xalliik (خليك) - may you be, let you be, be gamb (جنب) - beside, next to min gheer (من غير) - without ma'darsh (مقدرش) - I can't wa3d (وعد) - promise, pledge shoo' (شوق) pl. ashwaa' (اشواق) - desire, longing Haniyya (حنية) - tenderness, kindness, حنان saaniya (ثانية) - a second (time) yoom (يوم) pl. ayaam (ايام) - day leel (ليل) pl. layaali (ليالي) - night sinna (سنة) pl. siniin (سنين) - year
'adar (قدر) - to be able to kammal (كمّل) - to complete, to go on mala (ملى) - to fill
Before doing this lesson go back and review some of the key words that maybe you overlooked or forgot. Things will start moving fast. Admittedly, Lesson 10 was tough, but this one should be easy by comparison. The singer is current pop star Haytham Shaker and the song is "xalliik gambi (خليك جنبي)," "Be By My Side." Watch, listen, read.
قرب كمان ليا محتاج لحنية الشوق ملى عينيا يا كل ما ليا
ايام بلياليها بحلم تكون فيها بهواك تخليها اجمل سنين عمرى ايام بلياليها بحلم تكون فيها بهواك تخليها اجمل سنين عمرى
It starts out simply enough:
خليك جنبي
The verb "xalla (خلى)" which we learned as "to make" someone a certain way also has the meaning of "let" or "may" in the command form. To explain, "xalliini a3iish (خليني أعيش)" means like "let me live." When you say "xalliik (خليك)" it is kind of like a command but more indirect, meaning like "may you..." Therefore the titular line, "xalliik gambi (خليك جنبي)" means "may you be by my side." Notice how "gamb (جنب)" is the equivalent of Standard Arabic بجانب
احضن هوى قلبي
"Embrace my heart's love."
Next line:
محتاج انا حبك
"maHtaag (محتاج)" is a participle, meaning it is treated like an adjective but has a verbal meaning here. So it means "needing" but has the meaning of "I need." He says "I need your love."
خليك على وعدك
Here is "xalliik (خليك)" again, meaning "may you" or "let you be." "wa3ad (وعد)" means "a promise," so he says something like "may you be (good) on your promise."
Got it now? Ok now for the first verse:
لو تقدر تعيش من غيرى
The verb "'adar (قدر)" means "to be able to. "min gheer (من غير)" means "without." So he says "If you can live with out me."
Next line:
لو تقدر تكمل وحدك
"kammal (كمّل)" means "to finish" but in this case "to go on." "wadHdak (وحدك)" means "by yourself," just as "waHdi (وحدي)" means "by myself." He says, "If you can go on by yourself."
انا مقدرش اعيش لو ثانية
"ma'darsh (مقدرش)" means "I can't." The negation of verbs in Egyptian requires a prefix "ma (ما)" along with the suffix "-sh (ش)." This is true for present and past tense verbs, however verbs carrying the future marker "ح" require only the word "mish (مش)" for negation. The line means "I can't" or rather "I couldn't live if for a second."
Why:
فى الدنيا يا عمرى فى بعدك
"In the world, my life, in your absence."
Another verse:
قرب كمان ليا
"Get a little closer to me."
محتاج لحنية
Know what this means? What if I told you "Haniyya (حنية)" means "tenderness."
الشوق ملى عينيا
"Desire filled my eyes."
يا كل ما ليا
This means "Oh everything I have," but take it to mean "you are everything I have."
Final verse:
ايام بلياليها بحلم تكون فيها
Looks like a weird sentence. "Days with their nights, dreaming of you being in them."
Last line:
بهواك تخليها اجمل سنين عمرى
Remember the verb "xalla (خلى)" meaning "to make something be a certain way." This last line means "With your love you make them the most beautiful years of my lifetime."
lissah (لسه) - still, yet nifsi (نفسي) - I wanna maHtaag (محتاج) - needing 'aadir (قادر) - can, able to shaayil (شايل) - carrying, holding, bearing shaayil min (شايل من) - holding something against someone bas (بس) - but, just, only 'uSaad (قصاد) - before, in front of
Hass (حسّ) - to feel samaH (سمح) - to pardon, to forgive laa'a (لاقى) - to find, to meet Haka (حكى) - to tell, to speak irtaaH (ارتاح) - to be at ease, to be comfortable, to be content, to relax ta3ab (تَعَب) - to tire someone
In the last lesson, we examined the song "laazim a3iish (لازم أعيش)" by Sherine and learned the useful verb "3aayiz (عايز)," meaning "want" and the modal "laazim (لازم)," meaning "gotta" or "must." In this lesson we will learn a useful adverb, "lissa (لسه)," meaning "still," along with another modal "nifsi (نفسي)," meaning "I wanna." The singer of this song is Tamer Hosni, a very popular Egyptian singer who became famous from his duet album with Sherine. The title of the song, "lissa baHibbak (لسه بحبك)," means "I still love you" or "I'm still loving you." The word "lissa (لسه)" means "still," replacing the verb from Standard Arabic "" in this function. "lissa (لسه)" is not conjugated for person, gender or number, so "ana lissa, anti lissa, huwwa lissa" etc.
Listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics below:
تامر حسني - لسه بحبك
لسه بحبك لسه بحسك أنا محتجلك نفسى أضمك
بس أنا قلبى شايل منك مش قادر يسمحك كل ما أجى أصلحك ألاقى قصادى جرحك
حبيبى
نفسى أحكيلك نفسى أشكيلك على اللى تعبنى منك ليك قلت أنا حبعد مش قادر أبعد نفسى أرتاح فى حضن عينيك
The first verse:
لسه بحبك لسه بحسك
Based on what we learned in the last lesson, you should be able to understand this sentence: "lissa baHibbak, lissa baHissak (لسه بحبك لسه بحسك)" means "I still love you, I still feel you." Listen carefully and notice that he is grammatically addressing a male. This is not uncommon in Arabic music for a male to sing to another grammatical male, and should be taken as a gender neutral object rather than thinking the song as any homosexual overtones.
The next line:
أنا محتاجلك نفسى أضمك
"ana maHtaag lak (انا محتاج لك)" means "I need you." "maHtaag (محتاج)" means "needing" or "in need of." "nifsi (نفسي)" of course is the aforementioned modal meaning "I wanna" or "I wish to" do something that you currently aren't or can't. In this case, he says "nifsi aDammak (نفسي أضمك)," "I wanna hold you."
Next line:
بس أنا قلبى شايل منك
The word "bas (بس)" is extremely important in Egyptian Arabic. It means "but" replacing standard Arabic "" and also means in some case "only" or "just." But what? He says "ana 'albi shaayil minnak (انا قلبي شايل منك)." "shaayil (شايل)" takes the same form as "3aayiz (عايز)," and means "carrying" or "holding" or "bearing." However, "shaayil min (شايل من)" someone means to "have a grudge," much like "to hold against" someone in English. So he is saying, "but my heart holds a grudge against you."
