In this post, I will share the Arabic transcript of Ahed Tamimi’s interview with AJ +. I also copied the English translation provided by AJ + so that it will be easy to compare both Arabic and English version of the sentences simultaneously.

Months ago, Ahed Tamimi was released from prison for slapping an Israeli soldier.

Today, you’ll learn some words in Palestinian Arabic from her.

احنا انشالله رح نكون الجيل الي بيسلم للجيل بعدنا الحرية

We, God Willing, are going to be the generation that hands over freedom to the next generation

لو حتى مقدرناش بيسلم الجيل بعد ما الحرية, نقدر انو نخلي الجيل اللي بعدنا

Even if we can’t pass on freedom to the next generation, we can make the generation after us

يثورعلى كل هاي الاحتلال وكل الظلوم عشان نقدر انو نحرر فلسطين

revolt against the occupation and all the injustices in order for us to free Palestine

BECOMING A PALESTINIAN ICON

لما كنتي بالسجن, شو اكتر اشي اشتاقتي؟

When you were in prison, what was the thing you missed the most?

اشتاقت انو اتطلع بالنجوم بسماء بدون ما اشوف شبك

I missed gazing at the stars in the sky without looking through bars

او انو امشي بالشارع عادي بدون كلابشات بدون اربع مرات توقعي

Or walking on the streets normally without tripping on shackles four times

احكيلي عن اليوم اللي ضربتي فيه الجندي, شو صار؟

Talk to me about the day you slapped the soldier. What happened?

كان الجندي يضلو يجاكرنا وينزل الدرج من درنا

The soldier was trying to provoke me and he would come down the stairs of our house.

بحكيلو انو ما تنزلش من هون بالنهاية هذا بيتي

I told him, “Don’t come down from here.” After all, this my house

بوقتا سمعت انو ابن عمي تصاوب بوجهو واخدوه على المستشفى

During that time, I heard that my cousin had been shot. He was shot in the face and then was taken to the hospital.

بوقتا الجندي اللي طخ ونزل واقف يطخ على الشباب من الباب الدار

After he shot him, the soldier came and started firing at people from the door of our house.

ف انا بحكيلو انو روح, مش حقك طخ من عنا من الدار يعني

I told him to leave and that it’s not his right t0 shoot [people] from our house.

طبعا هو ضل جاكرني بوقتا انا يعني عصبت وضربته

Of course, he continued to provoke me and that’s when I got angry and slapped him.

ما خفتي؟

You weren’t scared?

بالنهاية يعني واحد مش لازم يخلي الخوف يسيطرعليه

At the end of the day, a person shouldn’t allow their fear to take control of them.

من وين جبتي هاي الشجاعة

Where did you get this courage from?

انو انتي بنت تضربي واحد جندي مسلح ممكن يموتك؟

You, a girl, to slap an armed soldier who could probably kill you?

اهلي مربين انو دائما ما اسكتش عن الغلط

My parents raised me to never stay quiet when something wrong is happening.

انو دائما اوقف بوش الغلط

That I should always stand in the face of any wrongdoing

هاي الشجاعة يعني ردة الفعل على وجود الجندي اللي في بيتي

My courage was a normal reaction to the soldier being in my house

او على ارضي او بلدي او يطخ على اهل البلد

or on my land, or in my country, or shooting at my people

بعدما ضربتيه توقعتي انو ييجوا يعتقلوكي؟

After you hit him, did you think you’d be arrested?

اه توقعت. نزّلوني كلبشوني عن اول الدرج

Yeah, I expected it. They brought me down, handcuffed me at the top of the stairs.

حطوني بسيارة الجيش, تعمدا يضلوا يسبوا علي

Then they put me in the armored vehicle. They kept swearing at me,

يستفيزوني عشان اعمل اي اشي ليزيدو التهمة علي

provoking me just so I would react, just so they could add more charges against me

بس انو انا دائما حاولت اكون انو هادية. بعدين نقلوني على التحقيق

But I tried to remain calm the whole time. Afterward, they brought me into the interrogation.

احكيلي عن التحقيق

Tell me about the interrogation.

كان في اكتر من انتهاك

There were several violations.

الانتهاك الاول ما كان معاي مجندة طول الفترة التحقيق

The first violation: There was no female soldier with me throughout the entire interrogation.

