Egyptian Dialect: Lesson 2

This second Egyptian dialect lesson is from another Disney movie. Monsters Inc. In Arabic it's called شركة المرعبين (sharikat al muribeen) "Monster Company". If you haven't seen it, this clip comes from the beginning of the movie where they are explaining that the monsters have to scare kids in order to power their world with electricity. The monster doing the training leaves the door open and gets yelled at because leaving the door open might let a kid into the monster world and kill them all. There are subtitles in MSA, but they don't match up with what is being said in Egyptian. As always, please let me know if anything could have used more explanation or if there's anything I can do to make these better. Without further ado, let's begin.

• إيقاف الدرس العملي (iyqaaf al ders al amali)

Stop the practical lesson.

Comments: The original movie says "simulation halted" which sounds better, but if you want an exact translation, which is good when learning, "stop the practical lesson" is word for word.

• إسمك فتح الباب مش كده؟ (ismek fath il bab mish kida)

Your name is "open door" isn't that right?

Comments: She's making a joke since he left the door open. فتح الباب (fath il bab) is not a real Arabic name.

• أصحابي بينادوني فتحي (ashabi binadooni fathi)

My friends call me Fathi.

• أه, فتحي. تقدر تقلي غلطتك ايه؟ (ah, fathi. ti'dar ti'uli galtitak eih?)

Oh, Fathi. Can you tell me what your mistake was?

• إني وقعت؟ (Inni wa'iat?)

That I fell?

Comments: The word وقع (waqaa) is hard for most people to pronounce in MSA. Egyptian makes it even harder. You'd think that getting rid of the ق (qaf) sound and replacing it with ء (hamza) would make it easier, but it doesn't. It takes some practice.

• لا لا لا لا, قبل كده (la la la la, 'abli kida)

No no no no, before that.

Comments: Before I could understand Egyptian I remember hearing قبل كده a lot. To me it sounded like "applicator" said with a weird accent. :)

• حد يعرف أستاذ فتح الباب غلط في ايه؟ أي حد. نرجع الشريط. هنا هوه تمام. فين فين فين... اهو! شفت؟ الباب. سبت الباب مفتوح. و سيبان الباب مفتوح اسوأ غلطة ممكن يعملها الموظفين على شان...؟ (Had yarif ustez fath il bab galat fi eih? Ay had. Nregga a-shareet. Hena ho tamaam. Feen feen feen... aho! Shuft? Al bab. Sibt il bab maftooh. Wa sayabaan al bab maftooh aswa galta mumkin yamilha al muwazzafeen ala shaan...?)

Does anyone know what Mr. Open Door made a mistake in? Let's rewind the tape. Here it is exactly. Where, where, where... here! See? The door. You left the door open. And leaving the door open is the worst mistake a worker can make because...?

Comments: سيبان (sayabaan) is the verbal noun (ing form) meaning "leaving". على شان (ala shaan) is usually just pronounced عشان (ashaan). In MSA it is على شأن (ala sha'n). It is used very often in Egyptian and Levantine and means "because".

• ممكن يجبلنا برد؟ (Mumkin yagib lina bard?)

We might get cold?

• ممكن يجبلنا طفل (Mumkin yagib lina tifl)

We might let a child in!

Comments: These last two lines sound better and make more sense in Arabic. The monster in training says literally, "It might bring for us cold." Then the head monster says, "It might bring for us a child." We just wouldn't say it that way in English, but without saying it like that the flow doesn't work.

• أه! أستاذ أبو عنكبوت (Ah! Ustez abu ankaboot)

Ah! Mr. Spider

Comments: In the Arab world if you've got a big mustache then you're ابو شوارب (abu shawaarib), literally Father Mustache. If you're a car salesman or have a lot of cars or fix cars then you're ابو سيارات (abu sayaaraat). Basically if you have a distinguishing feature or a job that lends itself to this kind of nickname then you're Abu whatever. This monster looks like a spider. I think he's more of a crab, but whatever.

• ما فيش في الدنيا حاجة مؤذية أو سامة أكثر من طفل آدمي. لمسة منه تموتك. غلطة زي دي ممكن تدخل طفل هنا عندنا في المصنع جوا عالم المرعبين (Ma feesh fi ad-dunya haga mu'ziya ow saama akthar min tifl aadami. Lamsa minu tmowwitek. Galta zayi di mumkin tidakhal tifl andena hena fil masna goowa aalam al muribeen.)

There is nothing in the world more painful or poisonous than a human child. A touch from him kills you. A mistake like this could enter a child here among us in the factory inside the monster world.

• مش عايز خوف اطفال. عايز روح (Mish Aayz akhawwif atfal. Aayz arawwah.)

I don't want to scare kids! I want to go!

• إحنا منخوفهم عشان نملأ دي (Ihna minkhawwifhum ashaan nimla dee)

We scare them in order to fill this.

Comments: Here you see how they usually say عشان (ashaan). Here it's better translated as "in order to" rather than "because". The م (m) on in the word منخوف (minkhawwif) is something they do in both Levantine and Egyptian. They put the 'm' before most verbs conjugated for "we" in the present tense. My guess is because it flows better. Just like how they throw in the إ (i) in some places where the words don't flow well without it.

• بلدنا بتعتمد علينا في تعبيئ صراخ اطفال البني ادمين. بدون صريخ ما عندناش طاقة. أيوه شغلتنا خطيرة و عشان كده لازم تتمرنو احسن تمرين.

Our land depends on us in filling the screams of human children. Without screams we don't have power. Yes, our work is dangerous, and because of that you all must train hard.

Comments: Literally it says "train the best training".


