Spoken Emirati phrasebook

ByHanan ALFardan

Abdullah Al Kaabi

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 1 12/30/14 9:12:12 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook2

E-mail: aop@adach.aewww.poetryacademy.ae

اأبوظبي -الإمارات العربية املتحدة

�ص.ب: 2380، هاتف: 97126576171

االآراء الواردة يف هذا الكتاب ال تعرب بال�رضورة

عن راأي جلنة اإدارة املهرجانات والربامج الثقافية والرتاثية

اأكادميية ال�شعر

حقوق الطبع حمفوظة

جلنة اإدارة املهرجانات والربامج الثقافية والرتاثية -اأبوظبي

»اأكادميية ال�شعر«

الطبعة الأوىل 1436 هـ 2015م

Poetry Academy

PJ6866.6 .F37 2014فردان، حنان.

Spoken Emirati phrasebook / By Hanan ALFardan ; Abdullah Al Kaabi. 1st ed.-Abu Dhabi : Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee, 2014.

p.; cmISBN: 978-9948-22-063-31. Arabic language Dialects -United Arab Emirates -Dictionaries.

2. اللغة العربية - اللهجات - الإمارات العربية املتحدة - معاجم.I. Al-Kaabi, Abdullah. II. Title.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 2 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 3

Spoken Emirati phrasebook

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 3 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook4

اإذا حتدثت اإىل �شخ�ص بلغة يفهمها، يذهب كالمك اإىل عقله. واإذا

حتدثت اإليه بلغته، يذهب الكالم اإىل قلبه.

نيل�سون مانديال

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

Nelson Mandela

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 4 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 5

Introductionاملقدمة

Acknowledgment�شكر وتقدير1

2نبذة عن اللغة

العربية A Short Introduction to Arabic

The Emirati dialectاللهجة االماراتية 3

Arabizyالعربيزي4

Pronunciationالنطق5

Clarification notesنقاط تو�شيحية6

Phrasebook objectivesاأهداف املعجم7

8خطوات لتعلم

اللهجة االماراتيةSteps to learn spoken Emirati

Greetingالتحية9

Questionsاأ�شئلة10

Numbersاأرقام11

Pronouns�شمري املتكلم12

Family and relationshipsالعائلة والعالقات13

Body organsاأع�شاء اجل�شم14

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 5 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook6

Feelingsامل�شاعر 15

Professionsوظائف 16

Adjectives�شفات17

Timeالوقت18

Locationاملكان19

Loveكلمات احلب20

Partyحفلة21

Houseالبيت22

Furnitureاأثاث23

Animalsاحليوانات24

Verbsاأفعال25

Verbs forms�شيغة االفعال26

Possessiveامللكية27

Solving Problemsحل امل�شكالت28

Colorsاألوان29

Clothesمالب�ص30

Comparisonمقارنات31

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 6 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 7

Environmentبيئة32

Hobbiesهوايات33

Vegetablesخ�شروات34

Fruitsفواكه35

Food mealsوجبات الطعام36

Emirati foodاالأكالت االماراتية37

Foodاالكالت38

Nationalityجن�شية39

Placesاأماكن40

On the streetيف ال�شارع41

At schoolيف املدر�شة42

43يف ال�شغل/ يف

الدوامAt the workplace

At the marketيف ال�شوق44

At the bankيف البنك45

Footballكرة قدم46

At the hospitalيف امل�شت�شفى47

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 7 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook8

Miscellaneousمنوعات48

Daily wordsالكلمات ال�شائعة49

Short phrasesعبارات �شغرية50

51تهنئة وم�شجات يف

املنا�شبات Situational greetings & messages

Eidالعيد52

New bornمولود جديد53

Funeralsعزاء54

Phrases before travelingقبل ال�شفر55

Phrases after travelingبعد ال�شفر56

Visit a patientللمري�ص57

58حينما يطلب منك

امل�شاعدة

Polite ways to say yes "consider it done"

لل�شكر59After you receive help from someone

Birthdayعيد ميالد60

For sleepingوقت النوم61

Miscellaneousمنوعات62

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 8 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 9

Hypocorismاأ�شماء الدلع63

Nicknamesالكنية64

65اطلب امل�شاعدة

لتعلم اللهجة

االماراتية

Impress an Emirati and ask for help to learn Emirati dialect

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 9 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook10

Acknowledgment

We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all

those who helped us in preparation of this phrasebook, namely

Sultan Al Ameemi, Yousef AlBadr, Abdullah AlNawah,

Fatma AlMazrouie, Omar Al Hamery, Saqer Al Marri, Aisha

Legge, Dr. Maryam Bayshak, and Summer Loomis.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 10 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 11

