About Me

Marhaba and welcome to the Arabic Genie website!

My name is Max Maddocks and I’m an enthusiast for all things Arabic. That includes language, culture and politics. My goal is to make learning Arabic easier for everyone and I am currently developing a number of innovative techniques that are based on mnemonics (memory aids).

I am the author of The Magic Key To The Arabic Alphabet, a course that makes learning the Arabic script extremely easy.

You can download my second book on the Arabic language – 200 Arabic Words You Already ‘Know’ – for free directly from my webpage. The book includes words that are in common beween English and Arabic and that can be readily integrated into your Arabic vocabulary, regardless of your level.

Lately, I have translated a large number of Arabic tattoo designs and have published a huge collection in my digital book Arabic Tattoos.

Apart from Arabic, I enjoy learning languages such as Persian and Chinese. I also speak Spanish, German and French, and have a good reading knowledge of Dutch. I’ve got an MA degree in Near And Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS, London, and an MPhil in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.

40 thoughts on “About Me”

Millie on September 1, 2009 at 3:24 am said:

Hi Max,

I have been reading your blog from australia and its fantastic, i really enjoy it. I noticed that you did a translation for one of your readers. I was wondering whether you could do the same for me. I would really love to learn Arabic but am a bit flat out right now, but its something i would love to learn one day. I have been through a rough time lately and i want to get a tattoo (in my favourite language Arabic) to symbolise this.

The words i would love you to translate are;
From strength comes courage
Never give up
Unbreakable
My family, my heart
whom I love and cherish, I will protect forever

I hope thats not too much to ask 🙂
ArabicGenie on September 1, 2009 at 12:07 pm said:

Dear Millie,

I’ve published a blog post in which I translate some of the phrases. Hope this helps.

Max
Ghada on January 27, 2010 at 6:31 pm said:

Salam…
this the first time i see your blog
great idea!!
سعدت جداً بالفكرة و المدونة.. رائع
غادة – مــصر
ArabicGenie on January 27, 2010 at 8:48 pm said:

Thanks for stopping by Ghada! Please take a look around and let me know if you have any ideas for new content.
بيتي بيتك
Ghada on February 9, 2010 at 9:54 pm said:

السلام عليكم ..
من فضلك أود أن أعرف طرق لتعلم اللغة الفارسية؟؟
شكراً جزيلاً
Muhammad Shaffi on May 17, 2010 at 11:16 am said:

Assalam-O-Alaikum. Thanks for remember that lesson of Arabic language which Muslims are forgetting as time passed and run away to English language which is non Muslim language, but all English seepking persons are not non Muslim. I hereby present congratulation to you on your this offer.
Saskia Hoogveld on June 9, 2010 at 10:03 am said:

Beste Max,
Ik zou graag een tattoo laten zetten op mijn rechter arm op de zij kant van arm van mijn muis van mijn hand naar beneden naar mijn elleboog.
Zou jij kunnen vertalen kracht moet en wijsheid
en ook geloof hoop en liefde.
Met vriendelijke groet Saskis Hoogveld
ArabicGenie on July 3, 2010 at 8:54 am said:

Ghada,
أعرف أن الجواب متأخر لاكني كتبت مقالا عن موضوع تعلم الفارسي من خلال اللغة العربية
joshua on July 11, 2010 at 5:43 pm said:

kifek Max,

I reside in australia as a full time student. i am very passionate about my lebanese heritage although unfortunately i was never taught to speak or to write arabic and i am seeking the translation of these two phrases as you have already translated the phrase “nothing is true everything is permitted”. the two phrases i was hoping you would be able to translate for me are “blood is thicker than water” and also if possible “the house of my family” as i have not mentioned yet i am quite a bit of a tattoo indulgent and have not yet had any arabic written on my body and in a way i feel i owe it to my grandparents… shukaran.

much thanks joshua…

p.s. forgive my few poor attempts at arabic.
ArabicGenie on July 16, 2010 at 10:56 am said:

Hi Joshua! Thank you for your comment. Please refer to my custom Arabic Tattoo Design. Thanks, Max.
layal tabar on October 7, 2010 at 9:20 am said:

hi i would like to ask if you would be able to show me how الأسرة إلى الأبد ” family, forever” would look when designed as a tatto? maybe with a few decorative elements and letters writen as aesthetic features.. 🙂 thanks
syed mohd burhan uddin on October 21, 2010 at 4:11 pm said:

hi this is syed mohd burhan uddin from andhra pradesh . i wanna ask some questions about arabic magic. that has to remove the devils from the human beings. so what the way to do it. .as the patient is in madina.
ArabicGenie on October 21, 2010 at 6:48 pm said:

Sorry, my expertise is in Arabic language learning methods and not in exorcism (which I don’t believe in)…
layal tabar on October 22, 2010 at 11:58 pm said:

?? what about me
ArabicGenie on October 23, 2010 at 10:47 am said:

Layal, please see my custom tattoo design service.
yordan on December 13, 2010 at 1:41 pm said:

Hello Sir translate this ?: Yordan and Rozalina forever together
Mahmoud Darwesh on February 8, 2011 at 12:11 pm said:

Hello Mr. Maddocks;
السلام عليكم
My name is Mahmoud Darwesh, and I am a translator. I was surfing the internet when I came across this site, and I love it. I would be more than happy to help in anything you or any of your visitors may require.
VS on March 15, 2011 at 9:52 am said:

As-salaama Aleikum. Thank you for your website. I am at the beginners’ Arabic stage and I have a question. Why is Arabic script so small? If I zoom in to try to make it easier to read the characters get jumbled up. This applies to all the Arabic script I have seen, not just your website. The only exception is in some children’s books. I should be very pleased if someone could explain this to me. Do Arabs have better eyesight?
ArabicGenie on March 15, 2011 at 7:06 pm said:

Wa alaikum as-salam! This is something I notice frequently too. In fact, I edited the code on my website to display the Arabic sript in a larger size already and I think it’s much easier to read than on other sites. However, most websites use a tiny font-size and I usually just zoom in to read the text. If anyone knows the answer as to why everyone uses such a small font, I’d be very interested to find out too.
Evelyn on March 23, 2011 at 5:15 pm said:

hi arabic genie,

Can you please translate, ” Forever, for always and no matter what”.
I would really appreciate it.

Thank you!
Evelyn
Suzi on April 7, 2011 at 6:13 pm said:

Hey Max!
Wonderful website, so helpful. I just purchased your arbic tattoo collection and I’m really pleased with it. I was hoping however to find some styles for the word ‘understanding’, could you please translate that one for me and provide in the four fonts? Thank you so much for your time
Best Wishes
Suzi
Manary on April 18, 2011 at 11:00 pm said:

Hi there (:
i really loved your blog and was amazed by the many languages you can speak ما شاء الله
😉
As i am learning English i noticed that there are many words in common between English and Arabic so i was very blessed to see them in one book.

thanks a lot.
i love my native language .. it really is beautiful, but the truth is even we (and by we i mean Arabs) Did not do our language justice 🙁
and we are also learning how to speak the The original Arabic.

it’s enchanting, and it takes a long term of learning for non-arabs to sense that
i’m really proud of it (:
ArabicGenie on April 19, 2011 at 7:47 pm said:

Hi Manary! Thank you for your kind words. It’s great that you found the 200 Arabic Words You Already ‘Know’ useful as an Arabic speaker learning English. Arabic is a beatufiul language indeed and with so much depth and breadth that it takes a lifetime to explore it.
Geri on July 3, 2011 at 6:23 pm said:

Hi,
this is a really great blog! Fantastic work! I was looking for some words and quotes and I found most of them and I want to thank you. I will really appreaciate if you could tell me how to write on arabic this 2 phrases, without any explainations, just the phrases:
1. “You only live once” or “You live only once”
2. “I am relentless” or “I am unbreakable”
Thank you in advance.
ahmed kandil on December 11, 2011 at 7:09 am said:

Hi ArabicGenie ,

Nice site you have , and good efforet , I am an Arabic Calligrapher and designer from Egypt , I hope to see my site :

http://www.freewebs.com/ahmed-kandil

and I’d like to be a way from introducing Arabic Tattoos please .
SANJAY on February 7, 2012 at 8:37 am said:

WANT TO SEE HOW LAYAL WORD IS WRITTEN IN ARABIC
Celina on February 9, 2012 at 10:01 pm said:

Hola Max! te escribo desde Argentina, hace tiempo que quiero hacerme un tatoo con el significado de mi nombre en árabe. Mi nombre es Celina y significa “caída del cielo”. Buscando posibles traducciones me encontré con esta المفاجئة, me gustaría si tu puedes, decirme si es correcta la traducción para no hacerme un tatoo equivocado.
Desde ya, te doy las gracias!!! muy bueno tu blog y tu trabajo! Saludos!
Efren Gonzales on February 12, 2012 at 9:56 am said:

Hi there, I really want to know the arabic transalation for this phrase: “God is my strength” Im planing to have a tattoo. Tnx.. looking forward to your response.
Bella on March 22, 2012 at 3:31 pm said:

Hi,
I am trying to figure out what this says in arabic. file://localhost/Users/bella/Library/Application%20Support/iLifeAssetManagement/assets/sub/01140cdb185fd6f508ffef6d97cd0781fbf0ebade7/IMG_2415.PNG
hopefully you can help!
alyssa on March 31, 2012 at 8:12 pm said:

hello arabic genie!! ..im very interested in the arabic symbol ” beauty ” for my tattono…can you please tell me the symbol in the ( 3 different fonts if you can ) in ” beauty “..please & thank you!
Hana on April 30, 2012 at 5:18 pm said:

I’m thinking about getting a tattoo & I want to choose between :
بفضل الله and الحمدلله which do you think is a better tattoo idea? I want to remember to be thankful for what I have. I know the difference between the two but I am still torn.
beez on September 9, 2012 at 5:12 am said:

Wow!! that’s beautiful work! Awesome work .. Congrats 🙂 you’re the best.
Thank you so much for sharing your talent!!
ArabicGenie on September 9, 2012 at 9:04 am said:

Thanks for your kind words beez – I’m glad you find the website useful.
Paula on October 28, 2013 at 1:42 am said:

Hello 😀 im not very good in english so please try to understand me
can you help me to translate “You only live once” into arabic please
Philipp on November 4, 2013 at 12:58 am said:

Hello Mr. Maddocks,

My name is Philipp and I am from Austria.
I found after a long search to your page. I would be very grateful if you could help me. Can you give me please translate the following sentence in Arabic? “Be true to you who you are” If possible please in different fonts.
This set would be for my first tattoo.
Your site is just great.
Thank you very much in advance.
Batool on August 29, 2014 at 9:47 am said:

hi , I’m batool dasan from Jordan , I’m Arabic Teacher for non speakers, it’s really very nice website! I’m ready to connect for any help, thanks !
Keriem on December 7, 2014 at 8:11 am said:

Many thanks to you Maddock….you are the great linguist ever. my zeal and zest for learning Arabic is fully inspired today after getting your website.

will you and your Arabic teachers help me to learn Arabic in full context. i will be eager to read your response in my mail:
Casey on June 8, 2016 at 8:35 pm said:

Hey Max, I just wanted to say a big thank you to you for your Arabic Alphabet book. It really helped me out a lot
Juliana on September 20, 2016 at 12:44 am said:

How can I say “you only live once” in arabic?
Adelaide Santana on November 18, 2017 at 3:06 pm said:

Hi Max
I’m from Brazil and I have many Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan virtual friends

they speak the language / dialect that I can’t find
or even any type of reference,

they tell me that its the “arabc-french”, for example words like:

– Omri- Wah khetitou moût 3lik 9anoun – balbezef – Chehale tabeghi lebehare or ta3eraf tasawar me3ah, nbghoook bsah rakii s3iiiba chwiiy – 44444 – bazoooof

always using letters and numbers.

As I see you are a student of the Arabic language in its various forms,
I would like to know if you know this writing and, if so, where and how to find out more details.

Many thanks for your kindness.

a big hug direct from Brazil