In the last grammar post, we talked about conjugating regular verbs in the present and future tense. But, as with every language, not every word is 'regular'. I always used sigh in despair when I heard this 'irregular' word in my studies of other languages in high school, but you need not! Luckily, Arabic is pretty simple regarding all verbs, even the irregular ones and what makes an irregular verb is very easy to remember.
Most irregular verbs occur when one of the root letters of the word is a waw (و) or a yeh (ي) or a hamza (ء). This is because these sounds can mutate into long vowels which makes the pattern of the word change (i.e. a و can sound like -ou- depending on where it is in the word, a ي can sound like -ee- etc.).
There are 3 main types of irregular verbs:
1. Defective verbs - the present stem of the word starts with a long vowel.
i.e. yaakol ياكل - to eat (aakol - present stem)
yaa5od ياخد- to take (aa5od - present stem)
The only thing this irregularity changes is that when you are conjugating the verb (adding the extra letters to make the verb refer to he, she, I, it) then you only add the first letter of the prefix, leaving out the vowel (t-, n- etc.).
So naakol ناخل- we eat. Simple as that!
2. Hollow verbs - there is a long vowel in the middle of the present stem.
yerou7 يروح- to go (present stem - rou7)
yezeed يزيد - to increase (present stem - zeed)
yenaam ينام - to sleep (present stem - naam)
The only difference this type of irregularity makes is that you stress the last syllable of the word after conjugating. Example yerou7. Compare this with, for example, the verb, yenzel ينزل (to alight, to go down).
3. Weak verbs - there is a long vowel at the end of the present stem (see the pattern here?)
yeS7a يصحا - to wake up (present stem - S7a)
yeb2a يبقا- to remain (present stem - b2a)
In a weak verb, we remove the final vowel before adding a prefix. For example:
yes7o يصحو- they wake up
tes7y تصحي - you wake up (to a female)
.. and that's it!
An Egyptian Arabic learning journal and resource. Vocabulary, Grammar Lessons, Phrasebook, Activities, Tests, Tips & Experiences with Audio Files from a Native Speaker.
Thursday, December 16
Wednesday, December 15
Arabic Songs: Amr Diab (Ne2oul Eih?)
Here is Egypt's and perhaps the Arab world's biggest superstar, who has been in the charts since 1983 and still going strong (and still looking good!), Amr Diab! He's won numerous awards and is known worldwide for his Mediterranean-Arabic music and strong voice. The above clip (translated by Youtube's RasiRasi) is one of my favourites, from 2007 and reminds me of sunny Cairo summers where this song would play everywhere.
Here are the Arabic lyrics in both the Arabic and Latin alphabet, then a glossary of some of the most important vocabulary in the song that haven't been covered before in the song section of this blog. It's a nice simple one with lots of repitition.
عمرو دياب
نقول ايه؟
نقول ايه خلاص انا و انت حبيبي مفيش حاجة نقولها
واصلين لدرجة حب محدش في الدنيا وصلها
انا ليك و عمري ما اكون يا حبيبي غير ليك روحي شاغلها
دي الثانية و انت بعيد ازاي قلبي هيستحملها
انا ليك و عمري ما اكون يا حبيبي غير ليك روحي شاغلها
دي الثانية و انت بعيد ازاي قلبي هيستحملها
يا حبيبي أوصف فرحتي بيك ازاي صعب عليا
أكتر يا قلبي ما بحلم بقى ملكي و بقى في إيديا
انا ليك و عمري ما اكون يا حبيبي غير ليك روحي شاغلها
دي الثانية و انت بعيد ازاي قلبي هيستحملها
انا ليك و عمري ما اكون يا حبيبي غير ليك روحي شاغلها
دي الثانية و انت بعيد ازاي قلبي هيستحملها
انا ليك و عمري ما اكون يا حبيبي غير ليك روحي شاغلها
دي الثانية و انت بعيد ازاي قلبي هيستحملها
Amr Diab
Ne2oul eih?