A Short Introduction to Arabic:

There are twenty independent Middle Eastern and African

states in which Arabic is the official language. Recent

estimates put the total number of native speakers of Arabic

at about 300 million. Moreover, Arabic is one of the six main

official languages in UNESCO since 1997. Modern Standard

Arabic (‘MSA’ henceforth) is the modern descendant of

Classical Arabic. MSA is used in many formal occasions like

news broadcasts, political speeches and most importantly

in schools and university education and is always seen

as the high form of the language throughout the Arabic-

speaking world. Basically, it is the language of writing and

formal speaking. The colloquial Arabic or Arabic dialect

is a form of a spoken language and it is used in informal

conversations among friends, colleagues, and at home. The

spoken Arabic varies from country to country and from city

to city. The greater geographic distance between countries,

the greater is the difference between the spoken dialects.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 11 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook12

The difference between MSA and colloquial Arabic can be

observed in pronunciation and vocabulary. With respect to

pronunciation, there are phonological variations all over the

Arabic-speaking world. For example, the Arabic sound /j/

is sometimes pronounced /g/ in Egyptian dialect and /y/ in

Emirati dialect. Regarding the vocabulary, naafida is Arabic

for ‘window’, while it is shibbaak in Egyptian dialect and

direeshah in Emirati dialect. In addition, there is a couple of

non-Arabic, borrowed sounds that have been incorporated

in the consonantal inventory of the dialect, namely /ch/ and

/g/. Despite these dialectal varieties, most Arabic speakers

understand one another.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 12 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 13

The Emirati dialect:

The Emirati Dialect is one of the Arabic dialects spoken in the

United Arab Emirates. This dialect shares the characteristics

of east south Arabian spoken Arabic variety as well as the

Gulf region. The geographical location of the UAE, which

stretches from the Arabian Gulf coast in the West to the Gulf

of Oman in the East and with boundaries adjacent to other

GCC states in the North and South, created a rich variety

of phonetic variables in the dialect. Excavation attestations

tell that this area was a settlement of several Semitic races.

Therefore, phonetic variation is clear when you move around

in different settlement Zones. Although, in the last forty

years of human mobility from rural areas to main cities in

the country has diminished this variation we can still identify

three main divisions: Abu Dhabi (which include AlAin and

Western Zone of AbuDhabi and the Islands); Northern

Emirates (which include Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Um Al-

Qewein and some parts of Ras al-Khaimah); East Coast

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 13 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook14

(which include Al-Fujairah and adjacent area). For example,

the negative particle “mob” should be mentioned in the

grammatical notification with its spoken variables which

are “mesh” in Abu Dhabi, “mob” in the Northern Emirates,

“ma” in the East Coast (Fujairah and adjacent areas).

Furthermore, since the establishment of the United

Arab Emirates, the Emirati dialect went through many

developments as a reflection of the demographic structure

of the society. For instance, the UAE became a sanctuary

for many Arabs and other nationalities who disembarked

on UAE for Job opportunities. This inflow of multinational

vernaculars triggered the need for a standard method of

communication. As a result the Emirati dialect that is used

for multinational communication received influences from

other Arabic dialects as well as many borrowed words from

other foreign languages. For instance, words that deals with

mechanical matters are English words borrowed through

an Indian tongue and hence modified to suit the Arabic

pronunciation e.g words such as “drewel”is a modified

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 14 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 15

pronunciation of the English word “driver”; “motar”(car) is

modified pronunciation of the English word “motor; etc.

In the spoken Emirati dialect, it is common to replace some

letters. The following are variations in pronunciation when

the letter spoken in Emirati dialect:

Replace "j" with "y"

Replace "k" with "ch"

Replace "q" with "g" or «j»

Example

English Modern Standard Arabic Spoken EmiratiChicken da-jaaj di-yaayFish Sa-mak Si-machCoffee qah-wa gah-waNear qa-reeb jireeb

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 15 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook16

Arabizy:

Arabizy is an intended style of informal writing of Arabic words with an English spelling. Although it is not acknowledged by many it is used by Arab youngsters in texting mainly in new social media communication. The system depends on inserting English numbers to replace sounds of Arabic that has no spelling equivalent in English. as show in the table below. In this pharsebook we have deceided to use only 3 and 7. Other numbers are shown here for Emirati dialect learners Knowledge.letter Numbers Pronunciation

EnglishExample Meaning

اأ 2 A 2ktib I writeع 3 A 3ain Eyeغ '3 Gh '3alee Expensive

خ 5 Kh 5amsa Fiveط 6 T 6aweel Longظ '6 Dh '6uroof Circumstancesح 7 (H) Ba7ar Seaق 8 Q Ma38ool Possible�ص 9 S 9a7 Correct

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 16 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 17

Pronunciation:

This section is designed to familiarize the reader with the sounds of Emirati Arabic through using a simplified phonetic transcription. In the table below, the pronunciation of the Emirati Arabic sounds are explained along with their equivalents in the English language. Not all Arabic letters have exact pronunciation in English. Therefore, we displayed here the approximate pronunciation in English. This system is used throughout the Emirati phrasebook.