Vocabulary List:

• مش كده (mish kida) - Isn't that right? Isn't that so? In MSA it's أليس كذلك (Aleysa ka thelik) And in Levantine it's مش هيك (Mish heyk) or مو هيك (Moo heyk)
• شريط (shareet) - tape. Can mean a VCR tape or sticky tape just like in English.
• موظفين (muwazzafeen) - Workers
• جوا (guwa) - Inside. In MSA it's داخل (daakhil). The opposite in Egyptian is برا (barra).
• عايز (aayz) - want. It can mean "I want", "you want", "he wants" depending on the context.
• لازم (laazim) - must, have to. Just like عايز it can mean "you must", "I must", etc depending on the conjugation of the verb it goes with.
• بني آدم (beni aadam) - human. Literally means "son of Adam". The plural is بني ادمين (beni admeen).
• زي - like. هالولد زي ابوه تماماً (hal walad zay aboo tamaam) That kid is exactly like his father. In MSA زي means uniform.
  

Egyptian Arabic: Lesson 1

The Arabic The Little Mermaid is called عروسة البحر (aroosat al bahr), literally "bride of the sea", but it more commonly means "mermaid". Like most Disney films dubbed in Arabic, this one is in Egyptian dialect. It shouldn't be too hard to understand with a little explanation. In the clip Ariel is tempted by Ursula's two eels. If anyone has suggestions on how I can make these lessons more helpful, please let me know.

مسكينة. مسكينة و جميلة (Miskeena, miskeena wa gamila)

Poor girl, poor and beautiful.

عندها مشكلة كبيرة قوي. يا ريتنا كنا نقدر نساعدها. طب محنا نقدر (Andaha mushkila kabira awi. Ya reytna kuna ni'dar nasaaidha. Tub mahna ni'dar.)

She has a very big problem. If only we were able to help her. But we are able.

أنتو... أنتو مين؟ (Intoo, Intoo meen)

You... who are you?

ما تخافيش. إحنا نعرف حد ممكن يساعدك. حد ممكن يحقق لك احلامك كلها. تخيلي كده. أنت و أميرك مع بعض للابد (Ma tkhafeesh. Ihna narif had mumkin yasaadik. Had mumkin yaha'a'lik ahlamik kulaha. Takhayeli kida. Inti wa ameerik ma baad lil abad.)

Don't be scared. We know someone who might be able to help you. Someone who might be able to realize all of your dreams. Imagine this. You and your prince together forever.

أنا مش فاهمة (Ana mish fahima.)

I don't understand.

أرسولا تعمل أي حاجة (Ursoola tamil ay haga.)

Ursula can do anything.

ساحرة البحر؟ بس دا... ما اقدرش... لا إمشو من هنا! سبوني في حالي (Sahirat al bahr? Bes da... ma a'darsh... la imshoo min hena! Sibooni fi haali.)

The witch of the sea? But that... I can't... No, get away from here! Leave me alone.

على كيفك. دا كان مجرد إقتراح (Ala keyfik. Da kan mugarrad iqtiraah.)

As you wish. It was just a suggestion.

إستنو (Istenoo)

Wait.

إيوه؟ (Aywa?)

Yes?

Vocabulary:

• مسكينة (Miskeena) - Poor in the sense of taking pity on someone. It has nothing to do with money.
• يا ريت (Ya reyt) - If only. The يا (ya) here isn't a normal يا (ya) like if you were calling someone's name. It's just part of the phrase.
• ما تخافيش (Ma tkhafeesh) - Don't be afraid. The ش (sh) is added to the end of verbs after ما (ma). "I can't" is ما اقدرش (ma a'darsh).
• حد (Had) - Someone. This comes from the word واحد (wahid) meaning "one".
• يحقق (yaha'a') - To achieve, to make come to fruition. Since it's Egyptian dialect they don't say the ق (q) like in MSA. They make it a hamza ء which is a glottal stop.
• في حالي (fi haali) - alone, by myself
• على كيفك (ala keyfik) - as you wish, do as you like. It's the same as على مهلك (ala mehlik).
• مجرد (mugarrad) - just, only, simply. The ج (j) is pronounced as a 'g' in Egyptian.
  

The Green Apple: Health Program on MBC

The Green Apple التفاح الأخضر is a show on MBC about heath, nutrition, and beauty. The dialect is Egyptian, but at times it's MSA with only a hint of Egyptian. Even though a show may be in a dialect there are levels to the amount of slang they can use. Since MBC is a Saudi channel and they get viewers from all over the Arabic world the shows don't have so much regional slang that not all viewers would be able to understand. This definitely isn't the same as the language you hear on the news though. I transcribed the first minute of the clip and wrote out the difficult vocab words.




اهلا بكل مشاهدي التفاح الاخضر و ساعة كاملة من نصائح جديدة و مفيدة للصحة و التغذية و الجمال. و نتواصل معكم من خلال الانترنت تبعتولنا مشاكلكم و نرد عليها من خلال الحلقة او كمان نستضفكم معنا في الإستوديو. ضيوف كثير بعتولنا حاجات و استضفناهم معنا في الإستوديو و حلينا مشاكلهم قدر إستطاعي

Hello to all the viewers of The Green Apple and a complete hour of new and beneficial advice for health, nutrition, and beauty. We keep in touch with you through the internet. You send us your problems and we reply to them throughout the episode and also we host you with us in the studio. Many guests have sent us things and we hosted them with us in the studio and we solved their problems as much as we were able to.

Comments: You'll notice that at the beginning it doesn't say مشاهدين . The nun is dropped when anything plural ending in ين is in an idafa. بعت is how they say "send" in Egyptian. In MSA the word is بعث. And قدر إستطاعي means "as well as I could".انهاردة هنشوف الالوان و الورود ازايها حلو مشكلة مدام ليلى ابازا إللي بتعاني من صداع و توتر و عصبية شديدة جدا في العمل.

Today we will see how colors and roses solved the problem of Madame Laila Abaza who suffered from headaches, tension, and severe stress in her work.

ممكن الدريسنج يحول طبقة سلطة الخفيف لوجبة دسمة جدا. هنقوللكم النهاردة على سر الدريسنج الخفيف و اللذيذ.

It's possible for dressing to change a light plate of salad to a very fattening meal. Today we will tell you about the secret of light and delicious dressing.

