Lesson 10: توبة

New Vocabulary

tooba (توبة) - never again, I'll never ... again
aah (آه) - expression of pain, anxiety or distress
uw3a (أوعى) - god forbid, don't you dare, don't ever
barDuh (برضه) - also, too, nevertheless, even so, really, surely
mahma (مهما) - no matter what/how much
kull ma (كل ما) - whenever
raaH (راح) - going to
aHsan (أحسن) - it's better that..., better off
nooba (نوبة) - time, instance
marra (مرة) - once, one time, instance
bukrah (بكره) - tomorrow
salamtak (سلامتك) - get well soon!
'udaam (قدام) - in front of
Hatta (حتى) - even, not even
wagh (وجه) pl. wuguuh (وجوه) - face

SaHHa (صحّى) - to wake someone up
wa33ad (وعّد) - to promise
Sadda' (صدّق) - to believe
kaddab (كدّب) - to call a liar, to deny, to contradict, to refuse to believe
xaaSim (خاصم) - to fight with, to quarrel with
SaaliH (صالح) - to make good with, to reconcile with
DiHik (ضِحِك) - to smile, to laugh
baka (بكى) - to cry

In Lesson 9, we heard from Asmahan, one of the great female singers of modern Egyptian history. Now we'll hear a song from perhaps the most famous male singer in the history of Arabic music, Abdel Halim Hafez. Abdel Halim's career spanned over 2 decades, during which he became a cultural icon. He first rose to fame just as Egypt was gaining independence in 1952, and thus became a beloved symbol of the new nation. Like Asmahan, he died somewhat prematurely in 1977 at just 47 years of age. For this reason and of course his countless classic songs and wonderful smile and charm, he is often compared to Elvis Presley. His nickname was "al-3andaliib al-asmar (العندليب الأسمر)" which means "the dark nightingale."

This is one of Abdel Halim's earlier works, from the 1955 movie "ayaam wa layaali (أيام وليالي)." The title, "tooba (توبة)," means "Never Again." Watch and listen, and try to catch some of the dialog in the beginning.

توبة توبة
توبة إن كنت أحبك تاني توبة
بس قابلني مرة وتبقى دي آخر نوبة
وبعدها توبة

توبة إن كنت أخاصمك وأرجع أصالحك تاني
ياما البعد سقاني وياما القرب ضناني

وإن فات طيفك يوم في منامي وجهه صحاني
برضه أصالحك بس أهي نوبة وبعدها توبة

توبة إن كنت حصدق تاني كلامك
مهما حتسأل مش راح أصدق حتى سلامك

بس وعدني أوعى تبكي وأنا قدامك
أحسن أكذّب روحي وأقول أهي نوبة وبعدها توبة

آه من حيرة قلبي وآه من دمعة عيني
كل ما أقول أنساك توحشهم نارك وتصحيني

أجري وأسأل عنك قبل ما انت تجيني
أضحك نوبة وأبكي نوبة وبعدها توبة

Hope you got something out this snapshot of Egyptian film in the 1950s. Before we talk about the song let's talk about the dialog in the beginning. The girl obviously rebuffs Abdel Halim, who is persistently confessing his love. You hear her friends say that the hospital's visiting hours are over. Apparently Abdel Halim has somehow ended up in the hospital. Notice that as she leaves Abdel Halim shouts "hashuufik bukra (حشوفك بكره)." This is a very important phrase meaning "I'll see you tomorrow!" Her reply is "salamtak (سلامتك)," which means "get well soon." Learn these useful phrases.

Now try to get the catchy chorus stuck in your head. Let's see what he's saying:

توبة توبة
توبة إن كنت أحبك تاني توبة

Like we said, "tooba (توبة)" means "no more" or "never again." Never again what now? "in kunt aHibbak tani (إن كنت أحبك تاني)." After "tooba (توبة)" you use a word like "in (إن)" or "iza (إذا)" that means "if" and a phrase as you an see here. Take this to mean "never will I love you again."

Then what:

بس قابلني مرة وتبقى دي آخر نوبة
وبعدها توبة

Remember "bas (بس)" means "but" or "just." So he says "tooba (توبة)," "never again," and then "bas (بس)," "but" so we know something's coming here. "'aabilni (قابلني)" is a command, saying "meet me." "marra (مرة)" is no different than in Standard Arabic, meaning "once" or "one time." The word "nooba (نوبة)" is another word meaning "time" or "instance" that rhymes a bit nicer with "tooba (توبة)." So "tib'a di aakhir nooba (تبقى دي آخر نوبة)" means "this'll be the last time." See how the verb "ba'a (بقى)" is being used here? Finally, Abdel Halim pledges "wa ba3adaha tooba (وبعدها توبة)," meaning "and after it, never again."

First verse:

توبة إن كنت أخاصمك وأرجع أصالحك تاني

Looks like more regrets for Abdel Halim. The verb "xaaSim (خاصم)" means "to fight with" or "to quarrel with" and the verb "SaaliH (صالح)" is its opposite, "to make good with" or "to reconcile with." So he's saying, "never again will I fight with you then come back and make good with you again."

Next line:

ياما البعد سقاني وياما القرب ضناني

This line means "oh how the farness watered me and oh how the closeness exhausted me." You gotta just do your best to understand what is meant by this, it's not worth dwelling on here.