In Arabic language, there are 28 letters:Arabic letter

Approximate pronunciation in English

Example

اأ a Appleب b Bananaت t Tableث th Three ح 7 (H) Horseخ kh Like Scottish “Loch”ج j Jelly د d Dubaiذ D As “the”

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 17 12/30/14 9:12:13 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook18

ر r Rabbit ز z Zayed�ص s South �ص sh Sharp�ص S Sara�ص* dh* Dhow ط T Ten ظ DH Abu Dhabiع 3 (A) Aliغ gh Afghanistan ف f Farق q Umm Al Quwainك k Kateل l Lumpم m Moonن n Nap هـ h Happy و w Wednesday ي i,y,ee Ill/yallow/seen

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 18 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 19

Ch Chip Only in colloquial Arabic. Does not exist in Modern Standard Arabic

Ga Gulf Only in colloquial Arabic. Does not exist in Modern Standard Arabic

* This letter is pounced ظ , DH in Emirati dialect

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 19 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook20

Clarification notes:

a. Most of the examples used in this phrasebook are in

singular masculine form for simplification purposes.

b. When different gender forms applied, the masculine form

is followed by (m); feminine by (f); plural by (pl).

c. Most of the words ending in -ah are feminine.

d. When you notice two words separated by a slash, this

means that both words are equally used in Emirati dialect.

Feel free to choose whichever is suitable for you!

e. The negative particle ‘not’ is mob in Emirati dialect. For

example, ana mob amreekee ‘I am not American’.

f. The definite article ‘the’ is ‘il’ in Emirati dialect and ‘al’

in MSA occurs in beginning of a word. E.g.: il-bait ‘the

house’.

g. The underlined phrasemeans response or reply back of the

above phrase.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 20 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 21

Spoken Emirati phrasebook objectives:

This Emirati phrasebook is intended to help non-Arabic

speakers learn common words and phrases used in daily

multinational communication with Arabs in the Emirates.

It worth mentioning that some phrases and words are

not typical Emirati dialect but it’s used by Emiratis for

multinational communication. For example,اخلير SabaH صباح

ilKhair is commonly Arabic phrase for ‘good morning’ used

by Emiratis but the typical Emirati is صبحك اهلل باخلير SabbaHk

Allah bilkhair.

Furthermore, the English translation is not identical for all

Emirati words and phrases in this phrasebook. However, the

translation is what we found equivalent meaning to Emirati

dialect.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 21 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook22

At the end of this phrasebook, leaners would be able to

perform the following tasks in Emirati:

a) Be familiar with more than 1500 spoken Emirati words,

phrases and expressions.

b) Be able to greet in Emirati way.

c) Be able to form simple and short questions.

d) Use most common 200 verbs to express him/herself.

e) Be able to use vital phrases needed in the most commonly

experienced situations in the UAE.

f) Understand basic grammar structure in Emirati dialect.

g) Be able to use appropriate phrases and expressions in

various Emirati contexts.

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 22 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 23

Steps to learn spoken Emirati:

Have Emirati friends/colleagues/classmates/neighbors.•

Memorize the words in this phrasebook.•

Listen to Emirati conversations via radio and other •

medium.

Practice the greetings with any Emirati you meet •

(preferably with the same gender).

Do not take corrections as criticism.•

Make your own Emirati phrasebook and write down all •

the new words you learn.

