ما بحط بذمتي

Transliteration:

ma baHut bidimtii

Alternatives:

ما بدي حط بذمتي

ma biddi/baddi Huut bi dimti

Meaning:

I ain’t taking responsibility for what I about to say

I’m not accountable for what I about to say

Erm, what?

Explanation & Examples:

Okay, so this expression has a religious undertone to it. On the day of judgment, everyone will be held accountable for his or her words and actions.

So this expression is said when people are not completely sure of the validity of what they are about to say.

And just in case, what they are about to say is completely false, they hope that they won’t be held accountable or be penalised for it on the day of judgment.

The word, ذمة, probably has no English equivalent but it is related to all things consciousness, moral integrity, ethics, etc.

So how is this expression used in spoken contexts?

Often, it is ironically said when gossiping about others.

It’s like “I know I’m going to say something unkind or questionable so I’ll say ma baHut bi dimti first just to prove I’m not a bad person”.

Here are some examples:

ما بحط بذمتي بس والله هالزلمة مو منيح. ديرو بالكم (بالكن) منو

ma baHut bidimtii bas wallah hal zalameh muu mniiH. diiru balkom (balkun) meno

I don’t mean anything by this (i.e please don’t hold this against me, God!) but I swear that man is not a good man. You guys better be careful of him.

OR

ما بحطا (بحطها) بذمتي بس روان يلي كسرتلك الموبايل, ما وقع لحالو :A

ma bahutaa (bahut-ha) bidimtii bas Rawan illi kasratlak el mobile. ma w2e3 lahaalo

I don’t mean anything by this but Rawan was the one who broke your mobile phone. It didn’t fell on its own.

!انت شو عم تحكي؟ متاكد؟ :B

enta shu 3am taHki? mit2aked?

What are you talking about?! Are you sure?!

ما بعرف انا, بس هيك حسيت :A

ma ba3ref ana. bas heik haseit

I don’t know, but this is what I feel.

The expression can also be used as a way as to not get involved in the matter (i.e to not be part of the “sin”) if you’re not the one spreading the news.

سمعت انو ماريا ما اجت عالبيت من تلات ايام والناس عم تقول انو بجوز هربت مع صاحبها لتعيش معو

sme3et eno Maria ma ejat 3al bayt men talat eyam uu el nas 3am t2ul eno bjuuz harbat ma3 saaHebha

I heard that Maria has not returned home for the last three days. People said she probably ran away to live with her boyfriend.