السيدة مؤمنة محمد من السعودية بعتت تسألنا تعمل أيه لان هي و ابنها الرضيع بيسافروا كثير ع الطيارة و بيعانوا من الم في الأذن إثناء صعود و هبوط الطيارة.

Mrs. Mumina Muhammad from Saudi Arabia sent in asking us what she should do because she and her infant son travel a lot on planes and suffer from pain in the ear during the take off and landing of the plane.

تثائبي او ابتلعي لعابك او امضغي علكة و بعض الحلوى.

Yawn or swallow your saliva or chew gum and some candy.

Comment: This is the written text on the screen.

Vocabulary List:

• نصيحة/نصائح - advice and the plural
• تغذية - nutrition
• بعث - send
• حاجة - thing
• انهاردة - today
• توتر - tension (وتر is a guitar or bow string, so you can see where the word comes from)
• تثاؤب - yawn (noun)
• لِعاب - saliva
• عِلكة - gum
  

Disney Songs in Arabic w/ Lyrics on YouTube

I was browsing YouTube the other day and came across 99meemo99's channel. He's a Sudanese guy living in Dubai who has made 56 videos of Arabic Disney songs (Lion King, Little Mermaid, Hercules) with the lyrics written out and translated into English. It's great that he translates these popular songs for free for people trying to learn Arabic. Most of them are Egyptian since that's the language they dub Disney movies in for the Arab world. He's also got the Pokemon theme song, Digimon songs, as well as some other anime songs. Here's the Ducktales opening song from his channel. They translated Duckberg to Duckistan lol!




الحياة دي زي العاصفة هنا في بطستان
عربيات و طيارات
حاجة.. حاجة جنان
و نحل فوازير
عيزالها وقت كتير

This life is like a storm, here in Duckistan.
Cars and planes
Something, something crazy
And we solve puzzles
That take a long time

قصص بطوطية
كل يوم مغامرة جديدة
قصص بطوطية
فيها لعبة و فكرة اكيدة
قصص بطوطية

Ducktales
Every day there's a new adventure
Ducktales
With a definite game and idea
Ducktales

و في خطر حواليك
و غريب بيجري عليك
تعالو بسرعة و شوفو معانا

And there's danger around you
And a stranger is coming at you
Come quickly and look with us
قصص بطوطية
كل يوم مغامرة جديدة
قصص بطوطية
فيها لعبة و فكرة اكيدة
قصص بطوطية
حتلاقو ضحكة و فكرة مفيدة
قصص بطوطية

Ducktales
Every day there's a new adventure
Ducktales
With a definite game and idea
Ducktales
You'll find laughs and a beneficial idea
Ducktales

Myriam Fares - Eih Elly Byehsal Lyrics

The song Eih Elly Byehsal (ايه اللي بيحصل) has been around for about a year, but the music video was just released by Melody Music this week. Myriam Fares (ميريام فارس) is Lebanese, but she sings this song (and a lot of her songs) in the Egyptian dialect because there's a bigger audience for it and it's more widely understood. The lyrics aren't very complicated, but I added explanations for the words and phrases that I thought might be a little bit difficult.




ايه اللي بيحصل
What's happening?

انا عمري النهاردة تولد من جديد
ده عيد النهاردة و مش اي عيد
Today my life is born again.
Today is a celebration, and not just any celebration.

Comments: عيد can mean feast, holiday, celebration, and things like that. The only one that makes sense here in English is celebration. النهاردة means "today" in Egyptian. It's a combination of the two words النهار meaning "day" and ده meaning "this".

يا حبيبى يا حبيبى
انا عاشقة و اوصف بأيه الغرام
ده راح مني تاه مني كل الكلام
ياحبيبى يا حبيبى
Oh, my love. Oh, my love.
I'm in love and how can I describe this passion?
This has made all my speech leave me and be lost.
Oh, my love. Oh, my love.

Comments: تاه means to be lostايه اللي بيحصل
ايه اللي جرالي مالي كده سرحانة بايه
What's happening?
What has happened to me, what's wrong with me, why am I so preoccupied like this.

Comments: ايه اللي جرالي means "what happened to me". مالي means "what's wrong with me". You can say مالك to mean "what's wrong with you". كده means "like this" and is used a lot in Egyptian. سرحانة means "preoccupied" or "lost in thought". It's the feminine form since it ends in ة

ايه اللي بيحصل
ايه اللي جرالي مالي حالي متلخبط ليه
What's happening?
What has happened to me, what's wrong with me, why am I all mixed up.

Comments: متلخبط means "mixed up" or "confused". It probably comes from the MSA word خلط meaning "to mix".

رجعتلي روحي بنظرة عينيك
فداك عمري كله ما يغلاش عليك
يا حبيبي يا حبيبي
You returned my soul to me with one look from your eyes.
My whole life is for you and it costs you nothing.

Comments: فداك means "for you" as in "I would sacrifice my life for you". ما يغلاش عليك literally means "it is not expensive for you".

يا هوايا اللي غيرلي معنى الحياة
و رجع لقلبي حياة و مناه
يا حبيبي يا حبيبي
Oh my love who changed the meaning of my life
And brought back life and hope to my heart.

Naya: I wish بتمنى

Naya نايا is a new Arab pop singer and as far as I know this is the only song that she's done. I think she'll be pretty popular. She smoking hot and it doesn't look like she's had any plastic surgery. The afro-Arab staring at her throughout the song cracks me up.



