A1Unit 1 · Hello! · Lesson 6 of 100

I am a teacher: no word for is

ana mʿallme · Khalīl mhandes · ana falasṭīniyye w amērkāniyye

Goal: Say what you and other people do and where they are from, in the form for a man and for a woman.

Dialogue

After class, Sam asks Lina about herself and the family she lives with. You will learn jobs and nationalities, how to say "I am a teacher" without any word for "am", and how a word changes for a woman.

After class at the language school in Ramallah. Sam asks Lina about herself and her family.

SamLīna, inti mʿallme?Lina, are you a teacher?
Linaaywa, ana mʿallme... w kamān ṭālbe!Yes, I'm a teacher... and a student too!
Samw Rana? hiyye mhandse?And Rana? Is she an engineer?
Linalaʾ, Rana ṭālbe. Khalīl mhandes.No, Rana is a student. Khalil is an engineer.
Samw Abu Khalīl w Imm Khalīl?And Abu Khalil and Imm Khalil?
LinaAbu Khalīl ṣaydali, w Imm Khalīl mʿallme.Abu Khalil is a pharmacist, and Imm Khalil is a teacher.
Saminti amērkāniyye, ya Līna?Are you American, Lina?
Linaana falasṭīniyye w amērkāniyye! w inte? kanadi?I'm Palestinian and American! And you? Canadian?
Samaywa, ana kanadi. w ana kamān mʿallem!Yes, I'm Canadian. And I'm a teacher too!

New words

Palestinian Arabic	English
ṭāleb	student (m)a woman: ṭālbe; several: ṭullāb
mʿallem	teacher (m)a woman: mʿallme; several: mʿallmīn
mhandes	engineer (m)a woman: mhandse; several: mhandsīn
duktōr	doctor (m)a woman: duktōra; several: dakātra
ṣaydali	pharmacist (m)a woman: ṣaydaliyye; several: ṣayādle
falasṭīni	Palestinian (m)a woman: falasṭīniyye; several: falasṭīniyyīn
amērkāni	American (m)a woman: amērkāniyye; several: amērkān
kanadi	Canadian (m)a woman: kanadiyye
kamān	also, too; moreana kamān "me too"; kamān marra "once more, again"
muwaẓẓaf	employee, clerk (m)a woman: muwaẓẓafa; several: muwaẓẓafīn
ʿāmel	worker (m)a woman: ʿāmle; several: ʿummāl

Grammar

1. No word for "am", "is", "are"

Put the person and the job side by side. That is the whole sentence.

ana mʿallme. I am a teacher. (a woman speaks)

Khalīl mhandes. Khalil is an engineer.

For a question, say the same sentence with your voice going up at the end.

inti amērkāniyye? Are you American? (to a woman)

2. A man, a woman

Jobs and nationalities have one form for a man and one for a woman. Most add -e for a woman, and the short e before the last letter drops: mʿallem becomes mʿallme.

A man	A woman	English
mʿallem	mʿallme	teacher
ṭāleb	ṭālbe	student
mhandes	mhandse	engineer
ʿāmel	ʿāmle	worker
duktōr	duktōra	doctor
muwaẓẓaf	muwaẓẓafa	employee

A few words take -a instead of -e, like duktōra and muwaẓẓafa. The word list gives the woman's form of every word: learn the two together.

3. Words ending in -i

Words ending in -i add -yye for a woman: falasṭīni, falasṭīniyye; ṣaydali, ṣaydaliyye; kanadi, kanadiyye.

Sound: the ẓ of muwaẓẓaf is a deep, dark z. The sounds page of this course explains every letter.

Practice

1Choose the right words

Lina says that she is a teacher.
You say that Khalil is an engineer.
Sam is from Toronto. He says:
Which word means "also, too"?

2Complete the sentence

Abu Khalīl ___. = Abu Khalil is a pharmacist.
Imm Khalīl ___. = Imm Khalil is a teacher.
ana mʿallem, w ___ ṭāleb. = I am a teacher, and also a student.

3Match each word for a woman with its meaning

duktōra
ʿāmle
muwaẓẓafa
mhandse
falasṭīniyye

4Put the words in order

Rana is a student, and Khalil is an engineer.
I am Palestinian and American. (a woman speaks)

5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check

A man says: I am a doctor.
Ask a woman: Are you an employee?

6True or false?

Rana is an engineer.
Sam is a teacher too.

Well done — your score: .

Summary

You can say what you are with no word for "am": ana mʿallme, ana ṭāleb.
You can say what other people are: Khalīl mhandes, Imm Khalīl mʿallme.
You can use the form for a man and for a woman: mʿallem, mʿallme; falasṭīni, falasṭīniyye.
You can add "too" with kamān.

Unit 1: Hello!

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