والله ما بعرف وما بحط بذمتي :B

wallah ma ba3ref uu maa bahut bidimtii

I swear, I don’t know anything about it and I don’t want to get involved (i.e I don’t want to be part of the sin of backbiting)

~~~

Note: There are some who refrain from using this expression because, hey, if it ain’t completely true, best not to mention it.

That’s it, folks. Check back next Friday for another ALEF post, or better still, subscribe below to be notified of new posts!

PSS: Like this post? Do me a favour and share it!

The post ALEF #01: Ma BaHut Bidimtii appeared first on theLevanTongue.

The topic may be controversial for some but my intention is to learn spoken Arabic. So reserve your judgements and let’s learn Levantine Arabic!

Ready? Yalla!

Elie from Lebanon:

وصار عمري تمنتعش سنة في حدا بالمجتمع بتعرف فيه عارف عني

When I turned 18, someone from my community found out about me

وخبر كل المحيط تبعي

and inform everyone in my circle about it

أصدقائي شغلي جامعة اهلي العايلة

my friends, work, university, parents, the family

وحتى الكنيسة اللي انا كنت عم بتردد اللا

and even the church that I used to frequent

وهيدا كان اصعب اسبوع في حياتي لانو

and this was the hardest week of my life because

لوقت كتير طويل كنت بعدني بقتنع انو هيدا الموضوع في الو غلط معين

for a long time, I was still convinced that this matter [being gay] was wrong

وصرت اقرا كتب عن النفس وكتب بيولوجيا

I started reading books about psychology and biology

لوصل النتيجة انو ما في خلل

till I reached the conclusion that there is no disorder/defect

ولكان لما قريت هول ابحاث العالمية

but when I read these international research

صرت متأكد اكتر انو لأ انا ما في اشي غلط

I became even more sure that no, there is nothing wrong

ما في اشي مش مزبوط او خلل

There is nothing that is not right or defective

لا نفسي ولا عقلي ولا جسدي ولا اي شي

not psychologically, mentally, physically or anything

انا انسان طبيعي

I am a normal human being

ولكن الميول والاحاسيس لعندي والانجذاب الى الأشخاص من نفس الجنس

but my inclination and feelings and attraction are towards people of the same sex

Khaled from Jordan:

كنت احس حالي وحيد

I used to feel alone

انو انا كتير وحيد في كل العالم

that I was the only one (gay person) in the world

 reference ما كان في مراجع ما كان في

there weren’t any references

حتى المسلسلات كل شي محظور

even the TV shows were censored

الاشي وحيد كنت نسمع عنه بهاي الفترة انو متلا

the only thing we used to hear about at the time was that…for example,

بمصر كان في اعتقالات

there were arrests in Egypt

او الناس اللي كانو ينقتلوا بالعراق

or people were killed in Iraq

واللي بسجن في سوريا  ويشنقوا علنا بايران

and people imprisoned in Syria and publicly hang in Iran

ف على طول كنت اربط انو حرام غلط ما مش لازم حدا يعرف عيب

so immediately I get the impression that [being gay] was forbidden, wrong, nobody should know, it was shameful

طريقة التفكيرتبعتي تغيرت مع السنين

my way of thinking changed with time

يعني رفضت انو انا استحي

I refused to be ashamed

بعد فترة حكيت لواحد من اعز اصدقائي

after a while, I told one of my closest friends

كان قلتلو انو انا مثلي

I told him that I am gay

“مستحيل ما بصدق”

“impossible, I don’t believe you”.

“بعدين بعد فترة قولي “صح انا بحبك زي ما انت ما بيهمني ايش انت

then after a while, he told me “I love you the way you are, I don’t care what you are”.

“قلتلو “اوكي تمام

I said “okay, good”.

Hamed from Lebanon:

اسمي حامد سينو بعمل موسيقى بغني بفرقة اسما مشروع ليلة بلبنان

My name is Hamed Sinno, I’m a musician, I sing in a band called Mashrou Leila from Lebanon

queer وانا

and I’m queer

بطبيعة الحال لما كنت بالمدرسة

Naturally, when I was in school

كان فيه كتير تنمر وتمسخر

there were bullying and mockery

 على الاشياء يلي كنت مهتم فيه

over the things that I was interested in

متل موسيقى متل الغنا

like music and singing

كإنو مسخ

As if I was a freak

ما كنت افهم بوقتا انو هيدا شي مش غلط فيي

I didn’t understand at that time that there was nothing wrong with me

هيدا شي غلط بناس يلي حوالي

that instead what was wrong was the people around me

لمجرد مع اني صرت اتعرف عن حالي

till the point that I started introducing myself

كشخص ثائبت انو رجل بيحب رجال

as a person who just happens to love men

وحسيت كأنو هيدا شال عبئ هائل عني

I felt as if a huge burden was lifted off me

لحتى بس بيني وبين نفسي منقدر نتقبل هيدا شي

just by being able to accept the matter between me and myself

صعب هيدا شي خاصة لما بعدنا صغار بالعمر

It’s hard especially when we are still young

وبيضلو صعب بس بيصير اسهل

and it stays hard, but it gets easier

Norma from Lebanon:

انا ما حسيت حالي بنتمي للمجتمع يلي كنت خلقانة فيه

I never felt that I belong in a society that I was born in

انا دايما كان يحطو علي قيود وشروط معينة

They were restrictions and conditions placed on me

يعني من انا وصغيرة

since I was small

ليش هلضحكة بصوت عالي هيك ؟ ,feminine ليش هلقد

Why are you so feminine, why do you laugh so loud?

barbieليش ما تلعب إلا مع بنات ليش تلعب بال

Why do you play with girls? Why do you play with barbie?

وبس اكتشفت كمان وبس عبّرت

When I discovered and expressed

وبس اعلنت عن هويتي الجندرية

and announced my gender identity

كمان ما كان في كتير تقبل ,كان في شوي رفض

 there was not much acceptance, there was some rejection.

“?trans انو “انت بدك تكوني

“you want to be trans?”

دقنك شو رح تعملي فيها

What will you do with your beard?

كتافك العراض شو رح تعملي فين

What will you do with your broad shoulders?

اصابيعك التخان شو رح تعملي فين

What will you do with your thick fingers?

بعتقد من لما صارو يقولو صار جلدي تخين

Since they started talking, I developed a thick skin

من كترما سمعت اشيا وقطع علي اشيا بحياتي

from a lot of things I heard and went through in life

يعني خلص صار متل نقطة المي بتيجي علي وبتنزل

I mean that’s it, it became like water, it come and fall [off my skin]

حقوقك هي حقوقي وواجباتك هي واجباتنا

We all have rights, we all have responsibilities

تنيناتنا مناكل تنيناتنا منشرب تنيناتنا منّام تنيناتنا منشتغل

Both of us eat, drink, sleep and work

الاشي ممكن يختلف عني وعنك هو ممكن الميول الجنسية

What may be different between you and me is perhaps our gender orientation

ممكن مع مين بفضل نام او شو بفضل البس

maybe with who I prefer to sleep with or what I prefer to wear

~~~

To hear more of such voices, check them out here

Sooo what do you think about this post? Do you have any questions about the usage of specific words? Let me know in the comment section below

P.S Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t & spread the word about theLevanTongue!

