adarris

yi7uus

bas shasawii?

atbannaa

bhaaraat

adkhal

ashfu6

titsanidayn

yaskit

a7bik

What better way to say a7bik than with almaas or dhahab?

Or by going out for akil kashkhah in a brand-new mawtar?

Is a7bik best expressed in a gift of 3i6r 

Or a shiny pair of juutii 

Or a new set of sichaachiin

Or even a grandfather saa3ah?

laysh laa2, but just as good too 

is way to say a7bik that's ... a7bich
(if you happen to be saying it to a girl).

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
كشخة	kashkhah	posh
الماس	almaas	diamonds
ذهب	dhahab	gold
أكل	akil	food
موتر	mawtar	motor / car
عطر	3i6r	perfume
دوتي	duutii	shoes
سچاچين	sichaachiin	knives
ساعة	saa3ah	clock / hour
ليش لاء	laysh laa2	why not?

ammur

When I'm on the way out of the house, maybe someone will ask me if ammur such-and-such a place, and whether I can pick something up for them.

If I'm headed in the opposite direction, I'll remember the itinerary of someone else in the house and say: "maa agdr ammur-ah ('I can't pass by there') but I think your aunt b-tammur that particular store this morning, so maybe ask her to get what you need?"

If however, I can carry out the favour, the likelihood is that on Kuwait's roads, I'll get lost. So unless I know the destination already, I'll end up parked on a sandy verge in the middle of nowhere - and calling around for more instructions. And these were: 

"6uuf-ay the roundabout, then take the second left, then take a right and 6uuf-ay the big white house."

Whatever happened to navigating by road names? There seem to be a lot of big white houses. I start to panic, not able to find the store. But suddenly, what luck! The driver who yammur looks familiar. And he's slowing down to greet me. It's my uncle!

I roll down the window. "mistaansah ashuuf-ik!" I say, then blurt out: "I need to get to this store, if you have time can we nammur together?" 

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
أمر	ammur	I pass by
تمر	tmmur	You pass by (>m)
تمرين	tmuriin	You pass by (>f)
تمرون	tmuruun	You pass by (>pl)
نمر	nmmur	We pass by
يمر	ymmur	He passes by
تمر	tmmur	She passes by
يمرون	ymmuruun	They pass by
طوف!	6uuf!	go past! (>m)
طوفي!	6uuf-ay!	go past! (>f)
طوفوا!	6uuf-aw!	go past! (>pl)
مستانسة أشوفك	mistaansah ashuuf-ik	I’m pleased to see you (f>m)

arkab

I remember when I brought my gaary to Morocco. What a disaster. As I flew down the street, I attracted a rash of heckles from a nearby shillah of men. I wondered maybe if they were warning me that my coat was going to get caught in the spokes and I'd catapult my way into a serious head injury. It later turned out that they thought it was weird that a girl tirkab gaary.

I wondered if it'd be the same in Kuwait. From the looks of things, it was fine to go the local stables and arkab 79aan, so what if arkab gaary? I asked around, wanting to know if there'd be a problem with me doing so. The question made one of my friends very mad indeed. "minuu gaal?" she snapped ('who said so?'). "Of course you can ride a bike if you're a girl."

Enthused, rikabt gaary-yii ('I got on my bike') and embarked on a five-mile sprint to the mall along pavements and on the road. Cars honked. I was almost run into the hard shoulder. I just about got to my destination with my limbs in tact. 

The next day I told the same friend what had happened. She clapped her hands to her cheeks in horror. "You rode a bike to the mall? Are you crazy?!"

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
اركب	arkab	I get on
تركب	tarkab	You (m) get / she gets on
تركبين	tarkabiin	You (f) get on
تركبون	tarkabuun	You (pl) get on
قاري	gaary	a bicycle
شلة	shillah	a group
اركب حصان	arkab 79aan	I ride a horse
اركب الحصان	arkab al-79aan	I ride the horse

yifashil

Kuwaiti is different from English in that there are no neutrals. No, this doesn't mean that Kuwaiti words are at war with each other, only that there is no word in Kuwaiti for 'it'.

Whereas in English, you'd say 'I don't like karaoke, it is embarrassing,' in Kuwaiti it'd be maa a7ib kaariyawkay, yifashil ('I hate karaoke, he is embarrassing'). Why? Because the word 'karaoke' in Kuwaiti is masculine.

So in Kuwaiti there are no 'its' - every noun equates to a he or a she. However, when the gender of the subject matter is uncertain, go for the masculine verb: bagayt aguul shay yifashil ('I almost said something embarrassing' or 'I almost said something he is embarrassing.')

But if someone embarrasses you, the diplomatic (and rather poetic) response is literally 'you fell from my eye' or 6i7t min 3ayn-ii.

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
بقيت أطيح	bagayt a6ii7	I almost fell
بقيت تطيح	bagayt t6ii7	You almost fell (>m)
بقيتي تطيحين	bagaytay t6ii7iin	You almost fell (>f)
بقيتوا تطيحون	bagaytaw t6ii7uun	You almost fell (>pl)
طحت من عيني	6i7t min 3ayn-ii	You disappointed me (>m) (literally 'you fell from my eye')
بقيت أقول شي يفشل	bagayt aguul shay yifashil	I almost said something embarrassing