قالت عينيك حاجة و حسيت اني محتاجة تاخدني - Your eyes said something and I felt that I needed you to take me
في حضنك انت وانسا كل الدنيا دي - and hug me and forget this whole world

• تاخدني في حضنك انت - Literally this mean "take me into your bosom"

بيروح خيالي معاك بعيد بحلم كتير - With you, my imagination goes far away and I dream a lot
بس الأكيد إنك حبيبي الي ياما حلمت بيه - but you are definitely my love that I have always dreamed of

• ياما - always

بتمنى اعيش في قربك و اتهنى - I wish to live close to you and be happy
و تبعد الأحزان عنا - and that you keep the sadness away from us
أنا و انت - me and you

هستنا ياخدني حبك للجنة - I will wait for your love to take me to paradise
و تضحك الدنيا عشانا - and the world will laugh for us
يا ترى إمتى - I wonder when

• هستنا - remember that the ه at the beginning is for future tense so, "I will wait"
• يا ترى - here the يا isn't referring to anyone. It's just a saying that means "I wonder". There is also يا ريت which means "if only"
  

بحلم تكون لي وتملا دنيتي عليا - I dream that you will be mine and fill my world
و نفسي يا حبيبي أقولك إنت بالنسبالي ايه - and I want to tell you, my love, how much you
mean to me

• إنت بالنسبالي ايه - Literally "what you are in relation to me"
  

شايفا في عينيك أجمل كلام - I see the most beautiful speech in your eyes
مستني ايه؟ ما تقول قوام - Why are you waiting? Why don't you say it quickly?
بداري حبك يا حبيبي عني ليه - why are you hiding your love from me?

• ما تقول قوام - Literally "don't say quickly", but it means "why don't you say it quickly" or "you aren't saying it quickly", referring to the "beautiful speech" in his eyes.
• بداري - hiding
  

Myriam Fares: I'm Not Selfish أنا مش أنانية

You can spell ميريام فارس's name like 100 different ways. If it were me I would spell it "Miriam Faris". I think that way is most likely to get pronounced right by English speakers but it seems the most common way is how I put it in the title. The music doesn't start in this video until 1:12 so go there if you want to skip all the dramatics. I don't usually like slow songs but this one is an exception. I pretty much like every song she does and I'll probably post more in the future. The official Melody Music Group channel on YouTube has 6 of her songs and is always putting up more songs from popular current Arab musicians. I didn't really like Arabic music at first, but I've found that most music will grow on you if you listen to it enough.




حاول تختار بيني وبينها - Try to choose between me and her
حاول ...حاول - Try... try
الاحسن تظلمني وتظلمها - Or else you will hurt me and hurt her
(the root ظلم means "to treat unfairly")
(الاحسن usually translates to "the best" but here it means "or else")
حاول...حاول - Try... try
خلي في قلبك وحدة وبس - Let there be only one in your heart
(خلي means "to let" here. For example: خلينا نمشي means "let's go")
وحدة ...وحدة - One... one
علشان تقدر بيها تحس - So that you can love her
(حس literally means "to feel", but "so that you can feel her" doesn't translate well o.O)
حب وحدة - Love her alone
اما لو احنا معاك الاتنين - If the 2 of us are with you
انت مفيش عندك قلبين - you don't have 2 hearts
علشان بيها وبيا تحس - because you have feelings for me and for her


انا مش انانية...انانية ...انانية - I am not selfish... selfish... selfish
انا عايزاك لي لوحدي - I want you for myself alone
انا مش انانية ...انانية...انانية - I am not selfish... selfish... selfish
انا ممكن اسيبك و امشي - I might just leave you and go
قرر تبقى معاها ولا معايا - Decide if you're going to stay with her or with me


لا محصلش وكل ده كذب - It never happened and this is all lies
انا من بعدك عمري ما احب - I have never loved anyone but you in my whole life
مهما تقولي ومهما تعيدي انت لوحدك جوه القلب - No matter how many times you say and how many times you repeat "you are the only one in my heart"
اوعى تقولي كلام مش صح - Don't say things that aren't true
(اوعى means don't. اوعى تعمل هيك - don't do that)
لا ياحياتي كلام مش صح - No my love, things that aren't true


انت عايش لي وعايش بيها - You are living for me and you are living for her
عايش ...عايش - Living... living
نصك ليا ونصك ليها - Half of you for me and half of you for her
عايش ...عايش - Living... living
كذب عليا وكذب عليها - You lie to me and you lie to her
كذبة ...كذبة - Lies... lies
لا بترضيني ولا بترضيها - You don't satisfy me and you don't satisfy her
صعب نحس - It's hard to feel
قاسم قلبك ليه نصين؟ - Why do you divide your heart into 2 halves?
عشان كدا ما احناش حاسين - Because of that neither of us are feeling
لا انا ولا هي هنرضى بنص - Neither I nor her will be satisfied with half

Dana Halabi: 100/100

As I've said before listening to songs is a great way to learn a language. Songs are meant to be catchy and stick in your mind. This song by دانا حلبي is in Egyptian even though she is from Lebanon. Lots of pop singers start out singing in Egyptian even if they aren't from Egypt since that way they'll get the largest audience. Then once they have a big audience they can go back to singing in their dialect too. Singers like this help break the stereotype of Arabs. They don't all wear غترة و عقال و برقع. They can be just as sexy as US pop stars! Horray! The singing doesn't start until 1:31.



بالحب انا والله لسة استاهل واحد على خمسة - In love I still only deserve 1/5
استاهل - "I deserve". The MSA equivalent is استحق
لسة - still
واحد على خمسة - imagine that she's being graded on a scale of 1 to 5. She gets a 1/5 in the test of love.

باللعب شاطرة وشقية و انا واخدة 100/100 - In playing around I'm skilled and naughty and I get 100/100
لعب - playing around
شاطرة - clever, skilled
واخدة - the root is أخذ in MSA. It means to take.


لما ارقض انا وانت تبص حأرقص لك على وحدة ونص - When I dance and you are watching, I will dance for you in the 1 and 1/2 time.
وحدة و نص - this is a kind of time in Arabic music. In western music we have 2/2 and 4/4 and 6/8 measures. You'll know what I mean if you've ever played sheet music.1 and 1/2 time is most popular in Egyptian belly dancing.

و اغني غنوة شقية و تديني 100/100 - and I'll sing a naughty song and you'll give me 100/100
تديني - you give me. In MSA تهديني from the word هدية meaning gift. I guess they just drop the ه in Egyptian.

