The following taken from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons "Al-Qadim, Land of Fate."

Aywa -- yes

La -- no

Es salam alekum (ess sah LAMB ah LEH koom) -- May peace be upon you. (a general greeting)

Wa alekum es salam (wah ah LEH koom ess sah LAMB) -- May peace be upon you also. (Response to the preceding general greeting)

Maas salama (mahs sah LAMB ah) -- Go with peace.

Saheeda (sah EE da) --Greetings. Hello. Also goodbye.

Min fadlak (min FAHD lahk) -- Please

Shukran (SHOOK rahn) -- Thank you

Afwan (AHF wahn) -- You're welcome

Kwayis (KWAY iss) -- Good

Mish Kwayis (mish KWAY iss) -- Bad ("Mish" negates whatever adjective it precedes)

Hatar (hah TAR)-- Danger

Samm (SAHM) -- Poison

Ma (MAH) -- Water

Ajami -- foreigner

Bazan -- flames

Casbah -- castle or keep

Corsair -- seagoing warrior

Huriye -- A voluptuously beautiful young man or woman.

Haram: Holy site.

Hammam -- Bathhouse

Harim -- Women's quarters.

Selama -- Men's quarters.

Saji -- Brave

Quadi -- Judge

Vizier -- high ranking advisor to sultan or emir (king or prince)

Qatil -- assassin

Rafiq -- comrade

Suq -- covered marketplace, typically at a city's center.

Jabal -- mount, mountain.

Jalla -- camel dung, useful for fuel and many other purposes.

Jair -- courageous

Jazirat --island

Keffiyeh --head cloth

Nadir -- vow

Nargil -- coconut

Nisr -- eagle

Madra --school

Hama -- spirit, or the spirit bird that rises from a body when the person dies. it sometimes carries messages for the living.

Henna -- herb that produces an orange-red dye; used to beautify fingernails, toenails, and hair.


Some common phrases:

---Expressions of surprise---
My liver!
Ymmah! (Oh, mama!)
Ybbah! (Oh, papa)

---Insults and ill wishes--
You are the son of camel dung.
May you sleep with a restless heart and know a thousand nights of misery.
May a porcupine live in your trousers for a thousand days and die there for a thousand and one.

---Compliments and good wishes---
May Fortune smile upon you.
May Fate guide thee to glory.
She is to a man as rain it to the desert.

---Other---
You are the life-stuff of my liver! (You are very dear to my heart. Said of spouse or family)
I have a pain in my liver. (You have caused me pain, shame, or sorrow)
My eyes, my eyes, my soul, my soul, the heart of my heart! (You are my life--lover's talk)
He makes coffee from dawn until the dead of night. (He is truly an outstanding host)
You have baked your bread; now you must eat it. (You must live with the consequences of your actions)
As the mind expands, the tongue grows quiet. (Those who are wise do not chatter idly)
Guests are like fish; after three days, both stink. (refers to a 3-day limit for a guest's stay)
We opened our home to him, and he brought his ass. (he tested the limits of our hospitality)
A man's head is like the desert; the hotter it gets, the emptier it appears. (foolish deeds are done in anger)
The gods are merciful and Fate is all-knowing and I am but a humble slave before them. (said by a person receiving a compliment, as a matter of humility and a defense against the evil eye)