ne2oul eih 5alaas ana we enta 7abeby mafeesh 7aga ne2olha
wasleen le darget 7ob ma7edesh fe el donia weslha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer leek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer leek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ya 7abeby awsef far7ety beek ezay sa3b 3alya
akter men 2alby ma ba7lem ba2a melky fe edaya
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makon ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de e-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
wasleen le darget 7ob ma7edesh fe el donia weslha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer leek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer leek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ya 7abeby awsef far7ety beek ezay sa3b 3alya
akter men 2alby ma ba7lem ba2a melky fe edaya
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makon ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de e-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ana leek we 3omry makoun ya 7abeby gheer lek ro7y shaghelha
de es-sanya we enta ba3eed ezay 2alby hayst7melha
ye2oul يقول - to say
ne2oul نقول - we say
5alaas خلاص - enough, finished
keffiyeh كفيا - enough!
feeh فيه - there is
mafeesh مفيش - there's not
darga درجة - level
7ad حد - somebody, one
ma7adesh محدش - nobody
el-donya الدنيا - the world
waSl وصل - arrive, reach
gheer غير - except, strange from
leek ليك - for you
ru7 روح - soul
es-sanya الثانية - the second, the moment
ba3eed بعيد - faraway
yewSef يوصف - to describe
ye7lam يحلم - to dream
far7a فرحة - joy, happiness
(can also mean wedding. Very happy occasions in the Arabic world you can see!)
Tuesday, December 14
Regular Verbs in the Present and Future
In this post, we'll focus on the basics of the present and future tesess of Arabic verbs. It's really quite simple!
To refer to the verb in general, we use the masculine howwa form because it's the simplest. Let's look at two verbs:
yel3ab يلعب - to play
yu5rug يخرج - to go out
We add some letters at the start, and some letters at the end of this stem (prefixes and suffixes) to change the meaning.
To refer to the verb in general, we use the masculine howwa form because it's the simplest. Let's look at two verbs:
yel3ab يلعب - to play
yu5rug يخرج - to go out
We add some letters at the start, and some letters at the end of this stem (prefixes and suffixes) to change the meaning.
prefix/suffix | yel3ab (stem - l3ab) | |
ana (I) e7na (we) | a- ne- | al3ab nel3ab |
enta (you, m) | te- | tel3ab |
enty (you, f) | te-/-y | tel3aby |
ento (you, pl) | te-/-o | tel3abo |
howwa (he) | ye- | yel3ab |
heyya (she) | te- | tel3ab |
homma (they) ana (I) e7na (we) enta (you, m) enty (you, f) ento (you, pl) howwa (he) heyya (she) homma (they) | ye-/-o prefix/suffix a- nu- tu- tu-/-y tu-/-o yu- tu- yu-/-o | yel3abo yu5rug (stem - 5rug) a5rug nu5rug tu5rug tu5rugy tu5rugo yu5rug tu5rug yu5rugo |
Verbs fit into either of the above patterns, the only difference is the vowel used in the prefix (e, or u). The most common is the prefix vowelled with -e-, the first pattern used with yel3ab.
The final step is to decide whether you want the verb to be present or future. For the present, add a be- onto the forms above. For the future, add 7a- to the correct form (shortened to b- and 7- before a vowel).
benel3ab بنلعب - We play
7anel3ab حنلعب - We will play
bu5rug بخرج - I go out
7a5rug حخرج - I will go out
You don't need to use pronouns (ana, enta etc.) because the verb will make it clear what or who you are talking about.
bu5rug men el-beet es-saa3a setta we rob3
بخرج من البيت الساعه سته و ربع
I leave the house at 6:15
el-5amees we el-7ad benesaafer aswaan
الخميس و الحد بنسافر اسوان
On Thursday and Sunday we travel to Aswaan
eg-gom3a 7ayerooh en-naady ma3a as7aabo
الجمع حيروح النادي مع الصابو
On Friday he goes to the club with his friends
You'll have noticed that the enta and heyya forms are identical. So for clarification, sometimes we do use the pronoun in this case.
bokra heyya 7atel3ab basketball
بكره هي حتلعب بسكتبول
Tomorrow she'll play basketball
And the pronoun is sometimes used for emphasis, like in a comparison or contrast.
howwa beyel3ab basketball bass ana bal3ab tennis
هو بيلعب بسكتبول بس اتا بلعب تنس
He plays basketball but I play tennis.
