What is this site about?

At its core, Arabic Geek is a self-study resource for students of Arabic. Because every article includes a professional English translation, high quality audio recording, and the option to view short vowel marks (الحركات), you can study the articles without the need for a teacher. Reading and listening to authentic Arabic content is a sure fire way to increase your fluency.

Being exposed to a variety of topics is another important step to achieving fluency and Arabic Geek features articles about a wide range of topics like current events, cultural issues, short stories, and even excerpts from some of the great works of Classical Arabic.

How much is a premium subscription?

$7.00 per month.

What's included in a premium subscription?

Full access to 51 articles with an average of about 300 words.

What is MSA?

MSA stands for Modern Standard Arabic and it is the variety of Arabic that is used in almost all types of written media (e.g. books, newspapers, official documents, etc) across the Arab world. It is also spoken in more formal settings such as academic lectures and religious sermons.

What is Classical Arabic?

Classical Arabic has its roots in the Arabian peninsula and was the literary language of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain during much of the Middle Ages. As the lingua franca of Muslims during the Islamic Golden Age, Classical Arabic enjoys a very rich literary tradition.

What are the differences between MSA and Classical Arabic?

In reality, MSA and Classical Arabic are not all that different. Grammatically, they are nearly identical and Arabs generally don't even a make a distinction between them as they call both al-Fuṣḥā. You can think of MSA as a simplified form of Classical Arabic which has gotten rid of some archaic vocabulary and introduced new words to deal with modern concepts.