firqah


Audio with Theyab's pronunciation












When Dana was a child she had more sha3ar than now (ya3anii she could have salvaged global baldness) but looking mithil a member-in-waiting of the Jackson 5 proved useful in awkward social situations.

Here's how it worked: join a new school half way through the year? Hide behind hair. Don't want to get picked for football? Hide behind hair. See that boy she likes? Grow a fringe - and ikhtif-ay!

Today she has less reason to hide. Hell, she's a CEO.  But if when shopping 
she happens to spot firqat miami at The Avenues Mall, she promptly returns to that prepubescent misti7yah self



شعرsha3arHair
يعنيya3aniiLike / it means
مثلmithilLike / similar to
اختفيikhtif-ay!Disappear (to a female)
فرقةfirqahGroup
مستحي، مستحية  misti7ii, misti7yahShy (m/f)



nimt


Audio with Theyab's pronunciation




















Everything was boring today: daakhl the apartment, barah in the city,
fawg on the roof terrace, ta7at at the beach.

al-bidaayah of the day involved me doing taxes. I think this set the mood for as-saa3aat al-yaayah and a9-9araa7ah, I was looking forward to an-nihaayat al-yawm.

Then someone offered me a na9ii7ah. Whenever he feels bored, 
he does nothing. 

It seemed contradictory. I was already doing as little as I possibly could. 
But no, actually I was running around in search of a thrill to relieve the gloom. So I stopped. I lay face down on my bed. And at 3pmnimt.

nafs al-laylah, the situation flipped 180 degrees. I woke feeling everything, 
susceptible to the slightest detail, and in a cheerful mood to boot. Boredom goes hand in hand with exhaustion. When I told my friend this, he was pleased that I had listened, for once.

"You who never takes my advice! Ha, zayn tsawiin!" he chuckled.


داخلdaakhlInside
برةbarahOutside
فوقfuugUp
تحتta7atDown
البدايةal-bidaayahThe start
الساعات اليايةas-saa3aat al-yaayahThe following hours
الصراحة
a9-9araa7ahHonestly
النهاية اليوم
an-nihaayat al-yawmThe end of the day
نصيحة
na9ii7ahAdvice
نمت
nimtI slept
نفس اللية
nafs al-laylahThat same night
زين تسوين
zayn tsawiinGood for you! (>f)

khayaar


Audio with Theyab's pronunciation



















I have this theory: own ashaa2 qaliilah, but make what you do have yikuun shay muthmin.

It's somewhat a mustawaa 3aalii that often I cannot and do not live up to.


But biduun maa tguul that when naskin in 50m2 of space, maa 3ndi-naa khayaar illaa minimalism!


 اشاء قليلة
ashaa2 qaliilahLess things
 يكون شي مثمن
yikuun shay muthminBe something precious
عالي
3aalliiHigh
بدون ما تقول
biduun maa tguulIt goes without saying
نسكن
naskinWe live
ما عندنا خيار الا
maa 3ndi-naa khayaar illaaWe don’t have a choice except for
واطي
waa6iiLow

m3aqad

Audio with Theyab's pronunciation





























Learning Arabic from scratch is tough, mwaafqiin? An alphabet full of dots and flicks, reading and writing min al-yamiin lay al-yisaar, words that change depending on whether they are mudhakar or mu2anath or jam3 and a pronunciation that is, for me at least, m3aqad ... the temptation to give up learning is huge.

And the biggest trap of all is having an international language as a mother tongue.

bayn fatrah wa fatrah, I feels this way. But atdarrab a little bit every day and
 because of this, I discover that agdr agul akthar min maa a'6inSo when doubts pile up, I remember that a7san min maa asawii shay.

Being British, I come from a culture where making ghala6 when speaking a language is a no-no. I believe that in Kuwait, it's nafs ash-shay. So al-fikrah of speaking in front of others is still somewhat of an obstacle.

But, after thirteen years of learning French, I remember each and every ghala6the laughs they provoked, and the fact that being mortally embarrassed at times was part of the bittersweet learning curve of doing something important.


موافقين
mwaafqiin?Don’t you (pl) agree?
من اليمين لي اليسار
min al-yamiin lay al-yisaarFrom the right to the left
مذكر
mudhakarMasculine
مؤنث
mu2anathFeminine
جمع
jam3Plural
معقد
m3aqadComplicated
كبير
kbiirHuge
بين فترة و فيترة
bayn fatrah wa fatrahFrom time to time
اتدرب
atdarrabI learn
قدر اقل اكثر من ما اظن
agdr aguul akthar min maa a'6inI can speak more than I think
احسن من ما اسوي شي
a7san min maa asawii shayBetter than doing nothing
غلط
ghala6A mistake
نفس الشي
nafs ash-shayThe same thing
الفكرة
al-fikrahThe idea