Language/Standard-arabic/Grammar/Question-words

Standard Arabic Grammar → Interrogatives in Arabic → Question words

As a Standard Arabic language teacher for 20 years, I am excited to teach you about question words in Arabic. In this lesson, we will cover the most frequently used question words in Arabic and learn how to form questions in Arabic. Along the way, we will delve into the cultural context of each word, giving you a deeper understanding of the language and its speakers.

Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: Accents & Al ham'za الهمزة.

Question Words in Arabic

In Arabic, question words are used to ask information-seeking questions. The most commonly used question words in Arabic are:

• مَا (ma) - What
• مَن (man) - Who
• مَتَى (mataa) - When
• لِمَاذَا (limaadhaa) - Why
• كَيْفَ (kayfa) - How
• أَيْنَ (ayna) - Where
• كَمْ (kam) - How much/many

Let's take a closer look at each of these question words.

مَا (ma) - What

مَا (ma) is used to ask about things or concepts. It is a general question word and can be used to ask about most nouns. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
ما هَذَا؟	ma hadhaa?	What is this?
ما اسْمُكَ؟	ma ismuka?	What is your name?
ما هُوَ يَعْمَلُ؟	ma huwa ya'malu?	What does he do?

مَن (man) - Who

مَن (man) is used to ask about people. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
مَنْ هُوَ؟	man huwa?	Who is he?
مَنْ يَعْمَلُ هُنَا؟	man ya'malu huna?	Who works here?
مَنْ يَأْكُلُ اللَّحْمَ؟	man ya'kulul lahama?	Who eats meat?

مَتَى (mataa) - When

مَتَى (mataa) is used to ask about time. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
مَتَى يَبْدَأُ الدَّرْسُ؟	mataa yabda'u ad-dars?	When does the lesson start?
مَتَى تُغْلَقُ المَكْتَبَةُ؟	mataa tughlaqu al-maktabah?	When does the library close?
مَتَى سَتُعِيَدُ زِيَارَتُكَ؟	mataa sa tu'iyadu ziyaaratu-ka?	When will you visit again?

لِمَاذَا (limaadhaa) - Why

لِمَاذَا (limaadhaa) is used to ask about the reason something happens. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
لِمَاذَا أَنْتَ مُتَأَخِّرٌ؟	limaadhaa anta muta'akhkhirun?	Why are you late?
لِمَاذَا أُحِبُّ السَّفَرَ؟	limaadhaa uhibbu as-safara?	Why do I love to travel?
لِمَاذَا لَا تَرْدُ عَلَى رِسَالَتِي؟	limaadhaa la tardu 'alaa risaalati?	Why don't you reply to my message?

كَيْفَ (kayfa) - How

كَيْفَ (kayfa) is used to ask about the manner in which something happens. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
كَيْفَ الجَوُّ اليَوْمَ؟	kayfa al-jawwu al-yawma?	How is the weather today?
كَيْفَ تَقْضِي يَوْمَكَ؟	kayfa taqdi yawmaka?	How do you spend your day?
كَيْفَ هَرَبُوا؟	kayfa harabuu?	How did they escape?

أَيْنَ (ayna) - Where

أَيْنَ (ayna) is used to ask about the location of something. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أَيْنَ الحَمَّامُ؟	ayna al-hammaamu?	Where is the bathroom?
أَيْنَ تَعِيشُ؟	ayna ta'ishu?	Where do you live?
أَيْنَ القَلَمُ؟	ayna al-qalamu?	Where is the pen?

كَمْ (kam) - How much/many

كَمْ (kam) is used to ask about quantity. Here are some examples:

Standard Arabic	Pronunciation	English
كَمْ سَعْرُ السَّيَّارَةِ؟	kam sa'ru as-sayyaarati?	How much is the car?
كَمْ لَدَيْكَ مَالًا؟	kam ladayka maalan?	How much money do you have?
كَمْ عُمْرُ الأُسْدِ؟	kam 'umru al-'usdi?	How old are lions?

Question Formation

To form a question in Arabic, you can start with a verb or a question word. The word order of a question in Arabic is the same as in a statement, except that the verb comes first. Consider the following examples:

Statement	Question
هُوَ يَأْكُلُ الفَاكِهَةَ.	هَلْ هُوَ يَأْكُلُ الفَاكِهَةَ؟ (hal huwa ya'kulu al-faakihtah?)
أَنَا تَعِبَانُ.	هَلْ أَنَا تَعِبَانُ؟ (hal ana ta'ibaan?)
أَنْتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ الْمُوسِيقَى.	هَلْ أَنْتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ الْمُوس Table of Contents - Standard Arabic Course - 0 to A1 Course Presentation Introduction to Arabic script Arabic vowels Arabic consonants Basic Arabic phrases Nouns and gender in Arabic Definite and indefinite articles Masculine and feminine nouns Verbs and conjugation in Arabic Present tense conjugation Past tense conjugation Future tense conjugation Numbers and counting in Arabic Cardinal numbers 1-100 Ordinal numbers Everyday Arabic vocabulary Greetings and farewells Colors Days of the week Months of the year Food and drink vocabulary Basic food vocabulary Drinks Arabic customs and traditions Islam and Arabic culture Arabic hospitality Arabic music and entertainment Arabic music genres Arabic dance Adjectives in Arabic Adjective agreement and placement Comparative and superlative Pronouns in Arabic Personal pronouns Possessive pronouns Prepositions in Arabic Basic prepositions Prepositions of time and place Interrogatives in Arabic Question words Question formation Adverbs in Arabic Formation and placement Negation Transportation vocabulary Public transportation Asking for directions Shopping and money vocabulary Money vocabulary Shopping vocabulary Arabic literature and poetry Classical Arabic literature Arabic poetry Arabic calligraphy and art History of Arabic calligraphy Arabic art and architecture Weather vocabulary Basic weather vocabulary Talking about the weather Conditional sentences in Arabic First and second conditional Third conditional and mixed conditionals Passive voice in Arabic Formation and usage Differences from the active voice Relative clauses in Arabic Formation and usage Differences from English relative clauses Arabic adjectives and nouns Common Arabic adjectives Compound nouns in Arabic Arabic cinema and TV Arabic cinema Arabic TV Arabic fashion and beauty Traditional Arabic dress Arabic beauty and cosmetics Sports and leisure vocabulary Popular Arabic sports Leisure activities Other Lessons RELATIVE PRONOUNS Give your Opinion THE DECLENSION OF THE SOUND MASCULINE PLURAL DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS Conditional Mood Apologies Negations THE PERFECT Comparative and superlative Negation