Learn Arabic plan: alphabet, roots and your first conversations
Arabic asks an early choice: Modern Standard Arabic for reading and news, or a dialect such as Egyptian or Levantine for talking to people. Then comes a new script and sounds English does not have. This prompt has your todo.is agent plan around your choice, teach the letters and root system first, and give you daily tasks you can finish.
The prompt
- Make me a plan to learn Arabic. I want [MSA OR DIALECT] because [REASON]. My level is [CURRENT LEVEL] and I can study [MINUTES PER DAY] minutes a day for [NUMBER OF WEEKS] weeks. Start with the alphabet (letter forms at the start, middle and end of a word), short vowels and the hard sounds (ع, ح, ق, خ, غ), then the root and pattern system, pronouns, nominal sentences and present-tense verbs. Each day: one script or grammar task, 8 words with Arabic script, transliteration and meaning, and a short listening link. Make a PDF plan with a letter chart, email it to me, and send me a voice note with the week's words every Sunday on WhatsApp.
What to change
- [MSA OR DIALECT]: E.g. "Modern Standard Arabic", "Egyptian Arabic", "Levantine", "Gulf" or "Moroccan Darija".
- [REASON]: E.g. "reading the Quran", "my in-laws are from Amman", "work in Dubai", "news and media".
- [CURRENT LEVEL]: E.g. "cannot read the script" or "I read slowly but know few words".
- [MINUTES PER DAY]: E.g. "20".
- [NUMBER OF WEEKS]: E.g. "12".
Example result
- Learn Arabic: 12 weeks, Levantine with MSA reading
- Reason: partner's family in Amman · cannot read the script yet · 20 minutes a day
- Weeks 1 to 3: the script
- • 28 letters, most with up to four forms (alone, start, middle, end). Learn them in shape families: ب ت ث ن ي share a body and differ by dots.
- • Six letters never join to the next one: ا د ذ ر ز و
- • Short vowels (fatha, kasra, damma) and sukun, shown in beginner texts and dropped later
- • Hard sounds: ع (from the throat), ح (a breathy h), ق (in Amman often a glottal stop or g), خ and غ
- • Daily: read 10 real words (cafe names, street signs) out loud
- Weeks 4 to 6: roots and patterns
- • Most words grow from a 3-letter root. ك ت ب (writing): كتاب book, كاتب writer, مكتب office, مكتبة library
- • Pronouns: ana, inta, inti, huwwe, hiyye (Levantine) next to MSA ana, anta, anti, huwa, hiya
- • Nominal sentences without a verb: البيت كبير (the house is big)
- Weeks 7 to 9: everyday Levantine
- • Present tense with b-: biḥki (I speak), bitḥibb (you like)
- • Shu? (what), wein? (where), addeish? (how much), lēsh? (why)
- • Family words, food, invitations, polite phrases: tfaddal, yislamu, inshallah, mashallah
- Weeks 10 to 12: conversation
- • Past tense: ruḥt (I went), akalt (I ate)
- • Two short voice notes a week describing your day
- • One 30-minute conversation a week with a tutor or family member
- Sample words (week 8)
- • أهلا, ahlan, hello
- • كيفك؟, kīfak / kīfik, how are you? (to a man / a woman)
- • بدي, biddi, I want
- • هلق, halla', now
How to do it with todo.is
- Pick MSA or a dialect, then fill in your reason, level and time.
- Paste the to-do into todo.is or send it to your agent on WhatsApp.
- You get a PDF plan with a letter chart by email and a voice note with new words every Sunday.
- Send your agent photos of your handwriting or voice notes. It checks letter forms and gives feedback in writing.
Tips for a better result
- Choose your variety based on who you will talk to. You can add MSA reading later; the script is the same.
- Learn letters by shape family and dots, not in alphabet order. It halves the effort.
- Write transliteration only in the first weeks. Reading Arabic script early is what makes everything else stick.
- Learn new words by root. Once you know ك ت ب, every new word on that root is half learned.
learn Arabic plan: FAQ
- Should I learn MSA or a dialect first? If you want to talk with people, start with the dialect of the country you care about. If your goal is reading, news or religious texts, start with MSA. Many learners do a dialect for speaking and MSA for reading.
- How long does it take to read Arabic script? Most learners can sound out words in 2 to 4 weeks of daily practice. Reading fluently takes months, especially once vowel marks are dropped.
- Is Arabic hard for English speakers? It takes longer than most European languages because of the script, new sounds and the dialect question. A steady daily plan helps more than long weekend sessions.
- Can my agent send Arabic audio? Yes. It can send MP3 voice notes of your words and sentences. For dialect pronunciation, also listen to native speakers through the links in your plan.
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