This second lesson is from a makeover show called Joelle جويل. That's the name of the host who runs a beauty salon in Dubai and does makeovers on women. It's on MBC and both Joelle and a lot of the women she does the makeovers on speak the Lebanese dialect. Joelle herself speaks very very fast so I didn't think a clip of her talking would be a good idea. The girl in the clip is speaking Lebanese giving a summary of all the things that happened in her makeover.
Showing posts with label Levantine dialect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Levantine dialect. Show all posts
Friday, April 2, 2010
Levantine Arabic: Lesson 1
Since posting the Introduction to Levantine Dialect video I've had requests to continue with Levantine dialect lessons. This lesson will use a clip from the first episode of the MBC series الحب المستحيل (Impossible Love). It's a Turkish show dubbed in Arabic. The specific dialect used is Syrian. This first episode is about the main character, Omar, chasing the only girl he's ever met who didn't want him at first sight. This seems to be a common theme in Turkish dramas because the show عاصي (Asi) has the same idea. It's about a guy who's chasing a girl that doesn't want him, or maybe is just playing hard to get, but in the end she falls in love with him.
لا تواخذني رأفت بيك. تأخرت عليك. سيارتي تعطلت على الطريق (La tuwaakhizni Ra'fat Beyk. Ta'akhart Aleyk. Sayaarti ta'atalat 'atari'.)
Don't hold it against me Mr. Ra'fat. I'm late. My car broke down on the road.
شفناك عمرو افندي لما وصلتك رشا لهون (Shifnak Omar Afundi limma wasalatek Rasha lihoon)
We saw you, Mr. Omar, when Rasha brought you here.
خلينا نحكي. رأفت بيك, شو القصة؟ ليش ما عم نقدر نشتري الأرض؟ (Khalina nahki. Ra'fat Beyk, shoo al issa? Leysh ma am ne'der neshteri al ard?)
Let's talk. Mr. Ra'fat, what's the story? Why can't we buy the land?
المسألة هي... أول شي شو منضيفك عمرو بيك؟ شاي, قهوة, ميلو, كولا؟ (Al masali heyeh... Awal shi sho mindeyfek Omar Beyk? Shay, ahweh, milo, cola?)
The problem is... First of all, what can we get you Mr. Omar? Tea, Coffee, ????, Cola?
Comments: I don't know what ميلو is. I typed it into Google and couldn't find anything. It's got to be a drink or something like that. Maybe I'm hearing it wrong.
يا ريت كولا باردة (Ya reyt cola baardeh)
I'd like a cold cola.
تكرم. عدنان (Tikrum. Adnan!)
You're welcome to it. Adnan!
أمور معلم (Umoor muallim)
At your service, sir!
جبلي كولا بسرعة! مبوز إكتير (Jibli cola bisura. Mbowwiz iktir)
Bring me a cola quickly! Very cold.
حاضر معلم (Hadir muallim)
Yes sir!
المشكلة إنه الأرض إللي عم تطلبها انت في قطعة منها صاحبها واحد من الضيعة. و هذا الزلمي عنده عناد بشكل إكبير إكتير. ما عم يقبل يتخلع عن أرضه بنوب (Al mishikli innoo al ard illi am tutluba enti fi 'ata mina sahiba wahid min adaya. Wa hatha azelami andu anaad bi shekl ikbir iktir. Ma am ye'bel yetkhela an ardu ibnobe.)
The problem is that the land you're asking for, there's a piece of it that's owned by someone from the village. And this man is very stubborn. He isn't accepting to let his land go at all.
كيف يعني؟ انت عرضت عليه سعر منيح؟ (Keyf yani? Enta aradt aley sar imneeh?)
How do you mean? You offered him a good price?
عرضت عليه طبعاً. بس ما عجبه (Aradt aley taban. Bes ma ajabu.)
I offered him, of course, but he didn't like it.
طيب, المصاري مو مهمة. شو بده عطوه (Tayyib, al masaari moo muhim. Shoo bedu atoo.)
Ok, the money isn't important. Whatever he wants, give it to him.
شلون؟ شو ما بده؟ (Shloan? Shoo ma bedu?)
What? Whatever he wants?
شو ما بده (Shoo ma bedu.)
Whatever he wants.
بدي ياك تحلل لي هالقصة من هون لبكرة. و هلق عن إذنك (Bedi yak ithellili hal ussa min hoon li bookra. Helleh an iznek.)
I want you to solve this story (problem) for me by tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me.
الكولا معلم (al cola muallim)
The cola, sir.
وصلت الكولا يا بيك. أنا بشربها (wasalat al cola ya beyk. Ana bishruba.)
The cola arrived, sir! Eh, I'll drink it.
Vocabulary List:
لا تواخذني رأفت بيك. تأخرت عليك. سيارتي تعطلت على الطريق (La tuwaakhizni Ra'fat Beyk. Ta'akhart Aleyk. Sayaarti ta'atalat 'atari'.)
Don't hold it against me Mr. Ra'fat. I'm late. My car broke down on the road.
شفناك عمرو افندي لما وصلتك رشا لهون (Shifnak Omar Afundi limma wasalatek Rasha lihoon)
We saw you, Mr. Omar, when Rasha brought you here.
خلينا نحكي. رأفت بيك, شو القصة؟ ليش ما عم نقدر نشتري الأرض؟ (Khalina nahki. Ra'fat Beyk, shoo al issa? Leysh ma am ne'der neshteri al ard?)
Let's talk. Mr. Ra'fat, what's the story? Why can't we buy the land?
المسألة هي... أول شي شو منضيفك عمرو بيك؟ شاي, قهوة, ميلو, كولا؟ (Al masali heyeh... Awal shi sho mindeyfek Omar Beyk? Shay, ahweh, milo, cola?)
The problem is... First of all, what can we get you Mr. Omar? Tea, Coffee, ????, Cola?
Comments: I don't know what ميلو is. I typed it into Google and couldn't find anything. It's got to be a drink or something like that. Maybe I'm hearing it wrong.
يا ريت كولا باردة (Ya reyt cola baardeh)
I'd like a cold cola.
تكرم. عدنان (Tikrum. Adnan!)
You're welcome to it. Adnan!
أمور معلم (Umoor muallim)
At your service, sir!
جبلي كولا بسرعة! مبوز إكتير (Jibli cola bisura. Mbowwiz iktir)
Bring me a cola quickly! Very cold.