P.S.S Want to get real serious at learning Levantine Arabic and in need of a darn good book? Check out my review of a book that has helped me tremendously in my learning journey here

The post Learning Spoken Arabic from the LGBT voices of the Levant. 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.

Read on to find out the 6 phrases to tell someone to get lost!

I’ve personally never said any of them although I’m probably guilty of muttering some under my breath

1. Hail 3ani

 (to a male) حيل عني

 (to a female) حيلي عني

 (to more than one person) حيلو عني

This phrase means “get away from me” or simply “get lost”

2. eTlaq men raasi

(to a male) اطلع من راسي

(to a female) اطلعي من راسي

(to more than one person) اطلعوا من راسي

The phrase literally means “get out of my head!”

Y’know what they say: out of sight, out of mind…

3. farjeenii 3arD ktaafak

(to a male) فرجيني عرض كتافَك

(to a female- ktaafek) فرجيني عرض كتافِك

(to more than one person) فرجيني عرض كتافكم \ كتافكن

OR

ورجيني عرض كتافَك

There are two variations for the verb “to show” – you can say فرجيني (farjeeni) or ورجيني (warjeeni).

The phrase literally means “show me your shoulders” –so turn around and leave…

4. igleb wejHak/ igleb wiishak

اقلب وجهك

OR

اقلب وشك

The phrase means “turn your face around” – so get out and leave!

Source

However the verb “اقلب” can also mean “to turn something upside down” – thus the meme below..

Source

5. elbab bifuut jamal

الباب بيفوت جمل

The idiom is said to mean  “If you don’t like it, you can leave”

Its literal meaning, though, is that “the door is wide enough for the camel and lets the camel in”.

So for example,

 عجبك عجبك ما عجبك الباب بيفوت جمل

3ajabak 3ajabak, maa 3ajabak elbab bifuut jamal

If you like, you like it (i.e good for you), if you don’t like, elbab bifuut jamal (i.e you can leave)

6. ingalak men hon

انقلع من هون

This phrase is probably the rudest one of them all…thus, highly offensive.

It means to “get the hell outta here” and it’s definitely best not to use it at all.