Next line:

وإن فات طيفك يوم في منامي وجهه صحّاني

"in (إن)" means "if," like the word "low (لو)." Do you remember the word "Teef (طيف)" meaning "specter" or "image" from the last lesson? "manaam (منام)" means "sleep" or the "sleep state." The word "wagh (وجه)" is important here. It means "face." Finally the verb "SaHHa (صحى)" means "to wake someone up." Put all of this together, and he says "if your image passed by one day in my sleep, its (your) face would wake me up." Break down the sentence to see what's going on there.

برضه أصالحك بس أهي نوبة وبعدها توبة

The word "barDuh (برضه)" comes into Egyptian Arabic from Turkish and has several related meanings. Firstly, it means "too" or "also" or "after that." In addition, it means "nevertheless" or "even so" or "all the same." Finally it can be used as an intensifier like "really" or "surely." Figuring out what "barDuh (برضه)" is supposed to mean is not easy hardly ever, but get a sense for it because it's a common word in Egyptian Arabic. Did you get the sentence using what we've learned so far?

After the chorus we get Abdel Halim swearing off some other stuff:

توبة إن كنت حصدّق تاني كلامك

As we've learned "Sadda' (صدق)" means "to believe." So he says, "never again will I believe your words."

مهما حتسأل مش راح أصدق حتى سلامك

"mahma (مهما)" is a great word meaning "no matter what/how much." "mish raaH aSadda' (مش راح أصدق)" means "I'm not going to believe." "raaH (راح)" is an alternate way of marking the future, and we can see why, given that is also the verb "to go." "Hatta salaamak (حتى سلام)" means "even your peace," but remember, "salaam (سلام)" is also used for saying hello, so here it means like "not even your greeting."

بس وعّدني
أوعى تبكي وأنا قدامك

"bas wa33idni (بس وعّدني)" means "but" or "just promise me." "uw3a (أوعى)" means "god forbid you..." or "don't ever" or "don't you dare!" You use it with a present tense verb to forbid someone from doing something. The verb "baka (بكى)" of course means "to cry" and "'udaam (قدام)" means "in front of." So he says "don't ever cry when I am in front of you," or in better English, "don't ever cry in front of me." See how the "wa (و)" phrase creates the sense of "when" or "while?"

أحسن أكذّب روحي وأقول أهي نوبة وبعدها توبة

Starting a sentence with "aHsan (أحسن)" carries the meaning of "it's better that" or "better off." The verb "kaddab (كدّب)" comes from the root "kadab (كدب)," "to lie," and means "to call a liar," "to contradict or deny" or "to refuse to believe." So he says "It's better for me to refuse to believe my soul and say it's once and after that never again." He doesn't really wanna say "tooba (توبة)," he just knows it's in his best interest.

Final verse:

آه من حيرة قلبي وآه من دمعة عيني

"aah min (آه من)" something means literally "ouch from" but it means like "that thing hurts" or something along those lines. "aah (آه)" expresses exasperation, stress and suffering in Arabic. Then he saying "Oh the confusion of my heart, oh the tears of my eyes."

كل ما أقول أنساك توحشهم نارك وتصحّيني

As we learned "kullima (كل ما)" means "whenever." The verb "waHash (وحش)" is a little tricky to explain. It is used to say "I miss you," except the "I" is the object and the "you" is the subject like in French "Tu me manques." So here "tawhashum (توحشهم)" means "they miss you," referring to his eyes and heart. "naar (نار)" means "fire" or "hell" and it is grammatically feminine, and we already learned what "SaHHa (صحّى)" means earlier in the song. Unpack all that and he says, "whenever I say I'll forget you, they (I) miss you and your fire wakes me up." See how he's suffering?

Next line:

أجري وأسأل عنك قبل ما انت تجيني

"sa'al 3an (سأل عن)" means "to ask about." "'abl (قبل)" means "before," and the "'abl ma (قبل ما)" is used in conjunction with a verbal expression. "I run and ask about you before you come to me."

Final line:

أضحك نوبة وأبكي نوبة وبعدها توبة

The verb "DiHik (ضحك)" means "to laugh" or "to smile." Put it together with what we know and he says, "I laugh once, cry once and after that never again!"

I probably explained a lot more for you in this song than you really needed with all you've learned thus far. I can't help it, it's just so hard to see you doing things on your own now! It's like you don't even need me. From now on I'll try to be more hands off in the explanations while guiding you through more and more songs. Go back and review and then go onto the next lesson, Lesson 11: خليك جنبي

Lesson 15: انت معايا

New Vocabulary

bigadd (بجد) - seriously
waya (ويا) - with
waaxid (واخد) - taking
naa'iS (ناقص) - lacking, missing from

ghammaD (غمّض) - to close one's eyes
fada (فدى) - to ransom, to redeem
fadaak (فداك) - for your sake, I'd give (that) up for you

After introducing so many difficult lessons up through Lesson 14, it will be beneficial to look back on what you've learned with this song. The song entitled "anta ma3aaya (انت معايا)," "You're With Me" by Hossam Habib is a very simple but typical Egyptian pop song. I've chosen this song because except for a few words listed above, all of the grammar and vocabulary in the song has been covered in previous lessons. Thus, I will not give complete explanations of this song, but rather just a few commentary to help you understand. First take a listen and read along to see what you can get.