كان محققين اثنين يحققوا معاي

There were two male soldiers interrogating me

الانتهاك الثاني كان انو فش لا عندي محامي ولا حدا من اهلي

The second violation: I didn’t have a lawyer or any family member

مع انو قاصر لازم تحققوا معاي

present with me even though I’m a minor

الانتهاك الثالث كان انو بحكو كلام كتير بذيئ بالتحقيق

The third violation: They were speaking to me inappropriately during the interrogation.

صار يحكيلي انو اتني حلوة, شعرك حلو, انتي متل اختي

He started saying, “You are pretty. You have nice hair. You look like my sister.”

والانتهاك الرابع هو انو هددني بافراد عيلتي

And the fourth violation: He threatened me with my family.

شو قلتي انتي؟

So what did you tell them?

انا بوقتها كنت اضل احكيلهم بلتزم بحق الصمت

At that time, I kept telling them that I was committed to my right to remain silent

وخلال السجن, كيف كانو يتعاملوكي؟

And during prison, how did they treat you?

كان يعني ضغط من ادارة السجن, ع كل البنات مو بس انا كعهد

We faced pressure from the prison administration, all the girls, not just me

من ناحية يسكرو الصف وقت كنا نتعلم

They would cancel our classes

*من ناحية = on the one hand

من ناحية انو بوقت دورة القانون الدولي الانساني اللي كنا ناخدها

During our international law or human rights courses,

كانو يعني كتير يضربوا الطوارئ عشان يرجعونا على غرف

they would sound the alarm to send us back to our cells

وقدمتي التوجيهي بالسجن؟

Did you take your [high school] exams in prison?

اه قدمت التوجيهي ونجهت ويعني عملت حفلة بالسجن

Yes, I took my finals, passed them and threw a party in prison.

عملنا كل البنات حفلة صغيرة. ان شاء الله رح اكمل مسيرتي هاي انو ادرس قانون

Me and the girls threw a small party in the prison. God Willing, I’m going to continue my career studying law

حتى اصير محامية ارفع قاضية بالمحاكم الدولية

in order to become a lawyer who files cases in international courts.

بطالب كل الناس حتى لو شكاوى فردية يرفع على دولة الاحتلال بمحاكم دولية

I ask everyone, even if they are an individual, to file a complaint against the occupation at the international courts

هدا اشي كتير بأثير

This seriously makes a difference.

هو طبعا في اطفال كتار غيرك بالسجن اسرائلية

There are obviously a lot of kids, aside from you, in Israeli prisons

 احكيلي عن الاسيرات  اللي تعرفتي عليهم جوا

Tell me about the female prisoners you met.

القاصيرات عنجد كانو اقوى اشي بالقسم كلو بالسجن

The minor prisoners were the strongest in all of the prison

فاهمين عنجد القضية. فاهمين شو لازم يعملو بالسجن

They understand our cause. They understand what they have to do in prison.

انا كنت مثال بسيط للاسرى

I was just a simple prisoner.

انهم اسرى مع احكام عالية. هدول بحاجة انو ننتبهلهم شوي

There are prisoners who have longer prison sentences. Those are the people who are in need of our attention.

هل عندك امل بتشوفي سلام بين الفلسطينين والاسرائلين بحياتك؟

Do you have hope that one day you’ll see peace between Palestinians and Israelis?

كنا عايشين من قبل فلسطين, اليهود, المسيحين والمسليمين

We used to live together in peace – Jews, Christians and Muslims.

بس يعني هاي صهيونية

But this is Zionism.

هاي اللي الاشي اللي بخلينا ما نكوش بالسلام بالمرة

It’s what is preventing peace from ever happening.

ف انو مشكلتنا دائما مش مع اليهود

Our problem was never with the Jews

 مشكلتنا مع صهيونية زي دائما بنحكيه

Our problem is with Zionism. This is what we’ve always said.

ايش بتحبي تقولي ل اي بنت اسرائلية بعمرك رح تخدم بالجيش بسنة الجاي؟

What would you like to say to any Israeli girl of your age who’s going to serve in the military next year?

بحب احكيلها انو انتي كيف اصلا ترضي ع حالك انو تروح تمسكي سلاح تقتلي بني آدم؟

I would like to tell her, how could you allow yourself to grab a gun and kill a human being?