*I have written the ق as a “G” since I’m used to the Jordanian/Palestinian accent. However, I believe that most Syrians would pronounce the  ق like the ء (hamzah).

~~~

I’m not to blame if you get into trouble for saying these!! Still, I hope you like this post.

Know of other such phrases?? Share them with me in the comment section below

P.S Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t & spread the word about theLevanTongue!

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

Lyn

The post 6 phrases to tell someone to get get get out of here appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Or are you already aware that practically nobody speaks MSA in their daily lives and desperately hope to avoid being caught in the above-mentioned situation?

Ever wish for a book that you can invest in and refer to it constantly as a guide?

But have yet to find a suitable book?

Luckily for all of us Levantine Arabic learners, that book does exist!

And that book is…..

The 101 Most Used Verbs In Spoken Arabic: Jordan & Palestine (Third Edition)

by Fridrik E.Tiedemann Jr.

My battered and well-used book

I’ve purchased it at the University Bookshop in Amman back in 2015 for 25JD. I have used it for both self-study and classroom-study.

If you’re learning the Spoken Levantine Arabic (amiyya), then I would highly recommend this book. It has truly been a great investment for me. Even after having studied all of the given verbs, I still found myself referring to it from time to time because of all the other bonuses in it.

Is the book suitable for you?

I would say that the book suits best for intermediate learners or those who can afford a teacher (or a dedicated Arab friend) to sit with you and study the book together. That being said, I would still recommend beginners to get it. And I’ll tell you why.

• The Verb Inflection Chart

The book provides pages and pages of the verb inflection chart for all 10 verb forms. And this is already a huge advantage for beginners as the chart helps you to get the pronunciation right from Day 1. The chart guides you on the inflection according to the verb forms.

In this way, each time you learn a new verb (and if you’re able to recognise its verb form) you would also know it’s inflection.  For a beginner, this chart is extremely useful.

The conjugation table for the verb to lift/raise something (Verb Form I)

As you can see, the chart lists out all the inflection of the verb for all pronouns in both the present and past tense. In the last row, the changes in inflection are also provided when a pronoun is attached to the verb.

This means you’re pretty much covered when it comes to verbs. Learning the verbs, their inflections and conjugation all come in one package. You can’t do one without the other two.

And that’s why the chart comes in handy especially when you’re at the beginning of your Arabic learning journey.

• 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic

Ok, this is pretty obvious.

This book helps you to focus on only THE MOST USED verbs. In that sense, it’s actually making life easy for you.

The given verbs are constantly used in typical daily conversations. Forget all the other verbs in the meantime (those are for when you have gotten a good grasp of the basics)

And what’s even better is that the book teaches you how to re-use one verb to come up with many different meanings!

As you can see from the picture, you can easily use the verb سكّر alone to express yourself in a multitude of ways – from hanging up the phone to slamming the door in someone’s face.

See what I mean? Imagine learning all of the 101 verbs!

**Although the book focuses on Spoken Arabic in Jordan and Palestine, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to speak to Lebanese or Syrians. All of the given verbs can also be found in both Syrian and Lebanese Arabic. I would say that the main difference between the countries’ spoken Arabic lies in the inflection of the verbs.

More Reasons As To Why The Book Is Top Notch

• Chunking method

Language experts have often quoted the chunking method when it comes to remembering foreign vocabulary and speeding up the language learning process. And this book allows you to learn Levantine Arabic via the chunking method by showing you how each verb is used in short phrases to carry a different meaning.

In short, the chunking method refers to the technique of learning a language in chunks (i.e phrases or short sentences.) If you learn in this manner, you can easily express yourself in more ways simply by replacing words from phrases you’ve learned.

You can read an article by Mezzoguild here to see how the writer utilises the chunking method with Egyptian Arabic. If you’re interested in knowing more about the method, check out this article by FluentU here