حاضر معلم (Hadir muallim)
Yes sir!
المشكلة إنه الأرض إللي عم تطلبها انت في قطعة منها صاحبها واحد من الضيعة. و هذا الزلمي عنده عناد بشكل إكبير إكتير. ما عم يقبل يتخلع عن أرضه بنوب (Al mishikli innoo al ard illi am tutluba enti fi 'ata mina sahiba wahid min adaya. Wa hatha azelami andu anaad bi shekl ikbir iktir. Ma am ye'bel yetkhela an ardu ibnobe.)
The problem is that the land you're asking for, there's a piece of it that's owned by someone from the village. And this man is very stubborn. He isn't accepting to let his land go at all.
كيف يعني؟ انت عرضت عليه سعر منيح؟ (Keyf yani? Enta aradt aley sar imneeh?)
How do you mean? You offered him a good price?
عرضت عليه طبعاً. بس ما عجبه (Aradt aley taban. Bes ma ajabu.)
I offered him, of course, but he didn't like it.
طيب, المصاري مو مهمة. شو بده عطوه (Tayyib, al masaari moo muhim. Shoo bedu atoo.)
Ok, the money isn't important. Whatever he wants, give it to him.
شلون؟ شو ما بده؟ (Shloan? Shoo ma bedu?)
What? Whatever he wants?
شو ما بده (Shoo ma bedu.)
Whatever he wants.
بدي ياك تحلل لي هالقصة من هون لبكرة. و هلق عن إذنك (Bedi yak ithellili hal ussa min hoon li bookra. Helleh an iznek.)
I want you to solve this story (problem) for me by tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me.
الكولا معلم (al cola muallim)
The cola, sir.
وصلت الكولا يا بيك. أنا بشربها (wasalat al cola ya beyk. Ana bishruba.)
The cola arrived, sir! Eh, I'll drink it.
Vocabulary List:
- لا تواخذني - Don't blame me/Don't hold it against me. They say the ذ as a ز in this word and in many words in Levantine.
- شو منضيفك - What can we get you? The noun ضيف means guest. Here they are using it as a verb. So, you could say "What can we guest you?", but that wouldn't really make sense in English. The م in front of the word is added to make things flow better, just like the إ that is inserted before a lot of words like إكتير إكبير.
- يا ريت - I wish. In this context it means "I'd like" or "I want".
- مبوز - cold. It also means angry.
- ضيعة - village
- زلمي - man
- بنوب - at all, ever
- مصاري - money
- عن إذنك - with your permission. You say this when you are leaving or asking someone if you can do something. Also, بعد إذنك means the same thing.
Levantine Dialect: Lesson 3
This clip is from the 2nd episode of the Turkish soap opera (مسلسلة تركية) Aliya (عليا) dubbed in Syrian Arabic. Even though their lips don't match what they're saying, the Arabic is spoken more clearly in these Turkish dubbed shows than in shows like Bal Al Hara (باب الحارة) where it's really hard to understand everything they're saying. To give some context to the clip, Aliya (not shown in the clip) and her husband (the younger man) split up because he was cheating on her. The older man is Aliya's uncle and he is trying to get Aliya's daughter Rama to come and live with him and Aliya.
The best way to benefit from these clips is to first watch them a few times without looking at the transcript. It gives your brain time to try to understand any gibberish you hear before you give it the answer. The next time you're listening to something similar, your brain is more likely to remember since it had to work to try to understand it before. I hope I wrote that in a way that makes sense. It's the method I follow when trying to learn a new language. You have to make your brain try and struggle first before you spoon feed it.
انا مو جايي لهون لحتى ساوي زيارة (Ana moo jaay la hoon la hata saawi ziyara.)
I didn't come here to make a visit.
Comments: Literally says, I am not coming to here in order to do a visit.
أنا إجيت منشان أخذ راما لعند إمها (Ana ijeet minshaan akhudh Rama la and imma.)
I came in order to take Rama to her mother.
Comments: لعند here just means "to". You can say, "We're going لعند my friend." and that means that you're going to your friend's place.
لا, راما ما بتطلع برات هالبيت. هذا بيت أبوها (La, Rama ma btatlaa barraat hal beyt. Hada beyt abooha.)
No, Rama does not go outside this house. This is her father's house.
مدام جيهان (Madaam Jihaan.)
Madam Jihan.
نحنا ناس ما منحب خراب البيوت (Nihna naas ma minheb kharaab libyoot.)
We are people who don't like to destroy houses.
Comments: Literally it says destroying houses, but it means splitting up families.
إمي, رجااً لا تتدخلي (Immi, rajaa'an la tetdakhali.)
Mom, please don't get involved.
شو؟ نسيت إني إمك؟ (Shoo? Inseet inni immak?)
What? Have you forgotten that I'm your mom?
سماع, دكتور فؤاد. قول لعليا تعقّل و ترجع لبيتها. و إذا كانت مو رضيانة انه ترجع (Smaa doktoor Fouad. Ool la Aliya taa'al oo terja la beyta. Oo iza kanit moo radyani anno terja...)
Listen, Dr. Fouad. Tell Aliya to wise up and come back to her house. And if she doesn't want to come back...
Comments: I had to listen to the first part of this several times before I understood what she was saying. Instead of تعقل و I was hearing تعا (come) and then قلو and I kept asking myself, "what the hell does قلو mean??" :) Then after a few listens it finally clicked in my brain. It's always a good feeling when that happens. Also, in the dialects they will often say "oo" instead of "wa".
امي بيكفّي (Immi bikeffi.)
Mom, that's enough.
ميار, ابني. كل مرأة و جوزها بيختلفو و بتصير مشاكل بيناتن. بس لازم الإنسان يخلي طريق للصلح (Mayyar, ibni. Kil mara wa joza byekhtelfu wa bitseer mashakil beynatun bes lazim al insan yekhelli taree' lil sulih.)
Mayyar, my son. Ever woman and her husband have differences and problems come up between them, but a person has to allow a way for reconciliation.
Comments: Notice he says جوز and not زوج. In Levantine and Egyptian they switch the letters around. They also say متجوز instead of متزوج to mean married.
طالما حضرتك تعرف تعطي نصائح ليش ما نصحت حالك يا دكتور؟ (Taalama hadirtak ibtarif taati nsaaih leysh ma nasahit haalak ya doktoor?)
