B1Unit 9 · Feelings and opinions · Lesson 81 of 100
Feelings
shu mālak? · shu mālik? · ana zaʿlāne · ma tizʿalīsh
Goal: Say how you and other people feel, ask what is wrong and why, and comfort someone who is upset.
Dialogue
Rana comes home from Birzeit after a difficult exam, and Lina sees at once that something is wrong. You will learn the words for feelings, how they change for a man, a woman and several people, and how to ask shu mālak? "what's wrong?"
A late afternoon in October. Rana comes home from Birzeit and goes straight to her room. Lina knocks at her door.
- LinaRana? shu mālik? lēsh zaʿlāne?Rana? What's wrong? Why are you upset?
- Ranamaʿlēsh, ya Līna. ana taʿbāne bass.Never mind, Lina. I'm just tired.
- Linalaʾ, inti mish taʿbāne, inti zaʿlāne. shu ṣār?No, you're not tired, you're upset. What happened?
- Ranakān ʿindi imtiḥān il-yōm, w kān ṣaʿb ktīr.I had an exam today, and it was very hard.
- Linaw bass?And that's all?
- Ranalaʾ. il-ustāz akhad il-waraʾa minni w ana lissa ma khallaṣt.No. The professor took the paper from me, and I hadn't finished yet.
- Linaḥarām! akīd zʿilti.Poor thing! Of course you got upset.
- Ranazʿilt ktīr. w hallaʾ ana ʾalʾāne: mumkin asʾoṭ.I got very upset. And now I'm worried: I might fail.
- Linama tkhāfīsh! inti shāṭra, w akīd il-imtiḥān kān ṣaʿb ʿala kull iṭ-ṭullāb.Don't be afraid! You're clever, and the exam was surely hard for all the students.
- Ranayimkin. bass baḥiss bit-taʿab, w ma biddi aḥki maʿ ḥada.Maybe. But I feel worn out, and I don't want to talk to anyone.
- Imm Khalilshu mālkom, ya banāt? fī ishi?(At the door.) What's the matter, girls? Is something wrong?
- LinaRana zaʿlāne, ya khālto. il-imtiḥān kān ṣaʿb.Rana is upset, auntie. The exam was hard.
- Imm Khalilya ḥabībti, ma tizʿalīsh. kull sane bitʾūli hēk, w kull sane btinjaḥi!Darling, don't be upset. Every year you say that, and every year you pass!
- Ranamazbūṭ, yamma.(Laughing.) That's true, Mom.
- Imm Khalilyalla, fī knāfe fil-maṭbakh.Come on, there's knafeh in the kitchen.
- Ranaknāfe? hallaʾ ana farḥāne!Knafeh? Now I'm happy!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| zaʿlān | upset; annoyed, angryf. zaʿlāne, pl. zaʿlānīn |
| ziʿil | to get upset, get angryziʿil / yizʿal; b-present bazʿal; zʿilt min Sām = I got upset with Sam |
| zaʿʿal | to upset, make (someone) angryzaʿʿal / yzaʿʿel; b-present bazaʿʿel; Sām zaʿʿalni = Sam upset me |
| mālak | what's the matter with you (to a man)to a woman: mālik; to several people: mālkom; shu mālak? = what's wrong? |
| khāf | to be afraid (of: min)khāf / ykhāf; b-present bakhāf; ma tkhāfsh! = don't be afraid! (to a man) |
| khāyef | afraid, scaredf. khāyfe, pl. khāyfīn |
| ḍāyaʾ | to annoyḍāyaʾ / yḍāyeʾ; b-present baḍāyeʾ |
| zahʾān | bored; fed upf. zahʾāne, pl. zahʾānīn |
| ʾalʾān | worried, anxiousf. ʾalʾāne, pl. ʾalʾānīn |
| ḥazīn | sadf. ḥazīne |
| farḥān | happy, gladf. farḥāne, pl. farḥānīn |
| khajlān | embarrassed, ashamedf. khajlāne, pl. khajlānīn |
| ʾarfān | disgusted; fed upf. ʾarfāne, pl. ʾarfānīn |
| ghaḍbān | angry, furiousf. ghaḍbāne, pl. ghaḍbānīn |
| ḥass | to feel (bi-)ḥass / yḥiss; b-present baḥiss; baḥiss bil-bard = I feel cold |
| kaʾīb | gloomy, depressedf. kaʾībe, pl. kaʾībīn |
Grammar
1. How do you feel?
Many feeling words end in -ān. Like all adjectives, they agree: add -e for a woman and -īn for several people.
