Madrasa is a school, maktaba is a library, and matar is an airport. Recognising a destination’s name is a useful first step when reading a sign or asking where to go. Learn twelve common place words in small groups, then practise choosing the right label.
01Start with school and library
madrasa
School
maktaba
Library
Madrasa names a school. Maktaba means library in this lesson, as the bookcase suggests. Maktaba can also mean a bookshop in another context, so read the surrounding words when you meet it on a real sign.
Keep each place name connected to its meaning before learning a longer phrase.
02Separate hospital and pharmacy
mustashfa
Hospital
saydaliyya
Pharmacy
Mustashfa is hospital; saydaliyya is pharmacy. They are different destinations even though both relate to health. In a vocabulary exercise, the pharmacy label is saydaliyya, not mustashfa.
Look closely at the endings: mustashfa ends with ى, while saydaliyya ends with ة. You can recognise the complete shapes without using an ending alone to guess the meaning.
- Hospital: mustashfa.
- Pharmacy: saydaliyya.
03Name a restaurant, café and hotel
matam
Restaurant
maqha
Café
funduq
Hotel
Matam is a restaurant, maqha a café, and funduq a hotel. Learn the destination name separately from anything you might order or request there.
A hotel can contain a restaurant or café. That does not make the three words interchangeable: each names a different kind of place. Decide which destination the message is actually referring to.
Try recalling the labels in the reverse direction: see the Arabic first, then say its English meaning.
04Add shop, market and bank
matjar
Shop
suq
Market
bank
Bank
Matjar names a shop or store; suq names a market. Bank is bank. The English and Arabic bank look familiar in our plain reading aid, which makes this one easy to remember.
The cards use general place names, without the word the. On signs or in a question, you may see al attached: الْبَنْك albank means the bank.
Keep the difference between a single shop and a market in mind when choosing a label.
05Finish with station and airport
mahatta
Station
matar
Airport
Mahatta names a station; another word can specify the type, such as train station. Matar names an airport. Here we practise recognising the destination, rather than giving a route.
أَيْنَ الْمَكْتَبَة؟
ayna almaktaba
Where is the library?
Ayna means where. Add al to maktaba when asking about the library. This is a location question, so it needs no separate word for is.
- Recognise the place name first.
- Use ayna to ask where it is.
- Save the twelve-word reference for your next reading practice.
What to remember
- Keep similar destinations distinct: school and library, hospital and pharmacy, shop and market.
- Al can turn a general label into the place named in a question, such as almaktaba, the library.
- Ayna almaktaba means Where is the library? Recognising the destination comes before describing a route.
Your reference shelf
Open a guide whenever you need it.
All twelve city placesReview the general labels without al
| Place | Arabic | Plain reading aid |
|---|---|---|
| School | مَدْرَسَة | madrasa |
| Library | مَكْتَبَة | maktaba |
| Hospital | مُسْتَشْفَى | mustashfa |
| Pharmacy | صَيْدَلِيَّة | saydaliyya |
| Restaurant | مَطْعَم | matam |
| Café | مَقْهَى | maqha |
| Hotel | فُنْدُق | funduq |
| Shop | مَتْجَر | matjar |
| Market | سُوق | suq |
| Bank | بَنْك | bank |
| Station | مَحَطَّة | mahatta |
| Airport | مَطَار | matar |
Maktaba means library here; context can give it the meaning bookshop. Mahatta is a general word for station and may need another word to identify the type. These are standard Arabic labels; local signs and everyday speech may use other familiar terms too.
Sources & further learning
References for the language explanations and learning guidance.