As long as you're giving advice, why don't you advise yourself, Dr. Fouad?
Comments: تعرف can be ignored here in the translation.
لما مرتك تركتك ليش وقتها ما كنت بتعرف طريق الرجع؟ (Limma martek teriktek leysh wa'ita ma kinta btarif taree' al rajaa?)
When your wife left you why, at that time, didn't you know a way to get her to come back?
هذا مو موضوعنا مدام جيهان (Hada moo moudooana madaam Jihaan.)
That's not our subject, Madam Jihan.
إمي خلصنا بقى (Immi khalasna ba'a.)
Mom, stop it already.
ما خلصنا. لازم أحكي (Ma khalasna. Lazim ahki.)
We're not finished. I must talk.
تركينا... إذا بتريدي (Trikeena... iza bitreedi.)
Leave us... if you will.
Vocabulary List:
قال السوري: من شان شو
قال الصيني: سبحان الله ما توقعته زي اسمي
A Chinese man said to a Syrian: "What's your name?"
The Syrian said: "Min Shan Shoo?" (Meaning, what for.)
The Chinese man said: "My God! I can't believe it's the same as mine!"
The best way to benefit from these clips is to first watch them a few times without looking at the transcript. It gives your brain time to try to understand any gibberish you hear before you give it the answer. The next time you're listening to something similar, your brain is more likely to remember since it had to work to try to understand it before. I hope I wrote that in a way that makes sense. It's the method I follow when trying to learn a new language. You have to make your brain try and struggle first before you spoon feed it.
انا مو جايي لهون لحتى ساوي زيارة (Ana moo jaay la hoon la hata saawi ziyara.)
I didn't come here to make a visit.
Comments: Literally says, I am not coming to here in order to do a visit.
أنا إجيت منشان أخذ راما لعند إمها (Ana ijeet minshaan akhudh Rama la and imma.)
I came in order to take Rama to her mother.
Comments: لعند here just means "to". You can say, "We're going لعند my friend." and that means that you're going to your friend's place.
لا, راما ما بتطلع برات هالبيت. هذا بيت أبوها (La, Rama ma btatlaa barraat hal beyt. Hada beyt abooha.)
No, Rama does not go outside this house. This is her father's house.
مدام جيهان (Madaam Jihaan.)
Madam Jihan.
نحنا ناس ما منحب خراب البيوت (Nihna naas ma minheb kharaab libyoot.)
We are people who don't like to destroy houses.
Comments: Literally it says destroying houses, but it means splitting up families.
إمي, رجااً لا تتدخلي (Immi, rajaa'an la tetdakhali.)
Mom, please don't get involved.
شو؟ نسيت إني إمك؟ (Shoo? Inseet inni immak?)
What? Have you forgotten that I'm your mom?
سماع, دكتور فؤاد. قول لعليا تعقّل و ترجع لبيتها. و إذا كانت مو رضيانة انه ترجع (Smaa doktoor Fouad. Ool la Aliya taa'al oo terja la beyta. Oo iza kanit moo radyani anno terja...)
Listen, Dr. Fouad. Tell Aliya to wise up and come back to her house. And if she doesn't want to come back...
Comments: I had to listen to the first part of this several times before I understood what she was saying. Instead of تعقل و I was hearing تعا (come) and then قلو and I kept asking myself, "what the hell does قلو mean??" :) Then after a few listens it finally clicked in my brain. It's always a good feeling when that happens. Also, in the dialects they will often say "oo" instead of "wa".
امي بيكفّي (Immi bikeffi.)
Mom, that's enough.
ميار, ابني. كل مرأة و جوزها بيختلفو و بتصير مشاكل بيناتن. بس لازم الإنسان يخلي طريق للصلح (Mayyar, ibni. Kil mara wa joza byekhtelfu wa bitseer mashakil beynatun bes lazim al insan yekhelli taree' lil sulih.)
Mayyar, my son. Ever woman and her husband have differences and problems come up between them, but a person has to allow a way for reconciliation.
Comments: Notice he says جوز and not زوج. In Levantine and Egyptian they switch the letters around. They also say متجوز instead of متزوج to mean married.
طالما حضرتك تعرف تعطي نصائح ليش ما نصحت حالك يا دكتور؟ (Taalama hadirtak ibtarif taati nsaaih leysh ma nasahit haalak ya doktoor?)
As long as you're giving advice, why don't you advise yourself, Dr. Fouad?
Comments: تعرف can be ignored here in the translation.
لما مرتك تركتك ليش وقتها ما كنت بتعرف طريق الرجع؟ (Limma martek teriktek leysh wa'ita ma kinta btarif taree' al rajaa?)
When your wife left you why, at that time, didn't you know a way to get her to come back?
هذا مو موضوعنا مدام جيهان (Hada moo moudooana madaam Jihaan.)
That's not our subject, Madam Jihan.
إمي خلصنا بقى (Immi khalasna ba'a.)
Mom, stop it already.
ما خلصنا. لازم أحكي (Ma khalasna. Lazim ahki.)
We're not finished. I must talk.
تركينا... إذا بتريدي (Trikeena... iza bitreedi.)
Leave us... if you will.
Vocabulary List:
- لحتى (lahatta) - "in order to". In MSA it's لكي (likay).
- ساوي (saawi) - "doing". شو عم بتساوي means "what are you doing"
- منشان (minshaan) - "in order to", "because", "for what". There's a joke about this word:
قال السوري: من شان شو
قال الصيني: سبحان الله ما توقعته زي اسمي
A Chinese man said to a Syrian: "What's your name?"
The Syrian said: "Min Shan Shoo?" (Meaning, what for.)
The Chinese man said: "My God! I can't believe it's the same as mine!"
- برات (barraat) - "outside". Also the word برا (barra) means the same thing.
- عقّل (aqqal) - "wise up", "become smarter". The world عقل (aql) without a shadda means "mind".
- رضيانة (radyaani) - "satisfied" used for a female
- صلح (sulih) - "reconciliation"
- طالما (taalama) - "as long as", this word is MSA
- حضرتك (hadirtak) - formal way of saying "you".