This is why:
مش قادر يسمحك
The verb "'aadir (قادر)" is another useful verb. It also takes the same form as "3aayiz (عايز)" and "shaayil (شايل)" as you can see, and means "can." If we know the verb "samaH (سمح)" means "to pardon" or "to forgive," we can see this line means "I can't forgive you."
Why can't he forgive?:
كل ما أجى أصلحك ألاقى قصادى جرحك
"kullima (كلما)" is the same as in Standard Arabic, and means "whenever." If we know the verb "SalaH (صلح)" means "to make good" or "to reconcile," then we understand the sentence as "whenever I come to make good with you." What happens? The verb "laa'a (لاقى)" means "to find" or "to meet." "'uSaad (قصاد)" means "before" or "in front of" so "'uSaadi (قصادي)" means "before me." He finds before him the all-familiar "garH (جرح)," wound, and thus the sentence means "whenever I come to make good with you I find before me you wound," ie "the wound you left."
حبيبي
"Habiibi (حبيبي)" means "my darling" or "my beloved." Learn it.
Next:
نفسى أحكيلك نفسى أشكيلك على اللى تعبنى منك ليك
"nifsi iHkii lak (نفسي احكي لك)" means "I wanna tell you." The verb "Haka (حكى)" means to tell. "nifsi ishkii lak (نفسي اشكي لك)" means "I wanna complain to you." "shaka 3ala (شكى على)" means "to complain about" something. So "3ala illi ta3ibni minnak (على اللي تعبني منك)" means "about that which made me tired of you." All in all he says, "I wanna tell you, I wanna complain to you about that which tired me of you."
And then:
قلت أنا هبعد مش قادر أبعد
Understand? And finally:
نفسى أرتاح فى حضن عينيك
This should be easily understood based on the vocab accumulated thus far. It means "I want to be at ease in the embrace of your eyes." XalaaS! Now you understand everything in this song. Go back and read along as you listen and understand the dilemma that Tamer faces.
From this song you should have learned many important words such as "nifsi (نفسي)," "'aadir (قادر)," and "lissah (لسه)." Review this song and listen to it order to ingrain the structures and pronunciations into your head.
wi-maa-luh (وماله) - so what?, it's fine maali (مالي) - filling maa-li (مالي) - I don't have maa-li (مالي) - what's it to me?, what's wrong with me? gheer (غير) - other than hina (هنا) - here leh? (ليه؟) - why? iHsaas (إحساس) - a feeling aHla (أحلى) - sweetest, prettiest, most wonderful
taah (تاه) - to get lost, to wander, to go astray saab (ساب) - to leave, to quit, to let, to leave alone, to leave behind 'aabal (قابل) - to meet Sadda' (صدّق) - to believe yiswa (يِسوى) - to equal, to be worth as much as, to be worth
In Lesson 6, we talked about "di (دي)" and "dah (ده)" and in this song we'll see a little more in the song "wi-maa-lu (وماله)" by Amr Diab. Of course Amr Diab is among the most famous pop stars in the Arab world and has been for almost 20 years. He is the biggest name in Egyptian music after the classic singers like Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez and Mohamed Abdel Wahhab. The phrase "wi-maa-lu (وماله)" is idiomatic but very important. Those who has studied Standard Arabic know that "maa (ما)" means "what?" "maa l- (ما ل)" in Egyptian Arabic means "what's with" or "what's wrong with x." So "maa-lak (مالك)" means like "what's with you?" or "what's wrong with you?" Or "maa li-l-3arabiyya di (ما للعربية دي)" means "what's wrong with this car?" or "what's up with this car?" So you can see the meaning this phrase gives. The phrase "wi-maa-lu ()" by itself means "so what?" or "it's OK, it's fine," if you literally translate it as "and what's wrong with it," you can see how it has this meaning.
Listen to the song, read the lyrics and getting a feeling for what Amr Diab is saying:
وماله لو ليلة تهنا بعيد .. وسبنا كل الناس أنا يا حبيبي حاسس بحب جديد .. ماليني ده الإحساس وانا هنا جنبي أغلي الناس .. أنا جنبي أحلي الناس
حبيبي ليلة تعالي ننسى فيها اللي راح تعالي جوه حضني و ارتاح دي ليلة تسوي كل الحياة
مالي غيرك ولولا حبك هعيش لمين حبيبي جاية أجمل سنين وكل ما ده تحلى الحياة
حبيبي المس إيديا عشان أصدّق اللي أنا فيه ياما كان نفسي أقابلك بقالي زمان خلاص وهحلم ليه؟ مانا هنا جنبي أغلي الناس .. هنا جنبي أحلي الناس
So did you understand the song. There's a few new words but most of it is the same old. Let's see the first line:
وماله لو ليلة تهنا بعيد وسبنا كل الناس
"tuhna (تهنا)" is from the Egyptian colloquial verb "taah (تاه)," "to get lost," "to go astray," or "to let one's mind wander." So he says "so what" or "what's the big deal if one night we get lost far away." "saab (ساب)" is also colloquial, meaning "to leave" and is used in many cases. Learn it.
أنا يا حبيبي حاسس بحب جديد ماليني ده الإحساس
"I feel a new love darling." "maaali (مالي)" means "filling" from the verb "mala (ملى)" and should not be confused with "maa-li (مالي)" which means "what's with me?" or "what's it to me?!" They sound the same so you just have to differentiate from context. "iHsaas (احساس)" as you can probably guess is a feeling. So he is full of this feeling.
وانا هنا جنبي أغلي الناس .. أنا جنبي أحلي الناس
"hina (هِنا)" is the same as Standard Arabic "هنا" meaing "here," although the pronunciation is different. As you know "aHla (أحلى)" means "sweetest," but in colloquial is also "prettiest" or "most wonderful," this kind of sense. We know "gambi (جمبي)" already. What do you think "aghla (أغلى)" and "aHla al-naas (أحلى الناس)" means exactly?
Now for the chorus:
حبيبي ليلة تعالي ننسى فيها اللي راح
This is all words we know. Do you see how "fii-ha (فيها)" refers to "layla (ليلة)?" "illi raaH (اللي راح)" means "that which is gone" or in this case "that which was."
تعالي جوه حضني و ارتاح
You know this line too. Remember, if you've forgotten some vocabulary already to use the Egyptian Arabic Vocabulary on this site.
Next line:
دي ليلة تسوي كل الحياة
The verb "yiswa (يِسوى)" or "tiswa (تِسوى)" is usually only used in the present tense. It means "to equal" or "to be worth" or "to have the worth of." So "this is a night worth a whole life" or something along these lines.
