Julia Boutros is a famous Lebanese singer and the song is one of my favourite songs by her.

So keep calm, play the song and learn a chunk (or two).

Here are the lyrics and my rough translation of the song:

بكرا شي نهار بحكيلك هالخبرية

Someday I’ll tell you the news

* بكرا  literally means ‘tomorrow’

عن يلي صار وعن هالحلم بعييني

About what happened and about the dream in my eyes

قصة مشوار و حدا بيعزا علي

A story of a trip and someone dear to me

***

قلبي واحتار ناوي يحكيلك عني

My heart is puzzled, it intends to tell you about me

شوية افكار ما بعمرن طلعوا مني

Some thoughts will never be revealed [come out of me]

وعن هالأسرار ما في داعي تسألني

And there is no need to ask me about these secrets

لحالي بقلك هنن بكرا شي نهار

I’ll tell you about them myself someday

***

وين بلاقيك بكرا بحطك بالصورة

Where can I find you, someday I’ll put you in a picture

وبلون فيك آيامي بفيّا ونورا

And colour you with the shadow and light of my days

*Okay, this is a literal translation but what she probably meant was that she wants to be with him in good and bad times

روح وخليك ضلك عيني زورا

Go and keep visiting my eyes

زورا…بس هالمرة محظورة

Visit (my eyes)…but this time around, it’s forbidden

*The word محظورة is pronounced as محضورة. In some parts of the Levant, the letter ظ is pronounced as ض

بكرا شي نهار

Someday…

Chunk ’em:

**”Chunk ’em is based on the language learning method called ‘chunking’. The point is not to be too concerned about the specific meaning of each word but instead to learn and grasp the overall meaning of the phrase in the context it was said.

So here are two chunks for ya:

#01: ما في داعي

There’s no need to…

 ما في داعي تغلّب حالك

ma fii daa2i t3haleb Hallak

There’s no need to trouble yourself

مافي داعي تعتذر انت ما عملت شي

ma fii daa2i ta3tazer, enta ma 3amalt shii

There’s no need to apologize, you didn’t do anything

#02: بس هالمرة

But this time around…

انت دايما تدفع عني بس هالمرة رح ادفع

enta dayman tedfa3 3ani bas hal mara raH adfa3

You’re always paying for me but this time around, I’ll pay

كنت دايما بمرقها (بمرقا) بس هالمرة انت زودها

kunt dayman bmare2ha/ bmare2a 3alayk bas hal mara enta zawadha

I’ve always been lenient towards you/ gone easy on you but this time around, you crossed the line

