It’s been a while since I posted something. Over the last few months, I’ve been working on a listening resource in Jordanian Arabic specifically for high intermediate learners and above.

Today, I’m excited to announce that the first episode is now up on theLevanTongue’s YouTube channel.

The listening resource is called “El Bulbul” and this post will be a short introduction as to what it contains.

Yalla, read on to find out more

So what exactly is El Bulbul all about?

To put it simply, El Bulbul is a series of 30 episodes filled with interesting conversations in real spoken Jordanian Arabic to help language learners improve their listening skills & speak zay el bulbul.

Each episode lasts for approximately 10 minutes and is hosted by two Jordanians, Ashraf & Enas.

The series will tackle a range of topics from marriages in Jordan, the use of technology in our daily life, discrimination, the culture of shame and so many more.

Currently, I plan to release an episode once a week or at most twice a week.

Speak zay a whaaaat?

The reason why I decided to name the resource “El Bulbul” is that there is a phrase in Levantine Arabic whereby if you say someone speaks like a بلبل, that means he speaks the language fluently.

The phrase is commonly used to describe non-native speakers who are able to converse fluently in the target language.

A bulbul (or bilbul in North Levantine Arabic) is a type of bird that most refer to as a nightingale. Since nightingales are singing birds, I’m guessing the ability to sing beautifully is related to the ability to speak a language fluently.

And therefore, I hope this resource will benefit language learners of Jordanian Arabic in their journey towards conversational fluency

For whom is El Bulbul for?

I curated this listening resource with high intermediate learners, who feel that they have hit a brick wall or reached a plateau, in mind.

Advanced learners who feel that their Arabic is rusty can also benefit from it.

I, too, will be using El Bulbul to work on my spoken Arabic and my ability to converse on a wide range of topics.

What are El Bulbul’s episodes like?

The focus of this listening resource is on natural and real Spoken Jordanian Arabic. Therefore, I’ve chosen a conversational format where you’ll listen to light-hearted conversations between two native speakers on a wide range of topics.

Such a format will benefit intermediate learners who want to go beyond scripted audio resources and to get their ears attuned to real Jordanian Arabic.

And that means…the episodes will contain cross-talks, filler words, and heck, maybe even grammatical incorrect sentences.

At the end of the day, I believe the goal is to achieve conversational fluency. And fluency doesn’t mean accuracy.

Here’s a quote from this site that sums up the idea of fluency pretty well:

“Fluency is the flow and efficiency with which you express your ideas, particularly when speaking. A few grammar mistakes may appear here and there in the explanation, but it should be delivered in a way that is easy to understand and shows how comfortable you are with the language.”

Additionally, it is also important to have cultural awareness. Understanding the social rules, beliefs, customs of Jordanians play an important part in being fluent in Jordanian Arabic as well.

Thus, there will be episodes that will help learners learn more about Jordan and the Jordanian culture. Such episodes include weddings in Jordan, the public transportation in Jordan, the culture of shame, and more.

How to get the most out of this listening resource?

In order to get the most out of El Bulbul, I have also created a printable listening guide for each episode.

While I will be hosting episodes of El Bulbul on YouTube for all to listen to, the printable listening guide will be a paid resource.

It will be available for a no-brainer price of $2.99. All I ask is that the file is used for personal learning use only and not to be shared with others. To grab your copy, click here.

The printable listening guide is a PDF file that contains

• The transcript of the episode in Arabic
• The accompanying English translation
• A useful chunks and verbs table
• Three discussion questions related to the episode’s topic

While there are tons of resources out there such as shows and podcasts where we can listen and be exposed to real spoken Arabic, the issue is that such activities only allow us to learn passively at best.

In order to engage in active learning, accompanying resources such as transcripts and additional language insights are necessary.

This is why I also came up with the printable listening guide so that you can closely analyze the dialogue and more.

While passive learning is still useful, I believe an active learning approach can speed up your learning progress and save you time.

**Update: You can preview a snippet of the printable listening guide for the first episode here

Summary

All in all, if you’re a busy high intermediate independent language learner, the printable listening guide will enable you to spend whatever little time you got on your hands to learn Levantine (Jordanian) Arabic in a more efficient manner.

Check out the first episode of El Bulbul

Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel for updates to future episodes!

***El Bulbul is now available on podcast platforms***

***

And…that’s all for now. I hope you’re as excited about the listening resource as I am.

If you got more questions, feel free to comment below or contact me via email.

Take care & I’ll see ya in the hosh!

Lyn

P.S. I’ve added some cool stuff in the shop section. Do head on over to check out Levant travel posters and more

The post El Bulbul – A Jordanian Arabic Listening Resource For Intermediate & Advanced Language Learners appeared first on theLevanTongue.

But in this post, I will demonstrate how verb form I and verb form II differ using common everyday verbs found in Levantine Arabic as examples.

So yalla, let’s get started!

NOTES

The sentence examples are recorded by a Jordanian native speaker unless stated otherwise.

The verb conjugation recordings are also recorded by a Jordanian native speaker. Thus, the verb conjugation tables are reflective of the South Levantine Arabic version.

#1) To study vs To teach

Verb Form I: to study

هو) دَرَس – بُدرُس/ِبِدرُس)

هو بدرس انجليزي بالجامعة الأردنية

He studies English at the University of Jordan

لما اتخرج رح ادرس بفرنسا

When I graduate, I will study in France

هي درست هندسة بالجامعة الأردنية

She studied Engineering at the University of Jordan

روح ادرس بغرفتك

Go and study in your room

Verb Form II: to teach

هو) دَرَّس – بِدَرِّس)

هي بتدرّس أحمد شوية كلمات بالعربي

She teaches Ahmad some words in Arabic

هو درّس الأولاد كيف يرسمو فراشة

He taught the children how to draw a butterfly

متى بدك تدرّسني ؟

When are you going to teach me?

بدك تضل تدرّس السنة الجاي؟

Are you going to continue [remain] teaching next year?

#2) To understand vs To make s/one understand (to explain)

Verb Form I: to understand

هو) فِهِم – بفهَم)

هي بتقدر تفهم ايطالي بس ما بتقدر تحكيه

She can understand Italian but she can’t speak it

هو ما فهم التعليمات

He did not understand the instructions

انت فاهم كل كلمة بهاي الصفحة؟

Do you understand every word on this page?

*فاهم is the active participle of the verb

Verb Form II: to make someone understand/comprehend s/thing (i.e. to explain)

هو) فهّم – بفهّم)

هو فهّم الزباين ليش البضاعة اتأخرت

He explained to the customers why the goods were late to arrive

بالأول هي رح تفهّمنا  قواعد اللعبة

First, she will explain to us the rules of the game

انا مش فاهمة شو بتحكي بتقدر تفهّمني ؟

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you explain it to me?

This verb form is also commonly used in the imperative/command form. The two sentences below are recorded by a native Syrian speaker.

اذا أنت دائماً مشغول بالشغل وماعندك وقت مشاني، فهمّني ليش دائماً بلاقيك أونلاين؟

If you’re indeed busy with work and have no time for me, get me to understand why I always see you online

فهمّيني ليش وافقتي على الزواج منّي وهلق بتقوليلي أنو ما بقت تحبيني

Make me understand why you (f) agreed to marry me and then now tell me that you no longer love me

#3) To mention vs To remind

Verb Form I: to mention

هو) ذَكَر – بذكُر)

هو ذكر اسمها برسالتو الماجستير

He mentioned her name in his master’s thesis

لا تنسى تذكر مشاركتها بالمشروع

Don’t forget to mention her contribution to the project

ع التلفون هي ذكرت انها مريضة

She mentioned that she was ill over the telephone

Verb Form II: to remind

هو) ذَكَّر – بذكّر)

هي ذكّرتو بموعد دكتورو الاسنان

She reminded him of his dentist’s appointment

ذكّرني اطفي الضو

Remind me to turn off the lights

هو دايما بذكّر الاولاد يغسلو ايديهم

He always reminds the children to wash their hands

#4) To go out vs To take s/thing out

Verb Form I: to go out/leave

هو) طِلِع – بِطْلَع)

Notes: The verb طلع can have different meanings depending on the contexts. In general, it can mean to go out, to go up, or to turn out to be s/thing or s/one else.

هو طِلِع ع الدرج

He climbed up the stairs

احنا طلعنا ع راس التلة وكان المنظر بجنن

We climbed up the hill and the view was gorgeous

هي بتطلع ع الشغل ع الساعة سبعة كل يوم

She leaves for work at 7 o’clock every day

مش مصدقة يلي صار انا اعتبرتو صاحبي بس هو طلع عدوي

I can’t believe it. I considered him my friend but he turns out to be my enemy

ديونها طلعت أكثر من عشر الآف دينار

Her debt came up [totaled up] to be more than 10, 000 dinars

Verb Form II: to take s/thing out

هو) طَلَّع – بِطَلِّع)

هو طلّع مصاري من جيبتو

He pulled out money from his pocket

طلّع الكيكة من الفرن

Take out the cake from the oven

انا شفتها بعيوني هي طلّعت الشنتات من السيارة

I saw with my own eyes that she took out the bags from the car

#5) To go/come down vs To get s/thing or s/one down

Verb Form I: to go/come down

هو) نِزِل – بِنزَل)

Notes: The verb نِزِل (just like طلع) can have several meanings depending on the contexts. In general, it can mean to come down, to make a trip down to a place, or to get in or off a vehicle.

هي بتنزل ع الدرج

She goes down the stairs

انزل عن الطاولة

Get down from the table

هو رح ينزل ع البحر الميت

He will make a trip down to the Dead Sea

رن علي لما تنزل من الباص

Give me a call when you get off the bus

الحرارة بتنزل اقل من صفر بالشتا

The temperature goes down below zero during the winter

سعر هدول الكمبيوترات نزل بآخر سنتين

The prices of these computers dropped in the last two years

Verb Form II: to get s/thing or s/one down from a higher place, or to download/upload

هو) نَزَّل – بِنَزِّل)

بتقدر تنزّل هداك الكتاب عن الرف؟

Can you get that book down from the top shelf?