• Sentence examples

The various sentence examples provided for all 101 verbs do help me in gaining a greater understanding on how to correctly use those verbs. I’m also able to expand my vocabulary from the sentence examples. When I learn in this manner, I found that I’m able to retain the new vocabulary in my memory for a much longer period. Learning a word on its own without any sentence to provide contexts is always a big no-no in language learning!

• More than just 101 verbs

There’s a list of additional verbs of the same verb form below every conjugation table.

This means that you’re actually getting much more than what the book promises! Once you have gotten a good grasp of the 101 verbs, it is definitely useful to look through the additional verbs because they are also used in everyday conversations.

Additional verbs of the same form listed below the table

How To Use It

Without a doubt, the best way to tackle this book is by going through it with a teacher. I did exactly this for some of the verbs when I was studying Arabic in Amman.

However, with a teacher or not, the book already serves as a great tool to form sentences and questions in everyday Arabic style.

The author also posted a YouTube video on how to use the book (see below). Also do check out the other videos posted on the same channel- I found them to be very informative.

Conclusion

Simply put, the book is off the charts. Did I mention that it also comes with a CD to aid in the pronunciation? The only section of the book which I didn’t really utilise is the vocabulary list at the end – simply because words rarely last long in my head if I learn them from a list.

It’s a really comprehensive book and I’m glad that I own one! I’m also appreciative of the fact that the book is written in Arabic letters instead of being in a transliterated format.

***

So that’s MY review on The 101 Most Used Verbs In Spoken Arabic: Jordan & Palestine (Third Edition) 

Have you used the book before? Are you planning to get one? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

The book should be available either via Amazon or Jamalon.

P.S.S I have also heard great reviews of other resources for Levantine Arabic such as the ones listed below. Feel free to check them out too!

• Shou Fi Ma Fi by Rajaa Chouairi
• Colloquial Palestinian Arabic: An Introduction To The Spoken Dialect by Nasser M Isleem
• Pimsleur Eastern Arabic (audio-based)

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

Lyn

The post The One Book That You Must Have If You’re Learning Levantine Arabic 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.

What are they?

They are the Dogs, the Cats, the Birds and the Roosters.

So..let’s get started!

DOGS

Dogs bark and there are two verbs that you can use.

The first is…

عوَى – بعوَي

Verb II

3awa – bi3awi

The second is…

نبح – بنبح

Verb I

nabaH –  binbaH

Example:

The boy was afraid to walk ahead because the dog was barking

الولد كان خايف يمشي لقدام لانو الكلب كان عم يعوَي \ ينبح

elwalad kan khayif yimshee la 2odam la inu elkalb kan 3am y3awi/ yinbaH

CATS

Cats purr or meow and you can use this verb to describe them:

نوَى – بنوَي

Verb II

nawa – binawi

Example:

The cat is meowing because it is hungry

القطة \ البسة عم تنوَي لانها جوعانة

el2iTah/ elbisseh 3am tnawi la enha ju3aneh

*Jordanians/Palestinians use بسة to refer to cat more often than قطة

BIRDS

Birds chirp and the verb is…

زقزق – بزقزق

Verb II

za2-za2 – bi-za2-ze2

The chirping sound is called

زقزقة

za2-za-2ah

Examples:

-I can hear the birds chirping every morning

بقدر اسمع العصافير عم تزقزق كل يوم الصبح

ba2der asma3 el3aSaafeer 3am tza2ze2 kol yom el Sbuh

-I can hear the sound of the birds chirping every morning

بقدر اسمع زقزقة العصافير كل يوم الصبح

ba2der asma3 za2za2ah el3aSaafeer kol yom el Sbuh

ROOSTERS

Roosters crow and the verb is..

صاح – بيصيح

Verb I

Sah – beSeeH

* This verb means to holler/shout but can be used to describe the sound of a rooster crowing.

Examples:

-When I was living in the countryside, I always wake up to the sound of the rooster crowing

لما كنت عايشة بالريف كنت دايما فيق لما بيصيح الديك

lama kunt 3aishe bel reef kunt daiman feeq lama beSeeH el deek

-When I was living in the countryside, I always wake up to the sound of the rooster

لما كنت عايشة بالريف كنت دايما فيق ع صوت الديك

lama kunt 3aishe bel reef kunt daiman feeq 3a sowt el deek

***

That’s it folks! Don’t forget to subscribe!

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

Lyn

The post Verbs to describe the sound animals make appeared first on theLevanTongue.

الحب الحب is a recent Jordanian series featuring Rajae Qawas which got aired last year. Roya Comedy has uploaded snippets of each episode in its YouTube channel where you can check them out.

