It's already time for the last story in this series of short stories. To be fair, this one is not actually all that short, but it definitely is a very inspiring and thought provoking one. It is inspired by Leo Tolstoj's short story 'How much land does a man need'. Probably some of you know it already. It is one of Majd's favorites and therefore we could not leave it out. 

Some useful vocabulary is:

- Convinced - مقتنعة
- Devil - الشيطان
- Consider - اعتبر
- Challenge - تحدي
- Greed - الطمع
- Inhabitants/residents - سكان
- Bee hives - خلايا النحل
- in advance - سلف
- Acres - فدان
- The crop - المحصول
- Cattle owners - أصحاب المواشي
- Worried/Anxious - مهموم
-  Move to - انتقل
- Transportation - والتنقل
- Gifts - هدايا
- Tribe - القبائل
- Fertile - وخصبة
- He was suprised - استغرب
- We calculate - منحسب
- Area measurements - مقاييس المساحة
- Sunset - غروب الشمس
- Corpse - الجثّة
- They cracked - تشققو
- The hill - التل
- The hat - الطاقية
- He dug a grave - حفر قبر

Want to read along? You can find the full transcript on our patreon

We have another short folkstale about a king. This time the king is contemplating why he is having such a hard time being happy while being rich and he decided to put one of his servants to a test. 

Some useful vocabulary is:
-  Servant - الخادم
-  Assistant - المُساعد
-  Worries - مهموم
-  Knocked - ودقّ
-  Counted - عَدّ
- The lost (one) - الضايع
- Blessings - النعم

Today's short story is a bit longer than the others and it is inspired by a story from Leo Tolstoj. Simon and his wife Matrina live a humble live and then a mysterious stranger enters their live, Mikel.  

Some useful vocabulary for this session is:
- Shoemaker - سكافي
- Leather - الجلد
- Drunk - سكران
- Exhaustion - الإرهاق
- Ignored him - تجاهلو
- Guilt - الذنب
- Insulting them - تسبّهن
-  In exchange for - مقابل
-  Arrogant - مغرور
-  Guards - حراس
- Paralyzed - مشلولة
- Twins: توأم
- The orphanage : الميتيم
- Widow - أرملة
- Punished me - عاقبني
- Angel of Death - ملاك الموت

Want to read along with the transcript? Find it on our patreon

Today's short story is about a transformative encounter between a man and a child who lost her doll. Some of you may already know the story. We are curious how much you understand of it on the first try!
Some useful vocabulary for this session is:
- Lonely - وحيد
- The doll - اللعبة
- Look for/ search - دوارة
- Postman - ساعي بريد
- Truth - الحقيقة
- He invents - يخترع
- Persuasive - ُمقنعة
- Laws of imagination - قوانين الخيال
- Relationships - علاقات
- Obstacles / complications - تعقيدات
- Alternative/Substitute - بديل
- Her misery - تعاستها

Want to understand more with the help of the transcript? Find it on Patreon.com/simpleandeasyarabic

We are back with some more of what we do best: short stories in Arabic to help you grow your listening skills, vocabulary and grammar! The first story is about a king that tries to cure his boredom by challenging his people to a game. 

Some vocabulary that will help you is:

• Kingdom - المملكة
• Game - لعبة
• Liar - كذّاب
• Jail / Prison - السجن
• Fortune - ثروتو
• Participant - المُشترك
• Stick - عصاية
• Tailor - خيّاط
• Storm - عاصفة
• Merchant - التاجر
• Barrel - برميل

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For the last episode of the Success Stories series, Majd speaks to Silvia. After many years moving around the Middle East, Silvia speaks about her affinity with the language as well as the region. She has fully familiarised herself with the culture and shares her ideas and advices for fellow Arabic learners.

At the beginning of the episode a vocabulary list will be provided. These are the words of this episode:

 To introduce قدّم

Practice مُمارسة

Translation ترجمة 

I Graduated  تخرجت

Positive إيجابيّ

 I registered سجلت

Spontaneous عفوية

incomplete ناقص

the Customs العادات 

the Traditions التّقاليد

the Camps المخيمات

Part جزء

Society مُجتمع

I support بدعم 

Common/Shared مشترك

They influenced me أثروا علي

Mother tongue لغتي الأم

To host me لاستضافتي

Want to read the full transcript? You can find it on our ⁠Patreon⁠. Enjoy!

In this series we listen to interviews between Majd and students that have successfully mastered the Levantine Dialect to an advanced level. In this episode we talk to Amanda. She learned different Arabic dialects on her journey and explains to us not only how she learned them, but also how she transitioned between them and how she continues to develop herself.

At the beginning of the episode a vocabulary list will be provided. These are the words of this episode:

Notebook دفتر

History تاريخ

Culture ثقافة

region  منطقة

foreigners أجانب

We communicate منتواصل

Useful/beneficial مفيد

I Developed طَورت

Scholarship/Internship منحة

Desire رغبة

Dream حلم

Vocabulary مفردات

Understanding فهم

Continuous مستمر

Guilty مذنب 

White lie كذبة بيضة

Curious فضولي

Want to read the full transcript? You can find it on our Patreon. Enjoy!

In this series we listen to interviews between Majd and students that have successfully mastered the Levantine Dialect to an advanced level. In this episode we talk to Shaya. She does not only have an impressive story about why and how she started learning Arabic, she also has the best advice on how to work towards you Arabic speaking goals. In the interview we discuss the ins and outs about her journey.

Throughout the different section, vocabulary will be provided. Want to read the full transcript? You can find it on our Patreon. Enjoy!

In this series we listen to interviews between Majd and students that have successfully mastered the Levantine Dialect to an advanced level. In this episode we talk to Gabriele (or Gabi). He is an Italian Arabic learner and currently lives and works in Lebanon. In the interview we discuss why and how he started learning Arabic. We discuss which obstacles or challenges he encountered in his learning journey, such as transitioning between different dialects. We will end with a round of advice for Arabic learners.

Throughout the different section, vocabulary will be provided. Want to read the full transcript? You can find it on our Patreon. Enjoy!

In this series we listen to interviews between Majd and students that have successfully mastered the Levantine Dialect to an advanced level. In this episode we talk to David (or Dave). He is an Australian journalist who is working and living in Lebanon. In the interview we discuss why and how he started learning Arabic. We discuss which obstacles or challenges he encountered in his learning journey, such as transitioning between different dialects. We will end with a round of advice for Arabic learners. 

Throughout the different section, vocabulary will be provided. Want to read the full transcript? You can find it on our Patreon! Enjoy!

In this series we listen to interviews between Majd and students that have mastered to speak Levantine Arabic on an advanced level! The goal of this series is for other Arabic learners to get inspired by these stories and build the confidence that the goal of becoming comfortable and fluent in Arabic is achieveable. We will also learn from all the different approaches and methods these students have used and learn from their successes and mistakes. Finally it is a way to listen to a natural Arabic conversation: complete with incorrect sentences, mistakes, jokes and reactions. This makes the vocabulary more challenging, the pace of the podcast more flexible and it reflects a better reality of how we speak. We hope you enjoy! 

You will find the transcripts on our Patreon. Access it now via patreon.com/simpleandeasyarabic