هي نزّلت البسة عن الشجرة

She got the cat down from the tree

روح نزّلها عن الطاولة

Go and get her down from the table

This verb form can also be used to refer to downloading or uploading materials online. The preposition على or simply ع is often used after the verb to describe uploading, and من to describe downloading from a certain platform.

The audio for these sentence examples below is recorded by a Syrian native.

ما بحب نزّل (أنزّل) صور ولادي ع مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي

I don’t like to upload pictures of my children on social media

احمد نزّل صور رحلته عالفيش بعدما رجع من ايطاليا

Ahmad uploaded pictures of his trip on Facebook after he returned from Italy

اللي ساويته وعطيني رأيك appما تنسى تنزّل ال

Don’t forget to download the app that I created and give me your opinion

بتعرفوا كيف ممكن ننزّل فيديوهات من يوتوب؟

Do you (pl) know how can we download videos from Youtube?

#6) To return/come back vs To return s/thing back

Verb Form I: to return/come back

هو) رِجِع – برجَع)

Notes: In Spoken Arabic, this verb can be widely used to express more than just its literal meaning. If you want to further explore how this verb can be used in other contexts, you can check out the 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic book by Fridrik Tiedeman or this post on the Team Maha blog.

هو بالعادة برجع ع البيت الساعة ثلاث المسا

He usually returns home at 3 pm

انت رجعت كتير متأخر مبارح بالليل

You came back very late last night

هي رجعت ع البيت عشان تشوف أهلها

She returned home in order to see her parents

Verb Form II: to return/give s/thing back

هو) رجّع – برجّع)

هو رجّعلها الكتب

He gave back the book to her

هدول مش مصاريك و لازم ترجّعهم

This is not your money and you have to return it

هي رح ترجّعلك المفاتيح بكرا

She will return the keys back to you tomorrow

#7) To defeat s/one vs To trouble s/one

Verb Form I: to defeat s/one

هو) غَلَب – بغلِب)

همه غلبو الفريق الازرق ووصلو النهائي

They defeated the Blue team and reached the finals.

هو دايما بغلبني بلعبة التنس

He always beats me at tennis

بالشهر الماضي احمد غلب علي بعشر نقاط  لستة  

In the last month, Ahmad defeated Ali with (a score of) ten points to six points

Verb Form II: to trouble s/one

هو) غَلَّب – بغلّب)

هي ما رح تغلّبك بس بدها تسألك شوية أسئلة

She won’t trouble you, she just wants to ask you a few questions

لا تغلّب حالك بكل هاي التفاصيل

Don’t trouble yourself with all these details

بقدر اغلّبك تفتح هداك الشباك؟

Could I trouble you to open that window?

#8) To get upset vs To upset s/one

Verb Form I: to get upset

هو) زِعِل – بزعَل)

هو زعل كتير ع ضياع جزدانو

He was really upset about losing his wallet

بابا بزعل كتير اذا ما رنينا عليه و حكينالو وين إحنا

Dad gets really upset if we don’t give him a call and tell him where we are

لا تزعلي ع الفستان رح نصلحو

Don’t be upset about the dress. We’ll fix it

Verb Form II: to make s/one upset

هو) زعّل – بزعّل)

هي زَعّلتني لما ضيعت التذاكر

She made me upset when she lost the tickets

انا اسف ما كان قصدي ازعّلك

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you

هو دايما بزعّلني ع أصغر الاشياء

He always makes me upset over the smallest things

#9) To wake up vs To wake s/one up

Verb Form I: to wake up

هو) صحي – بصحى)

Notes: Natives also use the verb فاق – بفيق to refer to waking up

هي بالعادة بتصحى ع الساعة ثمنية حتى بالعطلة

She usually wakes up at 8 o’clock, even on weekends

انت صحيت ثلاث مرات بالليل

You woke up three times last night

هو بصحى ع الساعة سبعة بس هو بحب يقرأ ويشرب قهوة بالتخت

He wakes up at 7 o’clock but he likes to read and drink coffee in bed

Verb Form II: to wake s/one up

هو) صحّى – بصحّي)

روح صحّي أخوك, احنا رح نروح كمان شوي

Go and wake up your brother. We are going off soon

هي صحّت الاولاد همه لازم يكونو بالمدرسة بكير

She woke up the children. They had to be in school early

بتقدر تصحيني ع الساعة سبعة ونص بكرا الصبح؟

Could you wake me up at 7:30 tomorrow morning?

#10) To walk vs To let it go/make s/thing work

Verb Form I: to walk

هو) مشى – بمشي)

امشي معي للمكتب اذا فاضي

Walk with me to the office if you’re free

هو بمشي مع صاحبو ع المدرسة كل يوم الصبح

He walks with his friend to school every morning

بكرا  بدي اروح امشي ع الشط

I’ll be going for a walk on the beach tomorrow

Verb Form II: to make it work

هو) مشّى – بمشّي)

Notes: This verb form is often used in the contexts of  “making it work”, “to let it go” or “to let it slip”. It can also be used as a plea to make a situation work by any means possible (underhand tactics included). It is also related to the idea of وسطة (relying on connections or network of powerful and influential individuals to get things done). Also, it is more common to use the imperative/command form.

ولا يهمك بعرف موظف اسمه احمد بمشّيلك معاملتكك بالبنك

Don’t worry about it. I know the employee, Ahmad, who will let your bank transaction through.

ممكن تمشّيلنا ملف الجواز بسرعة لانو رح نسافر الاسبوع الجاي

Can you help to settle the passport file quickly because we’ll be traveling next week [for example, when said to an employee who’s in charge of approving passports]

صاحبتي كتير حبابة اذا بدك حتمشّيلنا المشكلة ونخلص

My friend is very friendly and nice. If you want, she will help us to sort out the mess and we can wash our hands of the matter

مشّيها هالمرة, كلهم كم ليرة

Can you let this slip this time ’round, it’s only a few liras (dinars) [said when avoiding to pay for s/thing]

يا حبيبي مشّيلنا هالشب ابو بلوزة زرقا هو مستعجل كتير

Can you please attend to the guy in blue and get whatever he wants done. He’s in a hurry

هاي حقها عشر ليرات :A
مشّيها هالمرة بخمس ليرات المرة الجاي بندفعلك عشرة :B

A: This thing costs 10 liras [dinars]

B: Can you let us pay 5 liras first this time ’round, [make the transaction work with 5 liras], we’ll pay you 10 liras next time

#11) To sleep vs To put s/one to sleep

Verb Form I: to sleep

هو) نام – بنام)

هي نامت الساعة عشرة مبارح

She slept at 10 o’clock yesterday

هو بنام زي الملائكة

He slept like an angel

روح نام

Go to sleep

Verb Form I: to put s/one to sleep, to tuck s/one to bed

هو) نيّم – بنيّم)

هو نيّم المريض قبل العملية

He put the patient to sleep before the operation

هي بالعادة بتنيّم البيبي ع الساعة تسعة

She usually put the baby to sleep at 9 o’clock

حركة السيارة بتنيّمني

The motion of the car puts me to sleep

#12) To be afraid vs To frighten s/one

Verb Form I: to be afraid

هو) خاف – بخاف)

هو بخاف يطلع برا بالعتمة

He’s afraid of going out after dark

هي خافت لما هو صرخ عليها

She got afraid when he shouted at her

انا بخاف من العناكب

I’m afraid of spiders

Verb Form II: to frighten s/one [to make s/one afraid]

هو) خوّف – بخوّف)

هي خوّفت الاولاد بالقناع يلي لبستو

She frightened the kids with the mask that she was wearing

آسف ما كان قصدي اخوّفك

Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you

هو بخوّفها لما يسوق بسرعة كتير

He makes her afraid when he drives very quickly

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Concluding Remarks

Not all verbs in Form I exist in Form II as well but the examples provided above are some of the verbs that do.

In general, verb form II is causative in nature. In other words, it’s a verb used to demonstrate that some person or thing makes (or helps to make) something happens.

Most of the time, the meaning of the verbs in their 2nd form is obvious if you already know their meaning in the 1st form.

In some cases, like the verbs مشى and غلب, their meaning in the 2nd form may not be obvious. Thus, you just have to remember them by heart. 

***

Useful Levantine Arabic Expressions That Make Use of Verbs Form II

The two expressions are…

بيجنّن / بتجنّن

بيطيّر العقل / بتطيّر العقل

Both of the expressions can be used to describe anything that is very beautiful and amazing. The 2nd expression can also be used to describe something delicious.

Let’s take a look at the literal meanings in order to see the causative nature of the verbs form II in action.

If you say something (eg: a view, a picture or a dress) is بيجنّن, you’re describing it as extremely beautiful, awesome or breath-taking.

However, the word is actually a verb in its 2nd form that means to make someone crazy or to drive someone crazy. After all, the word for “crazy” in Arabic is مجنون / مجنونة / مجانين and shares the same roots as the verb.

Therefore, the idea behind the expression is that the item is gorgeous or wonderful because it possesses a level of beauty or awesomeness that can drive a person mad. 

Similarly, the word بيطيّر in the 2nd expression is a verb in its 2nd form that means to make something fly or to cause something to fly. 

So if you describe a dish as بتطيّر العقل, it means it’s extremely delicious because the dish causes the mind to fly!

To see more sentence examples of the 2nd expression, check this post that I wrote previously here.

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That’s it, for now! Take care and I’ll see ya in the hosh,

Lyn

The post Making Sense Of Verb Forms In Levantine Arabic: Form I vs Form II appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Note that there will always be a variety of ways to express an idea.

What I’m simply doing in this post is to share what I feel are “language hacks” in the form of a single word or phrase that you can add to your speech in order to communicate your idea across just as effectively.

Therefore, the sentence examples provided below are by no means the only way of communicating the idea across.

So without further ado, let’s get started!

How To Say “Just” In Levantine Arabic

#1) Very recently / In the immediate past

If you’re saying “just” in order to express the act having taken place in the immediate past, then the word you’re looking for is…

هلأ

…which means “now” in Spoken Levantine Arabic.

However, the word “now” may differ from region to region within the Levant. The picture below shows the different variations of the word “now” in Palestine alone.

But whatever your preferred word of saying “now”, the idea of expressing “just” is still the same.

