2 Afraid
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
1 biy-XAf al-la he is afraid [of] God he’s honest ِبيْخاف اهلل biy-XAf min Xa-yaa-lo he is afraid of his shadow he’s afraid of his own shadow ِ 2 ِبيْخاف من َخيالُه a-LEha min he fears on her from the breeze he’s overprotective of herع biy-XAf ِ 3 in-nis-me ِبيْخاف َعليـها من ِّالن ْسمة il-li biy-XAf min il-GHool he who is afraid of the demon it you have nothing to fear but ِ 4 lo comes out to him fear itself-عbyiT-la * ّإلي ِبيْخاف من الغول بْ ِي ْط َل ْع ُله (lit) he wets himself; (fig) he gets 5 biy-shuX taH-to he pees under himself terrified easily, he’s a coward ِبيْ ُشخ َتْ ُته jaa-je a chicken/hen coward * جاجة 6
his hair stood on end, 7 waq-qaf sha- ar rA-so the hair of his head stood up he was terrified ع َو َّقف َش َعر ُراسه
D-ha his legs knock together he’s terrifiedعrij-LE bit-Xab-beT fi ba ِ ِ 8 ر ْجليه بتْ َخ ِّطب يف َب ْع ْضها he is putting his hand is on his a-la qal-bo he’s afraidع HA-TeT ee-do ِ 9 heart حاطط ُإيده َعلى َقلْ ُبه my heart fell down between my my heart was in my mouth, 10 qal-bi bEn rij-lay legs I was scared عwi-qe ِو ِقع َقلْبـي بيـن ِر ْج َلي
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 3 Afraid
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
11 nij-mo Xa-feef his star is light-weighted he’s easily scared ِنْ ُمه َخفيف they manipulated him; they 12 li -bu fi a -SA-bo they played with his nerves scared him ع ع لِ ْعبوا يف أَ ْع ُصابه his blood curdled,he was ni-shef dam-mo his blood dried up frightened ِن ِشف َد ُّمه 13 (I/we) hope nothing bad 14 al-la yus-tor [may] God protect …happens, God preserve us/him * اهلل ُي ْس ُتـر (I/we) hope nothing bad yaa saa-ter oh [God the] protector …happens, God preserve us/him * يا ِساتر 15
yam-ma oh mother said when one is afraid * َيّا 16
Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
1 wa-la Hab-be not even a seed crazy; not at all * َوال َح ّبة
on the end absolutely, completely, 100% al-’aa-Xerع * َع ِاآلخر 2
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 4 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
(bi-sha-kel in a form very, really (pos/neg * ِب َش ِكل 3
we don’t have “peace” or 4 laa “sa-laam” wa-la i-shi neither “peace” nor anything anything of the sort * ال َ"سالم" َوال إشي laa “sA-far-na” wa-la maa neither “we traveled” nor they we didn’t “travel” or anything of 5 yaH-za-noon be sad the sort * ال َ"ساف ْرنا" َوال ما َي ْح َزنون has no bit of “taste”, has no 6 wa-la ree-Het “iz-zOq” not [even] the smell of “the taste” taste” at all“ * َوال ريحة ّ"الذوق"
7 qad il-kam-she the amount of a handful small, tiny, little amount * َق ّد َالك ْمشة
on the few at least al-qa-lee-leع * َع َالقليلة 8 i-shi u-min-no something and from it partially; moderately * إشي ِوم ُّنه 9
with very few people (with a on the narrow (ad-diy-yeq limited number of inviteesع * 10 َع ِّالض ِّيق qir-dEn u-Haa-res two monkeys and a guardian very few people ِ 11 * ق ْردين ِوحارس
12 byin- ad-du al-’a-SA-be they are counted on the fingers they are very few ع ع ع بْ ِــيـنْ َع ّدوا َع َاأل ِصابع
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 5 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
neither for me nor for the dear 13 laa i-li wa-la laH-baab qal-bi very little, not enough ones of my heart ال إلي َوال َ َلأ ْحباب َقلْبـي
14 bit-rAb il-ma-SA-ri with the soil of the money very cheap * ِبتْراب َالـمصاري nuS nuS half half so so, not good not bad * ُنص ُنص 15
it’s not a lot, it’s not very good 16 wa-la tshid ee-dak and don’t clench your hand (regarding quality or quantity) َوال تْ ِشد َإيدك
