Marhaba! When my wife and I are in Beirut, Lebanon to visit family and friends, we always meet, through common friends, a bunch of Americans studying in Lebanon, conducting research for their studies, learning Arabic, or simply enjoying some of the beautiful sites. I have been told numerous times that these American students and/or tourists are always asked ‘which state are you from in the United States?’

Image by Mr.Lujan via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Although I am almost certain that a handful of Lebanese nationals have relatives in and/or have heard of California, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas and a few other states, many Lebanese and Arabs broadly speaking know little about other states. Today, I am going to teach you all, especially Americans planning to travel to the Arab world soon, how to pronounce the name of your state in Arabic. I have translated the names of 50 U.S. states in Arabic. Keep in mind that the these states sound the same in Arabic. Just remember to add ‘I am from’ which literally translates to “أنا من” before the state. In the future I will discuss how to pronounce the names of other countries across different continents. Stay tuned for these extremely useful learning posts!

How about we begin practicing? I will begin.
Where are you from?
Translation: من أين أنت؟
Transliteration: Min ay-na an-ta?

I am from New York.
Translation: أنا من نيويورك

For now take care and stay tuned for upcoming posts!
Happy Learning!
Have a nice day!!
نهاركم سعيد