B1Unit 10 · Palestine and the diaspora · Lesson 99 of 100
Arabic in chat messages (Arabizi)
2 = ʾ · 3 = ʿ · 7 = ḥ · 5 = kh · 6 = ṭ
Goal: Read a family chat written in Arabizi and turn it into the letters of this course.
Dialogue
It is Thursday evening, and the family chat group on Lina's phone is busy: dinner, bread, a photo, a forgotten password and a joke. On phones, many people write Arabic with Latin letters and digits. You will learn what the digits mean, so you can read these messages.
The family chat group on Lina's phone, on a Thursday evening in November. The messages are written as the family types them.
- Ranamasa el 5eir ya 3eile!Good evening, family!
- Imm Khalilmasa el nour ya 7abibti. wenkom? el 3asha 7ader!Good evening, darling. Where are you all? Dinner is ready!
- Khalilana lessa bel shoghl. ba3d nos sa3a bkoon bel beit.I'm still at work. I'll be home in half an hour.
- Linaw ana ma3 Nour bel 2ahwe, bndardesh shway.And I'm with Nour at the café; we're chatting a bit.
- Abu KhalilLina, ma tensish el 5obez!Lina, don't forget the bread!
- Lina7ader ya 3ammo!Sure, Uncle!
- Ranashofto el soura elli nashartha?Did you all see the photo I posted?
- Khalilhaha! 7elwe kteer. 3alla2et 3aleiha.Haha! Very nice. I commented on it.
- Imm Khalilya Rana, e7zfiha! ana mish 7elwe fiha!Rana, delete it! I don't look nice in it!
- Ranala2 ya mama, enti 7elwe kteer! w bas el 3eile shafatha.No, Mom, you look lovely! And only the family has seen it.
- Abu KhalilRana, nseet kelmet el ser taba3 jawwali!Rana, I forgot my phone's password!
- Ranama3leish yaba, ba3d el 3asha bnsal7o sawa.Never mind, Dad, after dinner we'll fix it together.
- Khalilyaba, nashart nukte jdeede, e2raha!Dad, I posted a new joke, read it!
- Abu Khalilana banakket a7san mennak! bamza7, bamza7…I tell jokes better than you! Just kidding, just kidding…
- Imm Khalilyalla, ba66lo tdardsho w ta3alo 3al 3asha!Come on, stop chatting and come to dinner!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| masij | message, text messagefeminine; plural masijāt |
| dardash | to chatdardash / ydardesh; b-present badardesh |
| ʿallaʾ | to comment (on: ʿala); to hang up (a picture, laundry)ʿallaʾ / yʿalleʾ; b-present baʿalleʾ |
| nukte | jokeplural nukat |
| jawāb | answer, reply; letterplural jawābāt |
| nashar | to post (online); to publish; to hang out (laundry)nashar / yunshor; b-present banshor |
| ḥammal | to upload; to loadḥammal / yḥammel; b-present baḥammel; the opposite: nazzal = to download |
| ḥazaf | to deleteḥazaf / yiḥzif; b-present baḥzif |
| mazaḥ | to jokemazaḥ / yimzaḥ; b-present bamzaḥ; bamzaḥ! = I'm joking! |
| nakkat | to tell jokesnakkat / ynakket; b-present banakket |
| kilmit sirr | passwordkilmit is-sirr = the password |
| ẓahar | to appear; to seemẓahar / yiẓhir; biẓhir inno … = it seems that … |
Grammar
1. Digits for sounds
On their phones, many Arabs write Arabic with Latin letters. This is often called Arabizi. Digits stand for the sounds that English letters cannot write, and most of them look a little like the Arabic letter.
| Chat | Course letters | Chat → course |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ʾ | 2ahwe → ʾahwe |
| 3 | ʿ | 3asha → ʿasha |
| 7 | ḥ | 7abibti → ḥabībti |
| 5 | kh | 5obez → khubz |
| 6 | ṭ | ba66lo → baṭṭlu |
Some people also write 9 for ṣ and 8 for gh, but s and gh are more common. Watch out: 7 is the strong ḥ, not h, and 3 is the sound ʿ, not a.
2. No fixed spelling
Chat writing has no macrons and no rules. Long vowels are often written with two letters: kteer = ktīr, nour = nūr, beit = bēt. Short i and u are often written e and o: 7elwe = ḥilwe, shoghl = shughl. The article is usually el and does not change before letters like s: el sa3a = is-sāʿa, el soura = iṣ-ṣūra.
3. How to read it
Read the message aloud, digit by digit, and let the context help you.
Practice
1Match the chat digit and the sound
2
3
7
5
6
2Choose the right answer
In a chat, the digit 7 stands for:
ba3d nos sa3a means:
Imm Khalil writes e7zfiha! She wants Rana to:
Abu Khalil writes bamza7! He means:
3Complete the sentence
___ ʿalēha. = I commented on it.
nsīt ___ tabaʿ jawwāli. = I forgot my phone's password.
baṭṭlu ___ w taʿālu ʿal-ʿasha! = Stop chatting and come to dinner!
4Match the Arabic and the English
masij
nukte
jawāb
nashar
ḥazaf
ḥammal
5Write it in the letters of this course, then check
ana ma3 Nour bel 2ahwe.
ana maʿ Nūr bil-ʾahwe.
el 3asha 7ader!
il-ʿasha ḥāḍer!
ma tensish el 5obez!
ma tinsīsh il-khubz!
6Put the words in order
Did you all see the photo I posted?
Stop chatting, children! (to several people)
Summary
- You can read the chat digits: 2 = ʾ, 3 = ʿ, 7 = ḥ, 5 = kh, 6 = ṭ.
- You can read chat spellings without macrons and turn them into the course letters.
- You can talk about texting: masij, dardash, nashar, ʿallaʾ, ḥazaf, kilmit is-sirr.
- You can say bamzaḥ! "I'm joking!" and biẓhir inno … "it seems that …".