عمري ما تخيلت حالي انو اقتل اي حدا

I could never imagine myself killing anybody

ممكن حتى لو بتجيبلي القتل خالي ماقدرش اقتله انو

Even if you brought me the person who killed my uncle,

كيف رح اقدر خلي حدا تاني عايش هاي معاناة؟

how could I allow this suffering to happen to someone else?

عنجد هدا الاشي صعب كتير مش اي حدا يتحمله

It’s really hard. Nobody can handle it.

بتمنى عنجد يرجعوا على انسانيتهم يعني لو مرة يصارحوا حالهم

I really wish they’d go back to their humanity. Even for once, they should be honest with themselves.

عشان انو يقدرو يفهمو الصح من الغلط

So that they can understand right from wrong.

icon سموكي

They have called you “the icon

الفلسطين, صرتي رمزفلسطين

of Palestine.” You’ve become a symbol of Palestine.

بتحسي انو هادا شرف ولا عبء عليكي؟

Do you feel this is something to be honored by, or is it a burden on you?

اكيد شرف لانو ولا مرة كانت القضية الفلسطينة عبء علينا

Of course, it’s an honor because the Palestinian cause has never been a burden

انو اقدر اوصّل صوت ل عالم

I was able to convey a voice to the world.

رسالتي كعهد انو عزل, مقاطعة وملاحقة اسرائيل كمجريم الحرب

My message as Ahed is: Isolate, boycott and pursue Israel as a war criminal

و طبعا ربط بين النضال الاجتماعي, النضال الوطني و النضال الاجتماعي التحرري

and unify the national struggle and social liberation movement

عشان يكون مو بس منحرر من الاحتلال

so that we don’t just free ourselves from the occupation

لأ لازم نناضل عشان يكون عندنا مجتمع

No, we have to fight for a society that

 في مساواة, في عدالة بين الرجل والمراة

has equality and justice between men and women

بين الكبير وبين الصغير ما عنجد انو لازم نربط بين هالشغلتين

between old and young. We really have to link these two things together.

انو ما كان تحرر من تحت الاحتلال في رح يكون دمار داخل فلسطين يعني

If it’s just liberation from occupation, there will be a mess inside Palestine.

لأ ,لازم يكون واعيين انو النضال الوطني لازم يكون مربوط في النضال الاجتماعي

No, we have to be aware that the national activism should be aligned with social activism

*النضال = struggle

~~~

That’s it! It’s definitely not enough to listen to the interview once. Listen to the interview as many times as you need such that you can grasp the words that Ahed is saying in the video.

I was able to catch about 80% of the interview and got a friend to help fill in the gaps. So listening practice can be tough but it’ll be worth it once your ears get accustomed to the sound.

Below are some additional observations that are useful.

Notes:

Pronunciation of letter qaf ق in Palestinian Arabic

It is known that most people don’t pronounce the letter qaf as it is in Spoken Arabic. The letter is usually pronounced correctly if the word has a religious connotation to it. For example, words found in the Quran should be pronounced correctly and the letter qaf should be pronounced correctly too.

I have mentioned in previous posts such as this that Jordanians often pronounce the letter qaf as a hamzah ء (like most Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinian too) or as a strong “g” sound (usually men).

However, depending on regions, some Palestinians do pronounce the letter qaf as kaf ك. In other words, like the English “k”.

If you listen carefully, there are some words where Ahed had pronounced the qaf as a kaf. Such words include:

توقعي

توقعت

Adding ش as negation

Adding the letter ش to the back of verbs is a way to negate their meanings.

For example, instead of saying

ما بقدر احكي

ma ba2dar aHki

I can’t say

you can also say:

بقدرش احكي

ba2darsh aHki

or

ما بقدرش احكي

ma ba2darsh aHki

I have written about the word (فش) that also acts to negate meanings in another post. Read more under the bonus section in the post here.

~~~

PS: 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

PSS: Below is a lovely song dedicated to her by Zain Jordan. Check it out!

That’s all folks! Hope you pick up new words in Palestinian Arabic from this post.

If you can spread the word about this site to others learning Levantine Arabic, that would be great!

Cheers

Lyn

The post Spoken Palestinian Arabic Transcript of Ahed’s Interview with AJ+ appeared first on theLevanTongue.

The obvious ones in the list are Mashrou’ Leila from Lebanon and Jadal from Jordan. But there are more bands and artists to check out apart from those two.

