A1Unit 1 · Hello! · Lesson 7 of 100
It is not: mish, yes and no
ana mish mʿallme · mish inte Sām? — mbala!
Goal: Say what someone is not, ask yes / no questions and answer them.
Dialogue
Rana comes to pick Lina up at the language school, and Sam tries to remember what everyone in the family does. He has forgotten what Lina told him and gets almost everything wrong. You will learn mish "not", how to ask a yes / no question, and the special "yes" that answers "Aren't you…?"
Rana comes to the language school to pick up Lina. Sam is there.
- SamRana, inti mʿallme?Rana, are you a teacher?
- Ranalaʾ, ana mish mʿallme. ana ṭālbe.No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student.
- Samʿan jadd? w Khalīl ṭāleb kamān?Really? And is Khalil a student too?
- Ranalaʾ, Khalīl mish ṭāleb. huwwe mhandes.No, Khalil isn't a student. He's an engineer.
- Samṭayyib. w Abu Khalīl duktōr, mazbūṭ?OK. And Abu Khalil is a doctor, right?
- Ranalaʾ, ghalaṭ! huwwe ṣaydali.No, wrong! He's a pharmacist.
- Samw Imm Khalīl? duktōra willa mʿallme?And Imm Khalil? A doctor or a teacher?
- Ranamʿallme, akīd! w inte, ya Sām? mish inte mʿallem?A teacher, of course! And you, Sam? Aren't you a teacher?
- Sammbala! ana mʿallem... w kamān ṭāleb!Yes, I am! I'm a teacher... and a student too!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| mish | notbefore a noun, an adjective, a job: ana mish ṭāleb |
| mazbūṭ | right, correct; exactlyof a feminine word: mazbūṭa |
| ṭabʿan | of course |
| akīd | sure, certainly |
| yaʿni | I mean; that is; so-so |
| ṭayyib | OK, fine; well then |
| willa | or (in questions)hāda willa hāda? "this one or that one?" |
| ʿan jadd | really, seriouslyas a question: ʿan jadd? "really?" |
| yimkin | maybe, perhaps |
| mbala | yes (answer to a negative question)mish inte Sām? — mbala! "Aren't you Sam?" — "Yes, I am!" |
| ṣḥīḥ | true, rightof a feminine word: ṣḥīḥa |
| ghalaṭ | wrong; a mistakeseveral mistakes: aghlāṭ |
Grammar
1. "Not" is mish
Put mish before the word you deny: a job, a nationality, an adjective.
laʾ "no" answers a question. mish "not" goes inside the sentence: laʾ, ana mish ṭālbe "No, I'm not a student".
2. Yes / no questions
A yes / no question is the same sentence with the voice going up at the end. To offer a choice, put willa "or" between the two words.
| To say… | Palestinian Arabic |
|---|---|
| yes | ā, aywa |
| no | laʾ |
| right, true | mazbūṭ, ṣḥīḥ |
| wrong | ghalaṭ |
| of course, sure | ṭabʿan, akīd |
| maybe | yimkin |
3. Yes to "Aren't you…?"
When the question has mish in it, "yes, I am" is mbala, not aywa.
Practice
1Choose the right answer
Rana is not a teacher. She says:
A woman says mʿallme, and "not" is mish.
Someone asks you mish inte Sām? You are Sam. You answer:
"Yes" to a question with mish is mbala.
Which word means "wrong"?
You are not sure. You say "maybe".
akīd and ṭabʿan mean "sure" and "of course".
2Complete the sentence
Khalīl ___ ṭāleb. huwwe mhandes. = Khalil isn't a student. He's an engineer.
inte kanadi ___ amērkāni? = Are you Canadian or American?
ana ___ mabsūṭa. = I'm not happy.
laʾ answers a question. Inside the sentence, "not" is mish.
3Match the Arabic and the English
mazbūṭ
ṭabʿan
akīd
ʿan jadd?
ṭayyib
yaʿni
4Put the words in order
No, I'm not a student. (a woman speaks)
Is Abu Khalil a doctor or a pharmacist?
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Say that Sam is not American.
Sām mish amērkāni.
Someone asks you mish inti Līna? You are Lina. Answer: Yes, I'm Lina!
mbala, ana Līna!
6True or false?
Sam thinks that Abu Khalil is a doctor.
Sam asks Abu Khalīl duktōr, mazbūṭ?
Imm Khalil is a doctor.
Rana says mʿallme, akīd!: Imm Khalil is a teacher.
Summary
- You can say what someone is not: ana mish mʿallme, Khalīl mish ṭāleb.
- You can ask a yes / no question with your voice, and offer a choice with willa.
- You can answer ā, laʾ, mazbūṭ, ghalaṭ, ṭabʿan, yimkin.
- You can answer "Aren't you…?" with mbala.