☰ Units · Arabic A2

Clothes and shopping

Unit 11 · Part B · Arabic A2 (Elementary)
4

Comparing prices

Arabic A2 · Unit 11
GoalCompare with the pattern أَفْعَل مِن and say “the cheapest”.
New words
أَرْخَص (ʾarkhaṣ) · cheaperأَغْلَى (ʾaghlā) · more expensiveأَكْبَر (ʾakbar) · biggerأَصْغَر (ʾaṣghar) · smallerأَجْمَل (ʾajmal) · more beautifulأَحْسَن (ʾaḥsan) · betterالْأَرْخَص (al-ʾarkhaṣ) · the cheapestمِن (min) · than
Explanation

To compare, Arabic uses the pattern أَفْعَل: كَبِير becomes أَكْبَر, رَخِيص becomes أَرْخَص and جَمِيل becomes أَجْمَل. غَالٍ becomes أَغْلَى. This word is the same for masculine and feminine. “Than” is مِن: الْمِعْطَف أَغْلَى مِن الْوِشَاح. With الْ it means “the most”: الْأَرْخَص “the cheapest”. We say الْقَمِيص الْأَرْخَص, “the cheapest shirt”.

Plain wordComparativeExample
كَبِيرأَكْبَرالْفُسْتَان أَكْبَر مِن مَقَاسِي
رَخِيصأَرْخَصالْجَوْرَب أَرْخَص مِن الْحِذَاء
غَالٍأَغْلَىالْمِعْطَف أَغْلَى مِن الْوِشَاح
جَمِيلأَجْمَلالْقُبَّعَة الْحَمْرَاء أَجْمَل
جَيِّدأَحْسَنهَذَا الْقَمِيص أَحْسَن
Worked examples
Comparing prices. Listen and repeat.
Salma

أَيّ قُبَّعَة أَجْمَل؟

Yusuf

الْقُبَّعَة الْحَمْرَاء أَجْمَل.

Salma

لَكِن الزَّرْقَاء أَرْخَص مِن الْحَمْرَاء.

Yusuf

أَنَا أُحِبّ الْأَرْخَص!

Salma and Yusuf choose a hat. Press each line.
Size.
Class activity

Go through a shop (or a catalogue) and compare five things: the price (أَرْخَص / أَغْلَى), the size (أَكْبَر / أَصْغَر) and the look (أَجْمَل). Write five sentences with مِن. Then write which one is the cheapest with الْأَرْخَص.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Which is longer, the shirt or the dress?
2
Write: “The shoes are more expensive than the socks.”
3
The picture shows a coat and a shirt. The coat costs 30 dinars and the shirt 20. Write: “The shirt is cheaper than the coat.”
4
How do you say “the cheapest”?
5
The picture shows two dresses, one big and one small. Write: “This dress is smaller than that dress.”