The final step is to decide whether you want the verb to be present or future. For the present, add a be- onto the forms above. For the future, add 7a- to the correct form (shortened to b- and 7- before a vowel).
benel3ab بنلعب - We play
7anel3ab حنلعب - We will play
bu5rug بخرج - I go out
7a5rug حخرج - I will go out
You don't need to use pronouns (ana, enta etc.) because the verb will make it clear what or who you are talking about.
bu5rug men el-beet es-saa3a setta we rob3
بخرج من البيت الساعه سته و ربع
I leave the house at 6:15
el-5amees we el-7ad benesaafer aswaan
الخميس و الحد بنسافر اسوان
On Thursday and Sunday we travel to Aswaan
eg-gom3a 7ayerooh en-naady ma3a as7aabo
الجمع حيروح النادي مع الصابو
On Friday he goes to the club with his friends
You'll have noticed that the enta and heyya forms are identical. So for clarification, sometimes we do use the pronoun in this case.
bokra heyya 7atel3ab basketball
بكره هي حتلعب بسكتبول
Tomorrow she'll play basketball
And the pronoun is sometimes used for emphasis, like in a comparison or contrast.
howwa beyel3ab basketball bass ana bal3ab tennis
هو بيلعب بسكتبول بس اتا بلعب تنس
He plays basketball but I play tennis.
Arabic Songs: Asalah (Aktar)
My favourite Arabic singer is the beautiful singer Asalah. She's Syrian but she often sings in the Egyptian dialect and is hugely popular throughout the middle east - if you're reading this blog I'm sure you'll already have heard of her, or you're already a fan, as she even has a massive non-Arab fan base all over the world. I love this video, translated by MeroMusicTv of Youtube. She just seems so happy and likeable here! I'll put up the Arabic lyrics here with a few important vocabulary words from the song, since it's a really easy song this might be best for beginners.
أصاله
أكتر
اكتر من اللى انا بحلم بيه..مش قادره اخبى انا تانى عليه..ده انا من اول ما
قابلت عنيه..نادانى
حبيبى معاك
حياتى وعمرى اللى انا عايشاه ... واجمل واصعب قولة اه..يسيبني واحس انى انا
وياه..ثوانى
اكتر من اللى انا بحلم بيه..مش قادره اخبى انا تانى عليه..ده انا من اول ما
قابلت عنيه..نادانى
حبيبى معاك
حياتى وعمرى اللى انا عايشاه ... واجمل واصعب قولة اه..يسيبني واحس انى انا
وياه..ثوانى
وداريت على قلبي واتمنيت
قلبك يجيني ويقول
كل اللي حاسس بيه
و اهو بان الشوق عليا اهو بان
و اهو كل شيء بأوان
قال إيه بخبي عليه
وياك .. لو حتى وانت بعيد .. الشوق إليك بيزيد .. وافضل أفكر فيك
لو أقول .. عنك كلامي يطول .. وافضل سنين وأيام .. أوصف غرامي أنا بيك
اكتر من اللى انا بحلم بيه..مش قادره اخبى انا تانى عليه..ده انا من اول ما
قابلت عنيه..نادانى
حبيبى معاك
حياتى وعمرى اللى انا عايشاه ... واجمل واصعب قولة اه..يسيبني واحس انى انا
وياه..ثوانى
Asalah
Aktar
Aktar men elly ana ba7lam beeh
mish 2adra a5aby ana taany 3leeh
dana men awwel ma 2abelt 3eeneh nadaany
7abeby ma3ak 7ayaty we 3omry elly ana 3aysha
wa agmal we as3ab 2oulet ah
yseebny w a7ess eny ana wayah sawaany
we dareet 3ala 2alby we atmaneet
2albak ygeeny we y2oul
kol elly 7ases beeh
w aho ban, el-shou2 3leeh aho baan
w aho kol shee2 b 2awaan
2oul eih ygeeny 3leeh
wayak, law 7atta wenta ba3eed el-shou2 aleek bezeed
we afdal afaker feek
law a2oul 3enak klaamy ytoul we afdal sneen w 2ayaam, awsef gharamy ana beek
Vocabulary
kteer, كتير - a lot
aktar, اكتر - more
kol, كل - every, all
shee2, شئ - thing (sometimes used in Egyptian, but not exclusively Egyptian)
7aga حاجه - thing (very Egyptian)
7elm, حلم - dream
a7laam, احلام - dreams
ba7lam, بحلم - I'm dreaming, I dream
مش - not
2adra, قادره - able (female)
2ader, قادر - able (male)
taany, تاني - again, 2nd
7abeeb, حبيب - beloved
7ayah, حياة - life
3omr, عمر - age, life
gmeel, جميل - beautiful
agmaal, اجمال - most beautiful
sa3b, صعب - difficult
asa3b, اصعب - most difficult
el-shou2, الشوق - passion, longing
sana, سنه - year
sneen, سنين - years
gharam, غرام - love
There are others ways to say love in Arabic, the most common usually being
الحب - el-7ob (most common of all)
الهوه - el-hawah
Monday, December 13
Shankaboot and Distinguishing Dialects (Focus on Lebanese)
If you're learning Egyptian Arabic, or a dialect of any language, part of your learning process will be trying to understand what seperates your chosen dialect from the others. You want to be able to hear a clip and say whether it's Egyptian or not - and as your knowledge of Arabic grows, you may be able to name a dialect upon hearing it. You won't understand everything in every dialect even if you're fluent in Egyptian Arabic, not even native speakers can do that - but some dialects are closer to others and you will pick up words in different dialects as you learn. In this post, I'll go over some of the main features of Lebanese Arabic in this post as it is one of the most popular and understandable dialects, and how to distinguish it from other dialects.
