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

In Spoken Arabic, the verb عرف can be used in the following forms:

• Verb Form I
• Verb Form II
• Verb Form V
• Verb Form VII
• Verb Form VIII

*Note: Audio recordings in this post were recorded by native Syrian speakers.

Verb Form I

Meaning:

• to know
• to recognise/identify

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

• to know

شكلك مألوف، بعتقد اني بعرفك

You look familiar, I think I know you

 ما كِنت بعرف أنو عندك حساسية للمأكولات البحرية

I didn’t know that you are allergic to seafood

زوجي ما عرف أنو عيد ميلادي كان مبارح

My husband did not know that yesterday was my birthday

كِنتي بتعرفي ولا مابتعرفي أنو كان لازم تسلمي المشروع اليوم؟

Did you (f) know or did you not know that you were supposed to submit your project today?

مجموعة الأولاد غشّوا بفحصهن (بفحصهم) الأخير على الرغم من أنو بيعرفوا أنو ممكن ينفصلوا بسبب هي الشغلة

The group of boys cheated on their final tests even though they knew they could get expelled

• to recognise/identify

In Spoken Arabic, natives use the Form I to refer to both “know” and “recognise/identify”. Whether they mean “know” or “recognise/identify” will thus depend on the context.

Note that for contexts with a more serious or formal tone, the verb Form V is used instead to refer to “recognise/identify”. 

ما عرفتك بقصة شعرك الجديدة

I could not (did not) recognise you with your new haircut

جواد ضعف كتير لدرجة ما قدر يعرف حالو بالمراية

Jawad lost a lot of weight to the point that he cannot recognise himself in the mirror

بيقولو انو الطفل بيعرف صوت امو دغري بعد الولادة

It is said that a child (can) recognise its mother’s voice soon after birth

حابة اشتري هاد الفستان اونلاين بس كيف بدي أعرف الأصلي من التقليد؟

I want to buy this dress online but how can I tell [recognise/know] the original from the fake?!

شفت شي عم يطير بالسما اليوم بس ما قدرت أعرف شو هو

I saw something flying in the sky today but I could not identify what it was

Verb Form II

Meanings:

• to introduce
• to define
• How Would I Know?!

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

• to introduce

سامي، بدي أعرّفك على أخوي الأصغر مني ،حسين

Sami, I would like to introduce you to my younger brother, Hussein.

تعال على حفلتي بكرى. بدي أعرّفك على رفقاتي

Come to my party tomorrow. I want to introduce you to my friends

ممكن تعرّفني على مديرك؟ بتمنى أنو أشتغل بشركتك بعد التخرج

Is it possible for you to introduce me to your manager? I hope to work at your company after graduation.

انفصلت ليزا عن صديقا (صديقها) من جديد، وكل رفقاتا (رفقاتها) عم يحاولوا يعرّفوها على رفقاتهن (رفقاتهم) الشباب

Lisa has just broken up with her boyfriend and all her friends are trying to introduce her to their male friends.

• to define

طيب يا صفّ, سؤال…كيف بتعرّفوا السعادة؟

Ok class, a question…how do you define happiness?

ونستون تشرشل بيعرّف النجاح على أنه القدرة على الانتقال من الفشل للفشل من دون فقدان الحماس

Winston Churchill defines success as the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm

• How Would I Know?!

This got to be one of my favourite phrases because it is usually said either in a tone of exasperation that may involve some eye-rolling, or in a tone of indifference like a half-arsed reply

So the phrase is…

شو بيعرّفني / شو بعرّفني

and you can translate it as “how would I know?”, “how am I supposed to know?”, “how in the world am I supposed to know”, “how the h*ll am I supposed to know”…you get the drift.

Here are some examples:

مين كسر الصحن؟-
وانا شو بيعرّفني؟ بكون حدا من الصغار-

Who broke the plate? // How would I know? It could be one of the children

 امتى رح ينتهي الفيروس؟-
الله أعلم, أنا شو بيعرّفني؟-

When will the virus end? // God only knows, how would I know?