Short clips are sure a great way of squeezing in some listening practice into a busy schedule without being overwhelmed. The only annoying thing in the video is the background music…

Yallah, ready? Let’s go!

تيتة morning,ياسمينا

Yasmina, Morning teita

• It’s pretty common for elders to call their children/grandchildren the same term – eg: mama/baba/teita  (although I find it pretty weird lol)
• Teita can either be spelled as تيتا or تيتة

ياللة حبيبتي قومي قومي ع الدوام

Yallah darling, get up for work

• Depending on the context, دوام can refer to both work and school

لأ لأ ما بدي ما بدي

No, I don’t want to

عندك دوام يالله حبيبتي قومي

You have work, yallah darling, get up

ما في دوام اليوم

No work today

ما في دوام ؟ كيف هادا؟ على اي اساس؟ يالله قومي قومي

No work? How is that so? On what basis? Yallah, get up, get up

على الأساس انا هيك قررت خلص تيتة

On the basis that I just decided not to (go to work). Enough, teita

هيك قررتي؟

Is this what you decided?

اه

Yeah

طيب

Fine

يا الله  تيتة مشان الله سكريه

Oh God! Grandma, for God’s sake, close it

انتي قومي سكريه انا ما دخلني

You get up and close it, it’s none of my business

ياسمينا لأمتى بدنا نضل هيك تيتة

Yasmina, till when do we have to remain like this, teita?

هايني منيحة

Here I am – feeling great

صباح الخير

Good morning

صباح النور

Good morning

ياسمينا انتي هيك مقتنعة بشعرك؟

Yasmina, you’re satisfied with your hair?

• مقتنع/مقتنعة  literally means “convinced”

هيك احسن؟

Is this better?

ياسمينا البابا اتصل ياسمينا, بسألني ليش ما تردي عليه

Yasmina, your father called. He asked me why didn’t you pick up his call

• Verb VIII to call/contact someone اتصل- بتصل
• Verb I to answer/respond رد – برد

لأني لو بدي ارد عليه كنت رديت عليه, مش طايقة احكي معو هاليومين

If I wanted to reply him, I would have done so.

I can’t stand to talk to him these days

وانتي متى كنتي طايقة تحكي معو؟

Since when were you able to tolerate talking to him?

• مش طايق \ مش طايقة –  can’t stand/bear/tolerate something/someone
• Eg: I (male) can’t stand him –  مش طايقو; I (female) can’t stand him – مش طايقتو

مشان الله تيتة هلأ مش وقته

For God’s sake, teita, now is not the time

حبيبتي هادا بابا وبضل بابا ما بيصيربتضلك تتجانبيه ما بيصير

My dear, your father remains your father. You can’t continue to avoid him, you simply can’t!

• ما بيصير = you can’t do that; it’s a no-no
• Verb VI to avoid تجانب – بتجانب

هدا بابا لما جاي ع باله, لما ما جاي ع باله انا مو موجدة بحياته

Father is only like this when he felt like so. If he do not feel like it, it is as if I do not exist in his life

 بعرف بعرف حبيبتي معك حق بس قالي انو مشتاقلك, لازم تعطيه فرصة

I know darling, I know. You’re right. But he told me that he misses you. You have to give him an opportunity/chance

ان شاء الله لازم اطلع ع الشغل تأخرت

InshAllah (God willing). I have to go to work now, I’m already late

• Verb VI to be late تأخَر- بتأخر

لأ, تاكلي ساندويتشك بالأول

No, eat your sandwich first

تيتة والله مو جاء ع بالي

Teita, wallah, I don’t feel like it

ياسمينا انتي تعرفي شوبالنسبة الي الفطور خط احمر

Yasmina, you know how I feel with regards to breakfast – it’s a no- no

• خط احمر literally means “a red line” – thus a no-no/off limit/off topic etc

مشان الله مش وقته تكوني غريبة هلأ

For God’s sake, now is not the time for you to be weird

لأ وقتا وقتا وقتا تاكلي ساندويتش وتشربي شاي وبعدين بتروحي يالله يالله

No, it’s the time. Eat your sandwich and drink your tea. Only then you can go. Yallah

• Some Arabs (especially Syrians) would say وقتا instead of وقتها

Phrase of the day

• جاي على بالي – to feel like doing something

جاي على بالي اكل بيتزا

I feel like eating pizza

جاي على بالنا نروح على السينما

We feel like going to the cinema

**Add the negation (ما/مو/مش) and you’ll get the opposite**

• مو جاي على بالي – to not feel like doing something

مش جاي على بالي اروح على أي محل

I don’t feel like going anywhere

***

I hope you’ve learned a thing or two! As usual, let me know your thoughts in the comment section

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

Lyn

The post Learn Jordanian Arabic through the Alhob Alhob show appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Let’s build our vocabulary and practice listening through clips that are available on YouTube. In this post, I will provide the transcript from various parts of Episode #12,  اختي [my sister] from the series رجائي كائن عدائي 

Background information:

The series explores the various negative behaviours/mindsets that are prevalent in society.

The title itself means “Rajae being hostile” or simply put “Rajae being a jerk” (Rajae is a famous Jordanian actor and comedian.)

I enjoyed watching the series when I first started learning Levantine Arabic. And I hope you will too!

The video:

 clip starts at 1:05