- بقى (ba'a) - this word is used a lot. It adds emphasis to something like the word "already" when you say "come on already"
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Haifa Wehbe Expresses Admiration for Hassan Nasrallah
This video is of Haifa Wehbe هيفاء وهبي being interviewed and asked about who she looks up to. Her answer is the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah حسن نصر الله. I don't think I would describe him the way she did, but to each his (or in this case her) own. This dialogue is in Levantine and more specifically Lebanese Arabic. With the transcript you should be able to follow along without having exposure to this dialect because almost all of the words are found in MSA فصحى but they are said with a Lebanese accent. The spiral and the chairs coming toward each other at the beginning is kind of strange. Not sure what that's about. :)
سؤال تاني. سمي شخص بيدق قلبك إله بس إتشوفيه بس مش كحبيب و لا من افراد أسرتك
Another question. Name a person for whom your heart beats when you see him, but not as a lover and not among the members of your family.
Comments: تاني doesn't always mean "second". This could have been the 4th question.
بيدق قلبي بس شوفه بس مش كحبيب؟
My heart beats when I see him but not as a lover?
اه, بصراحة... و يمكن الحرب خلتني كمان أكثر أتأكد من هالشي. سيد حسن نصر الله. حكمته العالية جداً. روقيه بالتعامل مع كل الأوضاع إللي كانت مدمية و إللي بعدها. أكثر شغلة إللي تعجبني فيه, هالكاريزما بحواره, هالطريقة القوية إللي بتقنعني, مقنع جداً و حكيم. حكمته كتير... و طبعاً هو رجل يحتذى فيه يعني و ينضرب فيه المثل.
Ah, frankly... and maybe the war also has made me more sure of this. Mr. Hasan Nasrallah. His very high wisdom. His dignified way of dealing with all the situations that were bloody, etc. The thing that I like most about him, this charisma in his dialogue, this strong way that convinces me. He's very convincing and wise. His wisdom is very... and of course he is a model man and one the proverbs speak of.
Vocabulary:
سؤال تاني. سمي شخص بيدق قلبك إله بس إتشوفيه بس مش كحبيب و لا من افراد أسرتك
Another question. Name a person for whom your heart beats when you see him, but not as a lover and not among the members of your family.
Comments: تاني doesn't always mean "second". This could have been the 4th question.
بيدق قلبي بس شوفه بس مش كحبيب؟
My heart beats when I see him but not as a lover?
اه, بصراحة... و يمكن الحرب خلتني كمان أكثر أتأكد من هالشي. سيد حسن نصر الله. حكمته العالية جداً. روقيه بالتعامل مع كل الأوضاع إللي كانت مدمية و إللي بعدها. أكثر شغلة إللي تعجبني فيه, هالكاريزما بحواره, هالطريقة القوية إللي بتقنعني, مقنع جداً و حكيم. حكمته كتير... و طبعاً هو رجل يحتذى فيه يعني و ينضرب فيه المثل.
Ah, frankly... and maybe the war also has made me more sure of this. Mr. Hasan Nasrallah. His very high wisdom. His dignified way of dealing with all the situations that were bloody, etc. The thing that I like most about him, this charisma in his dialogue, this strong way that convinces me. He's very convincing and wise. His wisdom is very... and of course he is a model man and one the proverbs speak of.
Vocabulary:
- دق - to beat or knock
- صراحة - frankly
- خلتني - made me or let me. خليني روح means "let me go"
- شغلة - thing. Just like the word حاجة in Egyptian.
- مقنع - convincing
- حكيم - wise. Also means "doctor" in Levantine, but doesn't mean that here.
- رجل يحتذى فيه - an exemplary man, a good example of a man, role model
- ينضرب فيه المثل - "the proverb is hit in him" literally. It means basically that he is a guy like in the proverb. Maybe she has a specific proverb in mind but I don't know what it is.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Childrens Song اسناني واوا Asnani Wawa
This is another song by the Birds of Paradise طيور الجنة, a really popular group that sings songs for kids. This انشودة (hymn) has about 4 million views on YouTube. The dialect is Syrian and the lyrics along with translation and explanations are below the video. It's about cavities and brushing your teeth!
يا بابا اسناني واوا
Dad, my teeth hurt
Explanation: واوا is basically the equivalent of the English term "boo boo". It's a word used by children for a small wound or some pain. Haifa Wehbe has a song called ليك الواوا (Look at the boo boo).
وديني عند الطبيب
Take me to the doctor.
ما عاد بدي شوكولاته بس بدي اشرب الحليب
I don't want chocolate anymore but I want to drink milk.
Explanation: ما عاد means "no longer". It is used in MSA as well.
السوسة نخرت في سناني
The worm has decayed my tooth
Explanation: سوسة means "woodworm". Back in the day people believed that when your teeth decayed it was worms eating your teeth. The word تسوّس means "worm eaten" or as we would translated it in English "cavitied".
اه يا اسناني
Ahhhhh, oh my teeth.صورلي الدكتور سني
The doctor took a picture of my tooth for me.
فرجاني ست السوسة
He showed me the cavity.
Explanation: ست means "woman" and sometimes "grandmother". Here I just translated ست السوسة to mean cavity, but it means literally "the lady worm". It's a kids' song, can't take it too literally :)
قاعدة جوى مبسوطة
It (the cavity) was sitting inside happily
بسيطة يا بسبوسة
It's a simple matter, sweetie.
Explanation: They say بسيطة when something can be taken care of easily. It just means "simple". بسبوسة is a Middle Eastern dessert.
والله لا اكل تفاح
I swear I won't eat an apple.
و رح انسى هالحلويات
And I will forget sweets.
رح اكل خضرا و حليب
I will eat vegetables and (drink) milk.
ما بدنا شبس و غازات
We don't want chips or soft drinks.
Explanation: غازات means "soft drinks". It comes from the English word "gas" since the drink are carbonated.
بالسواك و المعجون انا عندي حملة تنظيفات
With a miswak and with toothpaste I have a cleaning procedure
Explanation: سواك is a stick that Muhammad used to clean his teeth and it's mentioned in the Koran so lots of Muslims use it. The English word for it is "miswak" which I hadn't heard of until now. The word حلمة means "campaign" most of the time, as in حملة إنتخابية (election campaign), but here "cleaning campaign" wouldn't make much sense in English so I said "procedure". This is something that a lot of people never understand when learning a language. Each word in the foreign language does not always have an exact translation into another language. You have to translate the word into your language in a way that makes sense and conveys the right meaning. You can't always give the word the definition that you find in the dictionary or in a word list.
