3 to 4 years

Every child is different. These are things most children (at least 3 in 4) do by the end of this stage.

Arabic examples show everyday spoken Arabic first, then standard Arabic. They're examples, not exact phrases your child must understand. Arabic varies from one dialect to another.

What to expect

Listening and understanding

Understands words for where things are, like "in", "on" and "under" ("حط الطابة تحت الطاولة / ضع الكرة تحت الطاولة")
Answers simple questions, like "What is a coat for?" or "شو بنعمل بالجاكيت؟ / ماذا نفعل بالمعطف؟"

Talking

Says sentences of four or more words
Tells you about something that happened in their day, like "I played football"
Retells a story from a book or video, and can say what comes next in a story they know well
Compares things, with words like "bigger" or "shorter"
Says some words from a song, story or nursery rhyme
In English: uses "a" and "the", like "a book" or "the dog"

Sounds

By 4, people understand most of what they say. Mistakes on later English sounds, like l, j, r, sh, ch, s, v, z and th, are still expected
In English: says t, k, g, f, y and "-ing" correctly in words
In English: says all the syllables in a word, and the sounds at the beginning, middle and end
In English: tries all the sounds when two consonants come together, like "tw" in tweet, even if not all correct yet ("spway" for spray)
By 4, talks smoothly most of the time, without repeating sounds, words or phrases

Playing and connecting

Pretends to be something else in play, like a teacher, superhero or dog
Asks to play with other children
Comforts others who are hurt or sad

About repeating words

Many children repeat whole words or phrases, or add "um", while they're learning lots of new words and sounds. This is a normal part of development. Talk to a speech and language therapist if your child repeats parts of words ("w-w-want"), stretches sounds out or gets stuck on words; tenses up or struggles when talking; avoids talking or says it's too hard; or if this has lasted 6 to 12 months or more, started after about 3½, is happening more often, or there's a family history of stuttering.

Arabic sounds

By about 4, most children say ب ت د ك ف ح م ن ل و correctly. س ش خ غ ه ر, like the sounds in شمس and رمان, usually come between 4 and 6. These words are only examples of the sounds, not words your child is expected to say. Saying a sound the way your dialect does isn't a mistake.

The research

Early group, before 4: ب ت د ك ف ح م ن ل و (Amayreh and Dyson 1998, Table 2).
4 to 6 group: س ش خ غ ه ر, and ي in its standard form (Table 2). س ش ه were acquired by 5 years to 5 years 4 months, ر by 5 years 6 months to 5 years 10 months and ي by 6 years to 6 years 4 months (Table 3); خ by 4 years 6 months to 4 years 10 months (Discussion).
Dialect forms the study counted as correct: ق as k, g or ء; ث as ت; ذ as د; ظ as ض; ج as zh; ء dropped in the middle of a word; ي as ء at the start of a word (Table 1).

Growing up with two languages

Read, sing and talk with your child in all the languages you use. Children learning more than one language sometimes use words from both in the same sentence. This is a normal part of becoming bilingual.

Talk to a professional if your child...

Isn't doing many of the things on this page by the end of this stage

Worried about your child's hearing? Ask for a hearing test, even if your child responds to some sounds. You don't need to wait for other signs. For example, you may notice you often have to repeat yourself, or you find yourself using a loud voice with them, but these are only examples, not signs you need to wait for.

When to talk to someone

You don't need to wait until several things are missing. Talk to a professional if your child isn't doing many of the things on this page by the end of this stage, if you have any one specific worry (such as their hearing, losing skills they had, their communication or their feeding), or if you're simply worried. You know your child best.

Who to talk to

Your GP, paediatrician or a speech and language therapist.

Ideas to try at home

Ideas to try at home: Try Something Today, 3 to 6 years

Where this information comes from

Research references

Amayreh and Dyson (1998), Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research