Simply add the word “now” before the past tense verb

Let’s look at some examples:

هلأ وصلت عالبيت

I just got home

هلأ طلعت من المكتب

I just left the office

مريم هلأ خلصت فطورها / ترويقتا

Maryam just finished eating her breakfast.

“Breakfast” in Lebanese Arabic is ترويقة (pronounced as ترويئة)

الإجتماع هلأ خلص. تفضل, بتقدر تفوت وتشوفه

The meeting just ended, you may go in to see him now

انت هلأ تغديت وبعدك جوعان؟

You just had your lunch and you’re still hungry?

يلا بسرعة! الباص هلأ وصل ورح يمشي بعد خمس دقايق

Hurry up! The bus just arrived and will be leaving in 5 minutes time

Alternatively, you can use the phrase “a while ago”.

من شوية / من شوي

(just) a while ago

Here are some examples:

يسلمو بس والله شبعت. من شوية تغديت

Thanks but I’m really full. I just had lunch

من شوية طلعت من البيت

I just left the house (a while ago)

***

#2) Literally!

لسة + هلأ

In some cases, you might hear the words لسة (lissa) and هلأ (hala2) being said together.

When that happens, there is a higher degree of emphasis. Probably the closest word in English to express this phrase would be “literally”.

Here are some examples:

وين تلفوني؟ لسا هلق كان معي

Where’s my phone? I literally just had it with me.

!عْطيني (اعطيني) خمس دقايق. أنا لسة هلأ وصلت

Give me five minutes, I literally just got home!

[For example, when you just stepped foot into the house and your mom asks you to run errands or tidy up your room ]

جواد لسة هلأ راح. تعا (تعال) بكرة الصبح

Jawad literally just left. Come back tomorrow morning

#3) Very soon

Sometimes you might use the word, “just”, to refer to an act that you’re doing in the present moment as you speak.

In this case, you’ll still be using the word هلأ but with the present continuous tense or active participle (اسم الفاعل).

Here are some examples:

هلأ عم خلص (أخلص) فطوري. بشوفك بعد شوي

I’m just finishing up my breakfast. I’ll see you in a while

*Instead of فطور, you can also say ترويقة which is more common in Lebanese Arabic

هلأ عم زبط (أزبط) التقرير ورح ابعتلك اياه بس خلص

I’m just finishing up / making final touches to the report. I will send it over to you once it’s done

ياخي, انت بالبيت؟ إفتح الباب, أنا هلأ طالع

Bro, are you at home? Open the door, I’m just coming up now.

* Depending on contexts, the word طالع can also mean leaving/going out

***

#4) Exactly / Absolutely / To an equal degree / No less than

There can be multiple ways to express this idea but the easiest way to do so is to simply use the Arabic word for “like”.

متل / زي

*The word متل is used across the Levant while I found the word زي more commonly used in South Levantine Arabic.

هاي الكاميرة منيحة متل (زي) هديك الكاميرا

This camera is just as good as that one [This camera is good like that one]

شكلِك متل (زي) هالبنت اللي بالصورة

You look (just) like the girl in the photo

However, if you want to add some emphasis to the sentence, you can use words such as…

بالزبط / بالضبط

exactly

OR

تماماً

absolutely / completely

OR

مية بالمية

100% percent

Here are some examples:

هاي الكاميرا منيحة متل هديك الكاميرا بالضبط

هاي الكاميرا منيحة متل هديك الكاميرا تماماً

هاي الكاميرا منيحة متل هديك الكاميرا مية بالمية

This camera is just as good as that one

شكلِك بالضبط متل هالبنت اللي بالصورة

شكلك تماما متل هالبنت اللي بالصورة

شكلك متل هالبنت اللي بالصورة مية بالمية

You (f) look just [exactly] like the girl in the photo

طلعت الأمور بالضبط متل ما توقعت

طلعت الأمور تماماً متل ما توقعت

طلعت الأمور متل ما توقعت مية بالمية

Things turned out just as I expected

الباب مش مقفول, تماما متل ما كنت شاكك

الباب مش مقفول, بالضبط متل ما كنت شاكك

الباب مش مقفول, متل ما كنت شاكك مية بالمية

The door is unlocked just as I suspected.

شكرا هاد الشي بالزبط متل ما عم بدور عليه

شكرا هاد الشي تماما متل  ما عم بدور عليه

شكرا هاد الشي متل  ما عم بدورعليه مية بالمية

Thanks, this is just [exactly] what I’m looking for

هاد الجاكيت قياسي بالزبط

هاد الجاكيت قياسي تماما

هاد الجاكيت قياسي مية بالمية

This jacket is just [exactly] my size

#5) A little / Barely

If you want to say “just under/below/over/after/before etc” to indicate a small amount, the simplest way to do so is to add بشوي [a little bit].

التضخم نزل لأكتر من 4 بالمية بشوي بهي السنة

Inflation fell to just over 4 percent this year

النسوان في البرلمان أكتر من التلت بشوي

Just over a third of the people in parliament are women

كلاويك موجودين تحت أضلاعك بشوي

Your kidneys are located just below your ribs

امبارح بالليل وصلت عالبيت بعد التسعة بشوي

I reached home just after nine last night

امبارح، دخل على بيت جيراني حرامية قبل نص الليل بشوي

Yesterday, a robber broke into my neighbor’s house just before midnight

السنة الماضية خلّص علي الماراثون بأقل من أربع ساعات بشوي

Last year, Ali finished a marathon in just under four hours

***

#6) Simply / Only

When saying “just” as a form of emphasis to mean “simply” or “only”, you can add the word بس.

Note that not all contexts will work simply by adding بس but here are a few examples that do.

شفت علي بس قبل دقيقة وحدة

I saw Ali just a minute ago

طوّل بالك معلم، عم نمزح معك بس

Relax dude, we’re just joking with you

 ما في شي. كنت عم أسأل بس. مجرد سؤال

No, nothing. I was just asking. It’s just a question

(لا تفكر كتير بالموضوع، بس اعملا (اعملها

Don’t think too much about it, just do it!

الشب هلق بحالة حرجة، ويمكن يضل عايش بس كم شهر

The young man is in critical condition and might have just months to live

سيبك من أخوك, هو بس مزعوج اليوم

Ignore (stay away from) your brother, he’s just in a bad mood today

 هي بس متدايقة لأنك ما رديت على رسالتها

She’s just upset that you didn’t text her back

سْتنيت (استنيت) ساعة بس مشان أشوفك

I waited an hour just to see you.

” فيني ساعدك؟” | “لا شكراً، عم أتفرج بس”

“Can I help you?” | “No thanks, I’m just looking.”

قررت أتعلم اسباني بس للتسلاية

I decided to learn Spanish just for fun 

بس لأنك أكبر مني، ما بيعني إنو بتقدر تقلّي (تقولّي) شو أعمل

Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do

بس بدي أقلك (أقولك) أني مشتقلك

I just want to say that I miss you

أنا بحب قهوتي مع شوية سكر بس

I like my coffee with just a little bit of sugar

*alternatively, you can say بحب قهوتي وسط

طيب، بتقدر تاخد سيارتي اليوم، بس بس هالمرة

Fine, you can use my car today, but just this one time

P.S. Notice that the word بس is repeated twice in the last example above? That’s because the word بس can have other meanings as well. Check this post out to find out more! 

***

And…last by not least, in some contexts like the examples provided below, you can use عن جد as an emphasis.

أنا مش قادر أتحمل أختي الصغيرة, هي عن جد كتير مزعجة

I can’t stand my little sister, she’s just so annoying [~very annoying]

علي شب رائع عنجد. يا ريت أكون متله

Ali is just such an amazing guy [~very amazing]. How I wish I could be like him

NOTE

Sometimes, instead of saying بس near the start of the sentence, you can also hear natives saying وبس at the end of the sentence.

نكتة وبس  or  بس نكتة

It’s just a joke

سؤال وبس  or  بس سؤال

It was just a question

للتسلية وبس  or  بس للتسلية

Just for fun

* or للتِسْلايِة

NOTE II

In some instances, native speakers may choose to say مجرد instead of بس. However, مجرد has a more formal sound to it.

So instead of saying something like the examples above, you may hear natives say…

مجرد نكتة

It’s just a joke

مجرد سؤال

It’s just a question

مجرد للتسلية

Just for fun

* or للتِسْلايِة

But on a whole, the word مجرد is not as commonly used in Spoken Arabic as compared to بس.

Useful Phrase  – (Just) in case

To express the phrase “just in case” or simply “in case” in Spoken Arabic, you can use the phrase…

يعني في حال

or يعني بِحال

(followed by a past tense verb)

*The word يعني is added as a filler word to mimic natural speech

or

مشان/عشان ازا

(followed by a past tense verb)

Here are some examples:

(جيب معك شمسية يعني بحال مطرت (شتت

bring an umbrella just in case it rains

*Some say شمسية, some say مظلة for “umbrella”

ما تنسي تجيبي معِك كاش مشان ازا المطعم ما قبل فيزا كارت

don’t forget (f) to bring some cash just in case the restaurant does not accept credit cards

هاي رقم تلفوني يعني بحال صار اي شي

here’s my phone number just in case anything happens

Both في حال and مشان/عشان ازا can be used in the 3 examples above.

~~~

That’s it for now! I hope you find this post useful

Take care and I’ll see ya in the hosh,

Lyn

The post How To Say “Just” In Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.

And the first word is…”still”!

How To Say “Still” In Levantine Arabic?

There are two words that natives across the Levant would use and they are…

1. بَعَد

2. لِسّا / لِسّة

And the tables below will show you how to add personal pronouns to them…

As you can see, there can be different ways that natives conjugate for لسة within the Levant. The ways vary from region to region.

For example, in addition to the ones mentioned in the table, there are natives such as Syrians from Aleppo who say لسّعتو instead of لسّاتو.

Don’t let the variations bother you. For simplicity’s sake, you might want to just stick with the ones in the yellow columns.

Before we look at the sentence examples, it is useful to note that when it comes to using the word لسة to refer to “still”, you may choose to add or omit the attached pronouns.

So for example, if you want to say “He is still young”, you can choose from the following sentences:

هو لسة صغير

هو لساته صغير

هو بعده صغير

As you can see, using both لسة and لساته is acceptable.

However, you can’t use بعد without the attached pronoun because native speakers will tell you that it sounds odd and unnatural.

So all in all, remember to attach the pronouns when using بعد to refer to “still”.

UPDATE:

I’m guessing you have to add the attached pronoun to بعد when using adjectives. For example, if you want to say “he’s still tired” or “he’s still young”, بعده is used. If you omit the attached pronoun and just say بعد, it won’t sound natural.

However, I’ve seen natives (from Lebanon and Syria) use بعد on its own when using verbs. For example, if you want to say “I haven’t watched it (the movie) yet”, you can say:

ما حضرته بعد

However, my Jordanian friend insists that the sentence structure above sounds unnatural and he would rather say

بعدني ما حضرته

or

ما حضرته بعدني

So maybe it’s a North Levantine Arabic vs South Levantine Arabic thing

~~~

Now, let’s look at more sentence examples

Note: The audio recordings are by a native Syrian speaker so the attached pronouns used are the North Levantine ones.

