Arabic A1, Unit 5: Meem

Meem

Arabic A1 · Unit 5

GoalRead and write م (meem) and read your first very common small words.

New words

مِن (min) · fromمَعَ (maʿa) · withفَم (fam) · mouthقَلَم (qalam) · penقَمَر (qamar) · moonشَمْس (shams) · sunنَجْم (najm) · starسَمَك (samak) · fish

Explanation

Meem (م) is the “m” of “moon”: close your lips, then open them. It has no dots. At the start and in the middle it is a small round loop; alone and at the end it has a tail that drops below the line. Meem joins on both sides. Do not mix it up with faa and qaaf, which also have a loop but always carry dots. The two small words مِن (from) and مَعَ (with) are among the most common in Arabic.

مalone

مـstart

ـمـmiddle

ـمend

mīmm

Worked examples

Meem at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Press Listen.

Three words from the sky: moon, sun and star.

قَqa+مَma+رr

Break قَمَر into steps: قَ + مَ + ر. Every letter has its own vowel except the last one.

Class activity

Night sky. Draw a small sky with a moon, a sun and a star. Write the Arabic word under each drawing and read it aloud from right to left. Then close your lips and say ma, mi, mu, mā, mī, mū.

Practice

Press Listen. Which letter starts the word?

Which of these letters has no dots?

Read aloud and say what it means: قَلَم.

Read the three small words: مِن، مَعَ، فِي. Which one means “with”?

The picture shows the moon. Which word is it: شَمْس or قَمَر?

Faa, qaaf, kaaf, laam, meem

Meem