يا بابا اسناني واوا
Dad, my teeth hurt
Explanation: واوا is basically the equivalent of the English term "boo boo". It's a word used by children for a small wound or some pain. Haifa Wehbe has a song called ليك الواوا (Look at the boo boo).
وديني عند الطبيب
Take me to the doctor.
ما عاد بدي شوكولاته بس بدي اشرب الحليب
I don't want chocolate anymore but I want to drink milk.
Explanation: ما عاد means "no longer". It is used in MSA as well.
السوسة نخرت في سناني
The worm has decayed my tooth
Explanation: سوسة means "woodworm". Back in the day people believed that when your teeth decayed it was worms eating your teeth. The word تسوّس means "worm eaten" or as we would translated it in English "cavitied".
اه يا اسناني
Ahhhhh, oh my teeth.صورلي الدكتور سني
The doctor took a picture of my tooth for me.
فرجاني ست السوسة
He showed me the cavity.
Explanation: ست means "woman" and sometimes "grandmother". Here I just translated ست السوسة to mean cavity, but it means literally "the lady worm". It's a kids' song, can't take it too literally :)
قاعدة جوى مبسوطة
It (the cavity) was sitting inside happily
بسيطة يا بسبوسة
It's a simple matter, sweetie.
Explanation: They say بسيطة when something can be taken care of easily. It just means "simple". بسبوسة is a Middle Eastern dessert.
والله لا اكل تفاح
I swear I won't eat an apple.
و رح انسى هالحلويات
And I will forget sweets.
رح اكل خضرا و حليب
I will eat vegetables and (drink) milk.
ما بدنا شبس و غازات
We don't want chips or soft drinks.
Explanation: غازات means "soft drinks". It comes from the English word "gas" since the drink are carbonated.
بالسواك و المعجون انا عندي حملة تنظيفات
With a miswak and with toothpaste I have a cleaning procedure
Explanation: سواك is a stick that Muhammad used to clean his teeth and it's mentioned in the Koran so lots of Muslims use it. The English word for it is "miswak" which I hadn't heard of until now. The word حلمة means "campaign" most of the time, as in حملة إنتخابية (election campaign), but here "cleaning campaign" wouldn't make much sense in English so I said "procedure". This is something that a lot of people never understand when learning a language. Each word in the foreign language does not always have an exact translation into another language. You have to translate the word into your language in a way that makes sense and conveys the right meaning. You can't always give the word the definition that you find in the dictionary or in a word list.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Bab al Hara - Syrian Dialect Lengthening Words
Bab al Hara باب الحارة (The Neighborhood's Gate) is a very popular show in the Arabic world. The setting is a neighborhood حارة in Damascus during the beginning of the French control of Syria at then end of the Ottoman rule . It's in the Syrian dialect and to me the way they speak sounds really funny. They often lengthen the last word of their sentences. Syrian is the only dialect I've noticed that does this. They don't even do it in Lebanon right next door to Syria. You can see examples in this clip from the show.
At 00:05 and 00:14 listen to how he says حارة. And at 00:23 how he says ابو غالب. It basically sounds like he's saying ابو غالييييب. At 01:35 is also a good example. Listen to كذاب. And the whole conversation starting at 01:37 is full of it. Anyway, you get the idea. Not every Syrian does this but quite a lot do, so if you ever are wondering where a person is from, if they're lengthening their words then it's a safe bet that they are Syrian.
Here's the theme song from the show. I really like it.
At 00:05 and 00:14 listen to how he says حارة. And at 00:23 how he says ابو غالب. It basically sounds like he's saying ابو غالييييب. At 01:35 is also a good example. Listen to كذاب. And the whole conversation starting at 01:37 is full of it. Anyway, you get the idea. Not every Syrian does this but quite a lot do, so if you ever are wondering where a person is from, if they're lengthening their words then it's a safe bet that they are Syrian.
Here's the theme song from the show. I really like it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Introduction to Levantine Arabic
Levantine Arabic is spoken in the Levant region which is composed of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. The dialect isn't as different from Egyptian as it is from, say, Iraqi or Gulf Arabic. A few important facts about the Levantine dialect are,
Here's a list of some high frequency words in the Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Palestinian dialects. Since it's really not very helpful to just see a list an not know exactly how to pronounce the words I've made a video of the correct pronunciations of the words along with sentences to show their uses in context.
ايش عم بيصير؟ - What's going on?
- Levantine Arabic changes the ق to a ء in most words.
- ة is changed to ي in most words.
- The word عم adds -ing to the verb after it.
- The letter ب is added before present tense verbs in most cases. This basically just makes the words flow together better.
Here's a list of some high frequency words in the Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Palestinian dialects. Since it's really not very helpful to just see a list an not know exactly how to pronounce the words I've made a video of the correct pronunciations of the words along with sentences to show their uses in context.
- What - ايش/شو
ايش عم بيصير؟ - What's going on?
- Where - وين
- Why - ليش
- When - إمتى
- Who - مين
- How - شلون/كِيف
- How much - قًدّيش
- Now - هَلّق
- Good - مْنيح
- Tomorrow - بُكْرة
- Yesterday - مْبارِح
- Also - كمان
- Only - بَس
- But - بَس
- Not - مش
- Still - لسة
- Outside - بَرّا
- Inside - جوّا
- With - مع/وَيّا
- Which/Who - إللي/يللي
- To be able to - فيّ
- In order to/for/because of - عَشان
- After that - بَعْدين
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Arabic Videos on LangMedia
I came across this site through a post on the How to Learn Any Language forums. I thought I had found all the good sites for learning Arabic, but this one has stayed hidden from me. It's called LangMedia and they have resources for a lot of different languages, not just Arabic. As far as Arabic goes though, not only does it have a lot of MSA dialouges with translations, but there are also quite of few roleplay videos in the Jordanian, Palestinian, and Syrian dialects (also with translations). I wish I had known about this site a year ago when I was just starting with the Arabic dialects. It would have made the road a lot easier. There's really a lot to be learned from this site.
Here's an example of the kind of videos that are on their website along with the transcription and translation.