**You can also say  بمشّيا) بمشّيها) instead of  بمرقا) بمرقها)

كل مرة وقعتي في مشكلة بغطّي عليكي بس هالمرة لأ, ما رح اقدر

kol/kil mara w2a3ti fii mushkile ba3hati 3alayki bas hal mara la2, ma rah a2dr

I cover up for you every time you got into trouble but this time around, nope, I won’t be able to

~~~

Like it? Do me a huge favour and hit the share buttons!

Or let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Either way, I hope you find the post useful

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

Lyn

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The post Two Useful Chunks To Learn From ‘Bukra Shi Nhar’ by Julia Boutros appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Mike Massy is one of my favourite Lebanese artists – so presenting to you a catchy and upbeat song of his for this post!

KhalaSna ba2a خلصنا بقا

This is a very useful phrase to say when someone is constantly pestering or nagging at you, and you want them to stop talking. You can say it when the person brought up a matter that annoys you or simply has been repeating the same thing over and over again.

For example,

مو قلتلك ما بدي احكي عن هلموضوع شي خلصنا بقا حلي عني

muu 2utillek ma bedi aHki 3an halmawduoq shii khalasna ba2aa heyli 3ani

Didn’t I told you that I don’t want to talk about this matter? Stop it, that’s enough. Get away from me.

عم ضلي تعيدي نفس الحكي خلصنا بقا

3am dholi t3iidi nafsel Hakii khalasna ba2aa

You have been repeating the same things over and over again. That’s enough, stop it

khalasnaaa ba2a. khalasnaa ba2a.khalasnaa ba2aa!!

Ok, you get my point.

Love الهوى

This word is not to be confused with the word الهوا which means “air”

*Note: In spoken arabic, the hamzah (ء) at the end of a word is usually not pronounced.

So for example, the word “air” هواء (hawa2) is pronounced as هوا (hawa).

Similarly, the word “sky” سماء (sama2) is pronounced as سما (samaa)

Ok back to the word الهوى

In the Arabic language, there are many words to describe “love” and there is a sort of hierarchy to those words. الهوى is one of those words. As you can see in the picture below, there’s a graffiti on the wall that says “راجعين يا هوا” which means “we’ll return, oh love”. Thus in the picture, الهوى  is used to describe love for a place or a nation. Note that the word was spelled differently, showing the flexibility of spelling in colloquial usage. Just know that it refers to “love” and not “air”.

Source

Another common word for love in Spoken Arabic is 3ashq (العشق). The word العشق refers to (probably) the highest degree of love – the love reserved for children, partners, parents etc. So for example, “انا بعشقك” connotes a greater degree of love than simply “انا بحبك”.

الكلام الفاضي

This phrase literally means “empty talk” and it refers to senseless talk. Talks that are meaningless and are often seen as a waste of time.

To tell someone not to say nonsensical stuff:

لا تحكي كلام فاضي

la teHki kalam faDhii

A synonym of “كلام فاضي” is “حكي فاضي”.

You can even say “بلا كلام فاضي” (bala kalam faDhii) or “بلا حكي فاضي” (bala Hakii faDhii) to tell someone not to spout nonsense.

For example:

A: اخي بكرة ما رح اجي عالعزيمة

akhi, bukra ma raH ajii 3al 3aziimeh

Brother, I won’t be going to the gathering (lit: invitation) tomorrow

B: بلا كلام فاضي بدك تجي غصبا عنك, عزمت الكل والكل وافق

balaa kalam faDhii, bidak tijee ghaSban 3ank, 3azamet elkol u elkol waafeq

don’t spout nonsense, i want you to come whether you like it or not. I’ve invited everyone and everyone agreed to come.

**Bonus word: عالفاضي**

On a side note, I was reminded of the phrase “3al faadhii” (عالفاضي) 

It’s a useful phrase that I often heard during my stay in Jordan. It’s often said to denote a waste of time or effort.

So for example,

-spent money on a product that doesn’t work? – >  عالفاضي

-woke up early to go to uni but found out that lectures got cancelled? – >  عالفاضي

Here an anecdote for y’all:

So I was returning back to Amman from Petra and had just gotten off the bus at the terminal. And as usual, there were many taxi drivers that surrounded the bus who were trying to persuade the alighting passengers to get a ride from them. On normal occasions, I would squirm my way out of the crowd and hail a taxi from outside of the terminal – just cause it’s cheaper that way.

But it was late that night and I was feeling tired. So I decided to ask one of the taxi drivers for the cost of the ride back to my apartment. Unsurprisingly enough, he quoted a ridiculously high price so I was nahhh, no thanks, I’m going to hail a taxi from outside. And then, that was when I heard it.

 “عالفاضي”, he said, muttering the phrase under his breath

Rudeeee. lol whateva *flips hair*

Anyhoo, I hope you know how to use the word now!

على مهلك

So the word 3ala mahlak connotes different meaning based on the context and situation. But generally, it’s said to tell someone to take his/her time, to not rush, and to do things at his/her own pace.

For example,

 على مهلك شوي شوي

3ala mahlak, swhay swhay

Often said to taxi drivers (looking at you Jordanians taxi drivers, lol I kid) who speed and weave through traffic. You can say ” على مهلك شوي شوي” to tell the driver to SLOW DOWN -just cause your heart is racing at 100km/hour as you hold on tight to the handle above the window.

Another example: a mother advising her son not to rush into marriage

شوي شوي عل مهلك لا تستعجل على زواجك كل شي بوقته حلو

shway shway 3ala mahlak, la testa3jel 3ala zawaajak, kol shii bwaqto helu

slowly, take your time. don’t rush into marriage. everything has its own time

شو ذنبي أنا ؟!؟

A common expression that literally means “what’s my fault” or “what’s my sin”. However, it is more accurately said to mean “what did I do to deserve this?!”.

You know those days when you feel that things aren’t going your way or you feel like the world is crashing down? Yep, sho zanbi ana yaaa Rab!! shooo?! (what.did.I.do.to.deserve.this?! No like seriously, what did I do?!?!)

Got your heart broken? Failed the test that you studied so hard for? Turned 30? Yep, I can hear that inner voice screaming “sho zanbi ana”.

بلكي

The word is used in the same manner as “might” or “perhaps”

There are some who say بركي (berki) instead of بلكي (balki) but they have the same meaning.

احكي معها بلكي تغير رئيها وتروح معنا عالمول

eHki ma3ha balki t3hayir ra2iiha u truuH ma3naa 3al mall

talk to her, she might change her mind and go to the mall with us

دقي لرفيقتك قبل ماتروحي لعندها بلكي ما كانت بالبيت

da2ii la rafiiqtek 2abel ma truuHi la 3ind ha balki ma kaanat bel bayt

call your friend before you go to her place, she might not be home

