Asking Questions in Arabic language One of the best ways to start a conversation is to ask a su’aal (soo-aahl; question). To get you started, here are some key question words in Arabic: man? (meh-n; Who?) ‘ayna? (eh-yeh-nah; Where?) mataa? (mah-taah; When?) maa? (maah; What?) maadhaa? (maah-zaah; What?) (used with verbs) lii maadhaa? (lee maah-zaah; Why?) kayfa? (keh-yeh-fah; How?) bikam? (bee-kah-m; How much?) kam min? (kam meen; How many?) You may use these question words to ask more elaborate and detailed questions. Here are some examples: maa ‘ismuka? (maah ees-moo-kah; What’s your name?) (MS) maa ‘ismuki? (maah ees-moo-kee; What’s your name?) (FS) maa mihnatuka? (maah meeh-nah-too-kah; What do you do?; literally “What is your job?”) (MS) maa mihnatuki? (maah meeh-nah-too-kee; What do you do?; literally “What is your job?”) (FS) maadha taf’al? (maah-zaah tah-feh-al; What are you doing?) (MS) maadha taf’aliina? (maah-zaah tah-feh-alee-nah; What are you doing?) (FS) min ‘ayna ‘anta? (meh-n eh-yeh-nah ahn-tah; Where are you from?) (MS) min ‘ayna ‘anti? (meh-n eh-yeh-nah ahn-tee; Where are you from?) (FS) maadha yaktubu? (maah-zaah yah-keh-too-boo; What is he writing?) hal tuHibbu al-qiraa’a? (hal too-hee-buh al-kee-raa-ah; Do you like to read?) (MS) hal haadhaa kitaabuka? (hal hah-zah kee-tah-boo-kah; Is this your book?) ‘ayna maHaTTatu al-qiTaar? (eh-yeh-nah mah-hah-tah-too al-kee-taar; Where is the train station?) mataa satadhhab ‘ilaa al-maTaar? (mah-taah sa-taz-hab ee-laah al-mah-taar; When did she go to the airport?) ‘ayna ‘aHsan maT’am? (eh-yeh-nah ah-sah-n mah-tam; Where is the best restaurant?) lii maadhaa dhahabta ‘ilaa as-suuq? (lee maah-zaah za-hab-tah ee-laah ass-sook; Why did you go to the market?) (MS) - Notice that some of the questions above refer to either masculine or feminine subjects. When you ask a question in Arabic, you choose the gender of the subject by modifying the gender suffix of the noun in question. For example, kitaab (kee-tab) means “book,” but kitaabuka (kee-tah-boo-kah) means “your book” (M), and kitaabuki (kee-tah-boo-kee) means “your book” (F). So if you want to ask a man for his book, you use kitaabuka.