maa aw3id-ich

kil-ah

adaldigh-ik!

I was seeing red in true Taurean style. As tickling is one of my favourite past times, being unable to say today's phrase was more than annoying.

"ah-del-dugh-ick," Theyab says, taking care to pronounce each syllable.

When I say it, the phrase sounds less like adaldigh-ik and more like I'm dribbling.

"When will you send me today's drawing?" I asked pointedly, noticing that if I didn't Theyab would spend all day on his console.

"When you can pronounce today's word correctly," he replies smartly.

I remember learning to read aloud as a child, and how my stomach would tie itself in knots the minute I had to say a word with more than four letters. My mother would have me pronounce each syllable over and over until I got it. 

ah-del.

ah-del-dur.

ah-del-durgh.

ah-del-durgh-ick.

"adaldigh-ik!" I called over.

"Hmm. Not bad," he calls back, pounding the keys of his game pad. "Four out of ten!"

So I dropped this little number:

"daldaght-ik." ('I tickled you.')

He paused his game. "Hang on, how did you know that one?"

"Magic." But you know, this little guide helped.

And with that, the drawing was sent.

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
أدلدغ	adaldigh	I tickle
تدلدغ	tdaldigh	You tickle (>m)
تدلدغين	tdaldighiin	You tickle (>f)
تدلدغون	tdaldighuun	You tickle (>pl)
ندلدغ	ndaldigh	We tickle
يدلدغ	ydaldigh	He tickles
تدلدغ	tdaldigh	She tickles
يدلدغون	ydaldighuun	They tickle
دلدغت	daldaght	I tickled
دلدغت	daldaght	You tickled (>m)
دلدغتي	daldaghtay	You tickled (>f)
دلدغتوا	daldaghtaw	You tickled (>pl)
دلدغتنا	daldaghnaa	We tickled
دلدغ	daldagh	He tickled
دلدغت	daldaghat	She tickled
دلدغوا	daldaghaw	They tickled
أدلدغك	adaldigh-ik	I’m going to tickle you (>m)
أدلدغچ	adaldigh-ich	I’m going to tickle you (>f)
أدلدغكم	adaldigh-kum	I’m going to tickle you (>pl)

fii-nii...

Work finished late, so I had to run like crazy to the festival. Surely the acts never ran on time? I'd been wanting to catch a live performance of The Black Keys for a while and here at last they were, in our town.

I missed their performance by a few minutes. Defeated, I found my way to the food tent where Theyab was queuing.

"a7is abchii," I complained. He looked confused.

"'I feel I cry?'" he chuckled, imitating my bad Kuwaiti. "shinuu ya3nii?" ('What does that mean?')

"yaa3nii ... I feel like shedding a tear."

"Oh, you don't say it like that. Use a7is when you feel things outside you.  For example, a7is bi l-hawaa al-baarid ('I feel the cold air') or a7is inn-ik za3laan ('I feel that you're sad'). But when the feeling is inside, say fii-nii."

"Ah! I think I know this one. Is it like when your mum once said fii-nii nawmah? I asked ('I feel like sleeping').

He laughed. "Yes. And you'd say fii-nii bawlah if you feel like peeing and fii-nii kaakaa if you feel like going for a..."

"Got it!" I said brightly. "So you'd use a noun after fii-nii. So how do I say 'I feel like crying' in Kuwaiti?"

"fii-nii bachyah," he confirms (fee-nee-betch-ya). Then he asks: "Hang on, are you sure fii-ch bachyah? You seem pretty upbeat right now."

"I suppose being a language geek has its advantages," I smiled.

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
زعلان	za3laan	sad (m)
زعلانة	za3laanah	sad (f)
زعلانين	za3laaniin	sad (pl)
بولة	bawlah	pee
كاكا	kaakaa	poo
بچية	bachyah	crying
أحس بالهوا بارد	a7is bi l-hawaa baarid	I can feel the cold air
اجس أنك زعلان	a7is inn-ik za3laan	I feel you're sad
شنو يعني؟	shinuu ya3nii?	what does that mean?
يعني...	ya3nii…	it means…

ataghr-ah

fii shay...

 

nafs

muu waqt-ah

git-l-ik!

ma9akht-haa

Some of my immediate circle are lovers of mil7. I don't just mean that they enjoy putting salt on every dish (that, too) but even when a meal resembles a Scandinavian winter with the amount of salt pilled on it, their hand will still reach for the little pot to add an extra flourish.

So an unamused-me will end up ironically saying:

taraa waayid ma9akht-haa ('by the way, you totally spoiled it / lit. made it bland or flavourless').

The above phrase is directed at a male (the verb would be ma9akhtay if speaking to a female). For the eagled-eyed among you who are wondering why the subject pronoun is the feminine haa, all shall be revealed: the haa refers to 'the situation' or al-7aalah which is a feminine word. However, in this context, the haa could just as easily be referring to another feminine word, al-wajbah (meaning 'the meal').

Enough grammar, let's get back to ma9akh-haa wa uhuwa kul-ah sahraan bi d-diiwaaniyah. Here's how the sentence works.

ma9akh is the verb, referring to the third person 'he' (so at this point, we're gossiping about a man). The haa pronoun again refers to the situation, al-7aalah because we're saying that he's kind of spoiling things in a general sense.

The next word wa means 'and' ... so I guess we've got more to say.

uhuwa ('he') kul-ah ('always') sahraan ('stays up late') bi ('at') ad-diiwaaniyah ('traditional Kuwaiti gatherings for men').

In other words, he's ruining everything by always staying out late with his friends. And as many a wife might conclude in despair: ana maqhuurah!

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
انا مقهور	ana maqhuur	I’m fed up (m)
انا مقهورة	ana maqhuurah	I’m fed up (f)
انا مقهورين	a7na maqhuuriin	We’re fed up (pl)
ملح	mil7	salt
بالديوانية	bi d-diiwaaniyah	at the traditional Kuwaiti gatherings for men

3abaal-ik

Today's word is a contraction of 3alaa ('on') baal ('mind') -ik ('your, >m). The literal translation 'on your mind' does make some sense in English but you wouldn't really say that much. A better translation of 3abaal-ik is simply 'you thought.'

Whenever you want to question what I thought, or explain what she thought, or giggle at what they thought, you use this contraction and change the ending of the word to fit the subject.

Therefore, as for words that refer to the subject I, you simply add an -ii sound at the end of them. For instance I walked into the living room while my husband was dancing to BEP's "Meet Me Halfway" and he said: 3abaal-ii maa fii a7ad fi l-bayt ('I thought no one was home').

When your friends are surprised to see you still at a party, you might acknowledge their surprise with: 3abaal-kum mishayt? ('You guys thought I left?')

Or if you have a friend-turned-hater who goes a step too far. You can chide her: 3abaal-ich chidhii al-adab? ('you thought this how a polite person would act?').

These phrases may seem specific, but they will serve on occasion. That said, the king of all-purposes phrases, one you can use to gently tease your sibling, your spouse, your kids, especially when their ego is getting a little top-heavy is: 3abaal-ik kuul?

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
عبالك كول؟	3abaal-ik kuul?	Did you think you’re cool? (>m)
عبالچ كول؟	3abaal-ich kuul?	Did you think you’re cool? (>f)
عبالكم كول؟	3abaal-kum kuul?	Did you think you’re cool? (>pl)
ما في احد	maa fii a7ad	there is no one
مشيت	mishayt	I left