Moving on to our seventh letter of the Arabic alphabet (خ), we will look at various words and phrases beginning with (خ) along with more culture/language related facts.

Let’s begin with looking at your basic forms of the letter خ.

Initial خـ‎, as in the word “خَروف” meaning “sheep”.

Medial ـخـ‎ ‍, as in the word “صَخر” meaning “rock/stone”.

Final ـخ‎, as in the word “تاريخ” meaning “date (day of the month or year) /history”.

Before looking at the following words and phrases, can you think of words beginning with خ?

First, here are a number of familiar words that begin with خ

الخَميس: Thursday      هل أنتِ مشغولة هذا الخميس؟   Are you busy this Thursday?

الخَريف: autumn       .فَصلي المُفضل هو فَصْل الخَريف     My favorite season is autumn.

خُبْز: bread    .أشتريتُ خُبز مِن المَخبَز    I bought bread from the bakery.

خَمسة: five    .لديه خَمسة قِطط     He has five cats.

خُضار: vegetables    .تناول جميع الخُضروات قَبل تناول الحلوى 

Eat all your vegetables before you have dessert.

🖋🖋🖋Arabic calligraphy الخَط العربي, which is an art form meant for decorating تزيين and writing sacred scripture النصوص المُقدسة. There are several variations as well as regionally specific styles. Islamic calligraphy has also been incorporated into modern art الفَن الحَديث. Here is a video showing how to begin practicing Arabic calligraphy and improve your Arabic penmanship with a regular pen. 🖋😎

كيف تحسن خطك بالقلم العادي … الدرس الأول 1 learn arabic calligraphy

Here are also a few examples of Arabic calligraphy. Can you make out what is written?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

خَوف: fear   .نشروا الخَوف والفَزع    They spread fear and panic.

خارِج: outside/outdoors    .كُنتُ بالخارِج عندما اتصلت   I was outside when you called.

خاطِئ: wrong/incorrect     .كان هذا الجَواب الخاطئ     That was the wrong answer.

خَبير: expert      .يَجِب أن تكون خبيراً للحصول على هذه الوظيفة

You need to be an expert to get this job.

خَيار: choice/option     .أعتقد أن الخَيار الأفضل هو البَقاء في المَنزِل

I think the best option is to stay home.

Note: If you change the fetHa on the خ to a kesra, you get خِيار cucumber. 🥒

خَبَر: news/information/message   !هذا خَبَر كبير    That’s big news!

خُطّة: plan    .لدَي خُطّة ولكنها خَطيرة     I have a plan but it’s dangerous.

✨خَير  If you know how to say good morning/night in Arabic, then you are familiar with the word خَير. It has multiple meanings, such as “good” and “abundance of wealth, goods or property”.

Examples:

.تُصبح على خَير وأحلام سَعيدة      Goodnight and happy (sweet) dreams.

.أتمنى لك كُل الخَير         I wish you all the best.

 فاعِل خَير                  referring to a person of good will, philanthropist, helpful

Let’s look at a common expression in Arabic that can differ slightly in meaning according to context.

.خَير إن شاء الله

Perhaps someone is worried about something and you want to assure him/her that everything will be fine by God’s help and protection, you would say “خَير إن شاء الله”.

It could also be used as a question to ask, “What happened?” if someone mentions something worrisome. Or, “I hope it’s nothing bad.”

Perhaps you are waiting for news, you can say “خَير إن شاء الله” to mean “Any good news?”.

 

You have most likely heard the Arabic name خَدِيجَة Khadijah. Girls with this name are named after خَدِيجَة ٱبْنَت خُوَيْلِد‎ Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who was the first wife and first female follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. خَدِيجَة  is often referred to by Muslims as “Mother of the Believers”. She is also seen as the epitome مثال of an independent مُستقلّة and successful businesswoman سيدّة الأعمال and philanthropist فاعِل خَير .

 

Levantine: خَلَص

خَلَص is one of those spoken Arabic words that you are bound to hear being used all throughout the day.

Depending on context, خَلَص can mean “enough”, “that’s it”, “stop”, and as a verb “to finish”.

For example:

خَلَصت واجباتك؟   Did you finish your homework?

أعبيلك كمان شاي؟   Should I pour you more tea?

.خَلَص، شكراً      That’s enough, thank you.

في شي ثاني بدك تشتري؟    Is there anything else you want to buy?

.لا، خَلَص       No, that’s it.

!خَلَص تعمل هيك     Stop doing that!

Until next week, happy Arabic learning! 😊