Next stanza;
مالي غيرك ولولا حبك هعيش لمين
Haha now I know you will be confused or angry, but here "maa-li (مالي)" means "I don't have." This is the meaning you would have most likely thought of using Standard Arabic. "gheerak (غيرك)" means "other than you." You'll see more about "gheer (غير)" for sure. "lowla (لولا)" means "if not for" and "miin (مين)" means "who?" like Standard Arabic "مَن." So the line is "if not for your love, who would I live for?"
حبيبي جاية أجمل سنين
Understood?
Next line:
وكل ما ده تحلى الحياة
"kullima-dah (كل ما ده)" means like "all the while." The verb "Hala (حَلى)" means "to make sweet" or "to sweeten," not to be confused with "Hili (حِلى)," which means "to be sweet, pleasing."
Final verse:
حبيبي المس إيديا عشان أصدّق اللي أنا فيه
Remember "iideeya (ايديا)?" It means "my hands." "3ashaan (عشان)" in this case means "so that" or "in order that." The verb "Sadda' (صدّق)" is the same as in Standard Arabic, "to believe." Can you get the meaning now?
ياما كان نفسي أقابلك
"Oh how I wish to meet you." All words we've learned. What's next?:
بقالي زمان خلاص وهحلم ليه؟
"ba'aa-li zamaan (بقالي)" means something like "time happened to me" or "I got time" but you can infer it means that he's been waiting a long time. "leh? (ليه؟)" means "why?" So "that's it, why should I dream?" He wants to stop dreaming and have what he's always wanted.
Final line:
مانا هنا جنبي أغلي الناس .. هنا جنبي أحلي الناس
See that "ma-ana (مانا)" for emphasis?
Go back and listen to the song again. It's an easy one, and a slow one, and I think you'll be happy with the level of comprehension you now have. Of course everything is clear when you've just done it, but it's important to retain info as well. Go back and listen to some of the earlier lesson with and without lyrics to see what you understand and review some of the words you may have forgotten.
imta (امتى) - when? yalli (يللي) - you are the one who... saami3 (سامع) - hearing, hear, listening ghaltaan (غلطان) - mistaken, wrong kalaam (كلام) - words, talk, speech xaali (خالي) - empty Haal (حال) - condition, situation, self xayaal (خيال) - imagination hamm (همّ) pl. humuum (هموم) - worry, anxiety, sorrow damm (دمّ) - blood
fiDil (فِضِل) - to remain, to stay, to continue, to be left, to keep on xalla (خلّى) - to make (something/someone) do/be, to let sa'al (سأل) - to ask sa'al fi (سأل في) - to have concern for, to give a damn about sharaH (شرح) - to explain, to elucidate shaaf (شاف) - to see xaaf (خاف) - to fear, to be afraid, to be scared 3aTaf 3ala (عطف على) - to sympathize with xabba (خبّى) - to hide, to conceal
In Lesson 8, we found Nancy Ajram, a Lebanese pop star, singing in perfect Egyptian Arabic. In this lesson we find another non-Egyptian star, albeit a much older one, singing in the Egyptian dialect once again. Asmahan was one of the most prominent singers in Cairo during the 1930 and 1940s and was a contemporary of Oum Kalthoum. She was actually a Druze "princess;" her father had been a governor in the late Ottoman Empire. While her family was from the Druze regions of Lebanon and Syria, Asmahan moved to Cairo with her mother when she was young and eventually became a one of the most famous singers. Her real name was Amal al-Atrash and she was the sister of famous musician Farid al-Atrash. Her story is especially famous because she died very young in a mysterious car crash in 1944, similar to Princess Diana. Conspiracy theories swirl about this event because it is alleged she may have been assassinated because of ties with the Allied forces as a member of a prestigious Druze family.
Anyway, this song is from her last movie entitled "gharaam wa intiqaam (غرام وانتقام)" meaning "Passion and Revenge." She died before the taping finished. The song is called, "imta hat3arif (امتى حتعرف)," "When will you know?" Listen and read along before we dive in. Don't pay attention to the French subtitles. They aren't wrong per se, but they are not very literal and won't help you learn.
فضلت اخبّي حبك، حبك بقلبي حبّك فضلت أخبّي وصبّره وواسيه والنار بترعى فيه وخفت أقللك على حالي واشرح لك حبي ليكون فؤادك مش خالي وتعذّب قلبي يللي غرامك في خيالي وبروحي ودمي
خلتني أحبك واتمنى قربك اسعدني يوم بلقاك ترحمني فيه برضاك وتدوق غرامي اللي شرحته أنا لك بعينيّ ليكون فؤادك مش خالي وتعذّب قلبي يللي غرامك في خيالي وبروحي ودمي
There's a lot of words here but it's not too difficult. Take a look:
This chorus is easy enough. "imta (امتى)" is the interrogative word for "when" in Egyptian Arabic. It might seem different but is only a slight vowel shift from Standard Arabic "متى." "imta hata3rif inni bahibbak (امتى حتعرف إني بحبك)" means "when will you know that I love you." Notice the word "inn (إنّ)" means "that" just like in Standard Arabic, with the "ni (ني)" suffixed to indicate the pronoun "I."
Before the verses we get a nice little exchange from the two gentleman watching. The man in the tarboush or fez is not speaking in Egyptian dialect, more like Lebanese, but just look what he says it's not very different.
(سامع؟.. الكلام إلك يا جارة)
"saami3 (سامع)" means "hearing," so here it means "you hear?" The next line is a very nice idiom. "al-kalaam ilik ya gaara (الكلام إلك يا جارة)" literally means "those words are for you, neighbor." You may notice "gaara (جارة)" is feminine. This is just because it is part of this set idiom. What the idiom is used for exactly is when speech is addressed to one person or an audience but is actually intended to be overheard by someone else, such is in this case where Asmahan is singing for an audience but according to the man in the fez, is actually intending the words for that other man. It's like he says, "You hear that? She's talking to you man." That's a lot of explanation but it's worth it!
what does he respond?:
إنتّ بتكلمني؟
"Are you talking to me?"
And the likewise response:
نعم؟.. لأ!.. غلطان يا بيي.. عمقروِش.. بحكي على حالي
Obviously he is confused that the young man could be so dense. "ghalTaan (غلطان)" means mistaken. "beey (بيي)" is an old Ottoman Turkish title left over in the dialect that just kind of means "sir." It is becoming less and less commonly used however still exists. So he says, "no I made a mistake, sir." Don't worry about "3amqarwish (عمقروش)" it means "I'm muttering." But learn "baHki 3ala Haali (بحكي على حالي)" which means "I'm talking to myself."