~~~

That’s it guys!

If you like this song, do check out the rest of his videos on his YouTube channel. He has lyrics videos that are in both English and Arabic -which make it great to learn a new word or two. My favourites are  كرمالي & بدي ضيع.

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

Lyn

The post Mike Massy – Khalasna Ba2a [Lebanese] appeared first on theLevanTongue.

And I decided to choose this song called “Wahde Bteshbahek” because of the simplicity of the lyrics. In this post, you can learn 13 simple verbs and an expression.

So..ch ch ch check it out!

13 VERBS

1. To make or to let something/someone be… (Verb Form II)

خلى – بيخلي

Eg:

ما تخليني ازعل منك

ma tkhaliinii az3al menak

Don’t make me upset with you

2. To look like/ to look similar to.. (Verb Form I)

شبه – بيشبه

Eg:

شكله يشبه واحد من رفقاتي

sheklo yeshbah waaHad men ref3aatii

He looks like one of my friends

3. To forget (Verb Form I)

نسي – بنسى

Eg:

نسيت اقولك انو في مشكلة مع بطارية اللابتوب

inseet a2ulak eno fii mushkila ma3 baTaariya el laptop

I forgot to tell you that there is a problem with the laptop’s battery

4. To stop/quit (Verb Form II)

بطّل – ببطّل

Eg:

كبرنا وبطلنا نصدق كلام الناس

kberna uu baTalna nSadeq kalaam elnass

We grew up and stopped believing others’ words

(I have written a post about the use of this verb. Check it out here)

5. To miss something/someone (Verb Form 8)

اشتاق – بشتاق

Eg:

عندما بشوف هالمسلسل بشتاق لأيام زمان

3indama bashuf hal musalsal bashtaq la eyam zamaan

When I watch this drama series, I (start to) miss the good old days

6. To return (Verb Form I)

رجِع – برجع

Eg:

رجعت من الدوام ولقيت باب البيت مفتوح

rje3et men el dawaam uu la2et bab el bayt maftuuH

I returned from work and found that the door of the house was opened

7. To see (Verb Form I)

شاف – بيشوف

Eg:

بكرا رح سافر ف رح بشوفكم بعد اسبوع

bukra raH saafer fa raH bashufkum ba3ad usbuu3

Tomorrow I will be travelling so I shall see you all after a week

*Syrians would say بشوفكن instead of بشوفكم

8. To kiss (Verb Form I)

باس – بيبوس

Eg:

هداك الصبح باستني امي ع راسي وقالت انها بتحبني

hadaak elsbuH baasatnii emmi 3a raasi uu 2allat enha betHebni

That morning my mom kissed me on the head and told me that she loves me

9. To smell (Verb Form I)

شم – بيشم

Eg:

لما طلعت من المستشفى شميت الهوا الطبيعي وانبسطت

lama Tle3et men elmushtasfaa shameit el hawa elThabee3i uu inbastet

When I got out of the hospital, I was happy to smell the fresh air

10. To return home (Verb Form II)

روّح – بيروّح

Eg:

اكلت بهدلة من امي لاني روحت عالبيت مبارح متأخر بالليل

akalit bahdale men ummi li anni rawaHet 3al bayt mbaareH metakhir bel layl

I got nagged at by my mom because I came back home late at night yesterday

11. To believe (Verb Form II)

صدّق – بيصدّق

Eg:

المشكلة انك بتصدق كل اللي بيقولولك ياه

elmushkileh enak betSadeq kul elli bii2ululak yah

The problem is that you believe everything that they say

12. To play an instrument (Verb Form I)

عزف – بيعزِف

Eg:

كان يعزِف الكمان وهو صغير

kan ye3zef el kamaan uu huwe zghiir

He used to play the violin when he was small

13. To sing (Verb Form II)

غنى – بيغني

Eg:

بكرة رح اغني هاي الأغنية بالمدرسة

bukra raH aghani hai elughniyeh bel madraseh

Tomorrow I will be singing this song in school

EXPRESSION

بالمرة

bel mara

It’s a phrase to show emphasis and be used in the same way as “completely, “totally”or “at all”.

Eg:

هي غير مسؤولة بالمرَّة

heyye ghair mas-uu-leh bel marra

She is completely irresponsible

Eg:

انا ما اشتقتلك بالمرة

ana ma ashtaqtillak bel marra

I don’t miss you at all

Eg:

ما في فرق بالمرة

maa fii fareq bel marra

There’s no difference at all

BONUS –   فيش/ فش

The word فيش acts as negation and is commonly used in Jordanian/Palestinian Arabic.

Let me give you an example.

To say “I don’t know”, you can always say “ما بعرف” (ma ba3ref/ba3raf)

But that won’t be the only way that you’ll hear people say “I don’t know”. You will typically hear two other variations.

The first one is:

ما بعرفش

ma ba3rafiish

( add فيش at the end of the verb)

The second one is:

بعرفش

ba3rafiish

(add فيش at the end of the verb and remove the ما)

Similarly, this trick works for the phrase “..ما في ” (There’s no…)

Eg:

ما في مصاري

maa fii maSaarii

There’s no money/ I don’t have money

It is possible to say these as well:

ما فش/فيش مصاري

maa fiish maSaarii

OR

فيش/فش مصاري

fiish maSaarii

~~~

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

Lyn

The post Wahde Bteshbahek – Jadal | 13 verbs and an expression appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Check out one of his songs called “Heyye” (هي) or “She” in English. This song contains some useful phrases that you can use in your daily conversations. I will elaborate on them below.

Use of the verb طلع

The Form I verb طلع – بيطلع is an important and useful verb to know as it can be used to describe many things in everyday Arabic.

• The verb can mean “to go out to [a place]” or “to leave [a place]”

مبارح طلعت على المسرح لأول مرة

mbaareH tle3et 3ala elmasraH la awal mara

I went to the theater for the first time yesterday

The active participle طالع \ طالعة\ طالعين is also used often.

وين محمود؟ طالع على الدكان لحتى يشتري شوية اغراض

wain Mahmoud? taale3 3ala eldukaan laHata yeshtarii sweyeh aghraad

Where is Mahmoud? He went out to the shop to buy some things.

• It can also refer to “go up” or “climb up”

• The verb can mean “to leave” or “to get out from”

اختي ما تقدر تطلع من البيت بدون ما توقف قدام المراية على الاقل نص ساعة

ukthi ma teqdar tetlaq min elbayt biduun ma twa2ef 2udam elmraayeh 3ala a2al nuS saa3ah

My sister cannot leave the house without standing in front of the mirror for at least half an hour

اطلع من راسي

etla3 men raasi

Leave me alone

(Literal meaning: Get out of my head!)

Source

• The verb also refer to “get into [a vehicle]”

بدي اطلع في السيارة وأروح أي مكان

bidi atlaq fii elsiyaarah u aruuH ayi makan

I want to get in the car and go anywhere

• The verb can also take on the meaning of “come out to be” or “turned out to be”

مو معقول! الشاب الي كنّا من نفس الصف وكان ناجح بدراسته طلع إرهابي

mu ma32ul! elShab illi kunna min nafsil Saf u kan naajeH bi diraaseto tele3 irhaabi

It’s unbelievable! The guy who we were in the same class with and who excelled in his studies turned out to be a terrorist.

I was worried  انشغل بالي

The phrase is often used with the preposition على

وين كنتي يا بنتي؟ والله انشغل بالي عليكي

wain kunti ya benti. Wallah inshaghel baly 3alaiki

Where has you been, my daughter? I swear I was so worried for you.

انشغل بالي عليه من وقت مابقا يحكي معي

inshaghel baly 3alay min wa2t maa ba2aa yehki ma3i

I was worried for him since he stopped talking to me

I couldn’t fall asleep ما جاني نوم

The phrase literally means that the sleep did not come to me.

If you want to say that “I can’t fall asleep” (present tense instead of past tense), just substitute the word “جاني” to  “جايني”

And change the suffix accordingly if you want to change the subject [person].

ما جاها نوم مبارح

ma jaahaa noum mbaareH

She couldn’t fall asleep yesterday

مو جايني نوم قبل ما يرجع ابني عالبيت

mu jayyi noum 2abel ma yerjak ibni 3al bayt

I can’t fall asleep before my son returns home

انت ليش سهران ؟ مش جايك نوم؟

enta leish saHran? mesh jayyak noum?

Why are you up late? Can’t fall asleep?

Use of the word نفسي

The word is used in the same way we say “I really hope” or “I really wish”.

نفسي روح لتركيا

nifsii ruH la turkiya

I really hope to go to Turkey

نفسي اطلع من الاردن

nifsii aTla3 men elurdon

I really hope to get out of Jordan

نفسي شي مرة اجي ولاقيتك عم تدرس

nifsii shii mara ajii u la2iitak 3am tudros

I really wish that for once I could come in and see that you’re studying

Ya reit يا ريت

This phrase is similar to the English phrase “How I wish..”

يا ريت نكون اصحاب

ya reit nkuun asHab

How I wish we could be friends

I have written a post on the usage of this phrase through the use of a song. Check it out here!

~~ END ~~

So that’s it, folks! I hope you like the song

Let me know if the post has been useful to you by dropping a comment below -I would love to hear your thoughts!

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

Lyn

The post Heyye by Aziz Maraka | She…she’s the one ❤️ appeared first on theLevanTongue.

According to their Facebook page, they describe themselves as “a Palestinian Band which combines beautifully Arabic music with Gypsy music.”

From that description itself, you could probably tell that they create awesome music. And they do

So I will be using their song, Batalte Elli بطلّتي إلي

There is so much to learn from the lyrics of this song alone. But for now, just sit back and enjoy the song.

Great song, don’t you think so?

This song is useful for learning a few things about Levantine Arabic.

1. The verb بطّل – ببطّل
2. The use of the word  “إلي” and its counterparts
3. The use of the phrase “ما عاد”
4.  The Arabic equivalent of “Less is more”