رحت انا مع ابوي لتل ابيب و كانت هاذي اجمل مرة بطلع فيها في إجازة. بقيت هناك لأسبوعين. رحت على البحر. رحت على مطاعم. رحت على حديقة الحيوانات. و كان يعني إجازة تستحق يعني أن تتسمى إجازة لأنه كانت أول مرة بروح فيها على حديقة حيوانات. أول مرة بشوف البحر. تعرفت على أصحاب كثير
I went to Tel Aviv with my dad. This was the best vacation I ever had. I was there for two weeks. I went to the sea; I went to restaurants; I went to a zoo. It deserved to be called a vacation because it was the first time I went to a zoo and saw the sea. I made a lot of friends.
Here's an example of the kind of videos that are on their website along with the transcription and translation.
رحت انا مع ابوي لتل ابيب و كانت هاذي اجمل مرة بطلع فيها في إجازة. بقيت هناك لأسبوعين. رحت على البحر. رحت على مطاعم. رحت على حديقة الحيوانات. و كان يعني إجازة تستحق يعني أن تتسمى إجازة لأنه كانت أول مرة بروح فيها على حديقة حيوانات. أول مرة بشوف البحر. تعرفت على أصحاب كثير
I went to Tel Aviv with my dad. This was the best vacation I ever had. I was there for two weeks. I went to the sea; I went to restaurants; I went to a zoo. It deserved to be called a vacation because it was the first time I went to a zoo and saw the sea. I made a lot of friends.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
بابا تليفون Dad, Telephone - Arabic Children's Song
This song is awesome and pretty simple to understand so it should be a good learning tool if you're starting out. It's by a group called طيور الجنة (The Birds of Paradise) that sings a lot of great songs for kids such as اسناني واوا which I guess you could translate as (My teeth hurt) and also أنا البندورة الحمرة (I am the red tomato). Their songs are all in Syrian Arabic and all really cool!
I don't think the words in this song need much explaining. It's just a matter of looking at the text as they sing and matching what you hear to the words written down. قدوة might not be a word you've heard before. It's an MSA word and means "an example".
بابا تليفون - Dad, telephone!
قلو مو هون - Tell him I'm not here (Literally, tell him not here)
بابا بيقلك هو مو هون - Dad tells you that he's not here
مو قلتلي يا بابا ان الكذب حرام - Didn't you tell me, Dad, that lying is wrong
و انو إللي بيكذب يا بابا الله بيزعل منو - And that God gets angry at those who lie
عينه ما بتقدر إتنام والناس بتبعد عنه - They can't sleep and everyone stays away from them
بتعلمني و بتنسى يا بابا اللي قلتو - Dad, you teach me then you forget what you said
انت القدوة يا بابا و انت المثل الأعلى - You are my model and (high) example
ما تزعل مني يا بابا يا عيوني و اغلى بابا - Don't get mad at me, Dad. Oh precious apple of my eye.
I don't think the words in this song need much explaining. It's just a matter of looking at the text as they sing and matching what you hear to the words written down. قدوة might not be a word you've heard before. It's an MSA word and means "an example".
بابا تليفون - Dad, telephone!
قلو مو هون - Tell him I'm not here (Literally, tell him not here)
بابا بيقلك هو مو هون - Dad tells you that he's not here
مو قلتلي يا بابا ان الكذب حرام - Didn't you tell me, Dad, that lying is wrong
و انو إللي بيكذب يا بابا الله بيزعل منو - And that God gets angry at those who lie
عينه ما بتقدر إتنام والناس بتبعد عنه - They can't sleep and everyone stays away from them
بتعلمني و بتنسى يا بابا اللي قلتو - Dad, you teach me then you forget what you said
انت القدوة يا بابا و انت المثل الأعلى - You are my model and (high) example
ما تزعل مني يا بابا يا عيوني و اغلى بابا - Don't get mad at me, Dad. Oh precious apple of my eye.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Haifa Wehbe: Laik El Wawa
Another popular song by Haifa Wehbe with some nice vocab and sayings. She's a babysitter and her boyfriend comes over and they have to take the kid out with them to a party. If there are any questions or anything you'd like explained better please ask. I try to comment on the things people might find difficult, but sometimes I miss some things that were difficult or didn't make sense for me when I was first learning but that now I understand.
ليك الواوا بوس الواوا خلي الواوا يصح - Look at the boo boo, kiss the boo boo, let the boo boo heal.
ليك - look
بوس - kiss
خلي الواوا يصح - let the boo boo get better
لما بست الواوا شيلتو صار الواوا بح - When you kissed the boo boo you removed it. The boo boo disappeared.
لما - When
صار - became
بح - gone, vanished, disappeared
بقربك خبيني غمرني و دفيني - Hide me close to you, cover me and keep me warm.
بقربك - in your proximity (close to you)
انا من دونك انا بردانة اح - Without you I am cold. Ah!
من دون - without
ليك الواوا ليك - Look at the boo boo, look!
الليلة احلى سهرة عند حبابي - Tonight there's the greatest party at my boyfriend's
سهرة - the verb سهر means "to stay up all night". A سهرة is a party where you stay up all night.
عند - this literally means "at" but if you wanted to say "at my friend's house" you could say عند صديقي without saying house, بيت
الليلة - you'll notice that she says الليلي . In Levantine they change the ة to a ي in many (but not all) words. The word for "a kiss" is بوسة but they say بَوسي
بدو ياني البس احلى تيابي - He wants me to wear my nicest clothes.
بدو - in MSA this means Bedouin, but in Levantine this means "he wants". بدي would be "I want".
ياني - me
بلبس لعيونك يا حبيبي كل جديد و دح - I'll wear them for your eyes, my baby, all new and nice.
دح - nice, good
بوثق فيك و بدي تبقى حدي - I trust in you and want you to stay by my side.
بوثق - she says بوسق which is common. In Levantine (and Egyptian) they change the ث to a س in a lot of words. Another example would beثابت
انت بين الناس الاغلى عندي - Among the people you are the most precious to me.
و آخر همي شو ما يقولوا غلط ولا صح - And my last concern is what they (people) say, whether it's wrong or right.
ما - in a lot of places ما means "don't" or "not" like in ما بدي "I don't want", but in other situations, like this one, it isn't a negation. It means "that" or "what". Another example is عمل شو ما بدك "do whatever you want". It's kind of confusing but after hearing it many times you get used to when it means "not" and when it means "that" or "what".
ولا - or. They used this a lot more commonly in the dialects than أو
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Old Man with the Cane: Faris Karam
This is one of my favorite Arabic songs and Faris Karam is one of my favorite singers. He's Lebanese and this song has a lot of words that someone who only studied MSA wouldn't know, so insha'allah you'll learn some new words.
