A1Unit 1 · Hello! · Lesson 4 of 100
What is your name?
shu ismak? · shu ismik? · ismi …
Goal: Introduce yourself, ask someone's name and introduce another person.
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Dialogue
Lina starts work at a language school in Ramallah and meets a new colleague, Sam. Then she introduces her cousin Rana. You will learn I, you, he and she, how to ask a name and how to say "this is…".
Monday morning at the language school in Ramallah. Rana has come with Lina.
- Sammarḥaba!Hello!
- Linamarḥabtēn! shu ismak?Hello! What is your name?
- Samismi Sām. w inti? shu ismik?My name is Sam. And you? What is your name?
- Linaana Līna. tsharrafna!I am Lina. Nice to meet you!
- Samtsharrafna, ya Līna!Nice to meet you, Lina!
- LinaSām, baʿarrfak ʿala Rana. hādi Rana.Sam, let me introduce you to Rana. This is Rana.
- Ranaahlan, Sām! tsharrafna.Hi, Sam! Nice to meet you.
- Samahlan fīki! tsharrafna, ya Rana.Hi! Nice to meet you, Rana.
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| ism | nameismi my name; shu ismak? / shu ismik? what is your name (to a man / to a woman) |
| shu | what |
| tsharrafna | nice to meet youreply: tsharrafna, or ahlan fīk / ahlan fīki |
| ana | I |
| inte | youto a man |
| inti | youto a woman |
| huwwe | he; it (m) |
| hiyye | she; it (f) |
| ya | (before a name when you speak to someone)ya Līna! |
| hāda | this (m); this ishāda Sām "this is Sam" |
| hādi | this (f); this ishādi Rana "this is Rana" |
| ʿarraf | to introduce (someone)ʿarraf / yʿarref; baʿarrfak ʿala Rana "let me introduce you to Rana" (to a man) |
Grammar
1. I, you, he, she
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| ana | I |
| inte | you (to a man) |
| inti | you (to a woman) |
| huwwe | he |
| hiyye | she |
2. My name, your name
"Name" is ism. An ending says whose name it is: -i "my", -ak "your" to a man, -ik "your" to a woman, just like kīf ḥālak? and kīf ḥālik?
3. No word for "is"
Arabic needs no "is" here: ana Līna is "I Lina", ismi Sām is "my name Sam". To introduce someone, say hāda for a man and hādi for a woman.
Before a name, when you speak to the person, add ya: tsharrafna, ya Līna.
Practice
1Choose the right words
You ask Sam his name.
Speaking to a man, "your" is -ak.
You introduce Rana to someone: "This is Rana."
Rana is a woman: hādi.
Which word means "he"?
Sam meets Lina. He says: "Nice to meet you, Lina."
2Complete the sentence
___ Līna. = I am Lina.
w ___? shu ismik? = And you? What is your name? (to a woman)
___ Sām. = This is Sam.
3Match the Arabic and the English
ana
inte
inti
huwwe
hiyye
4Put the words in order
Hello! What is your name? (to a woman)
My name is Sam. And you? (to a man)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Hello! My name is Nour.
marḥaba! ismi Nūr.
You introduce Khalil to Sam: Sam, this is Khalil.
Sām, hāda Khalīl.
6True or false?
Sam asks Lina shu ismik?
Lina introduces Rana with hāda Rana.
Rana is a woman, so Lina says hādi Rana.
Summary
- You can say who you are: ana Līna, ismi Sām.
- You can ask a man shu ismak? and a woman shu ismik?
- You can introduce someone: hāda Sām, hādi Rana.
- You can say tsharrafna and use ya before a name.