B1Unit 9 · Feelings and opinions · Lesson 83 of 100
The one who...: illi
ir-rijjāl illi … · il-bint illi shuftha · hiyye illi ʿazmatni
Goal: Describe people and things with illi "who, which, that", and describe a face.
Dialogue
Lina shows Nour her photos from the wedding in Nablus, and Nour wants to know who everyone is. You will learn illi "who, which, that", the small pronoun that points back to the noun, and the words for the face.
An October evening. Lina shows Nour the photos from the spring wedding in Nablus on her phone.
- Nouryalla, biddi ashūf ṣuwar il-ʿurs!Come on, I want to see the wedding photos!
- Linatfaḍḍali. hāda l-ʿarīs, w hādi l-ʿarūs.Here you are. This is the groom, and this is the bride.
- Nourmashalla, il-ʿarūs ḥilwe ktīr! ʿyūnha kbīre w anfha zghīr.How lovely, the bride is very pretty! Big eyes and a small nose.
- Linaā, w laṭīfe ktīr kamān.Yes, and very kind too.
- Nourw mīn ir-rijjāl illi ʾāʿed jamb il-ʿarīs?And who is the man who is sitting next to the groom?
- Linahāda abu l-ʿarīs. shāyfe l-liḥye l-bēḍa?That's the groom's father. See the white beard?
- Nourw il-khityār illi biḍḥak?And the old man who is laughing?
- Linahāda sīd il-ʿarīs. ʿumro tisʿīn sane, w raʾaṣ kull il-lēl!That's the groom's grandfather. He's ninety, and he danced all night!
- Nourw iṣ-ṣabiyye s-samra illi lābse fustān azraʾ?And the dark-skinned young woman who is wearing a blue dress?
- Linahādi ukht il-ʿarūs. hiyye illi ʿazmatni ʿal-ʿurs.That's the bride's sister. She's the one who invited me to the wedding.
- Nourstanni! hāda ṣ-ṣabi illi shufto maʿik fil-ʾahwe?Wait! Is this the young man I saw with you at the café?
- Linalaʾ, hāda akhū. hadāk ṭawīl w nḥīf, w hāda nāṣeḥ shwayy.No, this is his brother. That one is tall and thin, and this one is a bit plump.
- Nourw shu l-ishi illi ʿaṭ-ṭāwle?And what's the thing on the table?
- Linahādi l-knāfe illi akalnāha… kullha!That's the knafeh that we ate… all of it!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| illi | who, which, that (relative)il-bint illi shuftha = the girl (that) I saw |
| liḥye | beard |
| daʾn | chin; beardpl. dʾūn |
| wijh | facepl. wujūh |
| tumm | mouthpl. tmām |
| anf | nosepl. unūf |
| raʾabe | neckpl. raʾabāt |
| ḥājeb | eyebrowpl. ḥawājeb |
| rumsh | eyelashpl. rmūsh |
| asmar | dark-skinned, brownf. samra, pl. sumr |
| ṣabi | boy, young manpl. ṣibyān |
| khityār | old manpl. khityāriyye |
| nāṣeḥ | plump, heavy (of a person)f. nāṣḥa, pl. nāṣḥīn |
| ʿarīḍ | broad, widef. ʿarīḍa, pl. ʿrāḍ |
| nḥīf | thin, slimf. nḥīfe, pl. nḥāf |
Grammar
1. illi "who, which, that"
illi joins a sentence to a definite noun: a noun with il-, a name, or a pronoun. It is one word for people and things, for a man, a woman or many.
illi can also mean "the one who": hiyye illi ʿazmatni "she is the one who invited me".
2. The pronoun that points back
When the noun is the object of the verb after illi, the verb carries a pronoun that points back to it. English says "the girl I saw"; Palestinian Arabic says "the girl that I saw her".
| Palestinian Arabic | Literally | English |
|---|---|---|
| il-bint illi shuftha | the girl that I saw her | the girl I saw |
| iṣ-ṣabi illi shufto | the young man that I saw him | the young man I saw |
| il-knāfe illi akalnāha | the knafeh that we ate it | the knafeh we ate |
| il-ʾahwe illi ʾaʿadna fīha | the café that we sat in it | the café we sat in |
The pronoun agrees with the noun: -o for a masculine noun, -ha for a feminine one and for plural things, -hom for people in the plural. After a preposition it is the same: fīha "in it", maʿo "with him".
3. No il-, no illi
After a noun without the article, leave illi out and just add the sentence.
Practice
1Complete the sentence
ir-rijjāl ___ ʾāʿed jamb il-ʿarīs. = the man who is sitting next to the groom
il-bint illi ___ ḥilwe. = The girl I saw is pretty.
For a girl, the pronoun that points back is -ha.
iṣ-ṣabi illi ___ fil-ʾahwe = the young man I saw at the café
il-knāfe illi ___ = the knafeh we ate
akalūha = they ate it.
2Choose the right answer
"a young man who has a beard"
iṣ-ṣabi ʿindo liḥye is a full sentence: "the young man has a beard".
"the old man who is laughing"
inno means "that" after verbs like bafakker; btiḍḥak is "she laughs".
Which word means "nose"?
Who invited Lina to the wedding?
3Match the Arabic and the English
wijh
tumm
ḥājeb
rumsh
raʾabe
daʾn
4Put the words in order
Who is the man who is sitting next to the groom?
She is the one who invited me.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
The old man who is laughing is ninety.
il-khityār illi biḍḥak ʿumro tisʿīn sane.
This is the café we sat in.
hādi l-ʾahwe illi ʾaʿadna fīha.
6True or false?
The man with the white beard is the groom's grandfather.
Lina says hāda abu l-ʿarīs: he is the groom's father.
The young man in the photo is a bit plump.
Summary
- You can say who someone is with illi: ir-rijjāl illi ʾāʿed jamb il-ʿarīs.
- You add the pronoun that points back: il-bint illi shuftha, il-knāfe illi akalnāha.
- You know that a noun without il- takes no illi: ṣabi ʿindo liḥye.
- You can describe a face: wijh, anf, tumm, ḥājeb, rumsh.