مدرسة الحب انا خشتها دروس الحب انا نستها - I went to the school of love, but I forgot the lessons (of love).
خش - means to enter. Very common word. Make sure you know it!


باللعب قالوا دي هيه دندونة البنت اللعبية - in fooling around they say, "That's her! Dandoun. The best player of the game."
دندونة - this is a nickname. Arabs do this a lot and this girl does it even more. She also calls herself دودو which she might decide against if she knew the meaning in English lol. I watch a show called تامر و شوقية and شوقية has the nickname شوشو. It's a common thing to have nicknames in the Arab world. More common than in the US.

دوق دوق قرب دوق ملبن طيب مش محروق - taste, taste, come closer and taste a tasty marshmallow that isn't burned
This is my favorite line of the whole song because it rhymes lol.
دوق - in MSA it's ذوق and it means taste
ملبن - I've seen this translated as marshmallow and Turkish delight among other things. If you type ملبن into Google you'll get an idea as to what it is.

مش رح تعرف غير ما تدوق وتديني 100/100 - you won't know unless you taste and you'll give me 100/100

Arabic Simpsons: Season 2 Episode 15

Well I haven't done one of these in a while and it's amazing to me how much more I understand than I did only a few months ago. I think a lot of the time your brain just needs time to process the new information that you're giving it. I understood practically everything in this episode and it's really encouraging me to keep studying. Even if you don't think you're learning anything when studying a language, or feel that the language level is too advanced for you, your brain is still filing away the things you're hearing for later!



0:04 تعالو نكمل جدول اعملنا - Come, let's complete our plan (literally schedule of our works)

1:14 و نحمد ربنا على الطاقة النووية إلي ما سببتش ضرر مميت لحد دلوقتي على الاقل ببلدنا - And we praise our Lord for nuclear power that has never caused any deadly damage to this point, at least not in our country.

1:26 بابا, بدر اكل فصولية و انت بتدعي - Dad, Bart ate some beans while you were praying. (Literally, "Bart ate beans AND you were praying".)

1:27 و عرقت إزاي و إحنا مفروض نركز و إحنا بندعي - And how did you know? We're supposed to focus when we're praying. (Again they use "AND we're praying" to mean "while we're praying". This is how you express it even in MSA.)

1:56 ما نطقناش - We didn't utter a word. (This is hard to hear if you aren't used to Egyptian.)

تحب بتفسح العصفورة؟ 2:57 - Want to go out? (Can't really be translated literally. It has nothing to do with a bird.)

3:53 اخ غير شقيق و ضايع؟ ده اكيد فلم هندي - An illegitimate, lost brother? That's gotta be from an Indian movie.

4:13 مش ده برضه ملجأ - Is this still an orphanage? (ملجأ usually means refuge or safe place.)

4:30 هدي نفسك. دول مالهوش بعيد - Calm down. They aren't far.

4:59 دي بنسبة لي مسألة حياة و موت - This is a matter of life and death for me.

5:04 اخوك يمكن يكون في أي حتة, حتى ديترويت - Your brother could be anywhere, even in Detroit.

5:08 يمكن يبقا حتى في المريخ. على شان كده عيزك تضيقلي الإحتمالات ارجوك - And he might even be on Mars! That's why I want you to narrow down the possibilities for me. Please!

5:14 لو سألتني الاخوة الحقيقية ما تلقهاش في واشنطن. بتلاقيها في ديترويت - Well if you ask me you won't find your real brother in Washington. You'll find him in Detroit.

5:18 بتقول لو سألتني - You said "if you ask me".

7:00 إحنا وصلنا خلاص؟ - Are we there yet?

7:01 لسة شوية كمان - We've still got a little longer.

7:09 نرجع؟ بس يا مونا انا عيز اشوف اخوية - Go back? But Marge, I want to see my brother!

7:11 إفهم بقا يا عمرو ده تهديد و خلاص - Listen, Homer. It was only a threat. (In Egyptian they throw the word بقا around a lot. It's basically for emphasis.)

9:26 دي مراتي مونا و ده سعرها - This is my wife Marge and this is her hair.

9:59 اه! شامم ريح الطفل الرضيع - Ah! The smell of a baby. (رضيع means nursing)

10:55 ممكن تكتمو شوية؟ - Could you shut up a bit?

11:11 بص و انا بنط - Watch me jump!

11:14 خلاص! إن شاء الله تغرقو - Enough! I hope you drown!

12:17 ما عندناش احجام كبيرة - We don't have big sizes.

13:33 عيزة اركب سيسي - I want to ride a pony.

13:34 عيز اركب يخت كبير - I want to ride a big yacht.

13:54 اي فيدته ده - What's this for?

15:47 هتقفل السكة دلوقتي و هتتصل بي تاني و تقول عكس الكل إلي سمعت منك - You're going to hang up the phone now and call me again and say the opposite of everything I just heard from you.

16:12 و نظافته الشخصية حاجة فوق الوصف - And his personal hygiene is something indescribable! (in a good way)

17:38 بطريق - penguin

18:22 و اخيرا إتحقق الحلم - And at last the dream has been realized

18:26 نقدم السيارة المصممة للرجل العادي - We present the car designed for the common man

18:38 البشع دي يطلع ثمنه كم؟ - How much is this ugly thing going to cost?

19:11 حاسس بشعور بذنب - I feel guilty

Bent Al Wadi - Girl of the Valley (بنت الوادي)

I guess Bent Al Wadi could be translated as "Valley Girl", but that makes me think of girls from San Fernando Valley California, so I think this way is better. Anyway, this is a really awesome song. This vid was the one with the best quality on YouTube.



انا انا بنت الوادي انا هنا هنا شمس وخضرة هنا - I'm a girl from the valley. There is sun and green here.

يدن الديك اصحى اوام اعجن واخبز و اسقي الحمام - The rooster crows and I wake up. I kneed the dough, bake bread, and give the pigeons water.

