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Online Basic Arabic Learning Course

Learn to read, write, and speak beginner Arabic from zero — all 28 letters, the vowel marks that make words readable, and enough grammar and vocabulary to greet, introduce yourself, count, shop, and ask directions.

2 students enrolled English, teaching Arabic 6 weeks · self-paced Certificate of completion

What you will learn

  • Recognise and write all 28 Arabic letters in each of their four forms
  • Read vowelled Arabic aloud correctly, including shadda, sukun, and tanwin
  • Apply the definite article and the sun/moon letter rule
  • Greet someone, introduce yourself, and answer the questions that follow
  • Build simple sentences without a verb, the way Arabic does
  • Count, tell the time, name the days, and handle a shop or a taxi
  • Understand the difference between Modern Standard Arabic and the dialects

About this course

From the first letter to your first conversation.

Most beginners give up on Arabic in the first month, and almost always for the same reason: the script. This course spends its first two modules dismantling that barrier — all 28 letters in small groups, then the vowel marks that turn a row of consonants into a word you can actually pronounce. By the end of the second module you are reading.

The rest of the course is what you can do with it: greetings that work anywhere in the Arab world, introducing yourself, the verbless sentence that Arabic uses constantly, questions, numbers, family, food and shopping, time and directions. Every lesson is built around tables you can drill and phrases you could use the same afternoon.

What makes this course different

It teaches the script properly, and quickly. Six letter groups, each with its forms and its own vocabulary, rather than a wall of 28 letters on day one.

It keeps the vowel marks throughout. Real Arabic drops them, but learners cannot read without them. Every Arabic word in this course is fully vowelled, so you always know how it sounds.

It is honest about dialects. You will learn Modern Standard Arabic and the universal courtesy phrases — the foundation every dialect is built on — and the second lesson explains exactly how that fits together.

How it is organised

Six modules: getting started, the alphabet, vowels and reading, first conversations, everyday Arabic, and reading practice. Four review quizzes close the main modules, and two free preview lessons let you see the approach before you enrol.

Course curriculum

Getting started2 lessons
The alphabet9 lessons
  • How Arabic writing works 15 min
  • Letters 1–4 · alif, ba, ta, tha 25 min
  • Letters 5–7 · jim, ha, kha 25 min
  • Letters 8–11 · dal, dhal, ra, zay 25 min
  • Letters 12–15 · sin, shin, sad, dad 25 min
  • Letters 16–19 · ta, za, ayn, ghayn 30 min
  • Letters 20–28 · fa to ya 35 min
  • Joining letters — the four forms in practice 30 min
  • Alphabet quiz 6 min
Vowels and reading5 lessons
  • Short vowels — fatha, kasra, damma 25 min
  • Long vowels — the three that stretch 25 min
  • Sukun, shadda, and tanwin 25 min
  • The definite article — al- and the sun letters 25 min
  • Reading quiz 6 min
First conversations5 lessons
  • Greetings and courtesy 25 min
  • Introducing yourself 30 min
  • The nominal sentence — Arabic without a verb 30 min
  • Asking questions 30 min
  • Conversation quiz 6 min
Everyday Arabic5 lessons
  • Numbers and counting 30 min
  • Family and people 30 min
  • Food, drink, and shopping 30 min
  • Time, days, and directions 30 min
  • Everyday Arabic quiz 6 min
Reading practice and next steps2 lessons
  • Reading practice — putting it together 30 min
  • Where to go from here 15 min

Requirements

  • No prior Arabic at all — the course starts from the first letter
  • About 30 minutes per lesson
  • Pen and paper: writing the letters by hand is part of the method
  • Any phone, tablet, or computer