Tag: palestinian

The Arabic Verb Is Just A Three-Letter Word: عرف (Levantine)

Inspired by the song “Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word” by Joan Baez (written by Bob Dylan), here’s a first of a series of posts about verbs in Levantine Arabic titled The Arabic Verb Is Just A Three-Letter Word 😁

In each post, I will demonstrate how just by knowing one verb in its three-letter root form (Form I) will enable you to use the verb in its other forms.

I always thought that it makes more sense to be taught all the verbs from the same root at the same time rather than at different points in the language journey.

The meanings of the verb in its other forms can easily be guessed once you grasp how the 10-verbs form system works.

And I hope to demonstrate that through sentence examples and seeing for yourself the pattern that arises.

This series of posts might be especially useful for those learning Spoken Arabic without any formal background in MSA/Fosha.

So for the first post of an ongoing series, we’ll begin with a simple verb:

عرف

 

ALEF #01: Ma BaHut Bidimtii

 A LEVANTINE EXPRESSION FRIDAY (ALEF) #01:

ما بحط بذمتي

21 Female Angelic Voices From the Levant

Weeks ago, I compiled a list of alternative rock bands and solo artists from the Levant (you can check it out here). So I figured this time, I’m going to do the same for beloved female artists from the Levant who are known for their angelic voices.

You’ll find songs in both Levantine Arabic and Fusha. And while the most obvious one is Fairouz, I have also listed Nedaa Sharara – the winner of The Voice 3 and also interestingly, one of the very few artists in the entertainment industry donning the hijab (you go girl!).

Plus, this list is not exhaustive. Don’t fret if you don’t see your favourite artist here. Feel free to name additional awesome female artists from the Levant in the comment section below 🙂

For now, scroll through the list and enjoy!

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

Do you have years of MSA classes under your belt but felt discouraged and frustrated when you arrived in a Middle Eastern country and realised that you cannot understand most of the conversations?

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…..

How do Arabs end an argument (or turn a deaf ear to replies)

Ahla w Sahla fiikum to another post of #How do Arabs 😉

In this post, I’m going to list out a few phrases that are useful for ending arguments.

In general, they are to mean “My words are final” and thus any replies would not be tolerated. It is also important to note that most often it is a person of a higher authority than the other who would be saying these phrases (Eg: a mother to her children)

The first phrase is…

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