اومال دنا بنت بلد اوي اومال دنا حلوة وجدعة اوي - That's me, a girl of my country. That's me, very pretty and strong.

انام في وقت العشا و الفجر اقوم اصحى و انام مفرفشة كدا كل يوم - I go to sleep at dinner time and get up at dawn. I get up and sleep like this happily every day.

يدن الديك اصحى اوام اعجن واخبز واسقي الحمام
اومال دنا بنت بلد اوي اومال دنا حلوة وجدعة اوي

عجباني العيشة كدا اهو دا الكلام - I like life like this. That's right.
انا عمري هنا ابتدى اه يا سلام - My life began here. Oh yeah.

يدن الديك اصحى اوام اعجن واخبز واسقي الحمام
اومال دنا بنت بلد اوي اومال دنا حلوة وجدعة اوي


I really have no clue what اومال means, so if someone could fill me in I'd be forever grateful!

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 21

00:00 ممكن تطفي مسيقى الحجرة شوية؟ - Can you turn down the rock music a little?

00:03 ليه؟ مش أحنا برضه في العصر الحجري؟ - Why? Aren't we still in the stone age?

1:38 أنت نسيت اول المبدين من تعليمات بوذا - You forgot the first of the 2 principles of the teachings of Buddah.

2:27 اكبر قطة في الدنيا الواسع - The biggest cat in the wide world.

2:29 مهرج - clown

3:20 التخطيط للإنتقام - planning revenge

6:01 الرجل ده نصاب - That guy is a crook.

7:38 كواليس - curtains

8:29 اكيل - someone who likes to eat a lot

9:39 مسلسل مكايفر هيفتني - I'll miss the McGyver series (literally McGyver will pass me by)

10:06 عبقري - genius

12:44 قررت بطل التدخين - I decided to quit smoking

12:47 ما عدا بعد الاكل و بعد مكايفر - Except after eating and after McGyver

13:05 انا حطيت مسدسي فين؟ - Where did I put my pistol?

13:17 هموت من الغيرة - I will die from jealousy.

13:33 دبحة - a slaughter

14:29 الحطب الجاف - the dry firewood

15:09 إسباني معناها هاموتك بسرع - In Spanish it means I will kill you quickly.

15:29 ما تنسيش تموتي - Don't forget to die.

16:20 الضحية الوحيدة هنا هي السياح إللي بتزعجهم في الفندق ده - The only victim here are the tourists that you are annoying in this hotel.

18:05 ليه الأوضة فرقعت؟ - Why did the room explode?

18:06 هشرحلك انا دي - I will explain this to you.

18:34 ده ضحك علينا كلنا - He fooled all of us (ضحك على means to fool or trick)

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 17

00:09 على مهلك الاحسن تتخانق (ala mahlak alahsan tatkhani2): Slow down or you'll choke (على مهلك means "slowly")

00:44 عندي سلاح سري جداً (andi silaah sirri gidan): I have a very secret weapon

1:10 ما لهاش زي (ma lahaash zay): there's nothing like it

1:39 إبتديت أصنع أعظم مضرب في العالم (ibtadayt asna3 a3zam madrab fi al3aalam): I began to make the greatest bat in the world

2:01 قشطة (ishta): literally means "cream", but here it means something like "cool"

3:12 و أنا مضربي من نفس المحل برضه (wa ana madrabi min nefs almahal bardu): and my bat is from the same store too

4:48 الفريق بتاعي أنا هيقسر فريقك أنت زي عنقود العنب (alfaree2 bitaa3ee ana hayu2sur faree2ak enta zay 3an2ood al 3inab): My team will crush your team like a cluster of grapes

4:59 مليون لحلوح ما يلحلحوش الرهان (milyoon lahlooh ma ylahlahoosh al rahaan): A million guinea isn't good enough for the wager? (Ok, this one will take some explaining. لحلوح is another name for the Egyptian guinea. To لحلح something means to make it active or in effect. So, literally it says "A million guinea doesn't make the wager?".)

5:04 ما كنتش مركز معاك. أنا فاكرك هتبدأ بمبلغ اقل (ma kuntish murakkiz maayak. ana faakarak hatabda bi mablag a2a2l): I wasn't focusing with you. I thought you would start with a smaller amount.

6:42 يتفرج على 3 تلفزيونات دول سوى (yatfarrag ala thalath telivizionaat dol sawa): and watch those 3 TVs at the same time (دول means "those" and سوى means "together")

6:49 عرض مغري عشانك (ard mughree ashaanak): a tempting offer for you

7:54 بتلعب وينج يمين (bitalab wing yeemeen): do you play right wing (I'm guessing they mean right field. They don't play a whole lot of baseball in the middle east lol)

9:48 مستحيل ما حدش يقدر يبذل أكثر من مية في المية. بالمنطق أكثر من كده ما ينفعش (mustaheel ma hadish yi2dar yibzil akthar min mia fi al mia. bil muntiq akthar min kida ma yanfash): Impossible. No one can exert more than 100% effort. Logically more than that doesn't work. (بذل جهود means to exert effort. The hypnotist said "your effort will be 110%". ما ينفعش means "it's no use" or "it's no benefit")

9:56 همسكها (hamsikha): I'll catch it

10:37 إخترني (ikhtarnee): choose me

11:21 دلوقت قبل ما نعرف تشكيل الفريق احب اقول لإلي اساميهم مش في القائمة انهم خيبوا املي فيهم (dilwa2ti abl ma narif tashkeel al faree2 aheb a2ool li illi asaameehum mish fi al qayma annahum khayboo amali fihum): Now, before we know the formation of the team, I want to say to those whose names aren't on the list that they have disappointed me. (literally "they have dashed my hope in them")

11:28 في حاجة نقصاهم إسمها الحماس (fi haga na2saahum ismaha al hamaas): There's something they lack. It's called zeal.

12:23 طلع الرخصة بالراحة (tala3 al rukhsa bi al raaha): get out your license, slowly

12:49 حاول ترفع ايدك (hawil tarfa3 iydak): Try to raise your hand.