17 wa-la il-ba-laash and not the without anything it’s better than nothing * َوال َالبالش aH-san min ba-laash better than without anything it’s better than nothing ِ 18 * أَ ْح َسن من َبالش il-li min-no aH-san min-no what is from him is better than him it’s better than nothing ِ ِ 19 ّإلي م ُّنه أَ ْح َسن م ُّنه [even] a hair from a pig’s ass is a ra min Teez Xan-zeer it’s better than nothing-عsha ِ ِ 20 ba-ra-ke blesssing * َش ْع َرة من طيـز َخنْـزير َب َركة lo min il-ja-mal he gets from the camel its ear he didn’t get his fair share-عbyiT-la ِ 21 daa-no بْ ِي ْط َـــل ْــع ُــله نم َاجل َمل ُدانه one hand in front and one hand 22 eed wa-ra u-’eed qud-daam empty-handed (neg) [behind [like when walking * إيد َوراء وإيد ُق ّدام
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 6 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
we left the celebration of birth we left empty-handed na min il-moo-led ba-la-عTli ِ ِ ِ 23 (Hum-moS [of Muhammad] without hummus (we didn’t get what we wanted ْطل ْعنا من ُالـمولد َبال ُح ُّمص we left like people spending the we left empty-handed na zay mSay-feen ree-Ha-عTli ِ 24 (summer in Jericho (we didn’t get what we wanted ْطل ْعنا َزي ْم َصيْفني ريحا he/it is the trick and the lamp he/it’s all that I have (of value) huw-we il-Hee-le wi-lif-tee-le filament in this world ُهو احليلة ْوالفتيلة 25
26 min saa-so la-rA-so from his/its base till his/its head all of him/it, completely ِمن ُساسه لَ ُراسه from the skin to the skin [of a min il-jil-de lal-jil-de from cover to cover [book * ِنم ِاجللْدة لَلْ ِجلْدة 27
everything but the kitchen sink, 28 il-ja-mal bi-ma Ha-mal the camel with what it carried the whole caboodle * َاجل َمل ِبا َح َمل
29 a-la qa-fa meen ysheel on the ass of who removes there’s plenty of it/them ع * َعلى َقفا مني يْشيل
E-le bil-LE-le the family in the one night all the family membersع-il * العيلة ِب ّالليلة 30 u-mam nations a lot of people, very crowded * أُم 31
32 in-naas fOq ba D-ha the people are above each other a lot of people, very crowded ع * الناس فوق َب ْع ْضها
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 7 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
a lot of people, very crowded; byun-GHol na-GHel it moves moving ِ 33 (a lot (also used for insects بْ ُـيـنْ ُـغـل َنـغـل mi-tel in-na-mel like ants a lot * ِم ِثل َّ ِالنل 34
in all directions; indiscriminately; 35 an jamb u-Ta-raf from a side and an edge everybody ع * َعن َج ْمب َوط َرف every Tom, Dick, and Harry, maa hab u-dab whatever blows and trods everybody/anything * ما َهب َودب 36 in great quantities, abundance; 37 hEl ba-la kEl cardamom without measuring squandering, wastefully * هيل َبال كيل zyaa-det il-XEr XerEn adding the good is two goods the more the better * زْيادة اخلير خيرين 38
the excess is the brother of the iz-zaa-yed a-Xu in-nA-qeS it’s excessive lacking * ّالز ِايد أَ ُخو ّالن ِاقص 39
(it came) to my size it fits me (for clothes) a-la qad-diع (a-ja) )أَجى( َعلى َق ّدي 40
41 (a-ja) a-la ma-qaa-si (it came) to my size it fits me (for clothes) ع )أَجى( َعلى َمقاسي
his situation is on his size he’s financially constrained, poor a-la qad-doع Haal-to حالْ ُته َعلى َق ُّده 42
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 8 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
he rises to the occasion, he shapes qad Haa-lo he is the size of himself up, gutsy َقد حالُه 43