انت معايا بجد حبيبي اصدق عيني
لو بحلم اوعى تصحيني
سيبني حبيبي اعيش وياك

ده انت واخدني لدنيا بعيدة وعالم تاني
ومفيش حاجة معاك نقصاني
سيبني حبيبي اعيش وياك

حبيبى ليه بحبك تعرف ليه
حقولك كل ما فيك وكلك ليا انا

انت معايا بجد حبيبي اصدق عيني
لو بحلم اوعى تصحيني
سيبني حبيبي اعيش وياك

من اللي انا فيه مش عايز اغمض ثانية عينيا
الفرحة دى كتيرة عليا
خد ايامى وعمرى فداك
بقى معقول الحب ده كله فى قلبك ليا
جوه عينيك حب وحنية
وامال حضنك يبقى ازاي

حبيبى ليه بحبك تعرف ليه
حقول لك كل ما فيك وكلك ليا انا

Pretty easy huh? Hossam Habib does not have the clearest enunciation, but by reading along you should be able to understand. Let's look at the first verse:

انت معايا بجد حبيبي اصدق عيني
لو بحلم اوعى تصحيني
سيبني حبيبي اعيش وياك

Should be pretty clear. Do you remember what "uw3a (أوعى)" means? See how the verb "saab (ساب)," meaning "to leave," is being used as a command "sibni (سيبني)" meaning "let me."

Next verse:

انت واخدني لدنيا بعيدة وعالم تاني
ومفيش حاجة معاك نقصاني
سيبني حبيبي اعيش وياك

Remember "mafiish (مفيش)," meaning "there's not." "mafiish Haaga ma3aak na'Saani (مفيش حاجة معاك نقصاني)" means "there is nothing lacking from me with you."

Next:

حبيبى ليه بحبك تعرف ليه
حقولك كل ما فيك وكلك ليا انا

What is he going to tell her?

Next verse:

من اللي انا فيه مش عايز اغمض ثانية عينيا
الفرحة دى كتيرة عليا
خد ايامى وعمرى فداك

What doesn't he want to close his eyes from? See the line "xad ayaami wa 3umri fadaak (خد ايامي وعمري فداك)" "fadaak (فداك)" is an important but complicated idiom meaning "it is for your sake" or "I'd give (something) for you." So he is saying "my life is yours".

بقى معقول الحب ده كله فى قلبك ليا
جوه عينيك حب وحنية
وامال حضنك يبقى ازاي

What is in her eyes according to Hossam?

Maybe you can't translate every line word for word but if you have kept up with the lessons and vocabulary I think you've understood the song pretty well. If not, review the vocabulary from past lessons and remember you can use the Egyptian Arabic Vocabulary on the site as a good reference. Not all songs in the future will be this easy, however, I will be providing fewer explanation where they are not necessary in order to allow you to figure out for yourselves.

Lesson 5: منايا

New Vocabulary

munya (منية) pl: munaa (منا) - wish
ya reet (يا ريت) - if only
faayit (فايت) - passing
Hasis (حاسس) - feeling
guwwa (جوه) - inside, within
guwwa minni (جوه مني) - within me
naar (نار) - fire, hell
aHlaam (أحلام) - dreams
li-waHdi (لوحدي) - by myself
kifaaya (كفاية) - enough, enough!

Hilim (حِلِم) - to dream
ti3ib (تِعِب) - to get tired
ta3ab (تَعَب) - to tire someone
gara (جرى) - to run, to happened
garaali (جرالي) - it happened to me
illi garaali (اللي جرالي) - that which happened to me

In Lesson 4, we saw that "itmanna al-xeer (اتمنى الخير)" means "to wish well." This lesson also deals with wishes, using the song "munaaya (منايا)" by Moustafa Amar. "munaa (منا)" is the plural of "munya (منية)," meaning wish or desire. Although the song is called "munaaya (منايا)," my wishes, we should translate this as "My Wish."

Understanding this song may be significantly easier with the knowledge you've been gaining. Listen to the song and enjoy the backwards video while reading along with the lyrics:

منايا حبيبي تحس هوايا
ويا ريتك تعرف ايه جوايا
منايا حبيبي تحس هوايا
ويا ريتك تعرف ايه جوايا

ايام وسنين بتفوت
عمري يجري مني
وتعيش احلام وتموت
وانت جوه مني

حبيبي انا بحلم تبقى معايا
من نار البعد تعبت كفاية
حبيبي انا بحلم تبقى معايا
من نار البعد تعبت كفاية

ليالي فايتني لوحدي ليالي
ولا قلبك حاسس باللي جرالي
ليالي فايتني لوحدي ليالي
ولا قلبك حاسس باللي جرالي

Check it out:

منايا حبيبي تحس هوايا

"my desire my darling is for you to feel my love." Got it right

و يا ريتك تعرف ايه جوايا

The phrase "ya reet (يا ريت)" means "if only" and you can attach a pronoun to the effect of "if only I" or "if only you" etc. So "ya reetak ta3rif (يا ريتك تعرف)" means "If only you knew." Knew what? "eh guwaaya (ايه جوايا)" which means "what's inside me." "guwwa (جوه)" takes the place of Standard Arabic "داخل."

The chorus already?

ايام وسنين بتفوت
عمري يجري مني

"days and years pass." Notice "bitfuut (بتفوت)" the present tense conjugation for "faat (فات)." Therefore "3umri yigri minni (عمري يجري مني)" means "my lifetime is running away from me." the verb "gara (جرى)" means "to run" but already means to happen, as we will soon see.

