Learn Arabic Words and Phrases: Professions

Asmaa Akl

08 Jan 2020

In every culture and language many professions exist. It is no exception in the Arabic language. If you want to learn Arabic words and phrases pertaining to professions, continue reading this article, where we will practice new Arabic vocabulary about several of the main known professions.

Note: In order to best make use of this article it is best that you know how to read Arabic letters and Arabic Diacritics before continuing. If you don’t, please check our free article series ‘Learn Arabic Letters’ and our article ‘Learn Arabic Diacritics’. Alternatively, please feel free to apply to our "Learn Arabic Letters” course which covers both subjects extensively.

An excerpt from our Arabic Course

Teacher - Captain - Cook - Doctor

There is a general rule of thumb to apply to the words of Arabic professions. Each profession usually has two forms one for the masculine and one for the feminine. If you want to make a masculine profession feminine in many cases it is as simple as adding a Teh Marboota ة which is called the feminine Teh or Taa al-Taa’neeth تاء التأنيث. You will understand this more from the examples below.

Learn Arabic phrases related to professions

Before learning the vocabulary for different professions in Arabic let’s first learn to ask the question, ‘what do you do’? ما عملك؟ pronounced as Ma Aamalak? There are two forms for this question. One directed for the masculine Addressee and one for the feminine Addressee. If you’re addressing a man or a boy you attach a fat-haفتحة on the last letter of the Arabic word. If you’re addressing a woman or a girl you attach a kasra كسرة below the last letter of the Arabic word. Let’s look at some examples below.

What do you do? - I am an engineer.	And what do you do? - I am a cook.

 

 

Healthcare and Medicine

There are many healthcare and medicine related professions but let’s focus on the Arabic word for Physician. There are two forms of the word physician in Arabic; One that is masculine and one that is feminine.

 

I am a doctor.	I am a doctor and this is my profession.

Maritime

There are also many professions when it comes to maritime work. Let’s focus on the Arabic word for captain.

I am a captain.	This is my father. His name is Tarek. He is a captain

 

Education

Let’s learn Arabic words for teacher and student in the educational field. Note that this also has two forms one for the masculine and one for the feminine.

I am a teacher this is my profession.	I am a teacher this is my profession.

What is your profession? I am a student.

 

Culinary Arts

Let’s practice the Arabic word for cook. Like most words this has two forms one for the feminine and one for the masculine.

I am a cook

 

Engineering

Let’s take a look at the Arabic word for Engineer. Like the previous examples it also has two forms one for masculine and another for feminine.

- And What do you do?

= I am an engineer.

 

I am an engineer.

 

Finance

In the field of commerce the most famous profession is accountant. Let’s take a look at the Arabic word for accountant.

- I am a captain and you?

= I am an accountant

 

She is an accountant.

 

We wish this article was enriching for you. If you had a good experience learning Arabic words and phrases with us take a look at our previous articles in the series: Learn Arabic Words and Phrases. Make sure to also check our Learn Arabic Classes for a more extensive Arabic learning experience.