Sentence examples:

وين حسن؟ لسة رح يجي عالشغل؟

بعدو رح يجي عالشغل؟

Where is Hasan? Is he still coming to work?

حسن لساتو عالطريق للمكتب

حسن بعدو عالطريق للمكتب

Hasan is still on his way to the office

وين رايح؟ خليك شوي كمان، لسة بكير

بعدو بكير

Where are you(m) going? Stay awhile more, it is still early

وطوا صوتكن! لسة في طلاب عم يقدموا فحص بالغرفة التانية

بعدو في طلاب عم يقدموا فحص بالغرفة التانية

Lower your (pl) voice! There are still students taking their examinations in the next room

أنا بروح عالنادي كل يوم بس لسة ما عم ينزل وزني

بس بعدو وزني ما عم ينزل

I go to the gym every day but I’m still not losing weight

ديانا لسة ما قررت اذا رح تجي للحفلة اليوم باليل

ديانا بعدا ما قررت اذا رح تجي للحفلة اليوم باليل

Diana still hasn’t decided if she is coming to the party tonight

بتعرفِ اذا لسة ليزا هي مديرة الشركة؟

بتعرفِ اذا بعدا ليزا هي مديرة الشركة؟

Do you(f) know if Lisa is still the manager of the company?

كيف رح نروح  عالبحر الميت هلق؟ لسة الدنيا عم تمطر

بعدا الدنيا عم تمطر

How are we going to the Dead Sea now? It is still raining

شو صار لأبو علي؟ صار أسبوع ولسة دكانتو مسكرة

صار أسبوع وبعدا دكانتو مسكرة

What happened to Abo Ali? It has been a week and his shop is still closed

الولاد لساتن معصبين منك لأنو ما خليتن يروحوا عالسينما

الولاد بعدن معصبين منك لأنو ما خليتن يروحوا عالسينما

The children are still mad at you (m) for not letting them go to the cinema

فيقوا ياجماعة! صارت الساعة 10 الصبح ولسة انتوا نايمين؟

صارت الساعة 10 الصبح وبعدكن نايمين؟

Wake up (pl)! It’s already 10 in the morning and you all are still sleeping?

لسة انت عايش بنفس البناية؟

بعدك عايش بنفس البناية؟

Are you (m) still living in the same building?

ليش لساتك فايق لهالوقت؟

ليش بعدك فايق لهالوقت؟

Why are you still awake at this hour?

إنتِ لساتِك بأستراليا؟

إنتِ بعدِك بأستراليا؟

Are you (f) still in Australia?

إنتِ لساتك بتحبِ هداك الشخص؟

إنتِ بعدِك بتحبِ هداك الشخص؟

Are you(f) still in love with that guy?

لسة ما خلصتِ من المهمة؟

بعدِك ما خلصتِ من المهمة؟

You’re (f) still not finished with the task?

لسة مش متأكد من اللون الّي رح ادهن فيه غرفتي

بعدني مش متأكد من اللون الّي رح ادهن فيه غرفتي

I’m still not sure what color to choose to paint my room

رح أتأخر، لساتي علقان بزحمة السير

بعدني علقان بزحمة السير

I will be late, I’m still stuck in the traffic jam

[For South Levantine Arabic, you can say علقان بالأزمة instead]

(انا ما بعرف كتير. لساتني عم اتعلّم بس رح حاول (أحاول) ساعدك (أساعدك

(بعدني عم اتعلّم بس رح حاول (أحاول) ساعدك (أساعدك

I don’t know much, I’m still learning, but I’ll try to help you

عطينا دقيقة، لسة عم نحاول نحلّ اللغز

بعدنا عم نحاول نحلّ اللغز

Give us a minute, we are still trying to solve the puzzle

حمود ربك أنو لساتنا عايشين

حمود ربك أنو بعدنا عايشين

Be grateful that we are still alive

~~~

That’s it, folks! I hope you find this post useful!

Take care and I’ll see ya in the hosh,

Lyn

The post How To Say “Still” In Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.

In each post, I will demonstrate how just by knowing one verb in its three-letter root form (Form I) will enable you to use the verb in its other forms.

I always thought that it makes more sense to be taught all the verbs from the same root at the same time rather than at different points in the language journey.

The meanings of the verb in its other forms can easily be guessed once you grasp how the 10-verbs form system works.

And I hope to demonstrate that through sentence examples and seeing for yourself the pattern that arises.

This series of posts might be especially useful for those learning Spoken Arabic without any formal background in MSA/Fosha.

So for the first post of an ongoing series, we’ll begin with a simple verb:

عرف

In Spoken Arabic, the verb عرف can be used in the following forms:

• Verb Form I
• Verb Form II
• Verb Form V
• Verb Form VII
• Verb Form VIII

*Note: Audio recordings in this post were recorded by native Syrian speakers.

Verb Form I

Meaning:

• to know
• to recognise/identify

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

• to know

شكلك مألوف، بعتقد اني بعرفك

You look familiar, I think I know you

 ما كِنت بعرف أنو عندك حساسية للمأكولات البحرية

I didn’t know that you are allergic to seafood

زوجي ما عرف أنو عيد ميلادي كان مبارح

My husband did not know that yesterday was my birthday

كِنتي بتعرفي ولا مابتعرفي أنو كان لازم تسلمي المشروع اليوم؟

Did you (f) know or did you not know that you were supposed to submit your project today?

مجموعة الأولاد غشّوا بفحصهن (بفحصهم) الأخير على الرغم من أنو بيعرفوا أنو ممكن ينفصلوا بسبب هي الشغلة

The group of boys cheated on their final tests even though they knew they could get expelled

• to recognise/identify

In Spoken Arabic, natives use the Form I to refer to both “know” and “recognise/identify”. Whether they mean “know” or “recognise/identify” will thus depend on the context.

Note that for contexts with a more serious or formal tone, the verb Form V is used instead to refer to “recognise/identify”. 

ما عرفتك بقصة شعرك الجديدة

I could not (did not) recognise you with your new haircut

جواد ضعف كتير لدرجة ما قدر يعرف حالو بالمراية

Jawad lost a lot of weight to the point that he cannot recognise himself in the mirror

بيقولو انو الطفل بيعرف صوت امو دغري بعد الولادة

It is said that a child (can) recognise its mother’s voice soon after birth

حابة اشتري هاد الفستان اونلاين بس كيف بدي أعرف الأصلي من التقليد؟

I want to buy this dress online but how can I tell [recognise/know] the original from the fake?!

شفت شي عم يطير بالسما اليوم بس ما قدرت أعرف شو هو

I saw something flying in the sky today but I could not identify what it was

Verb Form II

Meanings:

• to introduce
• to define
• How Would I Know?!

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

• to introduce

سامي، بدي أعرّفك على أخوي الأصغر مني ،حسين

Sami, I would like to introduce you to my younger brother, Hussein.

تعال على حفلتي بكرى. بدي أعرّفك على رفقاتي

Come to my party tomorrow. I want to introduce you to my friends

ممكن تعرّفني على مديرك؟ بتمنى أنو أشتغل بشركتك بعد التخرج

Is it possible for you to introduce me to your manager? I hope to work at your company after graduation.

انفصلت ليزا عن صديقا (صديقها) من جديد، وكل رفقاتا (رفقاتها) عم يحاولوا يعرّفوها على رفقاتهن (رفقاتهم) الشباب

Lisa has just broken up with her boyfriend and all her friends are trying to introduce her to their male friends.

• to define

طيب يا صفّ, سؤال…كيف بتعرّفوا السعادة؟

Ok class, a question…how do you define happiness?

ونستون تشرشل بيعرّف النجاح على أنه القدرة على الانتقال من الفشل للفشل من دون فقدان الحماس

Winston Churchill defines success as the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm

• How Would I Know?!

This got to be one of my favourite phrases because it is usually said either in a tone of exasperation that may involve some eye-rolling, or in a tone of indifference like a half-arsed reply

So the phrase is…

شو بيعرّفني / شو بعرّفني

and you can translate it as “how would I know?”, “how am I supposed to know?”, “how in the world am I supposed to know”, “how the h*ll am I supposed to know”…you get the drift.

Here are some examples:

مين كسر الصحن؟-
وانا شو بيعرّفني؟ بكون حدا من الصغار-

Who broke the plate? // How would I know? It could be one of the children

 امتى رح ينتهي الفيروس؟-
الله أعلم, أنا شو بيعرّفني؟-

When will the virus end? // God only knows, how would I know?

Verb Form V

Meanings:

• to get to know s/one
• to be introduced to s/one or s/thing
• to get to know about something [~to learn/discover]
• to identify/recognise  (for contexts with a more serious/formal vibe)

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

كيف تعرّفت على ابن عمي حسين؟

How did you know my cousin Hussein?

تعرّفت على حسين بحفلة عيد ميلاد روان السنة الماضية

I got to know Hussein during Rawan’s birthday party last year.

هي تعرّفت على زوجها من خلال رحلة عمل لاسبانيا، ورح يحتفلوا بعيد زواجهن (زواجهم) العاشر الشهر الجاي

She got to know her husband during a business trip to Spain and they will be celebrating their 10th anniversary next month.

العروس والعريس تعرّفوا على بعضهم من خلال صديقهم المشترك

The bride and groom were introduced to each other through a mutual friend

بتصدقوا؟ تعرّفنا على الملكة رانيا الليلة الماضية خلال حفلة خاصّة

Can you (pl) believe it? We were introduced to Queen Rania last night at a private function

شوف هاد الفيديو ورح تتعرّف أكتر عن تاريخ هي (هاي) الدولة

Watch this video and you’ll get to know (learn) more about the history of this country

حضرنا المحاضرة مبارح وتعرّفنا على فوائد التأمل

We attended the lecture yesterday and got to know a lot about the benefits of meditation

(الدفاع المدني لاقو جثث بالبحر بس ما حدا قدر يتعرّف عليهن (عليهم

The Civil Defense found dead bodies in the sea but nobody was able to identify them

Verb Form VII

This verb form is the passive version of verb Form I.

Passive meaning that there is no subject performing the action of the verb. In other words, there is no doer of the action.

Since the tense is passive, this verb form is not as common in Spoken Arabic as the other forms.

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Here are some examples:

لسا ما انعرف امتى رح يخلص الحجر

It is not yet known when the quarantine will be over

هاد الشي بينعرف لما يلاقو لقاح للمرض

This will be known when they find a vaccine for the illness

للأسف ما في دليل كافي لينعرف القاتل

(Lit. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence for the killer to be identified)

~ Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to identify the killer

Verb Form VIII

Meaning:

• to admit, confess, acknowledge
• to recognise (in the political sense)

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

عمر مابقت يصدّق خطيبته بعدما اعترفتله بأنها كذبت عليه عن ماضيها

Omar could no longer trust his fiancé after she confessed to lying to him about her past

على الرغم من أنو حسن اعترف أنو هو كان على خطأ وندمان على أخطائو، أهلو ما سامحوه

Even though Hassan has acknowledged that he was wrong and regretful for his wrongdoings, his parents did not forgive him

حبيبتي، أنا أسف، أنا بعتذر.. بعترف اني غلطت معك

Darling, I’m sorry, I apologise…I admit that I’ve wronged you

مجموعة الشباب المراهقين اعترفوا أنهن (أنهم) سرقوا من دكانة أبو علي

The group of teenage boys has confessed to stealing from Abo Ali’s shop

السودان كانت أول دولة اعترفت بسيادة جنوب السودان لما استقل ب ٢٠١١

Sudan became the first country to recognise South Sudan’s sovereignty when it gained independence in 2011

في كم دولة ما بتعترف بإنو تايوان دولة مستقلة

There are some countries that do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state

~End~

Note that the verb عرف also exists in verb X (Form 10) [استعرف – يستعرف] to mean “to ask for information”, but since it is rarely used in Spoken Arabic, I’ve decided to exclude it from this post.

Soooo are you able to see some sort of pattern from the examples provided?  The pattern or link between some verb forms might be more apparent than the others.

Anyhoo, here’s a picture taken from The 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic by Fridrik Tiedemann that summarises how the 10-verbs form system works:

~~~

And…that’s it! The Arabic verb is, after all, JUST a three-letter word

If you found this post useful and would like me to continue with this series, make sure to leave a comment below!

Till then, take care, stay safe and I’ll see you around in the hosh.

Lyn

The post The Arabic Verb Is Just A Three-Letter Word: عرف (Levantine) appeared first on theLevanTongue.

I’m guessing that the significance of bread in the Middle Eastern culture is perhaps similar to the significance of rice in my part of the world (South East Asia).

There are tons of articles online about the importance of bread in the Middle East and what it signifies but I really like the introduction of this article (it’s an easy read). Recipes on how to bake Middle Eastern bread are included

#1) بيناتنا خبز وملح

Literal translation: There are salt and bread between us

Meaning:

Since the act of sharing bread and salt is a symbol of hospitality, the expression means that we have established/forged some sort of relation/friendship/connection between us.

Here are some examples:

ما بدي انزع صحبتي معو, في بيناتنا خبز وملح

(The verb is أنزع Syrian Arabic. Jordanians would use the verb أخرب instead)

I don’t want to ruin my friendship with him for we have built a good rapport.

كيف هيك بتتركني وبتمشي؟ شكلك نسيت الخبز والملح اللي بيناتنا

How could you leave me and walk away? It seems that you have forgotten the bond forged between us.

مو عيب عليك؟ نحنا جيران وبيناتنا خبز وملح، بتحكي علي قدام الناس بالعاطل؟

Are you not ashamed? We are neighbors with good relations between us. How could you badmouth me to others?

#2) ما معه حق ربطة خبز

Literal translation:

-He doesn’t have a bundle of bread worth

-He doesn’t have anything that worth a bundle of bread

Meaning: He does not have any money

Further insight:

The phrase is used to describe a person who does not have any money.

In general, bread is considered a cheap staple food.

Thus, not to have a bundle of bread means that the person is broke/poor as he or she does not have sufficient money to afford something that is already considered a cheap staple food.

Here are some examples:

اليوم صرفت كل شي, ما ضل معها حق ربطة خبز

She spent everything today. She doesn’t have any money left

عم يشتغل طول النهار ويا دوب عم يطلّع حق ربطة خبز

He is working all day and yet barely making any money

كيف بدي أدفع المخالفة؟ ما عندي حتى حق ربطة خبز

How am I supposed to pay the fine? I don’t even have a single cent!

لك الفستان هاد كتير غالي وانا مامعي حق ربطة خبز

hey, this dress is very expensive and I don’t have money

#3) بده فت خبز

Literal translation: He needs a small piece of bread

Meaning: He is naive and inexperienced

Further insight:

The word فت describes a small piece of bread that has been torn apart. For example, if you’re feeding a child bread, you would feed him by tearing a small piece of the bread first.

Also, there is a Levantine dish called “Fatteh” (فتة) that consists of many small pieces of fresh or toasted bread along with other ingredients.

Anyway, this phrase is used to describe someone who lacks experience/exposure and still has got a lot more to learn.

Depending on contexts, it may be said mockingly or condescendingly. It can also be said jokingly when used between close friends.

Here are some examples:

لساتك صغير، بدك فت خبز

You’re still young, you need years of experience

انت كيف قاعد ورا طاولة المدير ،لسا (لسة) بدك فت خبز كتير

How is it that you’re a manager (lit: sitting behind the manager’s desk)? You lack experience and exposure (and many more years before you can be a manager)

ما بتعرف كيف تطلب منها موعد؟ لسا بدك فت خبز كتير

You don’t know how to ask her out? You still got a lot to learn

The phrase is also mentioned in this clip.

Watch this video on YouTube.

In the clip, the man is asking the woman if she agrees to the marriage proposal between his son and her daughter.

The woman hesitated to agree to the proposal and at 17:21, you can hear her says:

بس يعني حاسة إنو لسا بده فت خبز

but I feel that he needs more experience

#4)  اعطي الخباز خبزه لو حتى اكل نصه

Literal translation:

Give the baker the dough (his bread) even if he were to eat half of it

Meaning:

It is better to seek help from someone who is a professional or experienced in the matter than trying to solve it yourself -even if that means having to fork out more money.

Further insight:

This proverb can be used as a piece of advice to someone who’s trying to save money by fixing the problem himself or hiring someone who is not knowledgeable to solve it.

Because in the end, it will cost the person more if the matter is not handled properly and became worse instead.

Alternatively, you can use this proverb to the person after the damage has been done as a way of saying “I told you so” or “you should have known better”.

Thus, you can say something like this:

ما بتعرف المثل اللي بيقول اعطي الخباز خبزه لو اكل نصه؟

Don’t you know about the proverb that says “give the baker the dough even if he were to eat half of it?”

~~~

That is all for this post! I hope you learned something new

Till then, take care and I’ll see you around in the hosh,

Lyn

The post 4 Expressions In Levantine Arabic That Contain The Word “Bread” appeared first on theLevanTongue.

This post is all about the three popular negation words – مو, مش & ما

It is quite common for beginners to be unsure of which word to use in different scenarios.

Thus, I’m going to address this confusion and hopefully by the end of this post, your doubts will be gone and you can move forward using these words confidently.

So yalla, let’s begin!

This post will be divided into a few different parts:

1. Negating the KISS way (my recommendation)
2. Using ما to negate verbs + a few common exceptions
3. All about مش and مو & using them to negate everything else
4. In Reality… (The flexible nature of Spoken Arabic)
5. Bonus – FOUR additional ways to negate (1 letter & 3 words!)

#1) Negating the KISS way

KISS is a famous design principle acronym for “keep it simple, stupid”.

And since Spoken Arabic is a flexible language in nature, there are really no standard rules which can then make learning quite confusing.

So in this post, I will share my recommendation on how to negate and use the three negation words the KISS way (i.e the simple and straight-forward way).

There are two rules which I generally follow. They are:

Rule #1: Use ما to negate verbs  + some other words (which I will mention below)

Rule #2: Use مش or مو to negate everything else

And of course, in reality, these rules are not always the case due to the flexible nature of Spoken Arabic…

…but life is much easier if you just keep in mind the KISS way of negating and stick to it (like I do!)

#2) Using ما to negate verbs + a few others

So you want to negate a verb? Just use ما.

Here are some examples:

ليش ما جيت عالجامعة مبارح؟

Why didn’t you come to university yesterday?

انا ما بحكي انجليزي

I don’t speak English

أحمد نباتي وما بيحب يآكل لحم

Ahmad is a vegetarian and he doesn’t like to eat meat

NOTE: Only when using the verb in its command form (giving orders), you can then use either ما or لا to negate it.

For example, if you want to say “Don’t talk to me”, you can either say

لا تحكي معي

or

ما تحكي معي

In addition, there are a few words that are not exactly verbs but they are still negated using ما.

The following are the common words where ما is used to negate:

• بده (he wants) + the rest of conjugated pronouns
• عنده (he has) + the rest of conjugated pronouns
• معه / معاه (with him = he has) + the rest of conjugated pronouns
• في (there is/are)

You will need to know how to conjugate these words for the other pronouns (she, they, you, etc) and then use ما when negating them.

Here are some examples:

ما بده يجي عالحفلة

He doesn’t want to come to the party

ما بدي أعرف شو اللي عم بيصير

I don’t want to know what is going on/happening

ما عندن (عندهم) اولاد

They don’t have any children

نحنا (احنا) جوعانين وما عنا (عندنا) اكل

We are hungry and we don’t have food

ما معي (معاي) اي مصاري هلأ

I don’t have any money now

ما معي سيجارة…معك سيجارة؟

I don’t have a cigarette with me now…do you have one?

ما في سكر بالشاي

There is no sugar in the tea

ما في داعي تعمل هيك

There is no need for you to do this

في شي مستحيل؟ لأ, ما في شي مستحيل

Is there anything impossible? No, there is nothing impossible

#3) All about مو and مش  + using them to negate everything else

Question #1: What’s the difference between مو and مش?

Answer: مش is used in all sub-dialects of Levantine Arabic but مو is a feature of Syrian Arabic.

Question #2: How do you pronounce مش?

Answer: There are two ways of pronouncing the word.

You can pronounce it as مِش [mish] or you can pronounce it as مُش [mush].

I personally found the pronunciation مِش [mish] being more common than مُش [mush] although it really depends on which area/city you’re looking at in the Levant.

Using مش and مو To Negate Everything Else

Here are some examples:

• Negating adjectives

ليش شكلك مش (مو) مبسوط اليوم؟

Why do you look unhappy today?

سيارتي الجديدة مش (مو) كبيرة

My new car is not big

• Negating adjectives that resemble active participles (Syrian Arabic)

The grammar term is صفة مشبهة باسم الفاعل and includes words such as قدران , مرضان and سمعان, just to name a few.  Such words are generally used only in Syrian Arabic.

Note: It is possible to negate these adjectives using ما as well. Both ما and مو are acceptable and used in Spoken Syrian Arabic.

هي مو قدرانة تساعدِك

She is not able to help you (f)

لا,لا, انا مو مرضان. الله يخليك, خليني روح معك

No, no, I’m not ill. Please let me come with you

كل ما نادي لابني يساعدني بالمطبخ، بيعمل حاله مو سمعان

Whenever I call my son to help me in the kitchen, he would pretend not to hear

• Negating active participles (اسم الفاعل)

وين اقرب بنك؟ والله مش (مو) عارف

Where’s the nearest bank? I don’t know

انا مش (مو) فاهمة شو عم بيصير

I (f) don’t understand what is happening

عشان المطر, مش (مو) رايحين عالسينما

Because of the rain, we are not going to the cinema

• Negating passive participles (اسم المفعول)

الدكان مش (مو) مفتوح اليوم

The grocery store is not open today

اصحابك مش (مو) معزومين على الحفلة

Your friends are not invited to the party

• Negating modal verbs (such as ممكن, لازم, مفروض, ممنوع, etc)

مش (مو) ممكن آجي لعندك هلأ

It’s not possible for me to go to you now

مش (مو) لازم تزورني كل يوم

You don’t have to visit me every day

مش (مو) مفروض تيجي عالشغل وانت مريض

You’re not supposed to come to work if you’re ill

التدخين مش (مو) ممنوع في الأماكن العامة

Smoking is not forbidden in public spaces

• Negating nouns/pronouns/everything else

هيداك (هداك) الزلمة اللي واقف هنيك (هناك) مش (مو) أحمد

That guy that is standing there is not Ahmad

هاي السيارة الحمرا مش (مو) سيارتك

This red car is not your car

مش (مو) أنا اللي كتبت المقالة

It is not me who wrote the article

هاي الشنطة مش (مو) اللي

this bag is not mine (does not belong to me)

خلاص! مش (مو) وقتا (وقتها) هلأ

that’s enough! Now it’s not the (right) time

اخوكي مش (مو) هون

your (f) brother is not here

• Negating عند (when it refers to a location)

Depending on contexts, the word عند can also mean “at”.

For example,

العزيمة اليوم على الغدا عند أحمد

Today’s lunch invitation is at Ahmad’s place

***The word can also be conjugated (عندي, عنده, عندك, etc) and thus should not be confused with the meaning of “have” (he has, she has, I have, etc).

For example, if you want to ask somebody to come to your place (house), you can say:

تعال لعندي

come to my house (or wherever I’m at right now)

*There are natives who say تعى instead of تعال

Or if you want to tell the person that you will arrive at his location (wherever he’s currently at – house/office etc) in 5 minutes, then you can say:

خمس دقايق وبكون عندك

I’ll reach your place in 5 minutes = I’ll be there in 5 mins

So if you want to negate عند in this context, you’ll have to use مش or مو.

Here are some examples:

لأ, جزدانك مش (مو) عندي

No, your purse is not at my place

دوّرت على موبايلي في غرفة محمود ومتأكد انه مش (مو) عنده

I looked for my phone in Mahmoud’s room and I’m sure that it’s not at his (room)

#4) In Reality…

In reality, you might hear natives using ما to negate some of the things mentioned in Part #3 above.

So besides using مو and مش, you might hear natives using ما to negate non-verbs.

Spoken Arabic is after all flexible in nature with no rigid rules or structure.

So for example, you may hear natives say…

انا ما مبسوط

I’m not happy

ما حلوة

not pretty/nice

ما ممكن

not possible

In addition, as mentioned above, adjectives that resemble active participles (like مرضان, سمعان, قدران) can also be negated using ما.

However, for simplicity’s sake, I would just stick to the KISS way of negating.

#5) Bonus – FOUR additional ways to negate!

1st Way:

So apart from the three words mentioned above, you can also negate using the word…

مان

However, this word is only used in North Levantine Arabic. 

Here is how you conjugate for the word:

The word is typically NOT used to negate verbs.

Here are some examples:

مانّي عايزة حدا يساعدني

I (f) don’t need anyone to help me

*The word عايز / عايزة (need) is a feature of Lebanese Arabic. The rest of the sub-dialects would use محتاج/محتاجة instead

أحمد مانّو عايش بسوريا, هو عايش بلبنان هلأ

Ahmad does not live in Syria, he lives in Lebanon now

مانّا من عيلة غنية

We are not from a rich family

انت مانّك زلمة. بعدك ولد

You’re not a man. You’re still a child

Note: You can still say مو or مش instead of مان in these sentences

2nd Way:

The second additional negation word is…

مال

This word is generally used only in Syrian Arabic.

Here is how you conjugate for the word:

Here are some examples:

نجحت بالإمتحان بس مالي مبسوط

I passed my exam but I’m not happy

(ديانا مالا (مالها) غيرانة من ريما مع انو احمد حكى معا (معها

Diana is not jealous of Reema even though Ahmad talked to her

أحمد مالو بالبيت. رحنا اكتر من مرة لعندو و ما حدا فتح الباب

Ahmad is not at home. We went more than once to his place and nobody opened the door

3rd Way:

Instead of negating using مش or مو, there are times where the word غير is used.

However, this way of negating leans towards MSA/Fusha and thus is less common in Spoken Arabic.  The word غير is likely to be said in more formal settings. 

Example:

المدير غير موجود اليوم

The manager is not in (is not present) today

**Using مش or مو instead of غير is more common in Spoken Arabic.

4th Way:

Last but not least, you can also negate by adding the letter ش at the back of them.

This way of negating is generally more common in South Levantine Arabic. You will definitely hear this in Jordan and Palestine.

• Verbs

So for example, if you want to say “I don’t know”, you can choose from one of the three options below:

ما بعرف

بعرفش

ما بعرفش

I don’t know

Here’s another example:

والله ما عملت إشي

والله عملتش إشي

والله ما عملتش إشي

I swear I didn’t do anything

*In South Levantine Arabic, the word إشي is more commonly used than شي

There are also a few non-verbs where the letter ش can be added to the back.

• في

As mentioned above, you can negate the word في (there is/are) using ما. However, you can also negate it by adding the letter ش at the back of في

ما في

ما فيش

فيش

The three phrases above have the same meaning.

*An alternative spelling is فش (without the ي)

 ما فيش إشي اسمه حب

There is no such thing called love

فيش شغل بالبلد

There are no jobs in the country

• مع

الحكومة معهاش فلوس

The government does not have money

*معهاش = ما معها

معناش وقت, بدنا نروح هلأ

We don’t have time, we have to go now

*معناش = ما معنا

• عند (to have)

ما عندي = عنديش/ ما عنديش

I don’t have

بعرفش استخدم الكمبيوتر وما عنديش طولة بال

I don’t know how to use the computer and I don’t have the patience

**These are just some of the more common examples where the letter ش is added to the back. I’m sure that there are other words beside the ones mentioned.

Summary

If you’re overwhelmed, it may just be better to stick to what I call negating the KISS way. This is what I personally do when I speak Levantine Arabic.

Rule #1: Use ما to negate verbs + a few other words

Rule #2: Use مش or مو to negate everything else

~~~

So I hope that this post clears up any doubts you may have regarding the various negation words in Levantine Arabic

Note that the word ما can be used in a variety of ways and not just as a negation word. Hopefully, I will address this topic in a future post.

But until then, take care and I’ll see you around in the hosh.

Lyn

The post How To Use ما, مش and مو as negation words in Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Yesterday, I shared a song called “Bala Wala Shi” on theLevanTongue’s Facebook page.

Have you listened to it yet?

In this post, I will be sharing with you the ways native speakers use the words بلا and ولا in Levantine Arabic.

Also, did you know that there is a difference between ولا and ولّا?

The difference lies in the shadda (duh) but what about the difference in meaning and usage?

Yalla, read on to find out!

#1) بلا (Bala)

The most common way of looking at the word is to think of it as the equivalent of the English word “without”.

In the song above, you will see many sentences with the word بلا that were translated as “without”.

Here are some additional common everyday examples:

لو سمحت, بدي فنجان قهوة بلا سكر

Excuse me, I would like a cup of coffee without sugar

سارة ما بتحب البطاطا بلا كتشب

Sara doesn’t like french fries (lit: potatoes) without ketchup

بتمنى اعيش بعالم بلا حدود

I hope to live in a world without borders

Note: Since the word بلا works in a similar manner as the English word, “without”, it is perfectly fine to replace it with the word, بِدون, which also means “without”.

