So I came across a Youtube channel called “The Adventures of Sitt Najeh” which acts as another resource for me to practice listening to Lebanese Arabic and to pick up new words.

The series is about a Lebanese middle age woman who moved to Canada from Lebanon, and each video pokes fun at the differences in the living conditions and culture between both countries. I like the channel as each video is short (most are under 5 minutes) and some of them have English subtitles.

In this post, I will introduce you to one of the videos titled “كلها منافع ” which means “Everything about it has benefits”. And, the “it” refers to a traffic jam.

So without further ado, let’s dive in to see how do traffic jams contain any benefits – from the perspective of Sitt Najeh, of course!

!معقول هيدي العجقة؟

This traffic jam is unbelievable

آه هيدي العجقة قال

Yeah they call this a traffic jam

  عنجد يلي نحنا هون, كيف منفهم الأشياء بهالبلد هيك بطريقة غريبة عجيبة

It’s really weird how we understand things in this country

ما بعرف ليش هيك منضل نحب منخلق مشاكل لحالنا

I don’t know why we like to create problems for ourselves

ما بيعرفو انو العجقة كلها منافع؟

Don’t they know that a traffic jam is full of benefits

مثلا انا اليوم عندي موعد لعند الحكيم على الساعة خمسة بعد الضهر

For example, I have a doctor appointment at 5 pm

قلت انا هيك بضهر بكير ع ساعة سبعة

I said to myself, I can leave early at 7 am

وبجيب كل أغراضي معي وبحضَر طبختي هوني وهيك

and bring all my things with me and prepare my cooking here

 يعني بتسلى بين هالناس لانو هون

and have fun with these people…because here (in Lebanon)

كيف ما طلعت في ناس حواليك ببتسملن وببتسمولك يعني

however you look at people around you, you can smile to them and they will smile back

ايه لو كان متل كندا, اعود بلله, ما حدا بيتطلع بحدا هونيك

if it’s Canada, nobody ever looks at each other here

ابدا ابدا ما حدا بيتطلع بحدا

not at all, nobody will ever look at anyone

وبعدين ساعة في سير هونيك وساعة يلي ما بكون في سير

then, sometimes there’s traffic and other times when there’s no traffic

هيك بيشرد تفكيرنا دغري انو ممكن يكون في شي مشكل

we’ll immediately think that perhaps there’s some kind of problem

في شي اشتباك مسلح بشي منطقة

like an armed clash in some area

اني كرمال هيك ماعجبتني كندا, ابدا ابدا, ما عجبتني

this is why I don’t like Canada at all. Canada doesn’t appeal to me

شو هيدا انا اليوم عاملة لوبيا زيت وتبولة. في احسن من هيك؟

What’s this…today, I’m cooking green beans in oil and Tabouleh, there’s nothing better than this

ولي على قامتي انشالله انسيت جيب ابن اختي معي

Shucks/Darn it!, I forgot to bring my nephew with me

وكنت على قليلة اقعدو ورا وخلص كل دروسه

at the very least, I could have gotten him to sit behind and finish all his studies

كنت اني سمعتله, نغدينا سوا وتسلينا

 I could have recited to him, have lunch together, and have fun

العجقة جدا هيك منيحة لراحة الموظفين, يمكن معقول نحنا مش منتبهين على هالشغلة

a traffic jam is really good for the well-being of employees. it’s unbelievable that we are not attentive/aware of this

يمكن هيدا تخطيط جديد, ايه تخطيط جديد من قبل الدولة, نحنا كيف هيك ما انتبهنا

maybe this is a new plan. Yes, a new plan by the government. How could we not have noticed it?

*من قبل = by

يعني مثلا هلأ الموظفين بيقضوا تلات اربعة ساعات بالعجقة بالكنديتون

for example, employees spend three, four hours in the traffic jam and in the air condition

بعدين انو بس يوصل على المكتب, بكون ما محرزة, يعني ما محرزة الدوام

and when they reach the office, it’s no longer worth it. There’s no point in working

بيقضوا شي ساعتين تلاتة, بيرجع بكير ع بيته, عايلته

they spend two, three hours and then return home early to their families

ايه لو كان متل كندا, يا حرام, من الفجر للنجر

If it’s Canada, poor thing, (people work) from dawn till dusk

الله وكيلكن, من الفجر للنجر

I swear, I’m not lying to all of you, from dawn till dusk

يعني العمور بيخلص والشغل ما بيخلص

life ends but the work doesn’t end

ايه يعني كرمال هيك ما عجبتي كندا, ابدا ابدا ما عجبتني

that is why I don’t like Canada. Canada doesn’t appeal to me

ايه والله ما عجبتني

I swear, I don’t like Canada

Notes

• Traffic jam

In Lebanese and Syrian Arabic, traffic jam is referred to as 3aj2a – عجقة while in Jordanian Arabic, it is referred to as azmeh –  ازمة (the MSA word for ‘crisis’).

