A1Unit 3 · Everyday life: the present · Lesson 21 of 100
Do you speak English? I don't understand
btiḥki ʿarabi? · mish fāhem · mumkin tʿīd?
Goal: Say which languages you speak, say that you don't understand, and ask someone to repeat or to explain a word.
Dialogue
Sam tries his first real Arabic at Abu Samir's stall in the market. You will learn "I speak, you speak, he speaks" and a few phrases that save you when people talk too fast.
Saturday morning at the market in Ramallah. Sam and Lina stop at Abu Samir's stall.
- Abu Samirahla w sahla! inte amērkāni?Welcome! Are you American?
- Samlaʾ, ana kanadi. bass baḥki ʿarabi shwayy.No, I'm Canadian. But I speak a little Arabic.
- Abu Samirmashalla! w hiyye? btiḥki ʿarabi?Wonderful! And her? Does she speak Arabic?
- Linaā, baḥki ʿarabi. aṣli min Rāmalla.Yes, I speak Arabic. My family is from Ramallah.
- Abu Samirw inte? sāken hōn? ʿindak ahl fi Rāmalla? ʾaddēsh ʿumrak?(To Sam, very fast.) And you? Do you live here? Do you have family in Ramallah? How old are you?
- Samʿafwan, ya ʿammo, mish fāhem. mumkin tʿīd shwayy shwayy?Sorry, sir, I don't understand. Could you say it again slowly?
- Abu Samirinte... sāken... hōn?Do you... live... here?
- Samaywa, ana sāken fi Rāmalla. ʿindi suʾāl: kīf bitʾūl hāda bil-ʿarabi?Yes, I live in Ramallah. I have a question: how do you say this in Arabic? (He points at the big umbrella over the stall.)
- Abu Samirhādi shamsiyye. mashalla, btiḥki ʿarabi mnīḥ!That's a shamsiyye, an umbrella. Well done, you speak Arabic well!
- Samshukran, ya ʿammo! bass Līna btiḥki mnīḥ, mish ana!Thank you, sir! But Lina is the one who speaks well, not me!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| ḥaka | to speak, talkḥaka / yiḥki; baḥki I speak, btiḥki you speak |
| ʿarabi | Arabic; Arabbil-ʿarabi in Arabic; f. ʿarabiyye, pl. ʿarab |
| inglīzi | Englishbil-inglīzi in English; f. inglīziyye, pl. inglīz |
| fransāwi | Frenchf. fransāwiyye, pl. fransāwiyyīn |
| lugha | languagepl. lughāt |
| shwayy | a littleshwayy shwayy slowly, little by little |
| fihim | to understandfihim / yifham; bafham I understand; mish fāhem / mish fāhme I don't understand (said by a man / by a woman) |
| mumkin | can, may; possiblemumkin tʿīd? could you repeat? (to a man) |
| ʿād | to repeat, say againʿād / yʿīd; baʿīd I repeat |
| kīf | howkīf bitʾūl … bil-ʿarabi? how do you say … in Arabic? |
| ʾāl | to sayʾāl / yʾūl; baʾūl I say |
| suʾāl | questionpl. asʾile; ʿindi suʾāl I have a question |
Grammar
1. I speak, you speak
This is the b-present, the everyday present tense. It starts with b-, and the next letters show who does the action. Here is ḥaka / yiḥki "to speak":
| Who | Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|---|
| I | ana baḥki | I speak |
| you (to a man) | inte btiḥki | you speak |
| you (to a woman) | inti btiḥki | you speak |
| he | huwwe biḥki | he speaks |
| she | hiyye btiḥki | she speaks |
"You" and "she" sound the same: btiḥki. The language comes right after the verb, with no "the". A question is just a rising voice.
2. Phrases that save you
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| mish fāhem / mish fāhme | I don't understand (a man / a woman) |
| mumkin tʿīd? / mumkin tʿīdi? | Could you repeat? (to a man / to a woman) |
| shwayy shwayy | slowly |
| shu yaʿni …? | What does … mean? |
| kīf bitʾūl … bil-ʿarabi? | How do you say … in Arabic? |
fāhem is not a verb in the b-present, so it takes mish, like mish mabsūṭ. "In Arabic" is bil-ʿarabi, "in English" bil-inglīzi.
Sounds: ʿ in ʿarabi is the voiced throat sound; ḥ in baḥki is a strong, breathy h.
Practice
1Choose the right words
You ask Sam: "Do you speak Arabic?"
"You" is btiḥki. baḥki is "I speak", biḥki "he speaks".
Abu Samir talks too fast. Sam says: "I don't understand."
A man says fāhem, a woman says fāhme.
Lina does not understand a word. She says:
Which word means "language"?
2Complete the sentence
Līna ___ ʿarabi. = Lina speaks Arabic.
For "she", the verb starts with bt-.
Khalīl ___ inglīzi. = Khalil speaks English.
kīf bitʾūl hāda ___? = How do you say this in Arabic?
3Match the Arabic and the English
ʿarabi
inglīzi
fransāwi
suʾāl
shwayy
4Put the words in order
Could you repeat slowly? (to a man)
How do you say this in Arabic?
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Ask a woman: Do you speak French?
btiḥki fransāwi?
Ask what zaḥme means.
shu yaʿni zaḥme?
6True or false?
Sam asks Abu Samir to repeat.
Sam is American.
Sam says laʾ, ana kanadi.
Summary
- You can say which languages you speak: baḥki ʿarabi shwayy.
- You can ask btiḥki inglīzi? and talk about others: biḥki, btiḥki.
- You can say mish fāhem or mish fāhme and ask mumkin tʿīd shwayy shwayy?
- You can ask shu yaʿni …? and kīf bitʾūl … bil-ʿarabi?