The 74 most common Arabic adjectives

These are the 74 adjectives among the 500 most common Arabic words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
25آخرAdjectivesother, another; last
38أولAdjectivesfirst
48جديدAdjectivesnew
51أحدAdjectivesmore acute, sharper, more cutting
55كبيرAdjectivesbig, large
59محمدAdjectivescommendable, laudable, praised, praiseworthy
69إنسيAdjectiveshuman, belonging or relative to humans or human being
71جميعAdjectiveswhole, entire, all
78سعوديAdjectivesSaudi
84كثيرAdjectivesmany, much, numerous
107عربيAdjectivesArab
114سوريAdjectivesSyrian
116أكبرAdjectivesgreater; greatest
117متحدAdjectivesunited
135ثانAdjectivessecond
137سياسيAdjectivespolitical
140أمريكيAdjectivesAmerican
142عديدAdjectivesnumerous, many
144دوليAdjectivesinternational
155مصريAdjectivesEgyptian
162سابقAdjectivesprevious, preceding, prior
172مسلمAdjectivesMuslim
181أحبAdjectivesdearer; dearest, favourite
188صغيرAdjectivessmall
198خاصAdjectivesspecial
208ماضAdjectivessharp
210مشروعAdjectiveskosher
229حميدAdjectivespraiseworthy
230جميلAdjectivesbeautiful
231أقلAdjectivesfewer, less; fewest, least
252إسلاميAdjectivesof, relating to, associated with
259أيمنAdjectivesused comparatively: more on the right
260أعلىAdjectiveshigher; highest
264جيدAdjectivesof good quality, excellent, approvable
266مختلفAdjectivesdifferent
267رسميAdjectivesofficial, legitimate
269كاملAdjectivescomplete, full
275وطنيAdjectivesnational
278صحيحAdjectivescomplete, perfect, whole
281موضوعAdjectivesinvented, constructed
289رئيسيAdjectivesmain, chief, principal, leading, cardinal
292أخيرAdjectiveslast, final
296ثالثAdjectivesthird
301قديمAdjectivesold, ancient
305طويلAdjectiveslong, tall
322محليAdjectiveslocal, regional, native, national
340حقيقيAdjectivestrue, real, actual
350فلسطينيAdjectivesPalestinian
355موجودAdjectivesexisting
364وحيدAdjectivesalone
372عظيمAdjectivesmagnificent, grandiose
379أسودAdjectivesmore liberal, more generous; most liberal, most generous
382صديقAdjectivesalways truthful, veracious
383ممكنAdjectivespossible
391سعيدAdjectiveshappy, cheerful, joyous
396قادمAdjectivescoming, approaching
397رائعAdjectivesgreat, wonderful
403فرنسيAdjectivesFrench
404دوريAdjectivescyclical, periodic
413واضحAdjectivesclear
417مرAdjectivesbitter
420قويAdjectivesstrong, powerful, mighty
430قليلAdjectivesfew, little
436معروفAdjectivesknown
439مدنيAdjectivesurban
442أبيضAdjectiveswhite
460صالحAdjectivesin good condition, sound, whole
462كريمAdjectivesnoble, noble-minded, beneficent, kind, gracious
464فردAdjectivesalone, single
466عزيزAdjectivespowerful, mighty
474عالميAdjectivesworld, worldwide, global
489اقتصاديAdjectiveseconomic
499سريعAdjectivesfast (capable of moving with speed)
500أساسيAdjectivesfundamental, basic

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more wordsخارجية · اجتماعي · عشرة · سوق · لبن
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more wordsكون · معا · مهرجان · إنشاء · دب
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more wordsتأكيد · حجة · إيجاد · جان · حاسوب

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

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Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.