Arabic Prepositions: The Essential List (Beginner's Guide)

How many sentences can we form without prepositions?

See what happened here?

I had to use the preposition ‘without’ in my question, then here I am using ‘in’ for the previous sentence.

You can also notice the ‘for’ I just added to that previous one, and then that ‘to’. You get the point.

No matter what language you are using, prepositions are vital for making sense! Arabic prepositions are not an exception to that.

In this article, you will learn how to use the most common Arabic prepositions to link words, form phrasal verbs, give reasons, express possession and form meaningful structures. We will also explore some examples of how to use Arabic prepositions in sentences.

For spoken dialects, see these lessons too:

Now, let’s start with two interesting facts about prepositions in Modern Standard Arabic.

How to pronounce Modern Standard Arabic prepositions?

With the long list of Arabic prepositions below, you might think you will have to learn dozens of new words with several pronunciation variations.

The good news is that Arabic preposition particles are Mabni words كلمات مبنية, which means that wherever they come in a sentence, their pronunciations mostly stay the same.

An Arabic preposition can be equivalent to several English ones

You may think that each Arabic preposition has a single meaning or way to use it.

However, that’s not the case. One Arabic preposition, such as the letter ب (baa), can mean anything from ‘with’ to ‘by’ to even a whole other gerund like ‘using’. The meaning depends on the preposition’s position in the sentence and what comes before and/or after it.

That said, please treat all the English translations and examples mentioned in this article only as references to explain the meaning to you.

Be open to explore more than one synonym for each Arabic preposition.

With that out of the way, let’s start with the most used Arabic prepositions.

1. In - في

This is what you use for the literal meaning of something/someone being ‘in’ somewhere.

However, you can also use ‘feee’ to say things like: ‘I was thinking about you’ كنت أفكر فيك, ‘Konto ofakkero feek’ or ‘The sun affects plants’ الشمس تؤثر في النباتات ‘Ashams toaathero fe alnabatat’.

Here are some examples to use ‘feee’ with the direct ‘in’ meaning.

When added to verbs, ‘feee’ can make them have new meanings. Here are some examples.

The verb ‘تبحث’ (tabhatho) in the first example means to search, but when you add ‘feee’, it becomes more like ‘do a research on’ or ‘investigate’.

In the second example, the verb ‘اختلفوا’ (ekhtalafo) comes from ‘alekhtelaf’ or (الاختلاف) which is the noun for ‘difference’ or ‘disagreement’.

When you add ‘feee’ to that, it means they disagreed about a certain topic.

2. From - من

This preposition is what you use to refer to a place, time, person, etc from which something comes or starts. Say you want to tell someone that your watch is made from gold.

You would say: ساعتي مصنوعة من الذهب, or ‘Sa’atey masnoa’a men alzahab’.

The table below has more examples of the contexts where you can use ‘men’.

Notice that ‘men’ in the last example is attached to the ‘me’ pronoun ‘yaa’o almotakalem’ ياء المتكلم, which is the letter ي in مني.

So, ‘men’ + ‘ey’ equals menney, which means ‘from me’.

3. To - إلى

While ‘men’ refers to a ‘source’, ‘ela’ is more about the ‘destination’.

It can also refer to the receiver of something. It is mostly used with places but it can also be used with persons and more.

See the examples below.

In the first two examples, ‘ela’ is referring to places (Lebanon - the restaurant).

In the last example, though, ‘elayh’ is composed of ‘ela’ and the letter ‘هـ’ which is a pronoun that refers to an absent person (third person: him).

So, ‘elayh’ means ‘to him’.

4. On - على

This one can mean ‘on’ literally, but it can also be used to form phrases, phrasal verbs and idioms.

Notice that the first example adds “a’ala” to the second person pronoun to form the phrase ‘on you’ in the sentence ‘I will pass on you’, which actually means ‘I will pass by you’.

The second example uses ‘on’ with a place (the back of a camel) to refer to the literal meaning of someone being ‘on top of’ something. The third example uses “a’ala” with a verb, while the last example shows you how ‘a’ala’ can come as part of a phrase or idiom.

The phrase “A’ala aeyye haal” (على أي حال) means ‘in any case’, or ‘anyway’.

5. About - عن

“A’an” usually means ‘about’, as in ‘talk about’ or what you use when referring to the topic of a discussion.

See the examples below.

When “a’an” is added to verbs, it can have different meanings. Here is how.

“A’an” can also mean ‘from’ depending on where it comes in a sentence.

Say you are reading an air purifier manual and it says: ضع الجهاز بعيدًا عن الحائط “Da’a aljehaz ba’aeedan a’an alhaaet”. This means ‘put the device away ‘from’ the wall.

Read to the end for a song that has this preposition with the same meaning, but in a sweeter way!

6. With - ب

The letter ب is usually used to refer to the tool or the thing with which something is done.

For example, it’s common in the Islamic religion to say استعِن بالله, a phrase formed by combining the verb يستعين (get help) with the letter ب (with) and God’s name الله (Allah).

The phrase literally means ‘use Allah’ or ‘get help from Allah’.

In the table below, you can find further sentences that use the Arabic preposition ب as in ‘by’ or ‘with’.

The last example will show you how it can also be used to express possession as in ‘for’.

7. For - ل

This is what you use for expressing possession or giving reasons.

Here are some examples on how to use the letter ل as one of the Arabic prepositions.

8. Like - ك

The ك is a simple one.

It mostly implies resemblance.

Usually, it equals ‘as’ or ‘like’ as in ‘you are like your sister’ or أنتِ كأختك ‘Antey kaokhtokey’.

9. Till - حتى

‘Hatta’ refers to the purpose or the end of it.

In the first example below, it means I ate ‘until’ I felt full, and this is what we mean by the end of purpose. In the two other examples, however, ‘hatta’ refers to the purpose/reason itself.

I came ‘to’ see you, or go prepare your bag ‘in order to’ get ready.

10. Since - منذ/ مذ

‘Monzo’ and ‘Mozz’ have the same meaning: since.

They can also mean ‘for’ as in ‘for years’, depending on their position in the sentence.

Here is how you can use them to refer to time.

11. Except - عدا

This is your ‘except’ or ‘except for’.

Other variations that are also Arabic prepositions with the same meaning are: ‘hasha’ حاشا and ‘khala’ خلا, but they are less common.

The table below gives you examples on how to say ‘except’ in Arabic and use it in a sentence.

Notice how you can use pronouns, instead of nouns, after the preposition ‘except’. The last example has ‘a’ada’ attached to a second person pronoun.

“A’adak” is formed from “a’ada” and the letter ‘ك’ (the ‘you’ pronoun), which refers to the one you’re speaking to.

So, “a’adak” means ‘except you’.

A Modern Standard Arabic song to help you learn Arabic prepositions

Now let’s get some fun (and art) in! Here is a lyrics video for a song that is actually a poem by one of the most popular Arab poets called Nizar Qabbani.

It is all in Modern Standard Arabic, performed by yet a pan-Arab famous singer who comes from Iraq: Kazem Assahir.

Let’s see how many Arabic prepositions you can get from the verses.

Notice how the same preposition can have different meanings according to its position in the sentence.

Listen closely and see how many more Arabic prepositions you can spot.