I would suggest watching the full clip first to get the gist of what it’s about and to train your listening skills. It’s also helpful if you note down the phrases/words that you are able to catch as you watch along.

Let’s get started!

Time (01:12)

وين, وين-

Where are you going?

 شو يلي وين هاي, شو دخلك؟-

What do you mean by “where”? It’s none of your business

 ايش ايش شو يلي دخلني؟-

What do you mean “it’s none of my business” ?!

• The question “شو دخلك؟” is often impolitely asked to mean “what’s your involvement in this?” or “how does this concern you?” and thus share the English equivalent of “it’s none of your business/it’s none of your concern.
• Similarly, شو  دخلني؟, can be said when you’re feeling nonchalant and could not be bothered to get involved in a matter. For example, you can say شو  دخلني؟ in order to avoid being dragged into a heated discussion between two friends.

Time (01:28)

 انت وين عايش اخي؟ بأي عصر ؟-

Brother, where are you living? In which era?

 ما انتي بتموت على عولمة وديمقراطية-

Aren’t you the one who’s crazy about globalisation and democracy?

• To بموت على something is to be crazy/obsessed over that something. The phrase is also commonly used to refer to cravings. Eg: I’m craving/dying for Knafeh (traditional Palestinian dessert) = انا بموت على الكنافة

 Hannadyبال gym, ايش ايش ايش ايش شو دخل العولمة بالحرية, بال

What?! What does globalisation got to do with freedom, gym and Hannady?!

Time (01:38)

طب, بحكيلك, فيش طالعة من البيت-

Fine, i’ll tell you what…no going out of the house!

 انا كتير خفت منك….يا اللة, شايف شايفني كيف عم برجف-

I’m so afraid of you…Oh God, look, look how I’m shivering

• “طب” is the short form of “طيب” which means “fine” or “Ok”
• “فيش” is the same as “ما في”
• In the Jordanian/Palestinian dialect, “ش”  acts as a negation when added at the end of verbs. For example,  بعرفش is the same as ما بعرف (I don’t know)

Time (01:48)

الو, ماما وينك؟-

Hello Mama, where are you?

عند ام محجوز, عم نحضر بالعرس ابنها عالدي في دي-

I’m at Um Mahjooz’s. We are watching the wedding of her son on DVD.

ماما, ابنك حبسني بالبيت-

Mama, your son locked me up in the house!

•  The verb “حبس” means to imprison/lock up/trap someone

Time (01:57)

و ليش تتطاوش مع اهلك؟-

Why did you argue/fight with your family/parents?

لاني حبست اختي بالبيت-

Because I locked my sister up in the house

وللل يا زام, شو اهلها هدول ما بحترم الحقوق الأخ-

Man…what kind of family is that to not respect the rights of the brother?!

• The verb VI “تطاوش” means to argue or fight with someone. Similarly, the noun “طوشة” means a fight or a scuffle and it’s often used to describe a fight between men that takes place on streets.
• “يا زام” is the short form of “يا زلمة

Time (02:21)

وانت ليش ماشي معنا؟-

and why are you walking with us?

وانتي شو دخلك؟-

it’s none of your concern

طيب, طيب, ياللة يا شاطر ياللة حبيبي ياللة روء روء خلص الحارة كلها عرفت انك زلمة-

Fine, fine..yallah clever one, yallah my dear, yallah, calm down, calm down…it’s okay, the whole neighbourhood knows that you’re a “man”

• روء is said to mean “calm down”, “relax” or simply asking someone to take a chill pill
• شاطر is used to describe an intelligent (male) student. Of course in this context, it’s being said sarcastically

Time (3:13)

انا برضاش حدا يجيب سيرة اختي بكلمة-

I don’t tolerate anyone talking about my sister

• You can see here once again the use of “ش” at the end of the verb (برضى) as a negation.
• The verb برضى means to be satisfied/to be willing. In the above context, it’s said to suggest  “I’m not having any of it” [Don’t talk about my sister!]
• To bring (ييجيب) someone’s biography (سيرة) is a common expression to mean talking about someone/bring up the topic of someone
• بكلمة is said for added emphasis. Not even a single word about my sister

Time (3:23)

اوف…خلص خلص سكّرالموضوع, سكّر الموضوع-

Oof, that’s enough, let’s end the topic

• The verb “سكر” means to close

Time (4:04)

ما عارفنا مستر محمد؟-

Don’t we know each other Mr. Mahmud?

شو جايبك هون ولكِ؟-

What brought you here?!

جاية اشوف قلة الأدب اللي انت فيها-

I came to see the inappropriateness of your behaviour

• “قلة الأدب” generally refers to impolite/indecent behaviours that are deemed to be socially unacceptable. A synonym would be قليل الأدب
• اللي انت فيها literally means “that you’re in”

ولك مجنونة انتي؟-

Are you crazy?

مين هاي اللي معك؟-

Who’s this that you’re with?

عفوا ما بعرف انه مصاحب-

Sorry but I didn’t know that he’s attached

 مش صاحبته يا حبيبتي انا اخته. جاية احط حد ل قلة الأدب اللي عم بيصير-

I’m not his girlfriend, I’m his sister. I came here to put a stop to the inappropriateness that is happening now.

• حط حد is “to put a limit on” or “to put a stop to” something. In this context, the woman is calling his brother out for his action that is deemed as inappropriate by society (being seen with another woman in public)