It is also possible to add possessive pronouns to the word بلا. For example:

بلاك

without you

مش (مو) مشكلة. بقدر أعيش بلاكي

No problem. I can live without you (f)

شكلا (شكلها) الرحلة طويلة بلاك

The trip seems long without you

(this is a line from the song, 12 Sa3a by Adonis)

خطيبتي كانت عندا (عندها) دوام ف المشوار كان مش (مو) حلو بلاها

My finance had work so the trip was not great without her

The phrase بلاها or بلاه can also mean along the lines of “forget it”. Note that depending on how you say it and the context, it can sound impolite to say it.

بلاها / بلاه

Forget it [be without it]

Or you can also say:

بلا منها / بلا منه

Use بلا منه or بلاه when referring to masculine words. Use بلا منها or بلاها when referring to feminine words.

Here are some examples:

الصراحة محتاج مساعدتِك بس اذا انتي مو(مش) فاضية, بلاها. عادي

Frankly, I need your (f) help but if you’re not free, forget it. It’s okay

يلا نروح نتغدا وبلاها آخر محاضرة

Yalla, let’s go have lunch and skip [forget about] the last lecture

شو رايك نطلع هالأسبوع (هذا الأسوع) على البحر؟ :A

والله انا بقول بلاها الطلعة هالأسبوع :B

A: What do you think of us going out to the sea this week?

B: I say let’s forget about going out this week

خلينا نرجع, نسيت دفتري بالبيت :A

بلاه الدفتر, رح نتأخر :B

A: Let’s go back, I forgot my notebook at home

B: Forget the notebook, we will be late

The word بلا can also mean “don’t”. Whether it’s a suggestion or an order, depends on the context.

Example #1: A mother says to her child

بلاها الشوكولاتة هلأ, خليها لبعد الغداء

Don’t (eat) the chocolate now, keep it till after lunch

Example #2: A teacher to a student

بلاها الجية متأخر, احسن ما تنفصل

Don’t come late, or else you’ll be dismissed/kicked out

Here are some common phrases/chunks with the word بلا that you’ll hear natives say:

بلا طعمة

This phrase literally means “without taste”.

And the idea is that anything that is tasteless got to suck. Therefore, anything that is described as بلا طعمة has to be crappy, nonsensical, a waste of time…you get the idea.

So for example:

حكي بلا طعمة

Talk without taste = Empty talk/talking nonsense/talking rubbish

شو هالحكي بلا طعمة؟

What is all this nonsense [nonsensical/empty talk]?

Another common phrase that uses the word بلا is…

احسن من بلا

Better than nothing

لقينا بالبرّاد (التلاجة) زيتون وخبز أحسن من بلا ونضل جوعانين

We found olives and bread in the fridge which is better than nothing and (better than) staying hungry

وسام عم يشتغل جرسون أحسن من بلا ويضل عاطل عن الشغل

Wisam is working as a waiter which is better than nothing and being unemployed

عاطل عن الشغل = unemployed

In addition, if you’re using the word بلا with a verb, you’ll have to add the word ما after it.

بلا ما تحطي مكياج وانتي رايحة للعزا

Don’t you (f) put on make-up when you’re going to the wake (social gathering before the funeral)

إذا ابنك تزوج بلا ما يقلّك (يقولك), شو بتعمل؟

If your son got married without telling you, what would you do?

يا جماعة…بلا ما نحكم, خلينا نفهم

Hey everyone…let’s not judge, let’s (try to) understand

خلينا نكمّل المناقشة بلا ما نحكي سياسة

Let’s continue the discussion without talking politics

~~~

بلا

Yay! We have come to the end of the section for the word, “bala”!

Need another song to remember the word بلا? Here’s a popular song by Mashrou Leila which contains the word numerous times. Click here to check out the lyrics and English translation.

#2) ولا (Wala)

There are generally two huge ways of using the word ولا.

The first way is to use it as an emphasis.

Let’s take a look at some examples so that you get a better idea of what I’m saying…

! ولا كلمة

Not a word! = Keep quiet/Shut up!

ولا حدا / ولا أي حدا

Not a single person = anyone/nobody

ما بعرف ولا أي حدا هون بهاي الغرفة

I don’t know anyone at all in this room

ولا نهار / ولا يوم

Not a day

ولا نهار مرق علي من دون ما يصير مشاكل

Not a day passed me by without problems occurring

ولا واحدة من صاحباتك بتعرف تسوق

Not one of your friends (f) know how to drive

ولا مرة

Not a single time/moment = never

مع اني كنت اشتغل كل يوم معه, ولا مرة حكيت معه

Even though I used to work with him every day, I’ve never spoken to him

ولا عمري

never in my life

ولا عمري سافرت برا بلدي ونفسي سافر (أسافر) شي يوم

Never in my life have I traveled outside of my country before and I’d love to travel someday

/ولا ليرة / قرش/ شيكل

Not a single cent

(قرش is more commonly said in Jordan and شيكل shekel in Palestine)

كيف بدي أدفع الإيجار؟ ما معي ولا ليرة

How am I supposed to pay the rent? I don’t have a single cent with me!

ولا فكرة

Not a single idea

ما عندي ولا فكرة

I have no idea at all

ما بيخطرلي ولا فكرة

Not a single idea crosses my mind = I can’t think of anything at all

So let’s take a look at the title of the song, Bala Wala Shi….

بلا = without

ولا شي = not a thing =nothing

بلا ولا شي…بحبك

Without nothing at all…I love you

For example:

شو صار؟ :A

shu Sar?

What happened?

ولا شي :B

wala shii

Nothing

The second way you can use the word ولا is exactly like how you would the English phrase, “neither…nor…”.

However, the word ولا will usually be accompanied with the word لا.

Here are some examples

لا أحمد ولا محمد اجوا على الحفلة

Neither Ahmad nor Mohamad came to the party

لا البرشا ولا الريال رح يفوز السنة هاي

Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid will win this year

Sometimes, the word ما is said instead of لا

ما بعرفك ولا مرة حكيت معك

Neither do I know you nor have I spoken to you before

So, let’s take a look at another part of the song:

ولا في بهالحب مصاري
ولا ممكن فيه ليرات
ولا ممكن فيه اراضي
ولا فيه مجوهرات

If I were to look at ولا as an emphasis, then the phrase ولا ممكن would mean “not possible at all”.

If I were to ugly translate these lines in a horrible manner such that the usage of ولا as an emphasis is made clearer…it would be:

This love involves no money at all

it can never (not possible at all) involve coins

it can never involve lands (properties)

it does not involve jewelry at all

Then again, it is also possible to translate the lyrics by looking at ولا to mean “nor” and thus…

Nor it (the love) involves coins…nor it involves lands…

Either way, what a lovely song!

#3) ولّا (Walla)

Now that you’ve learned about the word ولا, it is useful to know that there’s another similar-looking word that carries a different meaning.

And the word is ولّا – with the shadda.

The usage of the word is like the English word “or”.

Here are some everyday examples with the word ولّا

خلصتي أكل ولّا لسه؟

Are you (f) done eating or not yet?

بدك قهوة ولّا شاي؟

Do you want coffee or tea?

!يلا! بدك تيجي معنا ولّا شو؟

Yalla! Do you want to come along with us or what?!

سمعت إنك زعلان مني. صح ولّا لأ؟

I heard that you’re upset with me. Is that right or not [True or false]?

As you can see from the examples, the word is most commonly used when comparing just two items or two possibilities/options.

Note: Since the word ولّا works in a similar manner like “or”, it is also perfectly fine to replace the word ولّا with او in the above sentences.

~~~

That’s it, guys!

Hope you learn lots from this post

Take care and I’ll see you around in the hosh,

Lyn

The post How To Use ولّا, ولا and بلا In Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.

I’ll also share some useful and common expressions that you can use.

So yalla, let’s begin!

**Note: Audio recordings of sample sentences are done by a native Syrian speaker. South Levantine Arabic version of words in the sentences will be placed in brackets.

#1) The verb – to be able to

قِدِر – بِقْدَر / بْيِقْدَر

*Note that the letter ق is typically pronounced as a hamzah ء or like a glottal stop.

In general, the South Levantine Arabic conjugation of the present tense is

بِقدَر

…and the North Levantine Arabic conjugation of the present tense is

بْيِقْدَر

Examples:

لما يخلص امتحانه, بيقدر(بقدر) يعمل شو ما بده

Once his exams end, he can do whatever he wants

طبعا بقدر سوق (أسوق) السيارة. عندي شهادة سواقة

Of course, I can drive a car. I have a driving license.

(MSA version –> رخصة قيادة)

اذا بدِك, بتقدري تستعملي موبايلي

If you(f) want, you can use my phone

To use this verb to describe the inability to do something, simply negate it by using ما

Examples:

لو سمحت, ما بتقدر تدخّن هون. التدخين ممنوع

Excuse me, you can’t smoke here. Smoking is not allowed

(بنتي ما بتقدر تشوف بدون نضارتا (نضارتها

My daughter can’t see without her glasses

Glasses/spectacles –> نضارة / نظارة or عونيات(Lebanese A.)

طلعت من المكان لانو ما قدرت اتحمل الريحة

I went out of the place because I couldn’t stand/tolerate the smell

(Instead of مكان, you can say مَطرَح)

UPDATE:

You can also add ش at the back of the verb in order to negate it.

This is generally a feature of South Levantine Arabic where it is more common to hear this type of negation in Jordan and Palestine.

So for example, if you want to say  “I could not…”, you can either say

ما قدرتش

or simply

قدرتش

#2) The active participle of the verb قدر 

In other words, the اسم الفاعل.

