Quiz night, but make it cultural. Grab a friend, a pen and maybe some tea, and see how many of these you get. No pressure, no grades, and bonus points for guessing confidently and wrong.
This is also a warm-up for Midan's Passport Wheel, where you spin, land somewhere new, and play your way through culture questions with friends.
The questions
1. How many official languages does the United Nations have, and is Arabic one of them?
2. On what date does the UN celebrate Arabic Language Day?
3. The numerals 0–9 used across much of the world are often called "Arabic numerals." Where did the system originally develop?
4. Couscous is a staple across which region?
5. In Egyptian Arabic, what's the friendly compliment for a cook, meaning "bless your hands"?
6. True or false: everyone in the Arab world speaks the same everyday Arabic.
7. Which direction is Arabic written?
8. What's the name for the reed pen used in traditional Arabic calligraphy?
9. Kunafa, basbousa and ma'amoul are all... what?
10. What's the word for a traditional sitting room for receiving guests, especially in the Gulf?
The answers (no peeking... okay, fine)
1. Six, and yes. Arabic is one of the six official UN languages, alongside Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. See the UN's Arabic Language Day page.
2. 18 December, same page as above.
3. In India. The Hindu–Arabic numeral system traveled west through scholars writing in Arabic and reached Europe from there, which is how the "Arabic" name stuck. Teamwork across continents.
4. North Africa, the Maghreb. Couscous is beloved in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, and it's also cooked well beyond.
5. "Tislam eedik." Use it generously. Midan's Phrase of the Day has plenty more like it.
6. False. Modern Standard Arabic is shared in writing and formal settings, but everyday dialects vary a lot. Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf and Maghrebi Arabic can sound very different.
7. Right to left. Numbers, though, are read left to right. Keeps you on your toes.
8. The qalam. (If you read our calligraphy post, this one was a gift.)
9. Sweets! Each has regional versions, and every family has opinions. Teta Malika has a few too, over in Holiday Kitchen.
10. The majlis. Our diyafa post explains what to expect if you're invited in.
How did you do?
- 8–10: Honorary cultural ambassador. Spin the Passport Wheel and defend your title.
- 4–7: Solid! You know enough to be dangerous at dinner parties.
- 0–3: Perfect. You now know ten new things, which is the whole point.
Keep the game going
Turn this into a habit: spin the Passport Wheel, then explore wherever it lands through a dish on Sufra, a phrase, or a Field Trip. Want vocabulary in motion? Habibi Dash drops you into the streets of Cairo.
Your turn to spin
Trivia is a sneaky-good way to learn: you remember the answer you got wrong far better than the one you got right.
If you'd like to keep exploring, Midan Shady Sphere offers a free 3-day trial plus Habibi Dash Chapter 1 (all of Cairo, levels 1–3). The full club, including Holiday Kitchen, Phrase of the Day, Diyafa, Sufra, Tutor and Field Trips, is $15/month or $150/year. Spin your way in whenever you're ready.