Verb Form V

Meanings:

• to get to know s/one
• to be introduced to s/one or s/thing
• to get to know about something [~to learn/discover]
• to identify/recognise  (for contexts with a more serious/formal vibe)

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

كيف تعرّفت على ابن عمي حسين؟

How did you know my cousin Hussein?

تعرّفت على حسين بحفلة عيد ميلاد روان السنة الماضية

I got to know Hussein during Rawan’s birthday party last year.

هي تعرّفت على زوجها من خلال رحلة عمل لاسبانيا، ورح يحتفلوا بعيد زواجهن (زواجهم) العاشر الشهر الجاي

She got to know her husband during a business trip to Spain and they will be celebrating their 10th anniversary next month.

العروس والعريس تعرّفوا على بعضهم من خلال صديقهم المشترك

The bride and groom were introduced to each other through a mutual friend

بتصدقوا؟ تعرّفنا على الملكة رانيا الليلة الماضية خلال حفلة خاصّة

Can you (pl) believe it? We were introduced to Queen Rania last night at a private function

شوف هاد الفيديو ورح تتعرّف أكتر عن تاريخ هي (هاي) الدولة

Watch this video and you’ll get to know (learn) more about the history of this country

حضرنا المحاضرة مبارح وتعرّفنا على فوائد التأمل

We attended the lecture yesterday and got to know a lot about the benefits of meditation

(الدفاع المدني لاقو جثث بالبحر بس ما حدا قدر يتعرّف عليهن (عليهم

The Civil Defense found dead bodies in the sea but nobody was able to identify them

Verb Form VII

This verb form is the passive version of verb Form I.

Passive meaning that there is no subject performing the action of the verb. In other words, there is no doer of the action.

Since the tense is passive, this verb form is not as common in Spoken Arabic as the other forms.

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Here are some examples:

لسا ما انعرف امتى رح يخلص الحجر

It is not yet known when the quarantine will be over

هاد الشي بينعرف لما يلاقو لقاح للمرض

This will be known when they find a vaccine for the illness

للأسف ما في دليل كافي لينعرف القاتل

(Lit. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence for the killer to be identified)

~ Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to identify the killer

Verb Form VIII

Meaning:

• to admit, confess, acknowledge
• to recognise (in the political sense)

Conjugation table:

*Inflection of verbs does differ slightly between North and South Levantine. 

Audio for the North Levantine’s verb conjugation by a native Syrian speaker:

Sentence examples:

عمر مابقت يصدّق خطيبته بعدما اعترفتله بأنها كذبت عليه عن ماضيها

Omar could no longer trust his fiancé after she confessed to lying to him about her past

على الرغم من أنو حسن اعترف أنو هو كان على خطأ وندمان على أخطائو، أهلو ما سامحوه

Even though Hassan has acknowledged that he was wrong and regretful for his wrongdoings, his parents did not forgive him

حبيبتي، أنا أسف، أنا بعتذر.. بعترف اني غلطت معك

Darling, I’m sorry, I apologise…I admit that I’ve wronged you

مجموعة الشباب المراهقين اعترفوا أنهن (أنهم) سرقوا من دكانة أبو علي

The group of teenage boys has confessed to stealing from Abo Ali’s shop

السودان كانت أول دولة اعترفت بسيادة جنوب السودان لما استقل ب ٢٠١١

Sudan became the first country to recognise South Sudan’s sovereignty when it gained independence in 2011

في كم دولة ما بتعترف بإنو تايوان دولة مستقلة

There are some countries that do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state

~End~

Note that the verb عرف also exists in verb X (Form 10) [استعرف – يستعرف] to mean “to ask for information”, but since it is rarely used in Spoken Arabic, I’ve decided to exclude it from this post.

Soooo are you able to see some sort of pattern from the examples provided?  The pattern or link between some verb forms might be more apparent than the others.

