Phrases that save you in Arabic
17 words in Arabic on the topic “phrases that save you”: لا أفهم — I don't understand, ببطء — slowly, كرر من فضلك — repeat, please, هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ — do you speak English?
17 words on the topic
- لا أفهمля афхамI don't understandLaa stands right before a present-tense verb. Attach the request to slow down at once: bi-butʾ, min fadlik
- ببطءби-бутʿslowlyFrom butʾ — slowness. The attached bi- means "with, by means of" — one of the most frequent prefixes in the language. The most useful word of the first week
- كرر من فضلكкуррир мин фадликrepeat, pleaseLiterally "repeat". The long rr is the same shadda as in tasharrafitu. What makes it polite is min fadlik at the end
- هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟халь татаккалам аль-инджлийзя؟do you speak English?Hal at the front turns any statement into a yes/no question. English itself is al-injiliziyya — a language named by an adjective
- النجدة!ан-наджда!help!Literally "rescue!". The n after the article is that sun-letter assimilation: an-najda, not al-najda
- أنا تائهана таихI am lostLiterally "I am a wanderer". A woman says ana taaʾiha. The request for help attaches itself naturally
- لا يعملля яʿмальdoes not workFrom aʿmal — I work: the same verb as a person’s. About a machine and about a person they say it alike; context tells them apart
- انتظر لحظةинтазир ляхзаwait a momentLiterally "wait an instant" — an Arab counts not minutes but lahza. The politeness goes at the end: min fadlik, as always
- لا أستطيع الفتحля астатыиʿ аль-фатхI cannot open itAstatiiʿ is "I am able": after it the action stands as a noun, al-fath is "the opening". The door will not yield — say this and they will help
- إسعافисʿаафambulanceLiterally "rescue": from the verb "to come to the aid". The word isʿaaf is written on the ambulance itself, and the single emergency number stands on every pole
- أحتاج طبيبахтаадж табиибI need a doctorLiterally "I am in need of a doctor": the verb "to need" takes the doctor directly, no "to me". At the airport and at the hotel this phrase is understood at once
- انتبهинтабихcareful!Literally "pay attention". It stands on the yellow signs by the puddle and the building site; to a group they call intabihuu
- خطيرхатиирdangerous!The opening h is glottal, then the emphatic t: the word sounds as stern as its sense. The signs khatiir stand by the site and the open manhole
- اتصل بالشرطةиттасиль би-ш-шуртаcall the policeThe same ittasil as for the repairman and the ambulance: the verb "to get in touch" works for every phone at once. The police is shurṭa — a short, loud word
- فقدت جواز السفرфакадту давааз ас-сафарI have lost my passportLiterally "I lost the permit of travel". A woman says faqadtu the same way: the past-tense first person does not know gender
- أنا مريضана маридI am unwellLiterally "I ill". A woman says ana mariida. A phrase without a verb, like all description in Arabic — and it is understood always
- لا تلمسля талмисdo not touchAddressed to one; to a group — laa talmisuu. The prohibition "fresh paint" is built on it too, and in the museum it is heard most of all
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- عفوا, لا أفهمафван, ля афхамExcuse me, I don't understand
- تكلم ببطء من فضلكтакаллам би-бутʿ мин фадликSpeak slowly, please
- كرر من فضلك, لا أفهمкуррир мин фадлик, ля афхамRepeat, please, I do not understand
- هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ — قليلا.халь татаккалам аль-инджлийзя؟ — кадыляан.Do you speak English? — A little.
- النجدة! النجدة!ан-наджда! ан-наджда!Help! Help!
- عفوا, أنا تائهафван, ана таихExcuse me, I am lost
What is worth knowing about these words
لا أفهم (ля афхам) — I don't understand. Laa stands right before a present-tense verb. Attach the request to slow down at once: bi-butʾ, min fadlik.
ببطء (би-бутʿ) — slowly. From butʾ — slowness. The attached bi- means "with, by means of" — one of the most frequent prefixes in the language. The most useful word of the first week.
كرر من فضلك (куррир мин фадлик) — repeat, please. Literally "repeat". The long rr is the same shadda as in tasharrafitu. What makes it polite is min fadlik at the end.
هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ (халь татаккалам аль-инджлийзя؟) — do you speak English? Hal at the front turns any statement into a yes/no question. English itself is al-injiliziyya — a language named by an adjective.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I don't understand” in Arabic?
Laa stands right before a present-tense verb. Attach the request to slow down at once: bi-butʾ, min fadlik
- How do you say “wait a moment” in Arabic?
Literally "wait an instant" — an Arab counts not minutes but lahza. The politeness goes at the end: min fadlik, as always
- How do you say “I have lost my passport” in Arabic?
Literally "I lost the permit of travel". A woman says faqadtu the same way: the past-tense first person does not know gender
- How do you say “help!” in Arabic?
Literally "rescue!". The n after the article is that sun-letter assimilation: an-najda, not al-najda
- How do you say “careful!” in Arabic?
Literally "pay attention". It stands on the yellow signs by the puddle and the building site; to a group they call intabihuu
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I don't understand” in Arabic?
«لا أفهم», read “ля афхам”. Laa stands right before a present-tense verb. Attach the request to slow down at once: bi-butʾ, min fadlik. It is one of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” — the rest are in the table above.
How many emergency phrases do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 17 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.