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.

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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!

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