Lesson 20 · كَيْفَ
Asking questions: when, how, why, which
Arabic question words go at the start of the sentence, and the rest of the sentence stays as it is. You already know مَا (what), مَنْ (who), أَيْنَ (where), كَمْ (how many) and هَلْ (for yes/no questions). This lesson adds the rest.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
مَتَى تَبْدَأُ الصَّلَاةُ؟mataa tabda’u ṣ-ṣalaatu?When does the prayer start?
كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟kayfa ḥaaluka?How are you? (to a man)
لِمَاذَا تَأَخَّرْتَ؟limaadhaa ta’akhkharta?Why were you late? (to a man)
لِأَنَّ الطَّرِيقَ مُزْدَحِمٌli-anna ṭ-ṭariiqa muzdaḥimunBecause the road is busy.
مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ فِي الْمَسَاءِ؟maadhaa tafʿalu fil-masaa’i?What do you do in the evening? (to a man)
أَيُّ كِتَابٍ تُرِيدُ؟ayyu kitaabin turiidu?Which book do you want? (to a man)
مَنْ هٰذَا الرَّجُلُ؟man haadha r-rajulu?Who is this man?
كَيْفَ أَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَطَارِ؟kayfa adh-habu ila l-maṭaari?How do I get to the airport?
Key points
- مَتَى when · كَيْفَ how · لِمَاذَا why · مَاذَا what (before a verb) · أَيُّ which
- Use مَا before a noun and مَاذَا before a verb: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (What is your name?) but مَاذَا تُرِيدُ؟ (What do you want?).
- Answer “why?” with لِأَنَّ (because) and an ending from Lesson 8: لِأَنِّي مَشْغُولٌ (because I am busy). Lesson 21 explains how this works.
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Ask a man “When are you coming?” (you come: تَأْتِي)
مَتَى تَأْتِي؟ mataa ta’tii?
Ask a man “Why are you studying Arabic?” (you study: تَدْرُسُ)
لِمَاذَا تَدْرُسُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ؟ limaadhaa tadrusu l-ʿarabiyyata?
Ask a man “What do you want?”
مَاذَا تُرِيدُ؟ maadhaa turiidu?