What's the rest?:

وتعيش احلام وتموت

"aHlaam (أحلام)" are dreams. If you didn't know, "maat (مات)" means "to die."

وانت جوه مني

"guwwa min (جوه من)" is just a variation of "guwwa (جوه)" basically, meaning "within."

Next verse:

حبيبي انا بحلم تبقى معايا

The verb "Hilim (حلم)" means to dream. If you remember "ba'a (بقى)," it means like "to be" or "to become" and these various meanings that you can get from context. so the line means "my darling, I'm dreaming of you being with me."

من نار البعد تعبت كفاية

"naar (نار)" is "fire" or "hell," and usually carries this double meaning in song. Fire hurts. "al-bu3d (البعد)" is an important concept in Arabic. It means "distance," and distance also hurts when you are in love. So "from the fire of distance" "ti3ibt (تِعِبت)" means "I got tired" and "kifaaya (كفاية)" means "enough!" Notice that "ti3ib (تِعِب)," "to get tired," is different from "ta3ab (تَعَب)," "to tire someone." There are a few verbs like this in Egyptian dialect keep your eye out for them.

One final verse:

ليالي فايتني لوحدي ليالي

"layaali (ليالي)" is the plural of "leel (ليل)," meaning night. "faayit (فايت)" as you can see if the progressive participle of "faat (فات)," meaning passing. "li-waHdi (لوحدي)" means "by myself."

And the last new line:

ولا قلبك حاسس باللي جرالي

"wala (ولا)" has a lot of meanings. Here is means "never" or "don't." you can see that it contains the word "la (لا)." But "wala (ولا)" can also mean "or" or "nor." As I said above, the verb "gara (جرى)," "to run," also has the idiomatic meaning of "to happen." Thus, "garaali (جرالي)" means "it happened to me" and "illi garaali (اللي جرالي)" meanings "that which happened to me" or "what happened to me," not as a question. So "he heart doesn't feel what's happened to me."

If you listen again, you should be able to understand most everything. Take advantage of the repetition in this song to memorize the lines. I will continue to reduce the amount of explanation over the next couple lessons so that you can take advantage of your new skills of comprehension.

ماشي؟

Time to move on to Lesson 6

Lesson 12: انا قلبي ليك ميّال

New Vocabulary

mayyaal ila (ميّال الى) - fond of, inclined towards
maafiish (مافيش) - there is not
wibas (وبس) - only, and that's all
'ad (قد) - as much as
shuwayya (شوية) - a little
Tuul (طول) - throughout
3ala Tuul (على طول) - right away, all the ways, forever, straight ahead
3azuul (عذول) pl. 3uzzaal (عذال) - jealous person who interferes between lovers, critic
ibtisaama (ابتسامة) - a smile
Halaawa (حلاوة) - sweetness, prettiness
farHa (فرحة) - joy, hapiness
bahga (بهجة) - delight

Hallaf (حلّف) - to make someone swear to something, to adjure

After hearing some modern Egyptian pop in Lesson 11, I think it's time to return to the classics. This lesson will utilize the song "ana 'albi ileek mayyaal (انا قلبي اليك ميّال)," "My Heart is Fond of You," sung by Fayza Ahmed and written by the talented composer Mohamed Mogi. Fayza Ahmed was born in Lebanon/Syria during the 1930s, but like Asmahan before her, moved to Egypt to really make her career singing in the Egyptian dialect, and her career overlaps with that of Abdel Halim Hafez. She recorded hundreds of songs and films throughout her career, which ended prematurely in 1983 when she died of cancer at 48 years of age.

Watch the video and read along. Notice the amount of repetition in the old style of performance.

أنا قلبي اليك ميّال
وما فيش غيرك عالبال
انت وبس اللي حبيبي
مهما يقولوا العزال

وبحبك قد عينيا
حتى أكثر منها شوية
واسألها انت وحلفها
على طول حتقولك هيه

والدنيا انت بهجتها
والبهجة انت فرحتها
والفرحة أنت يا حبيبي
حلاوتها وابتسامتها

ومليت الدنيا عليا
ود.. حب حنية
خلتني احب الدنيا

طول ايامي ولياليا

First verse:

أنا قلبي اليك ميّال

The word "mayyaal (ميّال)" means "inclined" or "leaning" or "having a tendancy towards" something. The sentence could be rewritten as "'albi mayyaal ileek (قلبي ميّال إليك)" at which point it is clear she's saying "my heart is inclined towards you," meaning something like "my heart is fond of you." Often in songs, Arabic singers express their emotions by personifying their heart (قلب), eye(عين), and of course liver (كبد)!

ومافيش غيرك عالبال

The phrase "3aalbaal (عالبال)" means "on the mind," both literally and figuratively. See how "3ala (على)" is shortened to "3a (عا)" here. "maafiish (مافيش)" is an important word meaning "there is not." Of course "fii (فيه)" means "there is." Put it altogether and it's "and there's no one other than you on my mind."

Next line:

انت وبس اللي حبيبي

Here is that all-important word "bas (بس)" again. This time the phrase "wa bas (وبس)" can be seen to have the specific meaning of "and that's it" or "only." Got the sentence? Good next one:

مهما يقولوا العذال

Remember "mahma (مهما)," "no matter what." The word "3azzaal (عذّال)" is the plural of the word "3azuul (عذول)," an absolutely great Arabic word. This word is best defined as "a jealous person," but specifically, "a jealous person who attempts to interfere between lovers." It also carries the connotations of a "censorious person," meaning a critic. Translate it however you want, "no matter what the jealous say," or "no matter what the critics say" or if you don't care about brevity "no matter what the jealous people attempting to interfere between us say."