44 ma Ha-da qad-do nobody is as his size lucky him ما َحدا َق ُّده I took him according to the size of I explained to/treated him on his aq-lo his mind level; I humored himع a-la qadع a-Xad-to َأخ ْذ ُته َعلى َقد َع ْق ُله 45 Xal-la raq-ba-ti qad he made my neck as small as a he embarrassed me, he made me is-sim-si-me sesame seed feel small ّ ِ 46 َخلى َرقْ َبتـي َقد ِّالس ْمسمة he was very appreciative of it 47 shaaf-ha qad id-din-ya he saw it as big as the world (referring to a gesture) شافْها َقد ِّالدنْيا “you are” as big as it is [and much “you’re” capable of doing it, “in-ta” qad-ha wiq-dood more] “you’re” up to it, it’s easy * َ"إنت" َق ْدها وقْدود 48
!u-fOq-ha hab-bet misk and above it a seed of musk here’s a little extra ِ 49 وفوقْها َح ّبة م ْسك
50 al-bE- a on the selling extra, for free ع ع * َع َالبيعة
Xa-laS it is finished enough; stop; it’s over * َخ َلص 51
starting with me and including min-ni u-jur [start] from me and drag the rest of the gang ِم ّـنـي ُوجر 52
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 9 Amount / Size
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
it’s not finished, there’s more 53 il-Ha-bel al-jar-rAr the rope is on the reel to come ع * َاحل ِبل َع َاجل ّرار Beginning and End
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
staying on top of things, straight aw-wal bi-’aw-wal first in first away, without delay * أَ َّول ِب َأ َّول 1
!Xab-bir-ni aw-wal bi-’aw-wal inform me first in first keep me updated ِ 2 َخ ّبـ ْرني أَ َّول ِب َأ َّول il-li aw-wa-lo sharT aaX-ro [the thing] that its beginning is clearly stipulating conditions will 3 noor condition, its end is light bring about a happy outcome * ّإلي أَ َّولُه َشرط ْآخ ُره نور no difference between the a-Xir-ha zay aw-wal-ha its end is like its beginning ِ 4 beginning and end * آخ ْرها َزي أَ َّولْها
5 aw-wal mbaa-reH the first of yesterday the day before yesterday * أَ َّول ْم ِبارح wait until the end (of the action) 6 il-’a -maal bi-Xa-wa-teem-ha the deeds by their ends and you’ll see its quality ع * َاأل ْعمال ِب َخواتميْها misk il-Xi-taam the musk of the end the best of endings ِ ِ 7 * م ْ كس اخلتام
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 10 Beginning and End
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
8 da-fa a-la aa-Xer mal-leem he paid on the last penny he paid it off to the last penny ع ع َد َفع َعلى ِآخر َم ّلمي the whole sum of money, till the 9 mal-lem byin-TaH mal-leem penny butting penny last cent * َم ّلمي بْ ِـينْ َطح َم ّلمي
10 aa-Xer il- an-qood the last grape in the bunch the youngest in the family ع * ِآخر َالعنْقود a latest fad the latest thing fashionableع-aa-Xer Say-Ha/Sar ِ 11 * آخر َصيْ َحة/ َص ْر َعة
12 id-din-ya bi-’aa-Xer waqt the world is at the end of time older times were better times * ِّالدنْيا ِب ِآخر َوقْت in a God foresaken place, am-mar al-la in the end of where God builtعbi-’aa-Xer m ِ 13 in the middle of nowhere * َبآخر ما َع َّر ماهلل !haat min il-’aa-Xer bring from the end get to the point هات ِنم ِاآلخر 14
on the end absolutely, completely, 100% al-’aa-Xerع * َع ِاآلخر 15
16 il-lam-saat il-’a-Xee-re the last touches the finishing touches * َّالل ْمسات َاألخيرة too-tu too-tu Xil-Sat 17 tory tory finished is the story and so the story has ended il-Had-doo-tu * توتو توتو ِخ َ تلص َاحل ّدوتو
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 11 Beginning and End
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
18 min saa-so la-rA-so from his/its base till his/its head all of him/it, completely ِمن ُساسه لَ ُراسه
Calculate / Consider
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
