How can my child learn Arabic words for right, left and other directions?
Bloomtivo answers
Start with six: يَمِين (right), يَسَار (left), أَمَام (in front), خَلْف (behind), فَوْق (above) and تَحْت (below). Then the compass: شَمَال (north), جَنُوب (south), شَرْق (east), غَرْب (west). Practise with Sunnah habits: “Eat with your يَمِين”, “Enter the masjid with your right foot”, and find the qiblah, roughly south-east from the UK.
Reviewed by Asmaa Darwish, Bloomtivo teacher · Updated
↓ The full answer
Direction words are easy to practise because children move every day, and Islam has many “right-hand” Sunnahs.
Six everyday directions
Arabic
Say it
English
يَمِين
yamin
right
يَسَار
yasar
left
أَمَام
amam
in front
خَلْف
khalf
behind
فَوْق
fawq
above
تَحْت
taht
below
Compass directions
شَمَال (shamal): north
جَنُوب (janub): south
شَرْق (sharq): east
غَرْب (gharb): west
Sunnah practice
Eat and drink with the يَمِين.
Enter the masjid with the right foot; leave with the left.
Put on the right shoe first.
The qiblah
From the UK, the qiblah is roughly south-east. Use a compass app together and say: “The qiblah is جَنُوب شَرْق.” See why we pray towards Makkah.
Games
“Simon says” with directions: يَمِين!يَسَار!
Hide a toy and give directions in Arabic to find it.
Teacher’s tip: in the Quran, the “people of the right” (أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِين) are the people of Paradise. Children love learning that “right” has such a special meaning.
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