Next verse:

وبحبك قد عينيا

"'ad (قد)" means "as much as." Very useful word. Got the sentence now? It's an expression that says how important that person is. Eyes are really important in Arabic!

حتى أكثر منها شوية

"shuwayya (شوية)" is another essential Arabic word meaning "a little." "Even a little more than them."

Next line:

واسألها انت وحلفها

Here are two commands. "Hallaf (حلّف)" means "to make promise" or "to ask to swear to." So she says "and ask them yourself and make them swear." See she's still referring to her eyes.

على طول حتقولك هيه

Indeed, "3ala Tuul (على طول)" you know to mean "straight ahead" when you in a cab, but it also means "right away" and "always" or "all the way." "they'll tell you write away." The eyes reveal all true feelings

This is going rather smoothly no? Next verse:

والدنيا انت بهجتها

"bahga (بهجة)" is "delight." So she says "and the world, you are its delight" meaning "you are the delight of the world."

والبهجة انت فرحتها

Remember "farHa (فرحة)" means "happiness" or "joy." And thus she says "and delight, you are its joy" or "you are the joy of delight."

والفرحة أنت يا حبيبي

Got it then? The point here is he is everything that makes her happy.

حلاوتها وابتسامتها

"Halaawa (حلاوة)" is "sweetness" or "prettiness" and "ibtisaama (ابتسامة)" is "a smile."

Final verse:

ومليت الدنيا عليا
ود.. حب حنية

"maleet al-dunya 3alaya (مليت الدنيا عليا)" means "you filled the world for me" or "you filled my world" or even better still, "you filled my life." With what? "wadd, Hubb, Haniyya ود حب حنية

خلتني احب الدنيا

Remember "xallatni (خلتني)?"

Last line:

طول ايامي ولياليا

"Tuul (طول)" means length but also "throughout" in this construction. It is like Standard Arabic "طوال"

That's it, now you should be able to go back and understand the song well. Get ready for the next lesson, because it will really help you learn some ways to get out of trouble with your boyfriend or girlfriend, Lesson 13: ولا حاجة

Lesson 6: لمستك

New Vocabulary

dah (ده) - this, that (masculine)
di (دي) - this, that (feminine)
dah (دا) - exclamatory particle at the beginning of sentence
feen? (فين؟) - where?
li (ل) - to, for
low (لو) - if
kamaan (كمان) - also, as well, too, more, in addition
makaan (مكان) - place
al-layla (الليلة) - tonight
al-layla di (الليلة دي) - this night (aka tonight)
bidaaya (بداية) - beginning
ta3aali (تعالى) - come on!
yalla (يالله) - let's go!
yoomeen (يومين) - two days

lamas (لَمَس) - to touch
'arrab (قَرَّب) - to get close
ibtada (ابتدى) - to start, for something to begin

In this lesson, you will start to learn about expressing "this" and "that" in Egyptian Arabic. The masculine and feminine words meaning both "this" and "that" are "dah (ده)" and "di (دي)." To say this is a boy, you just have to say "dah waad (ده واد)," however, to say "this boy," you say "al-waad dah (الواد ده)." Do you see how it is affixed to noun? this is a specific feature of Egyptian Arabic, just like the questions coming at the end of the sentence.

The song in this lesson is entitled "lamastak ()," meaning "I Touched You." Notice how once again the singer, Amr Moustafa, is singing to a grammatical male but of course it is meant for a girl or a "generic" person. Watch the video, listen to the song and read the lyrics:

لمستك نسيت الحياة
وانت اللى بحلم اعيش يوم معاه
والليلة هى البداية وخليك معايا
ده عمرى الليلة دى ابتدى

ولازم نعيش يالله قرب كمان
تعالى حبيبى لأبعد مكان
ننسا اللى ضاع من ايدينا نعيش بس لنا
خلاص اللى جوانا بان

سرحت بعيونك لفين
ايوة انت جمبى وهعيشلك سنين
وحياتى قرب عليا يا عمري وعنييا
نعيش الحياة لو يومين

Did you understand anything? Let's find out:

لمستك نسيت الحياة
وانت اللى بحلم اعيش يوم معاه

"I touched you and forgot life. You are the one who I dream to live with one day." Notice that "yoom (يوم)" used in the indefinite sense in this case brings the meaning of "one day."

والليلة هى البداية

"al-layla (الليلة)" means tonight. So this means "tonight, it is the beginning" or "and tonight is the beginning."

وخليك معايا

remember? Next line:

ده عمرى الليلة دى ابتدى

This line is tricky because of the use of "dah (ده)" here for emphasis. When you see this, it is usually easiest to skip over "dah (ده)" to see the rest of the sentnece. "3umri (عمري)" is of course "my lifetime." The verb "ibtada (ابتدى)" means "to begin." "al-layla di (الليلة دي)" literally means "this night," but here you can say tonight. So the sentence means "my lifetime began tonight." The "dah (ده)" just adds the sense of "really!" or "truly!"