Anyhoo, here’s a picture taken from The 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic by Fridrik Tiedemann that summarises how the 10-verbs form system works:

~~~

And…that’s it! The Arabic verb is, after all, JUST a three-letter word

If you found this post useful and would like me to continue with this series, make sure to leave a comment below!

Till then, take care, stay safe and I’ll see you around in the hosh.

Lyn

The post The Arabic Verb Is Just A Three-Letter Word: عرف (Levantine) appeared first on theLevanTongue.

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.

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!

1. FAIROUZ (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Bint el shalabiya
• Habbaytak bessayf
• ba3dak 3ala baly
• bektob esmak ya habibi

2. JULIA BOUTROS 

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• La Bahlamak
• Yawman Ma
• Ala Shou
• Ya Osas
• 3a Slamto

3. LENA CHAMAMYAN (Syria)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Ya Msafrah fil bahr
• Bali Ma3ak
• Kissat Ishk
• Hal asmar ellawn
• Ya Msafera

4. RASHA RIZK (Syria)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Matar
• Sakru Shababik
• Al Jathebeyye

5. LINDA BITAR (Syria)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Sar elkalam ghali
• Neesan
• Ward
• Ghazal elhawa

6. NANCY AJRAM (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Maakoul el Gharam
• Moush Far’a Ktir
• Hassa Beek
• 3am bet3allak feek

7. HIBA TAWAJI (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Tarik
• Helm
• Enta el fallayt
• Tir w Aalli
• Metel el Rih

8. ELISSA (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Aaks elli shayfenha
• Ya merayti
• Betmoun
• Aa Baly Habibi

9. YARA (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Twasa Fia
• Hob Kabeer
• Baher Hmoum
• Betrouh

10. MACADI NAHAS (Jordanian)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Ya 3amma

• Hayya 3ala Hayya

• Rahal
• Ta3ban
• Tiji Nsafer

11. ABEER NEHME (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Waynak
• Nizlo Njom El layl
• Ahwe
• Ma hada bi’abbi

12. RIM BANNA (Palestine)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• zedny befart alhob
• el ghaeb
• Ya layl ma atwalak
• T3am elhawa

13. FAIA YOUNAN (Syria)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Fi al tariki illaik
• Wejjak Ya Helou
• Ya Laytahou Yaalam
• Baynatna fi bahr
• Mawtini

14. ASSALA NASRI (Syria)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Kelma Adiyya
• Yom el raheel
• Boaadak ani
• Soaal Basit

15. MAJIDA AL-ROUMI (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Etazalt el gharam
• Kalimat
• Ebhath Aanni
• Esmaa Alby
• Mili Ya Helwi Mili

16. NAJWA KARAM (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Law bas ta3ref
• Habibi Min
• Ykhalili Albak
• Bawsit Abel L Nawm

17. YASMINE HAMDAN (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Hal
• Shwey
• La’ Ba’den
• Balad
• La Mosh Ana

18. DIANA KARAZON (Jordan)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Allah la yharmni menak ya ahla zein
• Insani ma bensak
• Omri law lela
• Enta el gharam
• El Omr Mashi

20. NEDAA SHRARA (Jordan)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Adawar alek
• Ba3dou 3otrak
• Betkhoun
• Sahrana ana

21. TANIA SALEH (Lebanon)

OTHER EPIC SONGS:

• Hal 3ayoun
• Ma Elna Shi
• Heya la tuhebok anta
• Yabalah

WHEEEE

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

P.S Check out my previous list of 17 alternative rock bands and solo artists from the Levant HERE

The post 21 Female Angelic Voices From the Levant appeared first on theLevanTongue.

This post is especially interesting since I have taken a clip from a Syrian mini-drama series that is unlike any others. The series is an interactive drama series where you can choose which character to follow in the beginning.