• Doctor

Nowadays, most Arabs generally refer to a doctor as “doktor دكتور”. But there are still some who use the word Hakeem -حكيم to refer to a doctor or a physician.

• It’s worth it. Or not.

محرز \ محرزة

Worth it

For example,

تكميل دراستك شي محرز وخاصة اذا بساعدك تلاقي شغل احسن

It is worth it to continue your studies especially if it helps you to find a better job

Similarly, negate it using words such as “مو \ مش” and you’ll get the opposite meaning – it’s ain’t worth it/ it’s worthless.

For example,

مو محرزة تشتري بضاعة مزيفة لانو ما بتضل كتير

It is not worth to buy fake goods because they do not last long.

• It amazes me and appeals to me. Thus I like it very much.

What am I talking about here? I’m referring to the Verb Form I (one of the 101 most used verbs) that means something or someone amazes/appeals to someone.

عجب – بيعجب

For example, you can use the verb if you want to say “This lesson is amazing! I like it a lot!”.

هادا الدرس بيعجبني كتير

Similarly, if you want the opposite meaning – it does not appeal to me and thus I do not like it – simply add ما before the verb. Also, pick the right verb tense (past tense or present tense) according to your sentence.

For example, when I say هاد الشي ما عجبني [hadel shii maa 3ajabni], it means that this thing did not appeal to me nor did it amaze me. In short, I did not like this thing (whatever it is).

• Lebanese Verb I -To Leave/ To go out

ضهر – بيضهر

dha-har , bed-har

• Yaa Haraaam *shakes head*

يا حرااام

Ya Haraaam is a phrase that is said to generally convey feelings of sympathy, pity and sadness. And depending on contexts, it may also convey a tone of disapproval.

Saw animals being beaten up by their owners in Petra? Yaa Haraaam

Knew a talented and well-mannered child who died young? Yaa Haraam

In the featured video, the phrase is said by Sitt Najeh to convey sympathy and a slight disapproval for employees who work extremely long hours.

muttering “Ya Haraam” under breath

Take note that the phrase can sometimes be used sarcastically in order to mock and scoff.

For example,

يا حرام مفكرة حالها حلوة وهي لأ

It’s sad to see that she thinks she’s pretty but in actual fact, she’s not

يا حرام شو هبلة مصدقتو انو بيحبها وهو عم يضحك عليها

It’s such a pity that she’s an idiot for believing that he likes her when he’s only fooling around (lit: laughing at her)

• Woe Is Me/Shucks!

ولي على قامتي

wali 3ala 2aamtii

The phrase is often said to feel sorry for oneself and to moan about one’s misfortune.

It is said in the same way as to how English speakers would say “Shucks” or “Darn it”.

For example, I was watching a Syrian show called “Ghadan Naltaqi” and the girl said this phrase repeatedly in a state of panic. That’s because she was hanging out with her boyfriend when she saw her uncle in the distance and realised that he has caught her with her boyfriend.

• I swear to God, I ain’t lying. Trust me

الله وكيلك

Allah wakiilak

A ‘wakeel’ (وكيل) refers to someone that has been appointed to represent the appointer and to carry out a service on the appointer’s behalf.

However when someone says “الله وكيلك”, he or she is more or less saying that “I’m saying this in front of you and in front of God” And since God is all knowing, he or she is also saying “trust me, God knows I’m speaking the truth. There’s no way I would dare lie about what I’m telling you.” This phrase is similar to ‘الله شاهد’ – God’s my witness.

To put it simply, the phrase means ‘I swear, I’m not lying’.

In the video, Sitt Najeh says the phrase to emphasise the fact that employees in Canada do indeed work long hours (from dawn till dusk). Furthermore, she says ‘ الله وكيلكن’ as she is referring to the viewers as a whole.

~~~

So does this post appeal to you? I hope it does Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below and if you have any specific topic that you want me to blog about, let me know too!

PS. Remember to subscribe if you haven’t. And if you have, spread the word about theLevanTongue to all your friends learning Levantine Arabic

The post Learn why traffic jams are beneficial for Arabs in Lebanese Arabic 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.