Fablingo / Fablingo Arabic / Level A1
Episode 24 · A big boy, a big girl
Duration: 6:14
▶ 6 November
After this lesson you can:
I can tell he-words from she-words and make the describing word match.
In this episode
Seven-year-old Nour, wooden alphabet-slate under her arm, appoints herself Sam's fellow beginner — and gleefully proves she already knows which words are "boy words" and which are "girl words," tagging each with its little -a tail while Sam scrambles to keep up. The two-learners race is on, and the child is winning.
Welcome back to the Book Quarter. Last time, Ustadh Farid taught Sam how to gently divide the world into he-things and she-things, starting with one very important word.
هٰذا كِتاب.
He's getting the hang of it. But Sam isn't the only beginner in the shop today. Enter Nour, Ustadh Farid's seven-year-old granddaughter.
Nour has appointed herself Sam's study buddy. And she is fiercely competitive. She marches up to him, points a small finger right at his chest, and declares her first observation.
هٰذا وَلَد.
هٰذا وَلَد. — This is a boy. · HAA-dhaa WA-lad
She's not wrong! وَلَد means boy. And because a boy is obviously a 'he', we use the he-word for 'this', which we learned last time: هٰذا. Together, هٰذا وَلَد means 'This is a boy.'
هٰذا وَلَد. — This is a boy. · HAA-dhaa WA-lad
Say it with me. هٰذا وَلَد. Once more, nice and clear: هٰذا وَلَد.
هٰذا وَلَد. — This is a boy. · HAA-dhaa WA-lad
But Nour isn't finished. She drops her hand, points to herself with both thumbs, and beams.
هٰذِهِ بِنْت.
هٰذِهِ بِنْت. — This is a girl. · HAA-dhi-hi bint
بِنْت means girl. And since a girl is a 'she', Nour naturally uses the she-word for 'this', which is هٰذِهِ. So, هٰذِهِ بِنْت means 'This is a girl.'
هٰذِهِ بِنْت. — This is a girl. · HAA-dhi-hi bint
Try it. Point to the imaginary little girl competing with you and say: هٰذِهِ بِنْت. Again: هٰذِهِ بِنْت.
هٰذِهِ بِنْت. — This is a girl. · HAA-dhi-hi bint
Sam chuckles. He wants to play along. He points to her and tries to add a little flair in English, calling her a 'little girl.' Nour's eyes widen in absolute outrage. She is seven. She is practically an adult.
She stands on her absolute tiptoes, puffing out her chest, to correct the record.
بِنْتٌ كَبيرة.
بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. — A big girl. · BIN-tun ka-BEE-ra
This is the magic of Arabic! The word for big is كَبير. But Arabic likes things to match. Because بِنْت is a girl, the describing word gets a little 'a' sound added to the end—a feminine tail. So كَبير becomes كَبيرة.
بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. — A big girl. · BIN-tun ka-BEE-ra
Let's hear that match. Say: بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. Notice the ending? One more time: بِنْتٌ كَبيرة.
بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. — A big girl. · BIN-tun ka-BEE-ra
Having established her immense maturity, Nour points back at Sam, acknowledging that he, too, is quite tall.
وَلَدٌ كَبير.
وَلَدٌ كَبير. — A big boy. · WA-la-dun ka-BEER
Did you catch what happened? For a boy, وَلَد, the describing word doesn't need that feminine tail. It stays in its base form: كَبير. A big boy is simply وَلَدٌ كَبير.
وَلَدٌ كَبير. — A big boy. · WA-la-dun ka-BEER
Say it with me, no extra tail this time: وَلَدٌ كَبير. Excellent.
وَلَدٌ كَبير. — A big boy. · WA-la-dun ka-BEER
Look how much you're saying already. Let's review our race so far. This is a boy... هٰذا وَلَد. هٰذا وَلَد. This is a girl... هٰذِهِ بِنْت. هٰذِهِ بِنْت. A big boy... وَلَدٌ كَبير. وَلَدٌ كَبير. And a big girl... بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. بِنْتٌ كَبيرة.
Sam realizes the child is winning. He scrambles to keep up. He wants to prove he knows a describing word too. He looks around the shop and spots the low, heavy wooden door to Ustadh Farid's back room. He has to duck just to get through it.
البابُ صَغير.
البابُ صَغير. — The door is small. · al-BAA-bu ṣa-GHEER
Nice one, Sam! الباب is 'the door'. And صَغير is the exact opposite of big—it means small. Because 'door' is a he-word in Arabic, صَغير doesn't get a feminine tail either. It's just صَغير.
البابُ صَغير. — The door is small. · al-BAA-bu ṣa-GHEER
Let's back him up. Say: البابُ صَغير. The ص is heavy, deeper than an English S. Try it again: البابُ صَغير.
البابُ صَغير. — The door is small. · al-BAA-bu ṣa-GHEER
Nour evaluates his sentence. She looks at the door, then back at Sam. She gives him a slow, highly dignified nod of approval.
But then she points to his little notebook, points to her large wooden slate, and flashes a wicked, gap-toothed grin. The race is officially on. If Sam wants to keep up, he's going to need a lot more words tomorrow.
Let's make sure you're ready for the rematch. We learned five phrases today. This is a boy... هٰذا وَلَد. هٰذا وَلَد. This is a girl... هٰذِهِ بِنْت. هٰذِهِ بِنْت. A big boy... وَلَدٌ كَبير. وَلَدٌ كَبير. A big girl... بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. And the door is small... البابُ صَغير. البابُ صَغير.
Sam has a fierce rival now, and you do too. Come back Tuesday and Friday for new episodes, and we'll keep expanding our world together. I'll see you in the Quarter.
Vocabulary
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| هٰذا وَلَد. | This is a boy. | |
| هٰذِهِ بِنْت. | This is a girl. | |
| وَلَدٌ كَبير. | A big boy. | |
| بِنْتٌ كَبيرة. | A big girl. | |
| البابُ صَغير. | The door is small. |
Grammar in this lesson
the tāʾ marbūṭa "-a" (ة) flags a she-word — and the describing word dresses to match: *kabīr* for a he-word, *kabīra* (with the same "-a" tail) for a she-word. Gender felt through pairs, not gridded. The *ṣ* of *ṣaghīr* is the heavy S; the *gh* is the gargled-R (listen for it). · walad, bint, bāb, kabīr/kabīra, ṣaghīr/ṣaghīra.