B1Unit 8 · Work, studies and stories · Lesson 72 of 100
Work and jobs
wēn btishtghel? · bashtghel fi shirke · ir-rāteb · id-dawām
Goal: Talk about a job and a workplace: where you work, with whom, your hours, your salary and your days off.
Dialogue
Khalil comes home late and tired from his small company. He tells Lina that he wants a new job. You will learn the whole verb ishtaghal / yishtghel "to work" and the words of the workplace.
A summer evening in the Khalil house. Khalil comes home late from work.
- Linamasa l-khēr, Khalīl! yaʿṭīk il-ʿāfye.Good evening, Khalil! God give you strength.
- Khalilalla yʿāfīki. wallāhi tʿibt il-yōm.God give you health. Honestly, I'm worn out today.
- Linalēsh? shtaghalt ktīr?Why? Did you work a lot?
- Khalilil-yōm ishtaghalt tnaʿshar sāʿa! il-mudīr biddo l-mashrūʿ bukra.Today I worked twelve hours! The manager wants the project tomorrow.
- Linatnaʿshar sāʿa? dawāmak mish taman sāʿāt?Twelve hours? Aren't your working hours eight hours?
- Khalilmazbūṭ, bass ish-shirke zghīre. iḥna arbaʿ muwaẓẓafīn bass, w ish-shughl ktīr.That's right, but the company is small. We're only four employees, and there's a lot of work.
- Linaw zumalāk? kamān bishtighlu hēk?And your colleagues? Do they work like that too?
- Khalilā, kullna. w ir-rāteb mish ktīr, w ma fīsh ijāze ghēr usbūʿēn bis-sane.Yes, all of us. And the salary isn't much, and there's no leave except two weeks a year.
- Linaṭayyib, dawwer ʿala waẓīfe jdīde!Well then, look for a new job!
- Khalilʾaddamt ʿala waẓīfe fi shirke kbīre jamb il-Manāra.I applied for a job at a big company near al-Manara.
- Linaʿan jadd? shu l-waẓīfe?Really? What's the job?
- Khalilmhandes kambyūtar, dawām kāmel, w ir-rāteb aḥsan. bishtighlu maʿ zabāyen min Amērka w Kanada.Computer engineer, full-time, and the salary is better. They work with clients from America and Canada.
- Linamashalla! ēmta raḥ tiʿraf?Wonderful! When will you know?
- Khalilil-mudīre ʾālat raḥ tittaṣel fiyyi l-usbūʿ il-jāy.The manager said she'll call me next week.
- Linainshalla khēr!Let's hope it's good news!
- Khalilinshalla. hallaʾ biddi ākol w anām!I hope so. Now I want to eat and sleep!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| mudīr | manager, director, headfeminine mudīre, plural mudara |
| zamīl | colleague (m)feminine zamīle, plural zumala; zamīli = my colleague |
| maʿāsh | salary, pay |
| rāteb | salary (especially in an office or a public job)plural rawāteb |
| dawām | working hours, workdaydawām kāmel = full-time job |
| shirke | company, firmplural shirkāt |
| waẓīfe | job, positionplural waẓāyef |
| mashrūʿ | project; planplural mashārīʿ |
| ijāze | leave, vacation, time offplural ijāzāt |
| zbūn | customer, clientfeminine zbūne, plural zabāyen |
| kāmel | whole, complete, fullfeminine kāmle, plural kāmlīn |
| tiʿib | to get tiredtiʿib / yitʿab; b-present batʿab; tʿibt = I got tired, I'm worn out |
| taʿab | tiredness; effort, trouble |
Grammar
1. ishtaghal / yishtghel "to work"
You met bashtghel in lesson 22. Here is the verb in the perfect (the past) and in the b-present.
| Person | perfect (past) | b-present |
|---|---|---|
| ana | ishtaghalt | bashtghel |
| inte | ishtaghalt | btishtghel |
| inti | ishtaghalti | btishtighli |
| huwwe | ishtaghal | bishtghel |
| hiyye | ishtaghlat | btishtghel |
| iḥna | ishtaghalna | bnishtghel |
| intu | ishtaghaltu | btishtighlu |
| humme | ishtaghalu | bishtighlu |
Two things to notice. In the present, before the endings -i and -u, the stem changes: btishtghel but btishtighli, bishtighlu. In the past, the first i drops after a vowel: ana shtaghalt, Rana shtaghlat. The negative is ma bashtghelsh "I don't work".
2. Where, with whom, as what
Use fi for the place and maʿ for the people. For the job itself you need no word for "as": the job comes right after the verb.
3. Talking about a job
shughl is work in general; waẓīfe is one job, one post. The salary is rāteb or maʿāsh. dawām means working hours: dawām kāmel is a full-time job. To apply for a job: ʾaddam ʿala waẓīfe.
Practice
1Complete with the verb "to work"
ana ___ fi shirke zghīre. = I work at a small company.
Nūr ___ fi funduʾ ʿēlitha. = Nour works at her family's hotel.
Nūr is hiyye: btishtghel. btishtighli is "you work" to a woman.
wēn ___? = Where do you work? (to several people)
il-yōm ___ tnaʿshar sāʿa. = Today I worked twelve hours.
2Choose the right answer
You talk about a woman who works with you: "my colleague".
A woman colleague is zamīle: zamīlti "my colleague".
Which word means "salary"?
Khalil comes home after twelve hours of work. He says:
You tell a friend (a man): "Look for a new job!"
dawwri is said to a woman; badawwer means "I'm looking".
"There's no leave except two weeks a year."
3Match the Arabic and the English
mudīr
zamīl
shirke
zbūn
mashrūʿ
ijāze
4Put the words in order
I work full-time.
The manager wants the project tomorrow.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Where do you work? (to a woman)
wēn btishtighli?
Imm Khalil works as a teacher.
Imm Khalīl btishtghel mʿallme.
6True or false?
Khalil works at a big company.
He says ish-shirke zghīre: the company is small.
Khalil has applied for a new job.
Khalil already knows that he got the new job.
The manager will call him next week.
Summary
- You can use ishtaghal / yishtghel in the past and the present: ishtaghalt, btishtighli, bishtighlu.
- You can say where, with whom and as what you work: bashtghel fi shirke, bishtghel mhandes.
- You can talk about hours, salary and leave: dawām kāmel, ir-rāteb, ijāze.
- You can say that you applied for a job: ʾaddamt ʿala waẓīfe.