I came across the series via an article published by the Middle East Eye. The whole series contains short clips under 5 minutes -which is great cause they are not that long. You can check out the article here 

Now, let’s get back to the clip…

!خلدون

Khaldoun!

!شو في شو في؟

What’s up?! What happened?

ما في شي كالعادة

Nothing, as usual

حدا شافك وانت جاي لهون؟

Did anybody saw you make your way here?

لأ اتطمن ضيعنا

No, relax (rest assured), they lost me

طيب…معك شي؟

Ok…do you have anything on you?

فتح تحقيق يا زلمة؟

You’re interrogating me?

• تحقيق means “investigation”; فتح تحقيق = open an investigation

آسف…غريندايزر تماما

Sorry, you’re a complete Grendizer (i.e a hero)

• The Grendizer is the main character of a Japanese anime television series and manga called the “UFO Robot Grendizer” which was popular amongst kids growing up in the Middle East. If someone calls you a Grendizer, that means you’re a hero/champion.

The Grendizer

Source

الشاي على النارعلى حظك لح صبلك شاي

The tea is boiling, lucky you, I will pour you a cup

• Some people in Syria use “لح” while others use “رح”. Both have the same meaning of “will” (future tense)

عظيم

Great

شوفلك شغلة تانية

Go find yourself a different job

خيرج صحافة شو بدك اشتغل؟

I’m a graduate of journalism. What do you want me to work as?

اشتغل جريدة ولا اشتغل شي تلفزيون؟

Shall I work at newspapers (companies) or at a TV channel?

• Adding شي to something is an easy way to express yourself when you don’t know the exact terms. Eg: “شي تلفزيون” can easily mean “things relating to television”

خلص تطلع ع برا

Fine, get outside

برا وين؟

Outside where?

؟ cool انزل ع بيروت؟ كتير واوو؟ و

Go to Beirut? Be someone “wow” and “cool” ?

مسيح جوخ

be a bootlicker

• the phrase is often used to describe that one employee in the office who always do things to get in the good books of his/her boss -which behaviour annoys the rest of the staff

برا قصدي شي قناة برا محترمة او هيك مراسل

Outside – I mean some sort of channel, something respectful…or be a reporter

خلدون منصورمن قناة”…شو بعرفني؟”

“Khaldoun Mansour, reporting from…”…what do I know?!

• People often say “شو بعرفني” to mean “what do I know?” or “how am I supposed to know?!”

قناة رياضية

A sports channel

بس بس بس

That’s enough

بفضل ابقى هون احسن وقتا

I prefer to stay here, it’s better

اشتقتلك يا عرص

I missed you, buddy

• WARNING: عرص does not mean “buddy” so please don’t go calling your friends عرص
• In fact, it’s a vulgur word that probably best translates to “bastard” or “pimp” in English
• Here, in this context, since Khaldoun and Karim are good friends, the word was said in a light-hearted manner and was not intended to cause offense (just like how we can get away with swearing at our best friends..simply cause they are our best friends)

صارلي زمان مو شايفك

It has been so long since I last seen you

والله يا استاذ بدك تشوف صاحبك قريبا غريندايزرعن حق وحقيق ؟

I swear, you will see your friend become a true Grendizer

• عن حق وحقيق= truly

شو قصدك؟

What do you mean?

قررت انضام الاسعاف الشعبي

I’ve decided to join the civilian ambulance unit

شو؟ شو بدك تموت؟ انت تعرف هدول شو؟

What? Do you want to die? Do you know what they are like?

انت تعرف..؟

Do you know…

!ما بدي اعرف

I don’t want to know!

لأ بدك تعرف!

No, you got to know!

حبيبي بيشتغلوا ليل مع نهار

These guys work day and night

ما بيعرفوا خوف ما بيعرفوا موت

without any fear of death

طلعوا ناس من تحت الانقاض من تحت القصف

evacuating people from under the rubbles and the shellings

لك احسن هدول قاعدين قدام الكاميرات قدام التلفزيونات

they are much better than the people that appear on TV

عم تنظرواعلينا

   preaching to us (but never practicing what they preach)

لابسين غرافيتات متل حضرتك

wearing neck ties like you