| A man | A woman | Several people | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| zaʿlān | zaʿlāne | zaʿlānīn | upset |
| farḥān | farḥāne | farḥānīn | happy |
| taʿbān | taʿbāne | taʿbānīn | tired |
| ʾalʾān | ʾalʾāne | ʾalʾānīn | worried |
| khāyef | khāyfe | khāyfīn | afraid |
The others work the same way: zahʾān "bored", khajlān "embarrassed", ghaḍbān "furious", ʾarfān "disgusted, fed up". ḥazīn "sad" and kaʾīb "gloomy" become ḥazīne and kaʾībe for a woman.
2. What's wrong? shu mālak?
Ask shu mālak? to a man, shu mālik? to a woman, shu mālkom? to several people. mālak? alone works too. About someone else: shu mālo? "what's wrong with him?", shu mālha? "what's wrong with her?" Then ask why: lēsh zaʿlān?
3. Feeling verbs
ziʿil "to get upset" goes like shirib: zʿilt "I got upset", ziʿlat "she got upset". Upset WITH someone takes min: zʿilt min Sām. zaʿʿal is the other way round, "to upset someone": Sām zaʿʿalni "Sam upset me". ḍāyaʾ "to annoy" also takes the person as its object: il-azme ḍāyaʾatni "the traffic jam annoyed me".
khāf "to be afraid" goes like nām, and "of" is min: bakhāf min il-klāb "I'm afraid of dogs". Don't be afraid: ma tkhāfsh! (to a man), ma tkhāfīsh! (to a woman). Don't be upset: ma tizʿalsh!, ma tizʿalīsh!
ḥass "to feel" goes like ḥabb and takes bi-: baḥiss bil-bard "I feel cold", baḥiss bit-taʿab "I feel tired, worn out".
Practice
1Choose the right answer
You see that Sam looks upset. You ask:
Speaking to one man: mālak.
Rana says "I'm worried."
A woman speaking uses the form with -e.
Which sentence means "Sam upset me"?
zʿilt min Sām = I got upset with Sam; Sām ziʿil minni = Sam got upset with me.
You tell Lina: "Don't be afraid!"
ma tkhāfsh is said to a man; ma tizʿalīsh means "don't be upset".
2Complete the sentence
il-wlād ___ fil-bēt. = The children are bored at home.
Nūr ___ min Sām. = Nour got upset with Sam.
___ min il-klāb. = I'm afraid of dogs.
___ bil-bard. = I feel cold.
3Match the Arabic and the English
zaʿlān
farḥān
ḥazīn
khajlān
ghaḍbān
zahʾān
4Put the words in order
What's wrong? Why are you upset? (to a woman)
Don't be upset, darling! (to a woman)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I'm tired and worried. (a man speaking)
ana taʿbān w ʾalʾān.
We are very happy today.
iḥna farḥānīn ktīr il-yōm.
6True or false?
Rana is upset because of an exam.
Rana finished her exam before the professor took the paper.
She says ana lissa ma khallaṣt "I hadn't finished yet".
At the end, Rana is happy.
Summary
- You can say how you feel: ana zaʿlān, ana ʾalʾāne, iḥna farḥānīn.
- You can ask what is wrong: shu mālak?, shu mālik?, shu mālkom?
- You know the difference between ziʿil "to get upset" and zaʿʿal "to upset someone".
- You can comfort someone: ma tkhāfsh!, ma tizʿalīsh!, maʿlēsh.