A1Unit 4 · Numbers, time and the market · Lesson 38 of 100
My daily routine
shu btiʿmal kull yōm? · baṣḥa bakkīr · barjaʿ ʿal-bēt
Goal: Describe a normal day, from getting up to going to bed.
Dialogue
Lina has a video call with her mother in Chicago, who wants to know everything about her days in Ramallah. You will learn the verbs of a normal day and how to tell your routine in order.
Sunday evening in Ramallah. Lina is on a video call with her mother in Chicago, where it is still morning.
- MotherLīna, ḥabībti! kīf ḥālik? shu btiʿmali kull yōm?Lina, my dear! How are you? What do you do every day?
- Linamnīḥa, il-ḥamdilla. yōmi ʿādi: baṣḥa s-sāʿa sitte w nuṣṣ.Fine, thank God. My day is ordinary: I wake up at half past six.
- Mothersitte w nuṣṣ?! bakkīr ktīr!Half past six?! That's very early!
- Linaā. baʾūm, batḥammam w balbis ʾabl il-fṭūr.Yes. I get up, take a shower and get dressed before breakfast.
- Motherw baʿdēn?And then?
- Linabafṭar maʿ ʿammi w marat ʿammi, w bawṣal ʿal-madrase s-sāʿa tamānye w nuṣṣ taʾrīban.I have breakfast with my uncle and his wife, and I get to school at about half past eight.
- Motherw baʿd il-madrase?And after school?
- Linabarjaʿ ʿal-bēt baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr w batghadda maʿ il-ʿēle.I come back home in the afternoon and have lunch with the family.
- Motherw bil-lēl?And at night?
- Linabadros ʿarabi shwayy w banām is-sāʿa ḥdaʿsh. hēk kull yōm!I study some Arabic and go to sleep at eleven. That's every day!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| ṣiḥi | to wake upṣiḥi / yiṣḥa; baṣḥa I wake up |
| ʾām | to get up, stand upʾām / yʾūm; baʾūm I get up |
| tḥammam | to take a shower, bathetḥammam / yitḥammam; batḥammam I take a shower |
| libis | to get dressed; to wear, put onlibis / yilbis; balbis I get dressed |
| wiṣil | to arrivewiṣil / yiwṣal; bawṣal I arrive |
| rijiʿ | to come back, returnrijiʿ / yirjaʿ; barjaʿ I come back |
| fiṭir | to have breakfast; to break the fastfiṭir / yifṭar; bafṭar I have breakfast |
| tghadda | to have lunchtghadda / yitghadda; batghadda I have lunch |
| ʾabl | beforeʾabl il-fṭūr before breakfast |
| taʾrīban | about, approximately; almost |
| ʿādi | normal, ordinary; it's nothingf. ʿādiyye, pl. ʿādiyyīn |
| hēk | like this, like that, somish hēk? isn't that so? |
Grammar
1. What do you do?
Ask shu btiʿmal? (to a man) or shu btiʿmali? (to a woman). The answer uses the b-present you know from unit 3: ba- for "I", bt- or bit- for "you", b- or bi- for "he".
| Verb | I | you (m) | you (f) | he |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wake up | baṣḥa | btiṣḥa | btiṣḥi | biṣḥa |
| get up | baʾūm | bitʾūm | bitʾūmi | biʾūm |
| go | barūḥ | bitrūḥ | bitrūḥi | birūḥ |
| come back | barjaʿ | btirjaʿ | btirjaʿi | birjaʿ |
| sleep | banām | bitnām | bitnāmi | binām |
| do | baʿmal | btiʿmal | btiʿmali | biʿmal |
"She" has the same form as "you (m)": Rana btiṣḥa bakkīr.
2. Telling your day
Link the actions with w "and" and baʿdēn "then". Give the time with is-sāʿa …, or use ʾabl "before" and baʿd "after" with a noun.
Sound: in baʾūm and taʾrīban, ʾ is the glottal stop, the catch in "uh-oh".
Practice
1Choose the right words
You ask a woman what she does every day.
To a woman, the verb ends in -i.
I wake up early.
biṣḥa is "he wakes up"; banām is "I sleep".
Which word means "about, approximately"?
He comes back home at five.
barjaʿ is "I come back"; biṭlaʿ min il-bēt is "he leaves home".
2Complete the sentence
batḥammam ___ il-fṭūr. = I take a shower before breakfast.
Rana ___ is-sāʿa sabʿa. = Rana gets up at seven.
For "she", the verb takes t, like "you (m)": bitʾūm.
___ maʿ il-ʿēle baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr. = I have lunch with the family in the afternoon.
3Match the Arabic and the English
ṣiḥi
tḥammam
libis
wiṣil
fiṭir
tghadda
4Put the words in order
What do you do every day? (to a man)
I get to school at half past eight.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I get up, take a shower and get dressed.
baʾūm, batḥammam w balbis.
I go to sleep at eleven.
banām is-sāʿa ḥdaʿsh.
6True or false?
Lina wakes up at half past six.
Lina has lunch at the school.
She comes back home in the afternoon and has lunch with the family.
Summary
- You can ask shu btiʿmal kull yōm? and shu btiʿmali kull yōm?
- You can describe your day: baṣḥa, baʾūm, batḥammam, balbis, bafṭar.
- You can say when: ʾabl il-fṭūr, baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr, is-sāʿa ḥdaʿsh taʾrīban.
- You can tell your routine in order with w and baʿdēn.