With an estimated 422 million speakers, Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world. However, some of those 422 million people may have a hard time understanding each other. This is because Arabic is, in many ways, an umbrella term. There are a number of strains of Arabic spoken across the globe. In order to keep track of them all, Arabic is generally broken down into three forms. These are Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, and Colloquial Arabic. But what exactly are the differences between these tongues? More importantly, which form should potential Arabic students pursue? Read on to find out.