1 on my account it’s on me (a bill) a-la Hsaa-biع َعلى ْحسابــي yOm liH-saab the day of the account Judgement Day * يوم ْاحلساب 2
3 iH-seb Hsaa-bi/Hsaab-na calculate my/our calculation count me/us in ْإح ِسب ْحسابي/ ْحسابْنا consider to him a (thousand) be on the lookout for him, you iH-sib-lo (alf) Hsaab ِ 4 !consideration[s] should be afraid of him ْإحسبْ ُله )أَلْف( ْحساب he doesn’t make a consideration he doesn’t give a damn about 5 byi -malsh Hsaab la-Ha-da to anyone anyone ع بْ ِي ْع َملْش ْحساب َ َلحدا he is living on the account of ”a-la Hsaab he’s living off “his wifeع aa-yeshع 6 ”ma-ra-to” “his wife“ ِعايش َعلى ْحساب َ"م َر ُته"
7 il-li Ha-sab-to la-qE-to what I calculated I found it I found things as I expected ّإلي َح َسبْ ُته ُالقيته
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 12 Calculate / Consider
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
this is [the thing] whose calculation 8 haa-da il-li Ha-sabt Hsaa-bo this is what I expected I calculated هادا ّإلي َح َسبْت ْح ُسابه [he is] grasping/maintaining the maa-sek liH-sa-baat (he’s) keeping the books accounts ِ كماس ْاحلسابات 9
10 Ha-sab ra’-yo according to his opinion in his opinion َح َسب رأْ ُيه
11 Ha-sab ma ba -raf according to what I know as far as I know ع َح َسب ما َب ْع َرف according to “the height”/“the 12 Ha-sab “iT-Tool”/“iS-Saf” in order of ”height”/“grade” ”grade َح َسب ّ"الطول/ َّالصف"
13 Ha-sab il-’u-Sool according to the rules of conduct by the book * َح َ بس ُاألصول
Chaos / Confusion
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
1 qaa-mat liq-yaa-me the day of resurrection raised all hell broke loose * َقامت ْالقيامة
2 id-din-ya qaay-me qaa -de the world is rising and sitting the situation is in a terrible mess ع ِّالدنْيا ْقاية ْقاعدة
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 13 Chaos / Confusion
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
“il-mak-tab” qaa-yem the office” is rising and sitting “the office” is in a terrible mess“ ِ 3 edع-qaa َ"الـم ْك َتب" قا ِيم قاعد
4 TA-se u-DAy- a a bowl and it is lost no one in charge here, chaotic ع * طاسة وضايْ َعة shO-ra-ba the situation is a soup the situation is a mess عil-wa-De ِ 5 * َالوضع َشور َبة
6 harj u-marj bustle and disorder hoopla, mess * َه ْرج َوم ْرج zay il-Ham-maam like the bathhouse whose water 7 hoopla, commotion a may-to is cut offع-il-maq-Too * َيز َاحل ّمام َالـم ْق َطوعة َميْ ُته the rope and the arrow holders there was a hustle and bustle, Xta-laT il-Haa-bel bin-naa-bel got mixed everything got mixed up * اِ ْخ َت َطل ِاحلابل ِب ّالن ِابل 8 he mixes up the month of Sha’ban he’s mixing up two different baan-عbyiX-leT sha ِ 9 bi-ra-ma-DAn and Ramadan things بْ ِـي ْخلط َش ْعبان ِب َر َمضان he is not knowing where God is he’s confused, he’s lost A-ref al-la wEn HAT-To placing himع mish ِمش ِعارف اهلل وين ُّحاطه 10
he doesn’t know his head from 11 he’s confused, he’s lost A-ref rA-so min rij-LE his legsع mish ِمش ِعارف ُراسه ِمن ِر ْجليه they caused him to be confused/ 12 HaT-Too fi daw-waa-me they put him in a whirlpool in dilemma َح ّطوه يف َد ّوامة
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X 14 Chaos / Confusion
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
13 Xar-rab id-din-ya he ruined the world he messed up everything َخ َّرب ِّالدنْيا bad handwriting, impossible to Xa-ra-beesh il-jaaj the scratches of the chicken read; bad quality work * َخرابيش اجلاج 14
15 id-din-ya mwal- a the world is scorching all hell broke loose ع * ِّالدنْيا ْم َولْ َعة
16 (id-din-ya) wal-la- at (the world) scorched all hell broke loose ع * ِّ)الدنْيا( َو َّل َعت