Alright now let's see the verse:
بناجي طيفك واتمنى أشوفك
The verb "naaga (ناجى)" means "to speak to someone affectionately and softly," like you would to a lover or an intimately close friend. The word "Teef (طيف)" means a "specter" or "apparition" or "image," in this case probably in her head since her lover we should assume is not dead. You got the other half right?
Next line:
لا يوم عطفت عليّ ولا انت سائل فيَّ
"la yawm (لا يوم)" literally means "not a day" but we can take it to mean "never." The verb "3aTaf 3ala (عطف على)" means "to show sympathy for." "saa'il (سائل)" of course is the verbal noun of the verb "sa'al (سأل)" meaning "to ask." Coupled with the preposition "fi (في)," it takes on the meaning "to be concerned about" or in the negative sense we might say "to give a damn about." So she says, "you've never shown any sympathy for me, nor do you give a damn about me about me." Notice how the "la... wala (لا...ولا)" combo means "neither...nor."
Next line:
ولإمتى حَتحيّر بالي وتزوّد همّي
"li-imta (لإمتى)" means "until when?" or "how long?" The verb "Hayyar (حيّر)" means "to confuse." "baal (بال)" are "thoughts" or "the mind" etc. "zawwad (زوّد)" means "to increase," and finally "hamm (هم)" means "concern" or "worry" or "sorrow" or "anxiety." With the vocab do you get the sentence?
The big line:
يللي غرامك في خيالي وبروحي ودمي
We can see "yalli (يللي)" is comprised of "ya (يا)" and "illi (اللي)." literally it means "you are the one who..." or "oh, you who..." Who is he the one that what? "gharaamak fi xayaali wa bi-ruuHi wa dammi (غرامك في خيالي وبروحي ودمي)" means "your passion is in my imagination, my soul and my blood." Notice how "damm (دمّ)" meaning "blood" rhymes nicely with "hamm (همّ)."
If you don't get it all don't worry. Just know "fahmaan (فهمان)" means the same thing as "faahim (فاهم)," "understanding" like "I'm understanding" or "I understand." This "-aan (ان)" suffix is often an alternative to the "3aamil (عامل)" form we see in words like "3aayiz (عايز)" commonly.
Next verse:
فضلت اخبّي حبك، حبك بقلبي حبّك
The verb "fiDil (فضل)" means "to remain" or "to stay" or "to be left" and is extremely important in Egyptian Arabic. With another verb it carries the meaning of "to continue" or "to go on" or "to keep doing." The verb "xabba (خبى)" means "to hide." Notice how she is saying "fiDilt axabbi Hubbak (فضلت أخبّي حبك)" which means "I kept hiding your love." By "Hubbak (حبك)," "your love," it actually means "my love for you" or "the loving of you" if you want to look at it that way. This won't always be the case, but context should dissolve the ambiguity in most cases. Now it makes more sense right?
Next line:
واصبّره واواسيه والنار بترعى فيه
"Sabbar (صبّر)" means "to give patience to" or "to help to be patient" and "waasa (واسى)" means "to console." So she says "I helped it be patient and consoled it," it referring to aforementioned heart. Don't worry about that second half. It means "but fire grew in it" or something along these lines.
Next line:
وخفت أقللك على حالي واشرح لك حبي
The verb "xaaf (خاف)" means "to fear" or "to be afraid" just like in Standard Arabic. The verb "sharaH (شرح)" means "to explain" or "to elucidate" in Egyptian dialect. Do you get the sentence? "I was afraid to tell you about my condition and explain my love to you."
ليكون فؤادك مش خالي وتعذّب قلبي
This is hard. It just means something like "lest your heart not be empty and my heart suffer." Notice the two different words "fu'aad (فؤاد)" and "'alb (قلب)" for heart. By saying she is afraid his heart is not empty, that means she's afraid he might be in love with someone else.
Now I think it's become apparent who she's singing to as she moves across the room. Looks like our mustached guy was right. Final verse shall we?:
خلّتني أحبك واتمنى قربك
The verb "xalla (خلى)" means "to make someone or something" or "to let someone or something something." So she says "you made me love you." Here understand "'urb (قرب)" which means "closeness." "atmanna 'urbak (اتمنى قربك)" means "I wish to be close to you."
اسعدني يوم بلقاك
"is3adni (اسعدني)" is a good word, meaning "give me the pleasure." The verb "sa3ad (سعد)" means "to make happy" or "to bestow with the fortune of something" etc. "bi-luqaak (بلقاك)" means "in your presence." So "give me the pleasure of a day in your presence."
ترحمني فيه برضاك
Don't worry about it. She's saying 'have pity on me' more or less.
Next line:
وتدوق غرامي اللي شرحته
The verb "daa' (داق)" means "to taste." So she says, "taste my passion which I have explained."
Final new line:
أنا لك بعينيّ
Understood? "I'm yours with my eyes." I guess this means like "I'm all yours" or something along these lines.
That song has a lot of vocabulary, but now you should be pretty comfortable with most of the new words. Go back and listen again. I guarantee you'll never forget "imta" again!
And if you want to learn how to say you'll never do other things again, click here for Lesson 10: توبة.
al-xeer (الخير) - goodness, good, wellness al-farHa (الفرحة) - joy, happiness ya3ni (يعني) - it means, I mean, you know, like (filler) eh ya3ni? (ايه يعني؟) - so what? 3ashaan (عشان) - because, because of, in order to, for the sake of 3alashaan (علشان) - variant of yaama (ياما) - so often!, so much! maa been (ما بين) - between, in between hawa (هوا) - love
itmanna (اتمنّى) - to wish, to hope for faat (فات) - to pass iftikir (افتكر) - to remember, to think it'aabil (اتقابل) - to meet, to run into each other, to make acquaintance
In the last lesson using the song "lissah baHibbak (لسه بحبك)" by Tamer Hosni, we learned, among many things, to say that one is holding a grudge "shaayil min (شايل من)" someone. In this lesson featuring the song "hatmanna lu al-xeer (هتمنّاله الخير)" by Angham, you will certainly find a different sentiment." You guys are really accumulating some knowledge now, so I will be providing less and less explanation, allowing you to do your own reflection on and comprehension of the lyrics.
The title, "hatmanna lu al-xeer (هتمناله الخير)" can be translated as "I will wish him well," using the verb "itmanna (اتمنى)." "al-xeer (الخير)" is "goodness" or "good" or "wellness."
Listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics:
المتصفح الذي لديك لايدعم مشغل الأغاني. دبر حالك و روح نزل البرنامج أو .<A HREF="http://song.6arab.com/angham_Atmannalo-El-Kheer.rm">اضغط هنا</A> لسماع الأغنية.