ولكِ شو بتخبصي مجنونة ؟-

What nonsense are you spouting?!

• شو بتخبص is said when someone is spouting nonsense – what are you blabbering about?!

 مش هدا اطلبك معي؟ كل ما شوفني مع حدا حتى لو كنت عام بشتري من خضرجي-

Isn’t this what you demanded of me? Every time you see me with someone even if I was buying (something) from the grocer..

ولكِ روحي عالبيت لحدا شوفكِ هون يفكرجاية تأرجيلي-

Go back to the house, someone will see you here and think that you came here to smoke argilla

حد متل مين؟ ابن جيران لصاحبك رجائي؟ اطمن حبيبي هدا اللي بحرشك وبحكيلك دير بالك على اختك وبيصير زلمة على اختك؟ هدا عم ينتقم مني لاني ما عطيته وج يا حمار

Someone like who? Our neighbours’ son, Rajae, who’s your friend? Rest assured habibi, this is the person who kept telling you stuffs and tells you to keep an eye over your sister and to control her.  He’s taking revenge on me because I snubbed him, stupid!

• I have no idea what’s بحرشك means but I’m assuming she meant “بحرضك” which means “he incited you (against me)”; to feed someone stories in an attempt to stir up trouble
• دير بالك on its own means “take care”; to دير بالك على someone is to take care of someone/watch over that someone; دير بالك من someone is to be careful/wary of someone
• بيصير زلمة على اختك = to have control over your sister (Lit: being a man towards your sister)
• Verb VII to take revenge: انتقم – بنتقم
• ما عطيته وج  literally means “I did not give him a face” And what she meant by that is “I ignored him/ I snubbed him”
• حمار (donkey) is of course a popular word to insult someone – to call someone stupid or a fool amongst other things

استني بس افهميني شوي-

Wait, try to understand me

نعم؟-

Yes?

فعلا كلامك صح انا آسف-

مو انا اللي غيرك وانتي اختي حبيبتي ما النا غير بعض

Actually, you’re right, I’m sorry. Don’t you have only me (besides yourself) and you’re my sister, my dear one, we don’t have anyone except each other.

• كلامك صح = your words are right

 مروح عالبيت؟

So you’re going home?

لا قاعد شوي بس بوصَلك وبرجع-

No, I will sit here for a while longer. But I will give you a lift and return

• The verb II وصّل  means to give someone a lift/ride [Lit: to cause someone to arrive somewhere]

لا لا لا مش مشكلة باخد تاكسي-

No, no, no. Not a problem, I’ll take a taxi

لا لا لا بوصلك-

No, no, no, I’ll give you a ride home

لا ولك خلص كمل قعدتك عنجد باخد تاكسي يا لله باي-

No, stop it, remain seated. I’m serious, I’ll take a taxi. Yallah bye

ايوااا احكي هيك من الاول بدك تاخدي تاكسي عشان يقل ادبو –

معاكي

Ahaa why don’t you say from the beginning? You want to take a taxi so that he (the driver) can behave inappropriately towards you

• يقل ادبو literally means he lowers/reduces his good manners/virtues (and thus acts inappropriately); they behave inappropriately would be  يقلوا ادبهم
• معِك is just another way of saying معاكي

ولك انت صاير نسخة عن صاحبك…كائن عدائي

You’re becoming just like your friend…a complete jerk!

• “نسخة” means “a copy”
• صاير نسخة عن – Saayir nuskha 3an someone = to become like someone [Lit: to become a copy of someone]
• “كائن عدائي” literally means “a hostile being”

***

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

Lyn

The post Learn Spoken Arabic and explore stereotypes via an entertaining Jordanian series. appeared first on theLevanTongue.

Here are a few things you would hear once you get out of that rock you’ve been living under…or when Tawjihi’s finally over

وين الغيبة؟

wain el3haibeh?

Where have you been (all this while)?!

The word ” غيبة” on its own means “absence.”

وينك غاطة؟

wainak 3haaTha?

Where have you been (all this while)?!

بعد زمان

ba3ad zamaaan

“Long time no see” (Syrian)

زمان عنك

zamaaan 3anak

“Long time no see” (Jordanian/Palestine)

زمان ما شفتك

zamaan ma shuftak

“Long time no see” (the literal way)

**Remember: You gotta stretch that zamaaaaann when you say it

وين مختفي \ مختفية

wain mukhtafii/muktafiyeh

Where have you been hiding?

بعد زمان هلقمر مابان

ba3ad zamaan hal3amar maaban

after a long time, this moon didn’t show up

Didn’t we just see each other a week ago?

Not forgetting that these phrases also go hand in hand with…

مشتاقتلك

meshtaaqtellak

I Miss You

EXTRA

Want to know what’s the Arabic equivalent of “living under a rock”?

Lebanese dialect:

She’s living under a rock = She’s living among the lettuce leaves

عايشة بالخسة

3ayshe bel khasse

Syrian dialect:

He’s living under a rock = Nobody knows where God has placed him

ما عرفان الله وين حاطو

maa 3arfan Allah wain HaTo

These expressions are used to describe someone who’s being oblivious or ignorant of what happening around him/her.

That’s it folks!

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

Lyn

The post Things Arabs say when they haven’t seen each other in a long while + Bonus appeared first on theLevanTongue.