large |
| صغير | ṣaghīr | small, little |
| جميل | jamīl | beautiful, nice |
| سريع | sarīʿ | fast, quick |
| بطيء | baṭīʾ | slow |
| طويل | ṭawīl | tall, long |
| قصير | qaṣīr | short |
| قوي | qawī | strong |
| ضعيف | ḍaʿīf | weak |
| ذكي | dhakī | smart, intelligent |
These adjectives will help you describe physical size, speed, beauty, strength, and more.
Example Sentences with Adjectives
| Arabic Sentence | Transliteration | English Translation | Cultural Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| هذا بيت كبير | hādhā bayt kabīr | This is a big house. | Useful when talking about homes or places. |
| هذهَ سيارة صغيرة | hādhihi sayyārah ṣaghīrah | This is a small car. | Shows gender agreement (“this is (f) …”). |
| الطائر جميل | al‑ṭāʾir jamīl | The bird is beautiful. | Describing animals is common in conversation. |
| السيارة سريعة جدًا | al‑sayyārah sarīʿah jiddan | The car is very fast. | “جدا” (jiddan) means “very.” |
| المشي بطيء اليوم | al-mashy baṭīʾ al-yawm | The walking is slow today. | Can describe pace or traffic. |
| الرجل طويل | al-rajul ṭawīl | The man is tall. | A standard way to describe height. |
| الطفلة قصيرة | al‑ṭiflatu qaṣīrah | The little girl is short. | Feminine form is used with “الطفلة.” |
| الولد قوي | al-walad qawī | The boy is strong. | Strength can refer to physical or character strength. |
| الكتاب ضعيف المحتوى | al-kitāb ḍaʿīf al-maḥtawā | The book has weak content. | “Weak content” might imply shallow or poor quality. |
| صديقك ذكي جدًا | ṣadīquka dhakī jiddan | Your friend is very smart. | A nice compliment to use politely. |
How to Practice These Adjectives
- Use flashcards: Write the Arabic word, the transliteration, and the meaning on separate sides.
- Speak with a partner: Try describing things around you in Arabic (e.g., “this room is big,” “that phone is small”).
- Write simple sentences: Take the adjectives and build short sentences like the examples above.
- Watch/Listen: Even though we’re not using audio here, you can find apps or videos which pronounce these adjectives to check your pronunciation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring gender/number agreement: Saying kabīrah (feminine big) when the noun is masculine will sound wrong.
- Wrong word order: Putting the adjective before the noun like in English (“big house” kabīr bayt) doesn’t always work in Arabic.
- Skipping the article “ال” when needed: If you’re referring to something specific (“the book,” “the man”), you often need ال‑.
Why These Adjectives Matter for Beginners?
Using just a handful of adjectives already makes your Arabic richer. Instead of “I have a car,” you can say “I have a small car” or “I have a fast car.” That small addition makes your speech more natural, more descriptive, and more confident.
Plus, once you master these, you can build on them: learn their feminine/plural forms, combine them with colors, emotions, and more.
50+ Common Arabic Adjectives for Beginners
Learning adjectives in Arabic is essential for describing people, places, and objects naturally. This guide is designed for beginners, structured by themes, with both masculine and feminine forms, and practical examples.
More Transliterations and examples:
- كبير (Kabīr) – Big
- صغير (Ṣaghīr) – Small
- جميل (Jamīl) – Beautiful
- سريع (Sarīʿ) – Fast
- بطيء (Baṭī’) – Slow
- طويل (Ṭawīl) – Tall
- قصير (Qaṣīr) – Short
- قوي (Qawī) – Strong
- ضعيف (Ḍaʿīf) – Weak
- ذكي (Dhakī) – Smart
