nakkad

I really enjoy those linguistic tussles when everyone in the room is trying to find the best translation of a Kuwaiti word. 

'Hey guys,' says the host to his guests, 'it's such a beautiful day, how about we grab our towels and hit the yaal?' (yahl)

'Oh but didn't you guys hear about that tanker accident? Now there's naf6 (naft) in the water,' says one of the guests.

An awkward silence falls.

'Yeah,' she continues, 'AND there was that shark report a while back.'

The host rolls his eyes at her. 'Uff, you're such a nakkad (neh-kid)!'

'Psst, what's a nakkad?' I whisper to the person next to me, but someone across the room answers:

'It means "moody".'

'laa2! (laa) interjects someone else. 'It's what you call a person who's super depressing, like, ah what's the right word?'

'"A sour puss"?' someone suggests.

'yimkin (yim-ken) ... if you're from Downton Abbey.'

Everyone laughs.

'"Moody" isn't such a bad translation of nakkad,' says the host, 'but it's not quite right. What you need is a noun.'

'How about "a Debbie Downer"?' I volunteer, half-joking.

And everyone kind of agrees.

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
يال	yaal	beach
نفط	naf6	oil
لاء	laa2	no
يمكن	yimkin	maybe