The idea of marriage has always been an important part of Arab culture and the young adults above the age of 20 are constantly under pressure to get married.

So how do Arabs ask the question in Arabic? The answer is not a straight word for word translation of the English counterpart.

Below are 2 variations of the million dollars question:

امتى بدنا نفرح فيك\ فيكي؟

emta bedna nefraH feek/feeki

امتى رح نفرح فيك\ فيكي؟

emta raH nefraH feek/feeki

Both of them can be translated to “When can we be happy for you?” And it’s also possible to replace  “امتى” to “متى” (mata) or “ايمت” (eemat) or any variations of the word “when” that you know in colloquial Arabic.

& of course, there are additional phrases that one can add on to the main question.  Y’know, just to add some excitement and create some drama. 

ونشوفك احلى عريس\عروس

uu nshufak ahla 3ariis/3aruss

and so that we can see you off as the most handsome groom/most beautiful bride

بدي اشوف اولادك قبل ما اموت

I want to be able to see your children before I die

Chill habibti, chill..

Now let’s look at some of the possible replies…

Polite Replies:

ان شاء الله عن قريب

inshallah 3an 2ariib

God willing, soon

الله كريم

Allah Kareem

God is generous (i.e hopefully the time will come)

Plausible Excuses:

لسا بكير\بدري

lissa bakiir/badri

it’s still early (for me to get married)

بس نفرح فيك اول انا لسا بكير

bas nifraH feek awal, ana lissa bakiir

we’ll rejoice in you first, it’s still early for me (i’ll get married after you)

ما اجى نصيبي

ma ejaa naSeebi

it’s all down to fate, no luck so far

Who doesn’t love sarcastic replies

If you’re feeling bold and free-spirited (Think: Ana Hor “انا حر” with the index finger to the temple), there are some sarcastic replies that you can use:

عم بستنى عريس الغفلة

3am bastanaa 3ariis elghaflah

I’m waiting for 3ariis elghaflah

“عريس الغفلة” is the opposite of “Mr Right” or “the man of my dream.” The phrase is used to describe the man that don’t match up to the image of your ideal husband but someone you’ll have to settle for in order to get married before age catches up on you (and before society brands you a spinster – even at the age of 25!)

والله انا كل يوم فرحان\ فرحانة بحالي شوفوا ايمتى فاضيين وتعالوا افرحوا معي

Wallah ana kul youm farHan/ farHaneh biHali, shufuu eemta faDiyiin uu ta3allu efraHuu ma3ii

I swear I’m happy by myself everyday. Why don’t you guys see when you all are free to come along and rejoice with me

والله انا كل يوم فرحان\ فرحانة بحالي شوفوا اليوم المناسب وتعالوا لنفرح سوا

Wallah ana kul youm farHan/ farHaneh biHali, shufuu elyoum elmunaaseb uu ta3allu la nefraH sawaa

I swear I’m happy by myself everyday, why don’t you all set a suitable day and come, we shall rejoice together

What say you?!

Are you next in line?

Also, not forgetting the younger sibling whose elder sister/brother just got hitched – all you want is to have fun at the wedding but instead you got to be mentally prepared for the “well wishes” from your aunts/uncles/distant relatives whom you’ve never met in your life-

عقبالك ما نفرح فيك وتصيرعريس

3uqbalak ma nifraH feek uu tSiir 3ariis

عقبالك ما نفرح فيكي وتصيري عروس

3uqbalik ma nifraH feeki uu tSiiri 3aruus

we wish that your turn will come for us to rejoice in you and for you to be a groom/bride

Mabrook!

& then the right person comes along and you got married. You finally thought that you can have peace of mind…but you thought wrong.

Sadly, the questioning (or should I say interrogation) does not end after marriage. The next million-dollar question that you’ll be asked often is….”When will you have children?!”

متى رح تجيبي اولاد؟

mata raH tjeebii uwlaad?

habibti!!!

At this stage…

Let me know what you think in the comments below and I’ll see ya in the next post. Until then, take care & YALLA, go get yourself married already!!

Image Source

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

Lyn

The post How to be an Inquisitive Arab #2 -“When are you getting married?” appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Have you ever gotten in a taxi in an Arab country and sat through the journey without being interrogated by the driver? Sometimes you wonder if they even know where to draw the line…

So anyway, one of the most popular questions that Arabs love to ask is “Who do you take after? Your mom or your dad?”

However, is it even a genuine question? Most of the time, the question is asked in an attempt to judge you for your behavior/personality and attribute it to someone (i.e your parents.) Mothers say it to attribute their children’s negative behavioral traits to the fathers and vice versa.

So before I go even further, let’s see what the question is in Arabic.

Who do you take after?

انت لمين طالع/ طالعة؟

enta la meen thaale3/thaal3ah

انت طالع/ طالعة على مين؟

enta thaale3/thaal3ah 3ala meen

Do you take after your mom or your dad?

لامك ولا لابوك؟

la imak wala la abuk

Often, the answer is unsurprising.

مبين عليك

mbaiyin 3alaik

Yeah it’s pretty obvious 

What’s even better is when Arabs skip the question completely and go directly to expressing their view on who you truly take after.

انا بقول لمين طالع\ طالعة

ana ba2ul la meen thaale3/ thaal3ah

Let me tell (you) who you take after

شكلك طالع على ابوك

sheklak thaale3 3ala abuk

 It seems like you take after your dad

In other words…

I’m judging you.

for your absent-mindedness/ stubbornness/ laziness/ short temper & all other negative traits that you possibly inherited from either one of your parents

This whole “who do you take after” thing can even be said when you’re exasperated with someone’s ridiculous behavior.

مش عارفة لمين طالعة هيك هبلة

mesh 3arfeh la meen thaal3ah haek habla

I (f) don’t know who you take after for being this stupid

& of course, you can tell the person who he/she takes after for his/her positive traits or physical features 

طالع لابوه نفس العيون

thaale3 la abuu nafsil 3ayuun

He has his dad’s eyes

Idioms

Since we’re already on this topic, I will share 2 idioms that carry the English equivalent of  “Like father like son” and “Like mother like daughter.”

Like Father Like Son:

فرخ البط عوام

farakh elbat 3awam

(the son of a duck is a floater)

Like Mother Like Daughter:

طب الجرة على تمها بتطلع البنت لامها

thob eljara 3ala temha bteTla3 elbenet la imha

There’s definitely a backstory as to how this idiom comes about since the literal translation makes little sense.

Anyway, below is a clip from a famous Lebanese show that illustrates the idiom pretty well. As you can see from the video, the father used the idiom to attribute his daughter’s antics to the mother.

That’s it, folks!

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

Lyn

The post How to be an Inquisitive Arab #1 -“Who do you take after?” + idioms! appeared first on theLevanTongue.