13:37 ما تخافيش خالص هانقذ قطتك (ma tkhafeesh kaalis hanqiz utatik): Don't be scared a bit! I'll save your cat.

16:18 إستنى أنت (istana enta): wait

16:19 الرجل إلي بيلعب في مكانك موجود (al ragal ili biyal3ab fi makanak mawgood): The man that plays your position is here.

16:23 دكة (dikka): bench

16:31 برا (barra): out

16:41 دول لاعيبة محترفين (dol laa3eeba muhtarifeen): those are professional players

16:43 متعودين على الكلام ده (muta3awwideen 3ala al kalaam da): they're used to that (kind of) talk

16:44 مش بيأثر فيهم أبداً (mish bi yua2thar fee hum abadan): it won't affect them at all

16:50 معايا سوداني (ma3aaya sudani): I've got peanuts (فول سوداني is the long way to say it. Literally Sudanese bean.)

17:00 دليك لي مخي (daleek lee mukhee): massage my brain for me

17:20 قولولي لمل بابا كون ترتفع معنوياته (ooloolee limma baba koon tartafa3 ma3naweeaatu): tell me when dad is in better spirits

17:26 هنقولك (han2oolik): we'll tell you

18:11 كسكتة (kaskita): cap

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 16

00:04 انت قلت عايز تعيش في عالم ما فيه زنك (enta 2ulta 3aayiz ta3eesh fi 3aalam ma fiu zinc): You said you wanted to live in a world without zinc.

00:36 إرجعلي (irga3lee): return to me

1:06 ممكن نتكلم عن النحاس (mumkin natkallim 3an al nu7aas): Maybe we can talk about copper

1:19 خربش (kharbish): scratch

1:28 برضه ما كسبناش (bardu ma kasibnaash): I still haven't won.

2:14 بالي طويل قوي (baali 6aweel 2awee): I'm very patient (literally "my mind is very long)

3:29 متطوع (muta6awi3): volunteer

3:41 ما تتحركش احسن تتعور (ma tat7arraksh a7san tat3wwar): Don't move unless you want to lose an eye. (the root عور means to lose an eye. أعور means cyclops)

5:49 لو كنت بمكاني و أنا مكانك هترجعلي اليويو (lo kunta bi makaani wa ana makaanak kataragga3li al yoyo): If you were in my place and I was in your place would you give me back the yo-yo?

6:11 بس كنت متوقعة شكلك يطلع زي الصورة (bess kuntu mutawaqqa3a sheklak ya6la3 zay al soora): I was just expecting you to look like the picture (literally يطلع زي الصورة here can mean "to turn out like the picture")

6:28 البلاعة (al ballaa3a): the drain/sink (It can mean both. The root بلع means to swallow, so literally it is "the swallower")

7:27 الكلاب بتحب بتقعد برا (al kilaab bit7eb bita23ad barra): Dogs like it outside (literally "dogs like to sit outside")

8:42 مش عايز خضار مزفت (mish 3aayiz khudaar muzaffit): I don't want any shitty vegetables (زفت literally means asphalt, but it is also used as a curse word. You can say صباح الزفت instead of صباح الخير when you're having a bad morning.)

9:15 شتيمة (shateema): curse word (also means insult)

10:42 قلبي وقف لما شفت صورتك (albi wi2if limma shufti soortik): My heart stopped when I saw your picture.

11:02 الفقراء المساكين (al fu2araa al masaakeen): the poor poor people (the first poor is like pitiful)

11:50 شنبك (shanabak): your moustache

13:33 برطمان (bar6amaan): a jar

14:48 حاسس اني مسؤول عن إلة حصل (Hasis anni mas2ool 3an illa Hasal): I feel that I'm responsible for what happened

15:14 الكلب هيدخل فيها إزاي يعني (al kelb hayidkhul fiha izzay ya3ni): How is the dog going to enter?

16:34 عصير (aseer): juice (they changed all the beer to juice when they translated it lol)

17:20 جواب وداع (gawaab widaa3): a farewell response

17:44 ما يفرقش معاها شكله خالص (ma yafri2sh m3aha sheklu khalis): It makes no difference to her at all what he looks like

17:46 حتى لو تمساح اكل وشه (Hata lo timsaaH akal wishu): even if a gator ate his face

18:20 مع حب إلة هيدوم عبر العصور (ma3 Hob ila hayadoom 3abr al 3asoor): with a love that will last throughout the ages

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 9

00:38 شاهد قبر (shahid 2abr): tomb stone

00:50 الحل الوحيد اننا نرميها في الزبالة (al 7al al wa7eed annana narmeeha fi al zibaala): The only solution is that we throw it in the garbage

00:56 هيتهيألك انه مات إمبارح (hayatheya2lek anu maat imbaari7): It will seem to you that he died yesterday

1:09 شنيور (shinyoor): a drill

1:10 تلاقيه في الجراج (tila2ee fi al garage): find it in the garage

2:27 إنتهاء الصلاحية (intihaa2 a9alaa7eeya): expiration date

2:43 الكوافير (kawaafayr): hairdresser

2:53 إيه أسرع و أرخص و أسهل طريقة لانبسط فيها (eih asra3 wa arkha9 wa ashal 6aree2a linbasa6 fi ha): What's the fastest and cheapest and easiest way for you to be happy?

3:41 كل حاجة هتمشي زي الفل (kuli 7aaga hatimshee zay al ful): Everything is going to be great ("zay al ful" literally means "like the jasmine flower")

4:17 تحب بتأجر الشريط ده (t7eb bita2gar al sharee6 da): Do you want to rent that tape?

4:20 ليه؟ خلاص شفت احلى جز (shuft a7la guz): Why? I already saw the best part.

5:08 قفزاته رشيقة لكن قوية كالمحارب (qafazaatu rasheeqa laakin qaweeya kal mu7aarib): His jumps are elegant but he is strong like a warrior (lol)

6:48 و اصلع كمان (wa a9la3 kamaan): and bald too!