قادر – قادرة – قادرين

Examples:

إبنك قادر يغني بدون اي موسيقى لانه صوته قوي وحلو

Your son is able to sing without any music because his voice is strong and beautiful

(كل صبية قادرة تعيش لحالا (لحالها) وتعتمد ع حالا (لحالها

Every girl is able to live on her own and depend on herself

انتو قادرين تنجحوا بالمقابلة اذا وثقتوا بحالكن

You all can do well in the interview if you(pl) believe in yourself

To use this active participle to describe the inability to do something, simply negate it by using مِش / مُش / مو / ما

*مو –> Syrian Arabic

*مُش (mush)–> South Levantine Arabic

* to negate using ما is less common than the other two

Examples:

(والله نعسان بس مش قادر نام (أنام

I’m so sleepy but I can’t sleep

بعد سنين كتيرة, دانة لساتا (لساتها) مو قادرة تنسى حبيبا (حبيبها) القديم

After many years, Dana still can’t forget her ex-boyfriend/lover

*The youths nowadays will simply say اكس (ex) 

نحنا ما قادرين نطلع متل ما خططنا لانه الدنيا عم بتشتي بقوة

We can’t go out as planned because it’s raining heavily

#3) The Masdar (المصدر) of the verb قدر

When using the noun of the verb, the word is…

القُدرة

ability

Example:

القدرة على تعلُم أي شي (إشي) بيعتمد على ارادتك للتعلُم

The ability to learn anything depends on your willingness to learn

The opposite of the above word is

العَجْز

inability

Example:

انت انطردت من الشغل بسبب عجزك بإتباع التعليمات البسيطة

You are fired due to your inability to follow simple instructions

#4) The adjective that resembles the active participle of the verb (Syrian Arabic)

In other words, the صفة مشبهة بإسم الفاعل

Ok, forget that grammar term.

The words I’m referring to are:

قدران – قدرانة – قدرانين

*Note that this form is generally a feature of Syrian Arabic.

Examples:

هو قدران يشرب خمس فنجانين قهوة كل يوم الصبح

He can drink five cups of coffee every morning

انسى يللي كان. أنا قدرانة كون بلاك

Forget the past. I (f) can be without you

(Okay, this line is adapted from Najwa Karam’s song -بتعمل رأي)

أحمد وصْحابه قدرانين يضلو بلا اكل لتلات ايام

Ahmad and his friends are able to go on living without food for three days

To use this form to describe the inability to do something, simply negate it by using مِش /  مو / ما

Examples:

أخوي عنده موعد بكرا مع المدير ومو قدران يروح عشان مرضان

My brother has an appointment with the manager tomorrow and he can’t go because he’s sick

*The adjective مرضان (like قدران) is a feature of Syrian Arabic

صارلي تلات إيام مش قادرنة نام

It has been three days that I’m not able to sleep (well)

!عنّا امتحان بعد بكرا وما قدرانين نركّز

We have an exam the day after tomorrow and we can’t focus!

#5) في + suffix (North Levantine Arabic)

*Note that this form is more commonly used in North Levantine Arabic than South Levantine Arabic.

*For the conjugation of هُوّ, there are two ways to pronounce it. You can either say “fiii” or “fiiyoh”

**For the conjugation of “انا”, there are two variations. In general:

• فييّ (Fiiyii) is more commonly said by Lebanese
• فيني (Fiini) is more commonly said by Syrians.

Examples:

فيكن تساعدوني؟ سيارتي خربانة

Can you(pl) help me? My car broke down (ain’t working)

اي اكيد فينا نحاول نصلّح سيارتِك

Yes, of course, we can try to fix your car

To describe the inability to do something using this form, simply negate it by using ما

Examples:

ما فيك تدخّن هون

You(m) can’t smoke here.

آسف بس ما فيني ساعدك بهيدا الموضوع

Sorry but I can’t help you with this matter

Useful Levantine Arabic Expressions

#6) انت قَدْها وقَدُود

Or, in short:

انت قدها

Typically, the letter ق in the phrase is pronounced as a hamzah ء or a glottal stop

However, in South Levantine Arabic, you can also hear the letter ق pronounced like a “G”. –> enta gad-ha

In addition, the letter ه in the suffix ها is often not pronounced in North Levantine Arabic.

انت قدا

enta 2adda

(drop the letter ه).

So what does the phrase mean?

The idea behind the phrase is that you’re as big as the task or you’re the same size as the task…and therefore you can totally take on the task without any problems.

The task is within your capability, no matter how difficult or challenging it may be.

The word قدود is the plural of the word قد and it acts as a reinforcement or added emphasis that you indeed are able to take on the task.

Therefore, the phrase is often said as a word of encouragement to others.

It’s like saying:

Typical situations where you can use the phrase includes encouraging those sitting for examinations or going for job interviews.

#7) طِلِع / يطلع بإيدي

This phrase is used to describe any matter that is within your power or control.

Simply amend the possessive suffix attached to the word “hand” if you want to refer to others.

Examples:

انتي بتعرفي لو يطلع بايدي, على طول رح سافر (أسافر) لعندك

You know that if it’s within my means, I’ll immediately travel to where you are

والله يا ريت لو يطلع بايدنا كان كلنا نرجع وْلاد صغار

If only we have the power, we would all go back to being little kids

To use this phrase to describe the inability to do something, simply negate it by using ما

When you negate the phrase, you can think of it as the English equivalent of “out of my hands”, “beyond my reach” or “not within my power/control”.

Examples:

“!كلما صار شي سئء بهالبلد, دايما رح تسمع السياسيين بيقولوا “ما طلع بايدنا

When something bad happened in this country, you’ll always hear the politicians say “It wasn’t within our control”

ما عندي كتير مصاري ف ما رح يطلع بايدي أعمل شي

I don’t have much money so I will not be able to do anything (much)

#8)  بإيدي

This is just a shorter or simpler way of saying the above expression (#7).

Basically, it means “in my hand”.

For example:

لو كان بإيدي أروح لعندك, كنت جيت

If I could go to you, I would have come

To use this phrase to describe the inability to do something, simply negate it by using مِش / مُش / مو

When you negate it, then the meaning becomes “not in my hands”.

For example:

خلص. قلتلِك كم مرة انه الموضوع مش بايدي. روحي إسألي غيري

Enough. How many times have I told you (f) that the matter is not in my hands? Go and ask someone else

Similarly, don’t forget that you can amend the suffix attached to the word “hand” if you want to refer to others.

#9) على قد ما يقدر

as much/many as he can

For examples:

 رح حاول (أحاول) ساعدك على قد ما أقدر

I will try to help you as much as I can

تعال وكُول (كلُ) على قد ما بتقدر (ع) البوفيه مفتوح

Come and eat as much as you can at the open buffet

حاولي على قد ما بتقدري تخلصي واجباتِك قبل ما تروحي تنامي

Try as much as you (f) can to finish your homework before you go to sleep

#10) العين بصيرة والإيد قصيرة

This expression means “the eye sees but the hand/arm is short (can’t reach)”

So it is usually said in situations where someone wishes for something that is beyond his or her means/capability.

For example, you wish you can help a friend who needs financial help but neither are you in a good position to help. So you can say something like…

متل ما انت شايف,ما عندي شغل ووضعي تعبان ف صدقني لما قول العين بصيرة والإيد قصيرة

As you can see, I ain’t got a job and I’m in a bad state so believe me when I say “the eye sees but the arm can’t reach”

= I really want to help you but I can’t.

BONUS

قادرة

2adrah/2adreh

The word قادرة can be used to describe a woman who is tough and feisty, strong-headed, etc

Or perhaps a strong and independent woman who unfortunately often regarded as someone who is “difficult to handle/deal with”.

On the other hand, the word قادر is not really used to describe a man with the same characteristics.

~~~

Phew, what a long post but that’s it, folks!

What do you think? Are there any more words or phrases that I should add to this list? Let me know!

Till then, take care and I’ll see you around in the hosh,

Lyn

P.S. Don’t forget to like and follow my FB page

The post Describing Ability and Inability in Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Read on to find out the 4 common ways!

#1) But

Think of it as the Ammiya version of لكن (MSA word for ‘but’).

بقدر ساعدك (أساعدك) بس لازم تدفعلي خمسين دولار

I can help you but you’ll have to pay me 50 dollars

(كل يوم بْتِبْعَت له رسائل بس ما بِرُد عليها (عليّا

She sends him messages every day but he didn’t reply to her

سمعت هالخبرمن أحمد بس مش (مو) متأكد إذا صح ولا لأ

I heard the news from Ahmad but I’m not sure if it is true or not

#2) The moment / Once/ When

**Note that in these sentences, it is possible to use لما (when) instead of بس

**Note that these sentences are in the present/future tense. Apparently, the word لما is preferred when describing the past. Using بس will make the sentence sounds unnatural.

بس نكبر رح نزور باريس مع بعض

Once we grow up, we will visit Paris together

رح أحجر تذكرة باتجاه واحد لتركيا بس أتخرج

The moment I graduate, I will book a one-way ticket to Turkey

بس توصل عالمكان, اتّصل عليّ

Once you reach the place, give me a call

#3) Only / Just

إنتَ بَس ضَلَّك تسمع كلامه، قُلتِلَّك رح يوَرطَك ما صدَّقتني

You just keep on listening to what he says…I told you that he will get you into trouble, but you didn’t believe me

(إنت بس ضلك تضحك عليّ…رح أفرجيك شي يوم (نهار

Just keep on laughing at me/ making fun of me…One day, I’ll show you who’s boss / I’ll get back at you

**The phrase رح افرجيك literally means “I’ll show you” but it is often said as a threat

بدي بس كيلو تفاح لو سمحت

I just want one kilo of apples, please

بس خمسين دينار؟ وين الباقي يا زلمة؟

Only fifty dinars? Dude, where’s the rest?

#4) That’s enough /Stop it / That’s it

خلص حاج تنقّ. لهون وبس

Enough, stop nagging. I’ve had enough

** The literal meaning of the phrase لهون وبس is “till here and only”. It is often said to show frustration and to indicate that the person has crossed the line.

بس يا ولد, حاج تبكي

That’s enough, son. Stop crying

~~~

That’s all for now…can you think of any other ways to use the word بس ?

If you do, let me know in the comment section below

Till then, take care and I’ll see you around in the hosh,

Lyn

The post 4 Ways To Use The Word بس (bas) in Levantine Arabic appeared first on theLevanTongue.