Moving to the chorus:

ولازم نعيش يالله قرب كمان

Here we see the familiar "laazim na3ish (لازم نعيش)," "we gotta live." "yalla (يالله)" means basically "let's go!" or "c'mon!" "'arrab (قرّب)" is the command form of the same verb, "to get close." "kamaan (كمان)" means "too, as well, also" and here has the sense of "more." So he says "c'mon, get a little closer."

Next line:

تعالى حبيبى لأبعد مكان

"ta3aala (تعالى)" means "come on," very similar to "yalla (يالله)." "Come on, my darling, to the farthest away place."

ننسا اللى ضاع من ايدينا

"Daa3 (ضاع)" is the verb "to be lost." "iydee (ايدي)" is the plural of "yad (يد)," meaning "hand." So it means "we'll forget that which we have lost," kind of like "we'll forget our past."

نعيش بس لنا

Before we talked about the word "bass ()" meaning "but." However, here is means "just" like "only," so he says, "we'll live just for us" meaning away from everyone else.

خلاص اللى جوانا بان

"baan (بان)" means "to come clear" or "to show" or "to manifest." Understood?

Next verse:

سرحت بعيونك لفين

"saraH (سرح)" is a verb that means "to wander" or "to go astray." "feen (فين)" means "where?" See how it is at the end of the sentence? So he says "where did you wander off to with your eyes." He wants to see them!

ايوة انت جمبى وهعيشلك سنين
وحياتى قرب عليا يا عمري وعنييا

Everything clear there? "'arrab 3alaya (قرب عليا)" means "get close to me."

نعيش الحياة لو يومين

"low (لو)" means "if." "yoomeen (يومين)" means "2 days." As you can see, this is the familiar dual form from Standard Arabic, however, don't worry, it is only used for nouns. So "we'll live life if just two days" is an expression that even if it's a short time, he wants to be with her.

That song was a breeze. Soon we will be able to move onto more complex songs and you will be able to understand with relatively little explanation.

Next lesson, Lesson 7: وماله؟

Lesson 13: ولا حاجة

New Vocabulary

wala Haaga (ولا حاجة) - nothing
wallahi (ولله) - I swear, I swear to God
min imta (من امتى) - since when?
ghayr (غير) - other than
'awii (قوي) - very
waaDiH (واضح) - clear, it's clear
ma3'uul (معقول) - reasonable, it's reasonable, is it reasonable?
za3laan (زعلان) - angry, mad, irritated
ghayraan (غيران) - jealous
kaddaab (كدّاب) - liar
'albi 3aleek (قلبي عليك) - I have you at heart, I care about you
barii' (بريء) - innocent
ha'ii'a (حقيقة) - truth, reality
wahm (وهم) - illusion, delusion, something imaginary
mashuftish bi3ayneeki (ماشفتش بعينيكي) - you didn't see with your own eyes

istaahil (استاهل) - to deserve, to merit, to be worth
itxayyal (اتخيّل) - to imagine
DiHik 3ala (ضحك على) - to cheat, to fool, to deceive
Halaf (حلف) - to pledge, to give an oath

Lesson 12 featured a Lebanese singer singing in the Egyptian dialect, however, this lesson will feature an Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas singing a song from the soundtrack of a popular movie "Omar wa Selma (Omar and Selma)." The song is entitled "Wala Haaga (ولا حاجة)" meaning "Nothing," and as you will see, Hisham's point in this song is prove to his lover that contrary to what she has heard, he hasn't done "wala Haaga." Listen to the song and read the lyrics, and try to pay attention to the conjugations of the past tense in negated form.

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

مش عارف ليه زعلانة مني
عايز اعرف عني قالوا لك ايه
يوقعوا بيني وبينك ليه

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

ياما حاولوا يفرقوا بينا زمان
اعقلي يا حبيبتي ده كله جنان
لو الموضوع محتاج حلفان

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

مين في قلبي مين غيرك انتي
دول لا كدابين يا حبيبتي
ولا قلبهم عليكي

مش عارف ليه زعلانة مني
عايز اعرف عني قالوا لك ايه
يوقعوا بيني وبينك ليه

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

عرفاني انتي وحفظاني وعارفة ان انا افكاري بريئة
مش عارف ليه ظلماني وليه مش لاقي معاكي طريقة

والموضوع مش مستاهل
ليه بتخلي الوهم حقيقة

واضح قوي انها تلفيقة

مين في قلبي مين غيرك انتي
دول لا غيرانين يا حبيبتي
ولا قلبهم عليكي

مش عارف ليه زعلانة مني
عايز اعرف عني قالوا لك ايه
يوقعوا بيني وبينك ليه

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

يا حبيبتي مفيش غيرك في حياتي وحبقى لمين غير ليكي
معقول صدقتي كلامهم وانا امتى كدبت عليكي

والموضوع مش مستاهل وانتي مشفتش حاجة بعنيكي
انا من امتى ضحكت عليكي

مين في قلبي مين غيرك انتي
دول لا كدابين يا حبيبتي
ولا قلبهم عليكي

ولا حاجة

Let's take a look at the crux of the song which rests on this one repeated line:

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

First of all "wallahi (ولله)" means "by God" or "I swear to God" or "I swear." OK? We've already learned a little about negation in Egyptian with the word "mish (مش)", however, verbs are negated a little differently as in Standard Arabic. To negative a verb in the present or past tense in Egyptian colloquial, attach the particle "ma (ما)" to the front of the verb and "-sh (ش)" to the end. Here we have the verb "3amal (عمل)", "to do." "3amalt (عملت)" means "I did" so "ma3amaltish (ماعملتش)" means "I didn't do." "wala Haaga (ولا حاجة)" of course means "nothing." So he says "I didn't do anything" or maybe more precisely "I swear to God I didn't do nothing."