8:57 هأشترك وياك (hashtirik wayaak): I will participate with you

9:06 رف البهارات (raf al bahaaraat): spice rack

9:09 و عش البغبغان (wa 3ish al baghbaghaan): and a bird house ("3ish" means "nest" and "baghbaghaan" means parrots, but they showed a picture of a bird house so that how I translated it) Here's a Haifa Wehbe song called انا عندي بغبغان.

9:12 و المراجيح (wa al maraagee7): and the swingset

9:17 إيه صوت ده (eih 9oot da): What's the sound?

12:44 جبس (gibs): Literally "gypsum", but here it means "a cast"

13:06 زي ما انت شايف قدامك (zay ma enta shaayif 2addamak): like you see in front of you

15:11 بابا مش هتيجي (baba mish hateegee): Dad, you're not going to come?

15:18 انا سقعتلك البرنيطة في الثلاجة (ana sa2a3tilak al burnay6a fi al thallaga): I got your hat cold for you in the fridge.

18:43 أنت سواق جامد (enta sawwa2 gaamid): You are an amazing driver

I hope these episodes are helping. They are sure helping me. When I have to listen to a phrase several times to know exactly what they're saying it definitely sharpens my ear.

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 5

1:35 ما عزمتنيش (ma 3azimtineesh): you didn't invite me

5:11 ما فيش بدلة لنائب المدير (ma feesh badla li na2ib al mudeer): there's no suit for the assistant manager

5:47 مين كان يصدق ان المفاعلات معقدة للدرجة دي (meen kaan yusadi2 an al mufa3ilaat mu3a2ada lildaraga dee): who would have thought that reactors were so complicated

6:50 إكتمي (iktimee): shut up (fem.)

8:24 هاشوفك مرة ثانية (hashoofak mara thanya): Will I see you again?

8:25 طبعاً في الكارثة الجاية (Tab3an fi al karitha al gaaya): Sure, during the next crisis

9:31 تأثيرك سيء عليَ (tatheerak sayi2 3alaya): you're a bad influence on me

9:56 أنت انقذت حياتنا (enta an2azta 7ayatna): you saved our lives

10:19 فخذة ضان (fa7'dha daan): a thigh of sheep

10:35 هنعلقك على حائط الشرف (han3alla2ak 3ala 7a2iT asharaf): we will hang you on the wall of honor

13:01 أرجوك ما تكراهنيش (argook ma tikrahneesh): please don't hate me

13:15 مش هيعرف مين عمل كده (mish haya3raf meen 3amal kida): he won't know who did that

13:38 كلهم فقدوا حماسهم للشغل (kuluhum fa2adoo 7amasahum lilshu3'al): all of them have lost their zeal for the work

14:24 كسبت الجائزة الثانية في مسابقة الجمال (kasibt al ga2iza al thania fi musaaba2at al gamaal: I won second prize in a beauty contest

15:00 بتهيألي (bithaya2lee): it seems to me

15:18 أكلي زفت (aklee zift): eat shit (imperative form when said to a female)

16:04 كنت عارفة ان المنطق هترجع لعقلها (kunt 3aarifa an al mun6i2 hatarga3 li 3a2la): I knew that she'd come to her senses (literally that the logic would return to her)

17:54 منع سطوة على البنك بغير ما يقصد (man3a sa6wa 3ala al bank bi 3'eyr ma yu2sud): He prevented a bank robbery unintentionally

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 1

I figured I could add a list of some of the words/phrases that are said in the episode. I don't understand every word in the episode, but I do get a lot of it.

0:05 بدر إصحى (badr iSHa): badr, wake up!

0:11 جرا ايه (garaa eih): What happened?

0:12 بابا جرا له حاجة (baba garaa loo Haga): Did something happen to dad?

0:13 كويس جداً (kwayis giddan): very good

0:20 هيبقى عندي ثمن سنين (hayib'a andee thaman sneen): I will be 8 years old

0:49 خد بالك من اختك بطة (khud baalak min ukhtak baTTa): Look after your sister baTTa

1:31 مين سرق قميسي (meen sara' 'ameesy): Who stole my shirt?

1:36 بمبي (bambi): pink

2:47 بمبي مسخسخ (bambi msakhsakh): light pink (msakhsakh also means "fainting")

3:52 إمليلي الإستمارة دي (imleelee al istimaara dee): Fill out this form for me

4:12 قطة ('uTa): cat

5:38 بص عندنا طريقة سهلة قوي (bos andana Taree'a sahla 'awee): look, we have a very easy way

6:39 زود الضغط على مشط الرجلة (zawwid aDaghT ala mishT al rigla): increase the preasure on the instep of your foot

6:49 عشان لمست (ashan lamast): because I wore

6:55 ترتر (tirtir): glitter

8:37 بجد (bi gad): for real

10:37 أرجوكم تعبرو عن مشاعركم بحرية (argookum taabaru an mashairkum bi Hurria): I want you all to express your feelings freely

18:11 يا ريت تعجبك الهدية (ya rait tagibik al hidaya): I hope you like the gift (يا ريت means "I hope" or "I wish")

19:35 كل الناس ضحكت في وشي (kul a nass DaHket fi wishi): All the people laughed in my face

Arabic Simpsons: Season 3 Episode 24

Here's an episode of The Simpsons in Egyptian Arabic. It's pretty hard to understand even if you know MSA to a decent degree, but I still believe that authentic language exposure is good for you. It gets you used to listening to the real language at full speed. There are also people who claim that they've learned a language entirely from watching a lot of TV in that language. I don't know if they're exaggerating or not, but I figure it's worth a try and at the very least it won't make your language ability worse.

I've got 16 episodes on my computer that I'm going to try to upload. I signed up to take the Egyptian DLPT on Feb 4 so I figure these will help my brain get used to the way the Egyptian dialect is spoken and maybe I'll get that 2 that I need to get some extra money every month. Enjoy the episode.