هاتمناله الخير .. إيه يعنى يفوتنى و ينسانى مهو ياما إتحمل علشانى .. مهو ياما كان قلبه عليا
هاتمناله الخير .. مهو قبل ما يجرحنى داوانى كان عمرى و كان هو زمانى .. كان قلبى و روحى و عنيا
هفتكرله حجات كتير كانت ما بينا هافتكر .. أيام هوانا .. والخطاوى اللى فى طريقنا لما كنا .. بنقسم الفرحه فى عيونا هافتكرله حجات كتير .. حتمناله الخير
هاتمناله الخير من قلبى .. علشان يستاهل دنا هتمنى تلف الدنيا تانى .. تانى و نتقابل
Get anything? Alright, let's get right to it:
هاتمناله الخير .. إيه يعنى يفوتنى و ينسانى
The phrase "eh ya3ni (ايه يعني)" is incredibly useful. "ya3ni (يعني)" is a common Arabic filler word that means literally "it means." The phrase "eh ya3ni (ايه يعني)" means "so what?" in English. "yafuutni (يفوتني)" uses the verb "faat (فات)," "to pass," but in this case to pass by or leave. So the whole sentence is "I will wish him well, so what if he's leaving me and forgetting me?"
ماهو ياما إتحمل علشانى
"maahu (ماهو)" is a tough but important aspect of Egyptian Arabic. "ma (ما)" is often used to add emphasis in various ways. For "maahu (ماهو)," it's something along the lines of "the fact is," or "but he's!" or something along those lines. It does not change the meaning of the sentence much, but adds a certain feeling in the way that our tone often adds feeling in Egnlish. "yaama (ياما)" also is used for adding emphasis. It is usually used with verbs and means like "oh how much!," "oh how often!," or "oh how great!" the verb "ittHammal (اتحمّل)" means "to bear" or "to endure." "3alashaan ()" is an essential Egyptian Arabic word that means "because," "in order to" or "for" in some contexts. "3alashaani (علشاني)" of course means "because of me" or "for me." How do we translate the sentence? Something like "but you know he's endured so much for my sake!"
Next line:
ماهو ياما كان قلبه عليا
Try to get the meaning from this best you can.
And the next one:
هاتمناله الخير .. ماهو قبل ما يجرحنى داوانى
You might be starting to understand. "'abl ma (قبل ما)" means before and is used before a verb. the verb "daawa (داوى)" means "to cure." So "before hurting me, he healed me." Get it? He made her life better before he made it worse, so why would she wish ill upon him?
Next line doesn't have much:
كان عمرى و كان هو زمانى .. كان قلبى و روحى و عينيا
"kaan (كان)" we know means "he was." These are pretty much just terms of endearments used to expressed how important someone is to you. Most of them should be known
And what's next?:
هفتكرله حجات كتير كانت ما بينا
The verb "iftikir (افتكر)" means "to remember" or "to think." "lu (له)" of course means for him, just like in Standard Arabic. "ma been (ما بين)" means "between or "in between" like the word "been (بين)." Put it together: "I'll remember for him there were many things between us."
Next line:
هافتكر .. أيام هوانا .. والخطاوى اللى فى طريقنا
"hawa (هوانا)" is another word for love. "xaTaawi (خطاوي)" is the plural of the word "xatwa (خطوة)," meaning "footstep." So she will remember "the days of our love and the steps in our path." See how "illi (اللي)" is being used here?
Some new vocab in the next line:
لما كنا بنقسم الفرحه فى عيونا
Remember "lamma (لما)" which means "when" in a non-interrogative sense. "inqasam (انقسم)" means "to share" and "al-farHa (الفرحة)" is a word for "joy" or "happiness." Sooo, "when we were sharing joy in our eyes."
Nothing new here:
هافتكرله حجات كتير .. هتمناله الخير
Understand?
Let's keep going:
هاتمناله الخير من قلبى
Remember what "'albi (قلبي)" means?" If not, click to the dictionary in the right hand column.
And why does she?:
علشان يستاهل
Here's the word "3alashaan (علشان)" again. So it means, "because he deserves it."
Following that:
دنا هتمنى تلف الدنيا تانى
"dana (دنا)" is tricky. For now just know it means the same thing as "ana (انا)." This time "hatmanna (هتمنى)" must be translated as "I would hope" rather than "I will" because it is hypothetical as we will see. There is no real word to distinguish "will from "would" in all cases so just use judgment. "laff (لفّ)" means "to turn" or "to turn around." However "al-dunya bitliff (الدنيا بتلفّ)" is a proverbial sentence "things are always changing" and "it's a small world." So what she means here is that she hopes things will change or come around again (تاني).
So what will happen when that happens?:
ونتقابل
The verb "it'aabil (اتقابل)" means "to meet together" or "to run into one another" or "to make each other's acquaintance." Point is, she would give it all a second try.
By now we are finding less and less familiar words. Go back and listen again to see if you can really hear all the words she's saying and feel what she means when she says "maahu"
ما فهمت كل حاجة؟ ايه يعني!؟ معلهش
You will continue to improve. Remember the important new words "ya3ni (يعني)" and "3ashaan (عشان)" and "iftikir (افتكر)."
laazim (لازم) - must, gotta, it is necessary that 3ayza (عايزا) - I, you, she wants (female) baHibb (بحب) - I love, I'd like to 'awiy (أوي) - very, a lot Haaga (حاجة) - thing 'albi (قلبي) - my heart garH (جرح) - wound akiid (أكيد) - for sure, certainly al-dunya (الدنيا) - the world, everyone aywah (أيوه) - yes, yeah ha (ه or ح) - future tense marker, will b- (ب) - present tense marker
masha (مشى) - to leave, to go, to walk 3aash (عاش) - to live istana (استنى) - to wait for, to await
In the last lesson we examined the song "ma xalaaS (ما خلاص)" by Samira Said, and we learned many new basics of Egyptian Arabic. So now that we know a few things about Egyptian Arabic, the different prefixes for verbs, the differences in pronunciation and some different vocabulary, let's see how easy it is to understand another song. The following song is by Sherine Ahmed, who is possibly the most prominent Egyptian female pop artist currently. This song is entitled "laazim a3iish (لازم أعيش)" which means "I gotta live." We know that in Standard Arabic to say that something is necessary we may use the phrase "من اللازم" and this is the same in principle. However, it is much simpler; to communicate the meaning of something being necessary one must just say "laazim (لازم) ..."
