Arabic, the language of Islam, is the fifth most common language worldwide. Arabic, with its 27 sub-languages, is the native language of approximately 280 million people, as well as 250 million nonnative speakers. Learning Arabic will introduce you to many beneficial travel, marriage, friendship, business and religious opportunities. There are ample websites that teach the basics of Arabic online, and this article will help you learn how to find them.

How to Learn Arabic Words Online

Learn the basics of the Arabic alphabet. With 28 letters, Arabic is read horizontally from right to left. To read and write Arabic you will need to learn that 22 of the 28 letters have 4 variants: alone, as the beginning of the word, as the middle letter of a word, or as the last letter of the word. The remaining four letters never change and are never connected to other letters, so for these letters, you will have to lift your writing utensil. You will also learn that all the letters are consonants; vowel sounds are indicated by marks above or below the consonants. There are three short vowels (ah, eh, and ih), and three long vowels (a, u, and i). There are also instances where the consonant will not have a vowel, which is called "sukun." You will also need to learn about "shadda," which occurs with consecutive syllables where one ends in a consonant and the second starts in the same consonant. "Learn Arabic Online" is a free website that will walk you through the Arabic alphabet and sounds in ten lessons (see Resources). A bonus to this site it that it has sound clips so that you can check your pronunciation.

Make a list of the basic words or phrases you wish to learn. This, of course, is an optional step, but it will give you an idea of what you want to learn. This will be especially helpful if you are learning Arabic for a specific purpose, such as a business transaction or travel. One suggestion is to make a table with three columns. In the first column (left), write the word or phrase in English. In the middle column, you will write the Arabic word (translation of the word in the first column). In the last column (right), write the Arabic word or phrase phonetically to help you remember how to read and pronounce it.

Use websites, such as "Babel: Arabic," to look up these words and phrases in Arabic. There are sound clips to accompany all words so that you can check you reading and pronunciation ability. This website offers the first 12 lessons for free (basic words and phrases), but a service charge will apply after that.

Practice reading and writing these words. When available use audio clips to check your pronunciation. While it is beneficial to write the words out phonetically in the beginning, be careful not be become dependent on this or you will not practice reading the words in Arabic.

If you prefer to learn by watching and listening than by reading and listening, there are many videos online that teach the basics of Arabic. The "Arabic in English" videos are very user friendly and helpful for learning the basic sounds and introducing the writing system. Start with the "Arabic in English Sample" video (see Resources). The "Arabic Audio & Text: Most Used Phrases" video provides the 100 most used phrases in English translated in Arabic. The screen shows the word/phrase in English and in Arabic and then repeats the word in Arabic twice. You may find that the video moves from one word/phrase to another very fast. A solution to this is to pause the video at each new screen to give you time to try to read the word, write the word down, and practice repeating the word.

Continue to develop your Arabic vocabulary. One you have managed the basic phrases and vocabulary, you should study sentence structure and develop conversational skills. Purchasing an English- Arabic dictionary will allow you to extend your vocabulary and learn more than the common words and phrases that most websites offer. The Concise Oxford Dictionary is the best for general use. You can also find free online English-Arabic dictionaries, such as that provided by ECTACO