MSA Elementary Mini-Lesson: Making a Simple Request

In this online lesson, you’ll learn how to make polite requests in Modern Standard Arabic using the phrase “I want…, please.”

Mido is the youngest child in his family and the hero of a series of light-hearted stories designed to provide engaging reading practice for students of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Let’s take a look at a single sentence taken from the story.

The scene: We find Mido in the middle of a stressful afternoon. After someone stole his sandwich at school, Mido accidentally fell asleep on the microbus and missed his stop, ending up lost and thirsty in a bustling market area in Cairo called Attaba. Exhausted, he spots a juice vendor and uses one of his last coins to buy a refreshing drink.

 

The Sentence

“أُرِيدُ عَصِيرَ التَّمْرِ الهِنْدِيِّ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ.“

(Urīdu `aṣīra at-tamri -l-hindī min faḍlik(a).)

“I want tamarind juice, please.”

The Breakdown

• أُرِيدُ (urīdu) — I want. This is the standard way to express a desire or need in MSA.
• عَصِير (`aṣīr) — Juice. In Arabic, “juice of” is often linked directly to the fruit that follows.
• التَّمْرِ الهِنْدِيِّ (at-tamri -l-hindī) — Tamarind. This literally translates to “Indian date” (تَمْر = date, هِنْدِي = Indian). Notice that the English word derives from Arabic!
• مِنْ فَضْلِكَ (min faḍlik(a)) — Please. Use this polite phrase when addressing a male.

Practical Tip: You can swap out “tamarind juice” for other items Mido encounters, like كُتُب (kutub– books) or قَهْوَة (qahwa– coffee), to create your own requests!

Source: Mido in Modern Standard Arabic