You can use the brilliant Lebanese Youtube series Shankaboot to see if you can recognize a couple of differences in the dialect, and you might be able to follow along since a lot of the words used are very similar to words in MSA and Egyptian.
You can use the brilliant Lebanese Youtube series Shankaboot to see if you can recognize a couple of differences in the dialect, and you might be able to follow along since a lot of the words used are very similar to words in MSA and Egyptian.
Some Simple Features of Lebanese Arabic
- Lebanese is a type of Levantine Arabic, the name for the group of dialects spoken in the area called the Levant. The Levant is the Mediterranean coastal regions of Lebanon, Palestine & Israel, Syria and Jordan. Levantine is called شامي (shaamy, shami) in Arabic.
- Like Egyptian, the q (ق) is usually replaced by a glottal stop (2, ء). So like Egyptian, most Lebanese pronounce قلب (qalb, heart) as ('alb, 2alb).
- Another feature, which might be the biggest giveaway that you're listening to the Lebanese dialect, is the pronunciation of a final (ة) ta marbouta. While in Egyptian, it is pronounced -ah, or -a, it is pronounced as -eh or -e (as in wet) in Lebanese. Take the word for Coffee in Arabic, قهوة. In MSA, it would be pronounced qahwa, in Egyptian it would be 2ahwa, and in Lebanese it would be 2ahwe.
I always find interrogatives (why, when, how, what etc.) to be quite useful in trying to recognise dialects, because they are used commonly and often are used in different combinations in different countries. Here's a quick comparison of interrogatives in Egyptian and Lebanese.
What?
Egyptian - eih? ايه؟
Lebanese - shou? شو؟
Who?
Egyptian and Lebanese - meen? مين؟
How?
Egyptian - ezzay? ازاي؟
Lebanese - keef? كيف؟
Why?
Egyptian - leeh? ليه؟
Lebanese - leeh? ليه؟ or lesh? ليش؟
When?
Egyptian - emta? امتى
Lebanese - eymtan? ايمتا
Where?
Egyptian - feen? فين
Lebanese - wayn? وين
Let's move on to Shankaboot, I absolutely LOOOVE this web series. It's about a delivery boy called Suleiman who rides about on his moped (the Shankaboot), he gets into lots of adventures on the streets of Beiruit and in this first episode meets a pretty runaway girl. It's really addictive, well made and interactive. Use the red CC button to enable English subtitles. A new episode comes out every Monday - and there's 32 episodes up currently. They'll really help you understand the variety of the Arabic language!
What?
Egyptian - eih? ايه؟
Lebanese - shou? شو؟
Who?
Egyptian and Lebanese - meen? مين؟
How?
Egyptian - ezzay? ازاي؟
Lebanese - keef? كيف؟
Why?
Egyptian - leeh? ليه؟
Lebanese - leeh? ليه؟ or lesh? ليش؟
When?
Egyptian - emta? امتى
Lebanese - eymtan? ايمتا
Where?
Egyptian - feen? فين
Lebanese - wayn? وين
Let's move on to Shankaboot, I absolutely LOOOVE this web series. It's about a delivery boy called Suleiman who rides about on his moped (the Shankaboot), he gets into lots of adventures on the streets of Beiruit and in this first episode meets a pretty runaway girl. It's really addictive, well made and interactive. Use the red CC button to enable English subtitles. A new episode comes out every Monday - and there's 32 episodes up currently. They'll really help you understand the variety of the Arabic language!