ضيق لبسك ما عندك أوسع منه
Your clothes are tight! Don't you have any looser ones?
تلت رباعة ولاد الحي فيك جنوا
3/4 of the boys in the neighborhood are crazy about you
تلت رباعة - three fourths
فيك جنوا - literally "in you they go crazy"
ختيار على العكازة عنت ع باله الجازة
The old man on the cane is thinking about marriage
ختيار - "old guy"
عكازة - cane
عنت ع باله - means the same thing as خطر ع باله. It "came to his mind" or "occurred to him"
الجازة - marriage
طفل اللي حاملته أمه يكاغي أسمك ع تمه
The child being carried by his mom babbles your name
يكاغي - means to "goo goo gaa gaa" or "speak like a baby"
تم - mouth
عجبت خيه سحرت بيه ودوبت عمه
His (the baby's) brother likes you, you enchanted his father, and you melted his uncle
خي - is how you say أخ (brother) in Lebanese
سحر - to enchant
بي - is اب (dad)
دوب - is ذوب (melt)
هاي دي يقلك يقبرني هاي دي يصفر ويغني
This one says "bury me", and this one whistles and sings
هاي دي - this one
يقبرني - literally "bury me", basically like saying "I'd die for you"
وتلاميذ المدارس ولا واحد فيهم دارس
And not one of the students at school are studying
أنت مرقت سرقت حرقت الاخضر واليابس
You passed by, stole, and burned the green and the earth
مرق - means "passed" it's the same thing as مر in MSA
سرق - stole
حرق - burned
الأخضر و اليابس - By "green" it means "plant life", and يابس is anything dry which means "the ground". Basically with this line he's saying that she turns everything upside down when she walks by.
غيرت عملت عجقة سير ع المفارق ع المفارق
You turned and caused a pile up at the intersection
عجقة سير - means a backup or clogging of traffic
ع - in Lebanese they use this sometimes instead of على
عالم تسأل بعضا مين يلي مارق
Everyone is asking each other "who passed by"
بعض - this word is used to mean "each other" here. If you say مع بعض it means "together".
يلي - means which. It's the same as الذي and التي in MSA
مارق - is the فاعل form of مرق which means "to pass by"
بوليس اللي ع الاشارة ولعت بقلبه نارة
Fire has welled up in the heart of the policeman at the stoplight
الاشارة - means "stoplight"
ولع - means "to burst into flames"
سيارات يمشيهم عكس السير يوديهم
He is sending cars against the traffic
تمشى and ودى - mean the same thing, "to send"
عكس - opposite
السير - the traffic
عم يطلع فيك أنت ومش سائل فيهم
He's looking at you and not caring about them
عم - turns the verb into an "-ing" verb, so it makes "look", "looking"
يطلع - look
سائل - "to care about" or "be concerned with"
واللي شعراته شابه يتحسر ع شبابه
And the one who is old is longing for his youth
شعرات - feelings
شايب - to get old
تحسر - to long for
شباب - youth
واللي من مرته خايف يعمل حاله مش شايف
And the one who is scared of his wife pretends that he isn't looking
مرته - his wife
خايف - scared
يعمل حاله - literally "does his condition", but that doesn't makes sense. It means to "make himself" or "pretend" here.
قلبه دايب مثل الحمرة اللي فوق الشفايف
His heart is melting like the lipstick on your lips
الحمرة - lipstick
شفايف - lips
تتمشي مثل الغزلان دادي دادي
You walk like the gazelle
دادي - means how gazelles walk, like stepping lightly
ويزم عليك الفسطان شوية زيادة
And your dress scoots up just a little bit
يزم - "to raise" or "scoot up"
شوية - a little bit
وبخصرك لما تموجي مثل الطفل الغنوجي
And when you wiggle your hips you're like a pampered child
خصر - the mid section of the body
لما - whenever. It's the same as عندما in MSA
تموجي - to wave like a wave. موج means wave
غنوجي - spoiled or pampered
ختيار يجن جنونه ويدبلك بعيونه
The old man is going crazy and flirts with you with his eyes
يدبلك بعيونه - like when a girl bats her eyelashes at a guy or when a guy looks at a girl like he "wants some"
أنا خايف يوقع ع الارض وعكازه يخونه
I'm scared that he'll fall on the ground and his cane will betray him
يخونه - it will betray him.
النسوان اللي حواليك يحكوا بالهمس عليك
The women that are around you talk in whispers about you
واللي تشوفك قبالها تخبي منك رجالها
And whoever sees you coming hides her husband from you
و رفيقتها من غيرتها راح تقتل حالها
And her friend is going to kill herself from jealousy
غيرة - jealousy
حالها - herself
ضيق لبسك ما عندك أوسع منه
Your clothes are tight! Don't you have any looser ones?
تلت رباعة ولاد الحي فيك جنوا
3/4 of the boys in the neighborhood are crazy about you
تلت رباعة - three fourths
فيك جنوا - literally "in you they go crazy"
ختيار على العكازة عنت ع باله الجازة
The old man on the cane is thinking about marriage
ختيار - "old guy"
عكازة - cane
عنت ع باله - means the same thing as خطر ع باله. It "came to his mind" or "occurred to him"
الجازة - marriage
طفل اللي حاملته أمه يكاغي أسمك ع تمه
The child being carried by his mom babbles your name
يكاغي - means to "goo goo gaa gaa" or "speak like a baby"
تم - mouth
عجبت خيه سحرت بيه ودوبت عمه
His (the baby's) brother likes you, you enchanted his father, and you melted his uncle
خي - is how you say أخ (brother) in Lebanese
سحر - to enchant
بي - is اب (dad)
دوب - is ذوب (melt)
هاي دي يقلك يقبرني هاي دي يصفر ويغني
This one says "bury me", and this one whistles and sings
هاي دي - this one
يقبرني - literally "bury me", basically like saying "I'd die for you"
وتلاميذ المدارس ولا واحد فيهم دارس
And not one of the students at school are studying
أنت مرقت سرقت حرقت الاخضر واليابس
You passed by, stole, and burned the green and the earth
مرق - means "passed" it's the same thing as مر in MSA
سرق - stole
حرق - burned
الأخضر و اليابس - By "green" it means "plant life", and يابس is anything dry which means "the ground". Basically with this line he's saying that she turns everything upside down when she walks by.