• حضرتك is the formal version of “you”; of course in this scene, the formal version is intentionally used to make Khaldoun seems like one of those important men in politics/media etc

شو..شو بك؟

What’s wrong (with my tie)?

انا عندي درس

I got class

تروح ع درس؟

You’re going to class (dressed like that?!)

ولك بدي ابقى عندك شغلة يومين اه

Hey, I will stay at your place for two days or so

• شغلة is added to create the uncertainness – “شغلة يومين” = two days or so

ايه ايه اكيد ولو

Sure, of course

• ولو is a common word said to mean “of course” but has the connotation of “come on, there’s no need to ask, of course you can stay”
• often said to good friends/relatives/family members who ask you for a small favour

بس لتروق الأوضاع وبروح

Once things calm down, I’ll leave

طبعا طبعا

Sure

دير بالك ع حلك سلام

Take care of yourself, bye

يعطيك العافية

Hello (May God give you health)

اهلا استاذ كريم

Hello Mr Karim

تفضل

Come in

 استاذ كريم بدك لأ تواخذني انا لازم امشي هلأ

Mr Karim, I hope you don’t mind, I have to go now

• لأ تواخذني = don’t take offense/ don’t be offended

اي ولا يهمك خد راحتك

Don’t worry, take your time

هدا حسابك

Here’s your pay

كتر خيرك

Thank you so much (May God increase your good fortune)

تفضل

Please

شكرا

Thanks

كنا سبعة بالشلة

There were seven of us in our clique

• شلة refers to “clique” – the group of friends you always hang out after school etc

نص مع ونص ضد

Some are pro, some are against

اجى الحرب وتركوا واحد ورا تاني

The war came and one by one, they started to leave

حمادة صار موظف في جماعية تركية

Hamada is now employed in an association in Turkey

ويوسف عم يعمل مطرب بلبنان

and Yousef is becoming a singer in Lebanon

سامي اختفئ

Sami disappeared

عمرعم بأرجل بالمانيا

Omar is smoking sheesha in Germany

زينون عم يتعاطى مخدرات باليونان

Zeynoun is doing drugs in Greece

• Verb VI تعاطى – بتعاطى is always used to describe “doing drugs” or “abusing drugs”

خلدون كن اكتر واحد متهور

Khaldoun was the most reckless among us

وانا كريم – استاذ خصوص

And I’m Karim, a private tutor

امشي حد الحيط وقول يا رب الستر

I live my life minding my own business

(Lit: I walk close to the wall)

• يا رب الستر is a prayer to ask God to cover up wrongdoings/sins but in this context it was said to ask God for protection from troubles – to stay out of troubles and not to cause troubles to anyone (i.e. live a simple life, keep one’s affairs to oneself and keep out of others’ affairs)
• “بمشي من الحيط للحيط وبقول يا رب الستر” and “بمشي جنب الحيط وبقول يا رب الستر” are similar phrases with the same meaning

!شو في؟ لحظة لحظة

What’s happening? Wait, hold on!

• لحظة = ” a moment”

 حياتي ما عملت شي

I never did anything in my entire life

والله ما عملت شي

I swear I never did anything

ولا حتى بحياتي واقف مع هاد او هاد ولا حكيت او كتبت ع الفيس متل ما بتوصيني امي

Not a moment in my life did I side with somebody, said anything or posted anything on Facebook like how my mother instructed me

وليكي تحت العرض بين أربعة حيطان

But look, here I am – underground surrounded by four walls

• The Form II Verb “to stand” (وقف – بوقف + مع) can be used to mean “to side with someone or to stand by someone
• Eg: مو انت رفيقي؟ ليش ما وقفّت معي بأوقاتي الصعبة؟ -Aren’t you my friend? Why didn’t you stand by me during my difficult times
• The Form II Verb (وصى – بوصي) can have different nuances in meanings depending on contexts. The most common meaning is “to instruct” (but not in a strict manner.) For example…

نسيت شو وصيتني مبارح, شو كان بدك؟

I forgot what you ask of me (“instruct”) yesterday. What was that you wanted?

وصيتك تجيبلي علبة حليب

I asked (“instructed”) you to get me a carton of milk

• Another common phrase that makes use of the verb is بتوصيني بشي؟(betwasinee bi shii). It  is often said to family members and close relatives as a form of courtesy before leaving a place or even a country. For example…