Listen to and watch the video and read the lyrics below it:
عايزة حبك يبعد عني عايزة جرحك يخرج مني عايزة حبك يبعد عني عايزة جرحك يخرج مني
لازم أعلم قلبي أنا يقسا ولازم ينسا ولازم أعيييش
كنت بعيشلك كل سنيني قلت زماني هعيشه معاك كنت بحبك أوي ياحبيبي لما بتبعد بستناك
كنت بحس معاك حجات تانية كنت ف عيني كل الدنيا كنت بحس معاك حجات تانية كنت ف عيني كل الدنيا
لازم أعلم قلبي انا يقسا ولازم ينسا ولازم أعيييش
The first verse:
عايزة ألملم قلبي وأحضن نفسي وأمشي بعيد
Once again, we can see this song begins with the familiar word "3ayza (عايزة)," meaning to want. What does she want to do? The verb "lamlam (لملم)" means to "pack up" or "gather up". Don't worry about learning this, just know that she says "alamlim 'albi (الملم قلبي)." "'albi (قلبي)" is the familiar Standard Arabic word "qalbi (قلبي)," which means my heart, only the "qaff (ق)" is pronounced as a "hamza (ء)." So she says she wants to "pack up her heart" and what else? The verb "HaDan (حضن)" mean to embrace. Again don't worry about this for now, just see that she says "aHDan nafsi (نفسي)," which means "embrace myself" or embrace "my soul." "nafs (نفس)" has both of these connotations. Finally she says "wa amshi ba3iid (وامشي بعيد)." We know from standard Arabic that the verb "masha (مشى)" means to walk. This is true in colloquial Arabic as well, but actually it also means "to go" or "to leave." So here she is saying she wants to "go far away." All in all, she says "I wanna gather up my heart, embrace my soul, and go far away" giving us a pretty clear image of what she wants to do.
What's next?:
عايزة أطيب جرحي أيوة هطيب جرحي أكيد
"aTayyab garHi (أطيب جرحي)" means "I heal my wound," which makes sense since "Tayyib (طيب)" means "good" or "fine." Next she says "aywah (أيوه)," which in Egyptian Arabic means "yes" or "yeah," taking the place of Standard Arabic "(نعم)." "haTayyib garHi akiid (هطيب جرحي أكيد)" is the future tense of course: "I will heal my wound for sure." "akiid (أكيد)" means "for sure" or certainly and is a useful piece of vocabulary. So the whole line means, "I want to heal my wound, yes, I will heal my wound for sure."
Already it's getting easier. Here's the next line:
عايزة حبك يبعد عني عايزة جرحك يخرج مني
This line is pretty easy to understand. See if you can figure it out. Remember that the verb "ba3ad 3an (بعد عن)" means "to get far from."
Here comes the chorus:
لازم أعلم قلبي أنا يقسا ولازم ينسا ولازم أعيش
We've already established that "laazim (لازم)" means "must" or "gotta," so we know that "laazim a3allam 'albi (لازم أعلم قلبي)" means "gotta teach my heart." Here she says "teach my heart to be tough." The verb "'asa (قسى)" means "to be cruel" or "to be hard" or "to be tough." So "a3allam 'albi yi'sa (أعلم قلبي يقسى)" means "teach my heart to be tough." Next we see "laazim yansa (لازم ينسى)," meaing "it must forget," we assume referring to her heart as an extension of herself. And finally, "laazim a3iish (لازم أعيش)," "I gotta live." So the chorus is "Gotta teach my heart to be tough, and it's gotta forget, and I gotta live!"
One more verse to go:
كنت بعيشلك كل سنيني
Here we have the past progressive used again. "kunt ba3iish lak (كنت بعيش لك)," "I was living for you." "kull siniini (كل سنيني)," means "all my years." "siniin (سنين)" is the equivalent of Standard Arabic "سنوات". So the sentence means "I was living all my years for you."
Next:
قلت زماني هعيشه معاك
"'ult (قلت)" is of course the Egyptian pronunciation of "," "I said." "zamaani ha3iishuh ma3aak (زماني هعيشه معاك)" shouldn't be hard to understand, if but a little idiomatic. Sherine "topicalizes" "zamaani (زماني)," "my time," when it is actually the object of the sentence. So "zamaani ha3iishuh (زماني هعيشه)" means "my time, I will live it." Thus, the whole sentence is "I said that my time, I will live it with you."
Almost there:
كنت بحبك أوي ياحبيبي لما بتبعد بستناك
"kunt baHibbak (كنت بحبك)" of course means "I was loving you." If you haven't yet memorized "baHibb (بحب)," it is helpful to do so, because it means not just "I love" but "I'd like" as in "I'd like to have something to drink." The word "awiy (أوي)" is certainly Egyptian colloquial although it has roots in Standard Arabic. "awiy (أوي)" is the Egyptian pronunciation of Standard Arabic "qawiyy (قوي)," meaning "strong," but in colloquial it simply means "a lot" or "very," like the Standard Arabic "جداً." So she says "I loved you a lot, my darling." The second half of the sentence should still be seen as in the past because of "kunt (كنت)." She says "lama bitab3ad (لما بتبعد)" it means "when you were going far away." "lama (لما)" means when, but not as a question, and takes the place of Standard Arabic "عندما." After that she says "bastanaak (بستناك)." The verb "istana (استنى)" exists in Standard Arabic as well, meaning "to wait for," however, in Standard Arabic the verb "انتظر" and is absent in colloquial. The whole line, "when you were going away, I was waiting for you."
What else was she doing?:
كنت بحس معاك حجات تانية
The verb "Hass (حسّ)" in Egyptian Arabic means "to feel." There is no verb "شعر" like in Standard Arabic. "Haaga (حاجة)" in Egyptian Arabic does not mean "a need," but rather "a thing." The Standard Arabic word "شيء" has been replaced by "Haaga (حاجة)" completely. "Haagaat taaniyya (حاجات تانية)" then of course means "second things" or in this case "other things." So if the sentence means "I was feeling with you other things," we can say it is about equivalent to the English expression "I felt with you things I never felt before."
The last line:
كنت ف عيني كل الدنيا
Here there is a slight problem of context, but nothing that cannot be resolved. "kunt (كنت)" could mean "I was" or "you were," so we must look at the rest of the sentence to come to a conclusion. We see "fi 3ayni (في عيني)," which of course just means "in my eye" and "kull al-dunya (كل الدنيا)," which means "the whole world." The word "عالم" for "world" is not nearly as common as "dunya (دنيا)" in Egyptian Arabic. From this information, we can infer that "kunt fi 3ayni kull al-dunya (كنت في عيني كل الدنيا)" means "you were the whole world in my eyes."