The Verb بطّل – ببطّل

The meaning of this form II verb is “to quit” or “to stop”.

So like the title of this song, بطلتي الي, it means you (female) stopped being mine, which in other words “you’re no longer mine”

Let me give you more examples

ايمتى بطلت تدخين؟

emta baTalt tadkhin

When did you quit smoking?

بطلت اروح معكم على الرحلة

baTalt aruH ma3kom 3ala elriHleh

I no longer want to go to the trip with you guys (i.e. I changed my mind)

الشتا بطل ينزل

elshitta baTal yinzal

It has stopped raining

[Lit: The rain stopped falling]

*In some parts of the Levant like Jordan, they refer to the rain as الشتا (winter)

!انتوا بطلتوا تاخدوا الأمور مزح

entu baTaltu taKhoduu elumor mazeH

You guys better stop taking the matter as a joke!

بطل في حليب بالبيت

baTal fee Haleeb bel bayt

There’s no more milk left at home

Got it yet? This verb is one of the most common verbs used in daily conversations – so it’s important that you know how to use it in the right contexts.

The use of the word  “إلي”

Basically, these words help to describe ownership.

So for example…

هالسيارة إلك او إله؟

hal sayaarah ellak aw elo?

Is this car yours or his?

هالكتاب إلي

hal ktaab elli

This book is mine

هالكتاب إلنور

hal ktaab el noor

This book belongs to Noor

ما النا غيرك يا الله

ma elnaa ghairak ya Allah

We don’t have anyone except you, O God

The use of the phrase  “ما عاد”

The phrase can be translated as “no longer” or “anymore”

Take a look at the examples below,

ما عاد بدي اياك

ma 3aad beddi iyak

I no longer want you

ليش ما عاد حكيتو مع بعض؟

leish ma 3aad Hakeytuu ma3 ba3ad

Why are both of you not talking o each other anymore?

ما عاد في عندي امل

ma 3aad 3andi amal

I no longer have hope

ما عاد تـفرق مـعـي

ma 3aad tifreq ma3ii

It no longer makes a difference to me

The Arabic equivalent of “Less is more”

There is a line in the song that goes  “والشي زاد نقص” .

And I have translated it to “more isn’t necessarily better”

However, the literal meaning is “The thing that increases, decreases”

Okay, so what does that mean??

Well, I was not too sure myself so I have asked for clarification on HiNative.

And an awesome someone explained that the phrase is something like the English saying “less is more” (in certain situations, doing less is beneficial and doing more can instead brings more harm than good)

There are two similar Arabic expressions that carry the same meaning as “less is more.” And they are…

ما زاد عن حده انقلب الى ضده

Lit: What goes beyond its limit would overturn till it goes against it.

الزايد أخو الناقص

Lit: The excess is the brother of the insufficient

In other words, sometimes, the attempt to do more can backfire on us. Doing more of something can instead bring you more harm than good.

An example given by the same user from HiNative:

Sometimes people increase their reps and sets when lifting weights in the attempt to gain more muscles quickly.

However, merely increasing the number of sets may not be the best method because if you don’t do it right, you may end up injuring your muscles.  In fact, doing a small number of sets consistently over a period of time is more beneficial.

In this case, your coach and friends would advice you “الزايد أخو الناقص”

So it can be said that the Arabic equivalent to “less is more” is “الزايد أخو الناقص”. The expression carries the idea that doing more of something will negate the value that you seek to increase.

***

That’s all for today, folks. Don’t forget to subscribe!

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

Lyn

The post Batalte Elli by ZAMAN Band | بطلتي الي You’re no longer mine… appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Yazan Haifawi is a Jordanian solo artist who used to be part of Jordan’s first ever alternative rock band.

And as a fan of alternative rock or just rock in general, I decided to use one of his songs for this post.

This song is on the slow side with simple lyrics – nothing too complicated which is great for all of us

The phrase يا ريت is a common phrase used to express a longing/desire for something.

For example,

يا ريت ازور سوريا شي يوم

How I wish I can visit Syria someday

Or you can also wish something for others by adding the appropriate pronouns at the end.

…يا ريتك

How I wish you..

…يا ريتها

How I wish she…

يا ريتك تكوني معي

How I wish you (female) were (here) with me

يا ريتها سيارتي

How I wish that car is mine

*the “ها” refers to the car which is a feminine noun.

So..that’s all for this post!

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

Lyn

The post Ya Reitek by Yazan Haifawi | How I wish… appeared first on theLevanTongue.