1
Relatives
Arabic A2 · Unit 7
GoalName the members of the wider family and say “my uncle”, “my aunt”, “my grandmother”.
New words
جَدّ (jadd) · grandfatherجَدَّة (jadda) · grandmotherعَمّ (ʿamm) · uncle (father’s brother)عَمَّة (ʿamma) · aunt (father’s sister)خَال (khāl) · uncle (mother’s brother)خَالَة (khāla) · aunt (mother’s sister)اِبْن (ibn) · sonاِبْنَة (ibna) · daughter
Explanation
Arabic has separate words for the two sides of the family. On the father’s side: عَمّ (his brother) and عَمَّة (his sister). On the mother’s side: خَال (her brother) and خَالَة (her sister). جَدّ is “grandfather” and جَدَّة is “grandmother”. اِبْن is “son” and اِبْنَة is “daughter”. Add the ending ـِي for “my”: جَدِّي، عَمَّتِي، خَالِي، اِبْنَتِي. A cousin is “the son of my uncle”: اِبْن عَمِّي.
| Side | Man | Woman |
|---|---|---|
| Father’s side | عَمّ | عَمَّة |
| Mother’s side | خَال | خَالَة |
| Grandparents | جَدّ | جَدَّة |
| Children | اِبْن | اِبْنَة |
Worked examples
Whose job? Listen and repeat.
Yusuf
مَن هَذَا؟
Mona
هَذَا خَالِي أَحْمَد.
Yusuf
وَمَن هَذِهِ؟
Mona
هَذِهِ خَالَتِي مَرْيَم، وَهَذَا اِبْنُهَا كَرِيم.
Cousins are “son of …” and “daughter of …”.
Class activity
Draw your family tree. Write each person with an Arabic word and the ending ـِي: جَدِّي، جَدَّتِي، عَمِّي … Under each person write one sentence, for example عَمِّي مُهَنْدِس. Read the tree aloud.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Is the relative a brother or a sister?
A sister: أُخْتِي (ʾukhtī), “my sister”.
2
Write in Arabic: “my grandmother”.
جَدَّتِي
3
The picture shows a woman. She is my mother’s sister. Write “my aunt”.
خَالَتِي (khālatī)
4
The picture shows a man. He is my father’s brother. Write “my uncle”.
عَمِّي (ʿammī)
5
Which word is on the mother’s side: عَمّ or خَال?
خَال (khāl). عَمّ is the father’s brother.