The chorus:

مش عارف ليه زعلانة مني

"mish 3aarif leh (مش عارف ليه)," "I dunno why." The word "za3laan (زعلان)" means "angry" or "irritated." Here it is the feminine form, "za3laana (زعلانة)" which indicates that he is referring to a girl he is talking about. Thus, the line is "why are you mad at me?"

Next line:

عايز اعرف عني قالوا لك ايه

You know what this sentence means but in case you're having trouble picking it apart reorder it this way: "3aayiz a3raf eh 'aaluu lik 3anni (عايز أعرف ايه قالوا لك عني)" meaning "I wanna know what they told you about me."

Next line:

يوقّعوا بيني وبينك ليه

The verb "wa''a3 (وقّع)" means "to stand." "Why are they standing between us?"

Next part of the chorus:

ياما حاولوا يفرّقوا بينا زمان

Remember the verb "Haawil (حاول)" The verb "farra' (فرّق)" means "to separate" or maybe "to drive apart."

Next line:

اعقلي يا حبيبتي ده كله جنان

The verb "3aqal (عقل)" means to believe. So he says "believe it my darling, this is all crazy."

Next line:

لو الموضوع محتاج حلفان

The word "Hilfaan (حلفان)" is the verbal noun of the verb "Halaf (حلف)" which means "to swear" or "to pledge." So he says "if the matter needs an oath."

Then:

انا والله ما عملتش ولا حاجة

"I swear to God I didn't do anything!"

Here's the verse:

مين في قلبي مين غيرك انتي

Remember the word "ghayr (غير)" meaning other than. So "ghayrik (غيرك)" means "other than you." So, "Who is in my heart, who other than you."

Next line:

دول لا كدابين يا حبيبتي
ولا قلبهم عليكي

"kaddaab (كداب)" means liar. The phrase "'alb 3ala (قلب على)" means "to have someone's interest at heart." "'albi 3aleek (قلبي عليك)" means "I have your interest at heart" or "I care about you," so "'albhum 3aleeki (قلبهم عليكي)" means "They have your interest at heart." Of course put the whole grammar together, and it means "they liars, my darling, and they don't have your interest at heart."

Then repeat the chorus, next verse:

عرفاني انتي وحفظاني وعارفة ان انا افكاري بريئة

The verb "HafaZ (حفظ)" means many things, "to memorize," "to keep, retain," "to protect, preserve," and in this case "to keep an eye on." The adjective "barii' (بريء)" means "innocent." The whole thing means something like "you know me, and you keep an eye on me, and you know that my ideas are innocent."

Next line:

مش عارف ليه ظلماني وليه مش لاقي معاكي طريقة

"Tarii'a (طريقة)" is "a way." "I don't know why you're hurting me or why I can't find a way with you."

والموضوع مش مستاهل

Here's a good word. The verb "istaahil ()" means "to deserve or merit" or "to be worth it." So he says, "this subject has no merit/isn't worth it."

ليه بتخلي الوهم حقيقة

"wahm (وهم)" of course is an "illusion" or "delusion" or "lie/falsehood" and "Ha'ii'a (حقيقة)" is a "truth" or "reality," so they're opposites. He's saying, "Why are you making this lie real?"

واضح قوي انها تلفيقة

"waaDiH (واضح)" here means "it's clear." Remember that "'awii (قوي)" means "very." "talfii'a (تلفيقة)" is a "fabrication."

Final verse:

يا حبيبتي مفيش غيرك في حياتي وحبقى لمين غير ليكي

Understand that? Next line:

معقول صدقتي كلامهم وانا امتى كدبت عليكي

"ma3'uul (معقول)" means "reasonable," but often at the beginning of the sentence it can be a question. So he says, "Did you really believe what they said." The second part "wa ana imta kadabt 3aleeki (وانا امتى كدبت عليكي)" means "when have I lied to you."

Next line:

والموضوع مش مستاهل وانتي ماشفتش حاجة بعنيكي

"mashuftish (ماشفتش)" if we break it apart is comprise of "ma (ما)" "shuft (شفت)" and "-sh (ش)" which as we've learned is a negative past tense verb, this time of the word "shaaf (شاف)," "to see." "You didn't see anything with you own eyes!"

Finally:

انا من امتى ضحكت عليكي

The phrase "min imta (من امتى)" or course means "since when." We know the verb "DiHik (ضحك)" means "to laugh" or "to smile," however, "DiHik 3ala (ضحك على)" is an idiom which means "to cheat," "to deceive," or "to fool." Got it?

