ayiy

Audio with Theyab's pronunciation

Words to help navigate today's story:

Adjective	ياي	yaay	Coming
Noun	ازعاج	iz:aaj	A disturbance
Phrase	اسف على الازعاج	aasif :alaa l-iz:aaj	Sorry to bother you

Today ana ayiy with good news: there is a loophole to learning this tongue-twister of a verb.

shsaalfah? Well, listen to this - in Arabic, most verbs can become adjectives.

Not impressed? Well, aasif :alaa l-izaaj!

Perhaps if I explain that there are only three forms of adjectival verb to learn, the masculine, feminine and plural, while there are nine forms to learn a normal verb ... at least try and look excited!

In Arabic, the adjectival verb is used often. In the case of today's verb, ayiy, the adjectival form of the verb is yaay.

So when tyiy back home after a day's work, and someone calls to ask where you are, don't brandish your broken Arabic and reply with the stumbling equivalent of "I come" which, to be honest, doesn't sound authentic in any language.

As in you're in the process of doing shwayyat ashaa', whatever they may be, in English you add the -ing to the verb, transforming it into an adjective.

In Arabic, if you're a man coming home you say "ana yaay."

Or if a woman, "ana yaayah."

Or if you happen to be in a big group of cheerleaders at a homecoming match, "yaayiin!"


All today's words:

Verb	انا ايي	ana ayiy	I come
	انت تيي	inta tyiy	You (m) come
	انتي تيين	intay tiyiin	You (f) come
	انتو تييون	intaw tiyuun	You (pl) come
	احن نيي	aHnaa nyiy	We come
	هو ييي	uhuwa iyiy	He comes
	هي تيي	ihiya tyiy	She comes
	اهم ييون	uhuma iyuun	They come
	ياي	yaay	Coming (m)
Adjectives	ياية	yaayah	Coming (f)
	يايين	yaayiin	Coming (pl)
	شنو السالفة؟	shsaalfah?	What's the story?
Nouns	ازعاج	iz:aaj	A disturbance
	شوية اشاء	shwayyat ashaa'	Some things
Phrase	اسف على الازعاج	aasif :alaa l-izaaj	Sorry to bother you