غيرت عملت عجقة سير ع المفارق ع المفارق
You turned and caused a pile up at the intersection
عجقة سير - means a backup or clogging of traffic
ع - in Lebanese they use this sometimes instead of على
عالم تسأل بعضا مين يلي مارق
Everyone is asking each other "who passed by"
بعض - this word is used to mean "each other" here. If you say مع بعض it means "together".
يلي - means which. It's the same as الذي and التي in MSA
مارق - is the فاعل form of مرق which means "to pass by"
بوليس اللي ع الاشارة ولعت بقلبه نارة
Fire has welled up in the heart of the policeman at the stoplight
الاشارة - means "stoplight"
ولع - means "to burst into flames"
سيارات يمشيهم عكس السير يوديهم
He is sending cars against the traffic
تمشى and ودى - mean the same thing, "to send"
عكس - opposite
السير - the traffic
عم يطلع فيك أنت ومش سائل فيهم
He's looking at you and not caring about them
عم - turns the verb into an "-ing" verb, so it makes "look", "looking"
يطلع - look
سائل - "to care about" or "be concerned with"
واللي شعراته شابه يتحسر ع شبابه
And the one who is old is longing for his youth
شعرات - feelings
شايب - to get old
تحسر - to long for
شباب - youth
واللي من مرته خايف يعمل حاله مش شايف
And the one who is scared of his wife pretends that he isn't looking
مرته - his wife
خايف - scared
يعمل حاله - literally "does his condition", but that doesn't makes sense. It means to "make himself" or "pretend" here.
قلبه دايب مثل الحمرة اللي فوق الشفايف
His heart is melting like the lipstick on your lips
الحمرة - lipstick
شفايف - lips
تتمشي مثل الغزلان دادي دادي
You walk like the gazelle
دادي - means how gazelles walk, like stepping lightly
ويزم عليك الفسطان شوية زيادة
And your dress scoots up just a little bit
يزم - "to raise" or "scoot up"
شوية - a little bit
وبخصرك لما تموجي مثل الطفل الغنوجي
And when you wiggle your hips you're like a pampered child
خصر - the mid section of the body
لما - whenever. It's the same as عندما in MSA
تموجي - to wave like a wave. موج means wave
غنوجي - spoiled or pampered
ختيار يجن جنونه ويدبلك بعيونه
The old man is going crazy and flirts with you with his eyes
يدبلك بعيونه - like when a girl bats her eyelashes at a guy or when a guy looks at a girl like he "wants some"
أنا خايف يوقع ع الارض وعكازه يخونه
I'm scared that he'll fall on the ground and his cane will betray him
يخونه - it will betray him.
النسوان اللي حواليك يحكوا بالهمس عليك
The women that are around you talk in whispers about you
واللي تشوفك قبالها تخبي منك رجالها
And whoever sees you coming hides her husband from you
و رفيقتها من غيرتها راح تقتل حالها
And her friend is going to kill herself from jealousy
غيرة - jealousy
حالها - herself
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Bedouin Song and Translation
One of my Lebanese teachers exposed me to this song a while back. The singer's name is Fouad Hijazi (فؤاد حجازي) and he's from Jordan. My teacher called his dialect Bedouin and he pronounces the "qaf" (ق) like a "g" in several words in the song. He's singing about his cousin Radya and asking her where she is going. It took a couple listens for this song to grown on me, but I like it a lot now =). Most people I talk to say they don't see how I could like that noise, but any song with a Mijwiz (مجوز) in it I love. The Mijwiz is that flute-like thing they play that sounds kind of like a kazoo. It's in a lot of Arabic songs. A more modern song with it is واحشني ايه by Miriam Fares.
وين رايحة يا راضية يا بنت عمي الغالية - Where are you going, Radya, oh precious daughter of my uncle.
If you didn't know, marrying your cousin is A-OK in the Arab world. So yeah, this guy is singing a love song to his cousin. =\
قلبي أنا عم يتبعك و انت علي قاسية و انت علي قاسية يا بنت عمي راضية - My heart is following you and you are harsh towards me (and you are harsh towards me) oh daughter of my uncle, Radya.
He says قلبي as "galbi". The word عم is used a lot in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It just gives the verb that it is used before an -ing ending. Also, he says قاسية here as "gaasia".
ثوبك مقصب مخملي و العين سودا مكحلة - Your dress is shiny and purple and your eyes have black mascara on them.
The word مقصب (mugasab) is shiny (Hans Wehr says "embroidered with silver or gold") and مخملي is purple. سودا مكحلة sounds like "so dumb gahali" because he runs the words together. They say ة as a ي all the time in Levantine dialect. For example, لبنانية is pronounced "lubnanii" with no "a" sound on the end.
و بمشيتك تتمايلي زينة بنات البادية - And when you walk you sway. You're the prettiest girl in the baadya.
The word بادية just means the place where the Bedouin live. Usually out in the desert with tents.
يا بنت عمي راضية - Oh, daughter of my uncle, Radya
وين رايحة و ما في حدا ع الدرب و الليل إبتد - Where are you going when there's no one on the road and night has begun?
The word حدا means "anyone". Lots of times in Levantine dialect they'll just say ع instead of saying على. The word درب is road.
خايف عليك من العدى و انت لوحدك ماضية - I'm afraid that you'll get attacked while you're walking by yourself.
In all dialects they often use the فاعل (doer)form when they would conjugate the verb in MSA. He could say أخاف here and it would mean the same thing. Here, العدى is "an attack". It comes from the same root as عدو (enemy). لوحدك is alone or by yourself and ماضية comes from the root مضى which means to "pass by". At first I thought it meant "in the past" like you usually see in the news, but that doesn't make any sense here.
عودي لحمانا وارجعي واصغي لندايا واسمعي - Return to our safety and come back. Heed my call and listen!
Ok, the root عَادَ and رَجَعَ mean the same thing, "return" or "come back". إصغي and إسمعي both are imperative female for "listen". نَدَا means "to call out".
وين ربعنا ماشي معي نحظى بعيشة هادية - Where are our people? They're walking with me. Let's enjoy a life of peace.
In Hans Wehr it says that ربع is "a large group of people or a clan". Again, here he uses the فاعل (doer) form of the verb. ماشي.
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