Go back and listen again. If you are following along with these songs, you are doing a great job. Believe it or not, we have already covered hundreds of new words and most of the basic grammar points of Egyptian colloquial Arabic. If some of the explanations seemed insufficient in this song or you can't follow all of the lyrics, go back to some previous lessons and review that highlighted vocabulary. Next lesson, Lesson 14: انا مش بعيد

Lesson 14: انا مش بعيد

New Vocabulary

raghm (رغم) - in spite of, despite
saa3itha (ساعتها) - at the same time, at that time, then and there
Taayil (طايل) - getting to, reaching
gaay (جاي) - coming
xaTwa (خطوة) - step, footstep
maw3iid (موعد) pl. mii3aad (ميعاد) - appointment, date, appointed time
gah al-3ayn fi al-3ayn (جه العين في العين) - for one eye to meet another

Su3ub (صُعُب) - to get more difficult
shaaf (شاف) - to see
3azar (عذر) - to excuse and sympathize with, to pardon

After that vocab filled Lesson 13, I thought it was time to do a song that reviews some things you already know. This lesson centers on the song "ana mish ba3iid (انا مش بعيد)" by Medhat Saleh, an Egyptian pop singer of the generation of Amr Diab. The title, which means "I am Not Far," refers to the awkward situation in the song in which the two lovers are estranged from one another despite their close proximity. Take a listen and read along.

انا مش بعيد يا حبيبتي عنك
ده اللي بينا خطوتين
ورغم شوقي وقربي منك
صعب تيجي العين في العين

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى
جاي لك فى ميعادى

ايوة شايفك وانتى لا
بس بكرة هتشوفينى
وتعرفى اننا ليا حق
واكيد ساعتها هتعزرينى

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى
جاي لك فى ميعادى

انا مش سايبك ده انا علشانك
بتغرب واتحدى الدنيا
خليكى يا حبيبتى مكانك
جاى اخدك من الدنيا التانيه

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى

There's some tricky sentences in here, but for the most part the song is very clear. Let's take a look at the first and titular line:

انا مش بعيد يا حبيبتي عنك

You should understand this. If it helps I will reorder it for you like this: "ana mish ba3iid 3annik ya Habiibi (انا مش بعيد عنك يا حبيبي)" "i am not far from you my darling."

ده اللي بينا خطوتين

"xaTwa (خطوة)" is a step, so "xaTwatayn (خطوتين)" means "two steps." Break down this sentence. "This which is between us is two steps." Meaning they are in close proximity of each other.

Next line:

ورغم شوقي وقربي منك

"raghm (رغم)" is a very important word meaing "in spite of." You will also see it in "3ala raghm min (على رغم من)" meaning "despite" and "raghm inn (رغم إن)" meaning "although" or "despite the fact that." Here "raghm shuu'i wa 'urbi minnik (رغم شوقي وقربي منك)" means then, "in spite of my desire and closeness to you."

Last line of the verse:

صعب تيجي العين في العين

Of course we know the word "Sa3ab (صعب)" to mean "hard" or "difficult." At the beginning of the sentence, it takes the meaning of "it's hard." Here we have a little bit of an idiomatic phrase. As we know, the verb "gah (جه)" means "to come." "tiigi al-3ayn (تيجي)" means "the eye comes." However for one eye to come to another eye or "tiigi al-3ayn fi al-3ayn (تيجي العين في العين)" means "the eye comes in the eye" but really "the eye meets the eye" or here in this context "my eye meets yours," so the line could be translated as "it's hard to make our eyes meet."

Here comes the chorus:

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك

Remember the word "'udaam (قدام)" meaning "in front of." The word "Taayil (طايل)" is from the verb "Taal (طال)" which has many meanings. Just know that "Taayil (طايل)" here means "getting to" or maybe "reaching." So he says, "maybe you're in front of me and I'm not getting to you." In keeping with the theme of the song, they are right there with each other but it seems like they are miles apart.

Next line:

بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك

These are all words you know. If you're having trouble understanding, consult the Egyptian Arabic Vocabulary provided on this site.

مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى

First the unclear words. The verb "Su3ub (صُعُب)" means "to become more difficult." So "mahma it3ab wa Tarii'i hayiS3ab (مهما اتعب وطريقي هيصعب)" means 'no matter how tired I get and how hard my road gets." The word "maw3id (موعد)" is "date" or "appointment." The plural is "mii3aad (ميعاد)." "gaay lik fi mii3aadi (جايلك في ميعادي)" means like "I'm coming to you in my appointment" or "I'm coming to you on time," meaning essentially that he will be there when he needs to be.

Next verse:

ايوة شايفك وانتى لا

Might look a little weird, but it just means "yes, I see you and you don't (see me)."

Next line:

بس بكره هتشوفينى

Did you get it?

Here is the continuation of the last line:

وتعرفى اننا ليا حق

"And you'll know I'm right."

Next line:

واكيد ساعتها هتعزرينى

The verb "3azar (عذر)" means "to excuse and sympathize with." "saa3itha (ساعتها)" means something like "at the same time" or "then and there." So the whole thing means, "for sure, then and there, you'll excuse me and sympathize with me," meaning she'll understand and forgive him.

Chorus again, then the final verse:

انا مش سايبك
ده انا علشانك بتغرب واتحدى الدنيا

Remember the word "saab (ساب)" meaning "to leave behind." "3alashaanik (علشانك)" means as we've learned means "for your sake." "itgharrab (اتغرب)" means "to leave one's country or town," literally "to make oneself estranged." "itHadda (اتحدى)" means "to challenge" or "to take on." So, "I'm not leaving you, I'm leaving and taking on the world for you."

The last lines are nothing new for you guys:

خليكى يا حبيبتى مكانك
جاى اخدك من الدنيا التانيه

Understood? Go back an listen again and again to ingrain the chorus into your head, as was done to me once in a Cairo internet cafe (the owner played this song over and over for like a half hour). Maybe this lesson was easy, but the next one is even easier and will show how much progress you've made! Lesson 15: انت معايا