Listen to the song again and read along to see how much you understand. You may be surprised at how much easier it is to understand now that you are equipped with some basic information. By now, you should be familiar with the essential pronunciation differences of Egyptian Arabic, as well as the way verbs are conjugated. Make sure to keep a list of all the important vocabulary differences. And remember:
لو عايزين تتعلموا لازم تسمعوا المسيقى كتير! هتفهموا كل حاجة في يوم اكيد! يالله تعالوا لأغنية تانية
xalaaS (خلاص) - that's it 3aayiz (عايز) - want faakir (فاكر) - remembering taani (تاني) - again, another bit'uul (بتقول) - you say bititkallim (بتتكلّم) - to talk eh (ايه) - what? mish (مش) - not illi (اللي) - which, that, that which
gah (جه) - to come gaab (جاب) - to bring ba3ad (بعد) - to get far away, to go away nasa (نسى) - to forget ba'a (بقى) - to be, to become, to get 3amal (عمل) - to do
For those who are familiar with Standard Arabic or a dialect of Arabic other than Egyptian, this song is ideal for illustrating many of the basic aspects of Egyptian Arabic that can be challenging if you have no experience with the dialect. However, if you learn a few basic points about Egyptian colloquial you will find that is it not so different from the version of Arabic that you know.
Pop music is one of the portals to the world of spoken Arabic. Music of the Arabic-speaking world is typically sung in dialects as opposed to Standard Arabic, and many singers regardless of origin sing in Egyptian dialect of Cairo due to the size of the Egyptian market and the relative familiarity that people have with this dialect. The song "ma xalaaS (ما خلاص)" by Samira Said is a case in point. Samira Said was born in Morocco but has since moved to Egypt to become one of the more successful pop artists in the Arab world today. The song's title, "ma xalaaS (ما خلاص)," contains the very common word "xalaaS (خلاص)," which means "that's it," or "it's over." It has both the connotations as "that's all" and "it's done" just like the phrase "that's it" in English. This word is not explicitly Egyptian but can be found much more in colloquial speech because saying "that's it" is a very idiomatic aspect of speech not found in written Arabic. The "ما" adds emphasis to the phrase to the effect of "it's soooo over" or something along those lines.
Listen to the song and enjoy this video. The complete lyrics are listed below the video:
سميرة سعيد - ما خلاص
ما خلاص عايز ايه منى ايه ابعد بقى عنى ايه حاول تفهمنى الماضى خلاص انساه
ما خلاص ايه جابك تانى ايه ارتاح وانسانى ايه واللى هييجى منك والله مانيش عايزاه
بتقول انا كنت زمان بهواك بصراحه انا مش فاكراك وبتتكلم عن ايه
يا سلام بتحايل في ايه وبتحلم بي ليه لا اهدى شويه ده خيالك راح لبعيد
وبلاش يخطر على بالك لا ان انا راجعالك لا ما تشوف بقى حالك ده كلامك مش هيفيد
انت اللى بالبعد بادى ودلوقتى عادى انى اقسى عليك كل اللى هاين علي تشوفك عيني ولا تحن ليك
Even if you have lots of Arabic knowledge, you may not have understood much if you are unfamiliar with the Egyptian dialect. Don't worry, there are only some minor differences that interfere with your understanding of the song. Here I will explain line by line the first verse of the song and the chorus. The first line is as follows:
ما خلاص عايز ايه منى
The word "3aayiz (عايز)" follows the familiar pattern of (فاعل) from Standard Arabic, thus making it a kind of active participle carrying the meaning of a present tense verb in this case. So "3aayiz (عايز)" means "wanting," which depending on the context could be "I want," "you want," or "he wants." It takes the place of the standard Arabic verb "أراد," which does not exist as such in Egyptian Arabic. The word "eh (ايه)" is Egyptian for "what," taking the place of both "ما" and "ماذا" from Standard Arabic. As you can see the question word "eh" follows the verb "3aayiz" instead of preceding it. This is a particular characteristic of Egyptian Arabic; the question word almost always is found after the verb and usually at the end of the sentence. From context we infer that the phrase "3aayiz eh? (عايز ايه؟)" means "what do you want?" The last word of the sentence "minni (منى)" is the same as Standard Arabic "from me," but the reader may be confused to see a "ى" in place of the "ي." This is usually the case at the end of the word in Egyptian Arabic so you just have to get used to it. In all, the first sentence means "it's over, what do you want from me?" This may seem to be a lot of explaining for just one line of a song, but it's already illustrated several essential basics of Egyptian Arabic.
If we move to the next line:
ابعد بقى عنى
We find the word "ib3ad (ابعد)" meaning "get away!" or literally "go farther away." The next word "ba'a (بقى)" may sound strange, but actually it is the same word as the Standard Arabic verb "بقي" which means "to remain" or "to stay." The pronunciation is different because in Egyptian Arabic the "qaaf (ق)" is usually pronounced as a glottal stop, the equivalent of "hamza (ء)" in Standard Arabic. While the verb retains some aspect of its meaning "to remain," it is much more versatile and idiomatic in colloquial, taking on the connotations sometimes of the verb "to get" like "get away!" or also the verb "to be." Here it comes as a command, coupled with the verb "ib3ad 3anni (ابعد عني)" with the general meaning of "get away from me." "ba'a" is not easy to translate in Egyptian Arabic but know that it has the general connotations of "to be" but not always in the same sense.
The next line:
حاول تفهمنى الماضى خلاص انساه
Should not be terribly difficult for the Standard Arabic knower. "Haawal (حاول)" is the command "try" and "tifhamni (تفهمني)" means "you understand me," altogether meaning "try to understand me." Notice that the verbs are not bridged by the connector word "an (أنْ)" as in Standard Arabic. This word does not exist in colloquial and is not necessary. "al-maaDi xalaaS insaah (الماضي خلاص انساه) of course means "the past is over, forget it." Pay attention to the pronunciation of "insaah" and note the the direct object particle for "it" has no vowel after it. In colloquial all case markings have been dropped from words so they are not pronounced.
The following line:
ما خلاص ايه جابك تانى
May appear strange but is actually not very different from the basic standard Arabic that any beginner would know. The verb "gaabak (جابك)" is comprised of the verb "gaab (جاب)" and the direct object marker for you (masculine) "ak (ك)." For you (feminine) the marker would be "ik." Notice that in Egyptian dialect the "jiim (ج)" is pronounced as an English "g" sound. This is always the case, except for in a select few verbs imported from other languages containing a "j" sound. So the verb "gaab (جاب)" actually comes from the Standard Arabic "جاء ب" meaning to "come with" but really "to bring." When she says "eh gaabak? (ايه جابك؟)," we can now say that this means "what brought you?" "taani (تاني)" is the same as Standard Arabic "ثاني" meaning "second." The "thaa (ث)" is not pronounced in Egyptian Arabic. It usually becomes a "ta" in common words or older words, but newer words re-imported from standard or the outside usually us the "sa" pronunciation in place of "tha." "taani (تاني)" has many meanings in colloquial including "second," but in this case it means again. Hence, the line means "what brought you (to me or here) again?"
