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Holiday destinations: countries and nationalities

Arabic makes nationalities by adding ـيّ to the name of a country. It is one of the most useful patterns in the language.

Countries and nationalities

Where and how

أُفَضِّلُ قَضاءَ العُطْلةِ على الشّاطِئ = I prefer spending the holiday at the beach.
أُسافِرُ إلى ... (I travel to ...), أَقْضي العُطْلةَ في ... (I spend the holiday in ...).
بِالطّائِرة by plane, بِالسَّيّارة by car, بِالقِطار by train, بِالحافِلة by bus.
شاطِئ beach, بَحْر sea, جِبال mountains, صَحْراء desert, فُنْدُق hotel, خَيْمة tent.

Holiday preferences

أُحِبُّ العُطَلَ في الجِبالِ لِأَنَّ الجَوَّ هادِئ = I like holidays in the mountains because the atmosphere is calm.
عُطْلةُ أَحْلامي: أَتَمَنّى أَنْ أَزورَ اليابان = My dream holiday: I hope to visit Japan.
Worked example

Translate: My friend is Moroccan (a girl) and she travels to Morocco by plane.

  1. Moroccan (feminine): مغربية.
  2. She travels: تسافر, to Morocco: إلى المغرب.
  3. By plane: بالطائرة.

Answer: صديقتي مغربية وتسافر إلى المغرب بالطائرة.

Key idea

Nationality = country + ـيّ / ـيّة: مصر → مصريّ / مصريّة. أسافر إلى (to), أقضي العطلة في (in). Transport: بالطائرة، بالسيارة، بالقطار، بالحافلة.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

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