Some of them may not be producing music anymore but it’s still worth checking their awesome music out. Folk, ska, reggae, psychedelic rock and even rap…I’m sure there’s at least a band that’s of your liking -read on to discover all of them 

1. MASHROU’ LEILA (Lebanon)

GENRE: INDIE ROCK

Other Epic Songs by MASHROU’ LEILA:

• Raksit Leila
• Sawsan
• 3 Minutes
• Kalaam
• Falyakon

2. JADAL (Jordan)

GENRE: Alternative rock

Other Epic Songs by JADAL:

• Salma
• Nyalek
• Wahde Bteshbahek
• Ya Ahla Oyoun

3. AKHER ZAPHEER (Jordan)

GENRE: ROCK, GRUNGE

Other Epic Songs by Akher Zapheer:

• Dayman Mawjood
• Feekee
• Keef Akoun Sadeeq
• Hob Ayyam Zaman

4. MEEN (Lebanon)

GENRE: ROCK

Other Epic Songs by MEEN:

• 7ada alleh abel ma yfil
• Btiswa Tizi
• Wosel L Balegh
• Ma2baret El A7lem
• 3al Mkhade

5. YAZAN HAIFAWI (Jordan)

GENRE: ROCK

Other Epic Songs by YAZAN HAIFAWI:

• Zay il Ballon
• Ya Reit

6. AUTOSTRAD (Jordan)

GENRE: INDIE ROCK

Other Epic Songs by AUTOSTRAD:

• Mirsal
• Estanna Shwai
• Ana bokra m3attel

7. ZAMAN BAND (Palestine)

GENRE: GYPSY, ROCK

Other Epic Songs by ZAMAN BAND:

• Malaki
• Ya Weali Weal
• Maria
• Fog El Nakhal

8. EL MORABBA3 (Jordan)

GENRE: ROCK

Other Epic Songs by EL MORABBA3:

• Hada Tani
• Taht il Ard
• Cigara Qabel Ma Nqoom

9. ADONIS (Lebanon)

GENRE: POP ROCK

Other Epic Songs by ADONIS:

• Stouh Adonis
• La Bel Haki
• Yeb’a Enna
• Leli Ya Lel
• Mafraa Amshit

10. AZIZ MARAKA (Jordan)

GENRE: ROCK JAZZ

Other Epic Songs by AZIZ MARAKA:

• Meen Gallak
• Heyye
• Bent El Nas
• Tzakkartek
• Bahki Lahali

11. EL FAR3I (Palestinian-Jordanian)

Genre: folk, acoustic rap, hip hop

Other Epic Songs by EL FAR3I:

• Sahib El Ra’i
• Dalik Malak
• Bein Kol El Nas
• Khayyal

12. APO & THE APOSTLES (Palestine)

GENRE: ALTERNATIVE FOLK ROCK

Other Epic Songs by APO & THE APOSTLES:

• Baji Wenek
• Bidi Masari
• Albi
• Bandora Blues
• Fil Zaman

13. TOOT ARD (Golan Heights)

GENRE: REGGAE, PSYCH ROCK

Other Epic Songs by TOOT ARD:

• Laissez Passer
• Bint Lkarye
• Majnoon
• A’sfur
• Nasma Jabalyia
• Syrian Blues

14. GHAZALL (Nazareth)

GENRE: JAZZ ROCK, REGGAE

Other Epic Songs by GHAZALL:

• Al Khareef
• Teebit
• Mish Mishta’a
• Elli Fat Mat

15. KHEBEZ DAWLE (Syria)

GENRE: ROCK

Other Epic Songs by KHEBEZ DAWLE:

• Belsharea’

• Beta’ammer

• Manam

16. ANAS & FRIENDS (Syria)

GENRE: Rock

Other Epic Songs by ANAS & FRIENDS:

• 3yonak
• Amara
• Haki
• Areeb
• Byeb’a

17. KHALAS (Palestine)

GENRE: ROCK

Other Epic Songs by KHALAS:

• Biladi
• Amona
• Alf Leila

***

What are your thoughts? If there are any bands or artists that you think should be included in this list, let me know in the comment section below!!

The best part of it all is that you don’t have to understand Arabic to enjoy the music.

P.S Check out my other songs related posts where you can learn a word or two in Levantine Arabic HERE.

P.S.S Like this list? Like and share this post! Don’t forget to subscribe too!

The post 17 alternative rock bands and solo artists from 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.

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.