The next line is fairly straighforward:
ارتاح وانسانى
"irtaaH (ارتاح)" is a very common verb in Egyptian colloquial meaning "to be comfortable" or "to be at ease" or "to relax" or "to be content," maybe even "to take it easy" in the sense of "to calm down." Here she commands her ex-lover "irtaaH wa insaani (ارتاح وانساني)" to the effect of "relax and forget me," or something along these lines.
By contrast, the following line may not appear to even be Arabic, but when dissected you will see that it is in principle the same:
واللى هييجى منك والله مانيش عايزاه
"illi (اللى)" is actually the same word as the standard "الذي," except it is not conjugated for gender or number. It means "which" or "that which." "hayiigi (هييجي)" is comprised of "ha (ه sometimes ح)" which is the future marker similar to "sa (س)" in Standard Arabic and the verb "yiigi (ييجي)" which of course means "he/it comes." Notice that the "hamza (ء)" has once again been dropped and a long vowel "ي" has been inserted before the "giim" for ease of pronunciation. Put it all together and "illi hayiigi minnak (اللي هييجي منك)" means "that which will come/is coming from you." This could be what he is going to say or what he is going to bring or do. The second part of the line contains the very familiar phrase "wallahi (ولله)" meaning "I swear" or "I swear to God." "maaniish (مانيش)" sounds crazy, but actually is the equivalent of Standard Arabic "lastu (لست)" meaning "I'm not" or "I don't." It is comprised of "ma (ما)" meaning not, "ana (انا)" meaning "I," and the "sh (ش)" at the end. This "maa -x- sh" combination is used often for negation in Egyptian Arabic, and especially with verbs. This way of expressing "I'm not" can be used for all other pronouns as well. Finally, "3ayzaah" can be seen to be comprised of the now familiar "3aayiz (عايز)," only this time conjugated for feminine, and the direct object "ah (ه)" referring to the aforementioned "اللى هييجي منك." In total the sentence is revealed thusly to mean "and that which will come from you, I swear to God, I don't want it."
That's a lot of work for one little verse of a song. Now let's move on to the chorus:
بتقول انا كنت زمان بهواك
"bit'uul (بتقول)" is the equivalent of Standard Arabic "تقول" meaning "you say." Once again we see the the "q" becoming a glottal stop sound like "hamza." The "b- (ب)" is added to the beginning of verbs in the present tense verbs in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. But what does he say you ask? "ana kunt zamaan bahwaak (انا كنت زمان بهواك)" means "I used to love you at one time" or "I used to love you in the past." "zamaan (زمان)" means time but here means "a time" that is now past. "bahwaak (بهواك)" is of course the combination of present tense marker "b- (ب)" and the verb "ahwaak (اهواك)" meaning "I love you." "ana kunt (انا كنت)" means "I was," just like in Standard Arabic, giving the meaning here of "I used to." What we notice here, however, is we do not know exactly what this means. After "bit'uul" there is no "inn (إنّ)" like in standard Arabic. We don't know if she is saying that he said the quote "I used to love you" or she says that he says that she used to love him. Here we infer the latter because it is he who wants her back, but still the grammatical ambiguity remains.
The next line:
بصراحه انا مش فاكراك
Here we find one of the most important words in colloquial Egyptian, "mish." She says "ana mish fakraak (انا مش فاكراك)," meaning "I don't remember you." We already saw "maaniish (مش)" meaning "I'm not" and here is another variation. "mish (مش)" means "not" and is the equivalent of standard Arabic "ليس," but actually, is not conjugated for person or number. Thus "ana mish," "anta mish" and so forth. "fakraak (فاكراك)" is comprised of "faakir (فاكر)" the participle form once again meaning "to remember," and the direct object marker for "you." This literally means "remembering you" but in the discourse of love it has the connations of "thinking of you" or "still being in love," juxtaposed with "naasi (ناسي)" which means "forgetting" or "no longer loving." Altogether the line "bi-SaraaHa ana mish fakraak (بصراحة انا مش فاكراك)" means "quite frankly, I'm not remembering you," and while not easily translated the meaning is clear, she's done with him!
The next line may be easily understood now:
وبتتكلم عن ايه
We see "b- (ب)" + "titkallam (تتكلّم)" meaning "you are talking." This verb is the same as in Standard Arabic, but make note of the stress difference in the word "titkallam" vs. "tatakallam." Also we can see she says "bititkallam 3an eh? (بتتكلم عن ايه؟)," meaning "what are you talking about?"
The next line contains a useful colloquial idiom:
ماخلاص راحت يا حبيبى عليك
"raaHat (راحت)" is from the verb "raaH (راح)," which means "to go" or "to leave." This verb is sometimes found in standard Arabic but is more common in colloquial Arabic, completely replacing the verb Standard Arabic verb "ذهب," which for all intents and purposes does not exist in Egyptian Arabic. Samira says "raaHat ya Habiibi 3aleek (راحت يا حبيبى عليك)," meaning "you've lost it and you will never get it back" or "you missed your chance." Of course "raaHat 3aleek (راحت عليك)" literally means something like "it left on you" but just know the idiomatic meaning of this phrase. So the whole line means something like "it's over, you missed your chance."
The next line:
عايز تحلم خليك
Here "3aayiz taHlam (عايز تحلم)" meanings "you want to dream," however, we can see from context that it is a question, something like "you wanna dream?" "xalliik (خليك)" is a very important colloquial word, meaning "let you," or "may you." "xalla (خلى)" can be attached to any noun to mean "let (someone/something) be/do (something)." For example "xalliini a3iish (خليني اعيش)" means "let me live." In this case "xalliik" means "may you" like "go ahead." So, the whole line altogether means "you wanna dream? may you" or "you wanna dream? go ahead."
The last line of the chorus:
وعايزني أعمل لك ايه؟
Contains the familiar standard Arabic verb "عمل." However, this verb does not mean "to work" in colloquial, but rather, "to do" replacing standard Arabic "فعل." Thus when Samira says "3aayizni a3mal lak eh? (عايزني أعمل لك ايه؟)" it means "what do you want me to do for you?"
So, we can see that in Egyptian colloquial some letters have a different pronunciation and some words have different but related meanings. Other words have been completely replaced by new words specific to the dialect. Also, we can see that question words tend to be found at the end of the sentence as opposed to the beginning. Negation has been changed and simplified, and verbs have different tense markers. However, despite these myriad differences, the core vocabulary and structure of the language remains the same. Listen again and try to understand the second half of the song as well, see how much you've learned. Probably close to nothing, right! That's because there's still lots to learn about Egyptian Arabic. For a complete translation click here. But after a couple more songs, you'll see how fast you can begin to learn.