يلا انا رايح ,بتوصيني بشي؟

I’m going off now, do you want/need anything?

لا سلامتك

No, it’s okay, thanks

***

If you’re interested in watching the rest of the series, do watch the first video – the beginning here before choosing the character you want to follow.

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

Lyn

The post Undocumented بدون قيد [Syrian] appeared first on theLevanTongue.

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…

كلمتي ما بتصير تنتين

kilimti ma bitsiir tintain

This Jordanian/Palestinian phrase means that “my word does not get repeated twice” and thus carries the same meaning as “my words are final.” Basically, don’t you argue with me, I’m having none of it!

For example, a mother would say to her daughter:

ما في طلعة من البيت يعني ما في طلعة. كلمتي ما بتصير تنتين

ma fii Thol3a men ilbaet ya3ne ma fii Thol3a

(No going out means no going out! My words are final.)

This brings us to the second phrase that I’ve heard spoken in Syrian shows,

شكلين ما بحكي

shiklain ma beHki

This phrase can be roughly translated to “My words don’t come in two forms” and thus carries the same meaning as the previous phrase. This phrase could easily be the Syrian version of “كلمتي ما بتصير تنتين”

The Syrian version of the previous example would be:

ما في روحة يعني ما في روحة. شكلين ما بحكي

ma fii rawha ya3ni ma fii rawha. shiklain ma beHki

(no going out means no going out. my words are final)

*Bonus: To add weight to your words (i.e be more dramatic), you can hold up two fingers while saying it. 

Image Source

The next phrase is

كلمة ورد غطاها

klimeh uu rad ghaTaha

(a word and a reply covers it)

This phrase is said when you wish to declare your point of view and end the matter once and for all with the indication that no reply is needed.

For example,

انا حابة احكي معك كلمتين ورد غطاها

Ana Habeh aHki ma3ik kilimtain uu rad ghaTaha

(I want to have a few words with you and close the topic)

I’ve heard this sentence in a Syrian drama series called “صرخت روح” where the mother called up the girl whom is in a relationship with her son but of which she does not approve.

So in this scenario, the mother is more or less saying “I want to have a word with you and end the discussion. I don’t want to have to talk about this matter ever again.” In other words, the topic’s closed! (even before the other person has a chance to express his/herself)

The final phrase….

قولو اي واضحك عليه

2alo ehh u iDHak 3aley

(Tell him yes/OK and laugh at him after)

This phrase is slightly different from the rest in the sense that it is said when you’re tired of explaining your point and you end up saying  “اي” (Yes/Ok) to the other person just for the sake of ending the argument.

This is especially so if the other person is unable to see your point of view and the argument is going nowhere.

For example:

You are having a debate about climate change to a person named Donald but you simply can’t convince him that climate change is real. You are dumbfounded when he thinks that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese. So you just give up the argument by saying:

قولو اي واضحك عليه

(I mean in this situation, it’s better to save one’s breath)

In addition, this phrase can also be said sarcastically to kid around with your friends who naively believe your words.

For example:

لك ممكن تعطيني الساعة رولكس تبعتك ؟ :A

lak mumkin ta3Tiini ilsaa3ah Rolex taba3tak?

(Hey can you give me your Rolex watch?)

اي اكيد :B

eyy akiid

(Yep sure)

 !واو شكرا كتييير :A

waww shokran ktiiirrr!

(Wow thanks a lot!)

قولو اي واضحك عليه :B

(i.e No way I’m gonna give you my watch, you fool!)

***

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

Lyn

The post How do Arabs end an argument (or turn a deaf ear to replies) appeared first on theLevanTongue.