Clarity
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
!haat min il-’aa-Xer bring from the end get to the point هات ِنم ِاآلخر 1
tell me like it is, be direct, 2 jeeb-ha a-ba-lA-Ta bring it to a [floor] tile !be blunt ع جيبْـها َع َب َالطة don’t deceive me; don’t beat maa tis-raH fiy-ye don’t take me out to the field ِ 3 around the bush ما ت ْس َرح ِ ِّفي a-la put the dots on the letters dot your i’s and cross your t’sع HuT in-nu-qaT 4 il-Hu-roof ُحط ُّالن َقط َعلى ُاحلروف
.Close to the French r, sounding like a guttural r :(غ) Sounds long and open as in the words fair, dare. Legend for Consonants GH E: Legend for Vowels Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal t :(ط) T Hamza is a glottal stop (a little explosion of air), you :(ء) ’ .Sounds long as in the words deed, ear ee: Sounds short as in the words another, addition. a: .similar to the t in the English word ton ,(ت) .Sounds short as in the words bingo, tote. can hear in the bo’ttle if said with a scottish accent o: Sounds long as in the words far, car. A: Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal s :(ص) S This is a guttural letter pronounced in the back of the :(ع) ع .Sounds long and open as in the words door, four O: Sounds long as in the words dad, fat. aa: similar to the sound of s in the words Sunday ,(س) .Sounds long as in food, moon. throat with no parallel sound in English phonetics oo: Sounds short as in the words did, hit. i: e: Sounds short as in the words red, said. u: Sounds short as in the words put, book. We have kept the original letter in Arabic. as opposed to the s in the word Saturday. 15 Clarity
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
5 bil- a-ra-bi il-fa-SeeH in eloquent Arabic in plain language ع * ِب َالع َربي َالفصيح bi-lim-shar-ma-Hi / didn’t we explain [bastardized 6 in plain language [bi-lim-shab-ra-Hi words * ِب ْالـم َش ْر َم َح ِي/ب ْالـم َشبْ َـرحي
7 al-mak-shoof on the discovered openly ع * َع َالـم ْكشوف without beating around the bush, 8 bi-doon laf u-da-wa-rAn without turning and spinning without wasting time * ِبدون لَف َود َوران
9 wA-DeH zay ish-shams clear as the sun clear as day ِواضح َزي َّالش ْمس this is the most important verse of haa-da bEt il-qa-Seed this is the point the poem * هذا بيت َالقصيد 10
Colors
Arabic Idiom Transliteration Literal Meaning English Idiom or Meaning
any object used as a weapon si-laaH ab-yaD white weapons ِ 1 knife, hammer, etc.) but not guns) * سالح أَبْ َيض
2 qal-bo ab-yaD (zay it-talj) his heart is white (as snow) he’s good-hearted َقلْ ُبه أَبْ َيض َ)زي َّالثلْج(
similar to the Urban Palestinian is hamze (’). Russian laughing kha kha kha), and sounds like the Jewish Holiday ,(د) Sounds emphatic, in contrast with the normal d :(ض) D .this is an aspirated letter pronounced from the back of the throat, Chanukkah is pronounced in America :(ح) H sound of d in the words dumb, duck. Sounds like th in the words there, this, that. with the mouth relatively wide open similar to the sound of puffing :(ذ) dh .Sounds like th in the words think, thank, through. on a pair of glasses to clean them or a dog panting :(ث) th ,sounds as a soft j similar to the first letter we hear in the word genre. * These Idioms are immutable: they never change form despite gender :(ج) j q is pronounced like a k with the tongue farther back, similar to the :(ق) q .this sound is usually represented as kh (sounds as if you imagine a number or tense :(خ) sound of the letter c in the English word caught. Its main sound in X