Review and practice what you have learnt all the time.•

Have fun and good luck!•

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 23 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook24

it-ta77iyahGreetings التحية

sa-laam 3li-komPeace be upon you�شالم عليكم

3li-kom is-sa-laamPeace be upon youعليكم ال�شالمtoo

Saa-ba7 il-khairGood morning�شباح اخلري

Saa-ba7 in-noorGood morning�شباح النور

masa il-khairGood eveningم�شاء اخلري

maasa in-noorGood eveningم�شاء النور

mar7iba is-sa3Helloمرحبا ال�شاع

mar7iba mil-yoonHi (million times)مرحبا مليون

hala wa ghalaHello preciousهال وغال

ah-lan wa sah-lanHello and welcomeاأهال و�شهال

ah-lain wa sah-lainHello and welcomeاأهلني و�شهلني

hoadهود I'm coming (it is used when men or women enter host house)

hidaaYou can come هدا(permission to enter)

ig-rab Please have a seat اقرب

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 24 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 25

greeb\ jireebThe reply for pleaseقريب/جريب here a seat

7ayyaak AllahWelcomeحياك اهلل

Allah yi-7ay-yeekThe reply forاهلل يحييكwelcome

mash-koorThanks(m)م�شكور

mash-koorahThanks(f)م�شكورة

shuk-ranThanks�شكرًا

3af-wanYou are welcomeعفوًا

hala wallahHello (withهال واهللemphasis)

ish-7aa-lik?How are you?(m) ا�شحالك؟

ish-7aa-lich?How are you?(f) ا�شحالج؟

ish-7aal-kom?How are you?(pl) ا�شحالكم؟

il-7am-dil-lah bi-khairFine, thank Godاحلمدهلل بخري

shakh-baa-rik?What's new? (m)�شخبارك؟

shakh-baa-rich? What's new? (f)�شخبارج؟

shakh-baar-kom?What's new? (pl)�شخباركم؟

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 25 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook26

احلمدهلل ما�شي

احلال

il-7am-dil-lah mashee il-7aal

Going well thank God

shoo im-saw-wee?What's up? (m)�شو م�شوي؟

shoo im-saw-yah?What's up? (f)�شو م�شوية؟

shoo im-saw-ween?What's up? (pl)�شو م�شوين؟

furSah sa3eedahNice to meet youفر�شة �شعيدة

wa ni7in as3adNice to meet you tooونحن اأ�شعد

it-shr-raf-naWe had the honor toت�شرفناmeet you

ish-sharaf-ilnaaThe honor is for usال�شرف لنا

ma3a is-salamahGood byeمع ال�شالمة

as-ilahQuestionsاأ�شئلة

?laish?Whyلي�ص

?laish za7mah?Why is there trafficلي�ص زحمة؟

?laish ghaa-yib?Why are you absentلي�ص غايب؟

?laish mit-akhir?Why are you lateلي�ص متاأخر؟

?laish za3-laan?Why are you upsetلي�ص زعالن؟

?laish mam-noo3?Why is it forbiddenلي�ص ممنوع؟

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 26 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 27

?mita?Whenمتى؟

?mita il-ghada?When is the lunchمتى الغدا؟

متى يخل�ص

الفيلم؟

mita yi-kha-leS il-fi-lim?

When does the film end?

?mita in-roo7?When do we goمتى نروح؟

?mita il-ijaa-zah?When is the holidayمتى االجازة؟

?mita il-7af-lah?When is the partyمتى احلفلة؟

?wain?Whereوين؟

?wain bait-kom?Where is your houseوين بيتكم؟

wain Mall Dubai?Where is Dubaiوين دبي مول؟Mall?

-wain il-maT-3am?Where is the restauوين املطعم؟rant?

-wain il-jam-3ahWhere is the univerوين اجلامعة؟sity?

?wain il-bii-zaat?Where is the moneyوين البيزات؟

?kaif?Howكيف؟

?kaif a-gool?How do I say itكيف اأقول؟

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 27 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook28

كيف اأ�شري

البيت؟kaif a-seer il-bait?How can I go home?

kaif it-gool chee?How do you sayكيف تقول جيه؟something like that?

كيف اأتعلم

عربي؟

kaif at-3al-lam 3ara-bee?

How do I learn Arabic?

?kaif chee?How comeكيف جيه؟

,kam?How much, manyكم؟old?

?kam 3um-ruk?How old are youكم عمرك؟

كم تلفون

عندك؟kam tilifon 3in-dik? How many phones

you have?

kam ma-3a-shik?How much yourكم معا�شك؟salary?

kam wa-lad 3in-dik?How many sons doكم ولد عندك؟you have?

kam tuba?How many youكم تبا؟want?

?imnoo?Whoمنو

?imnoo wi-yak?Who is with youمنو وياك ؟

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 28 12/30/14 9:12:14 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook 29

?imnoo yuba 3sha?Who wants dinnerمنو يبا ع�شا؟

منو بي�شري

وياك؟

imnoo be-seer wiy-yak?

Who will go with you?

?imnoo gaal?Who said thatمنو قال؟

?imnoo yit-kal-lam?Who is talkingمنو يتكلم؟

?shoo?What�شو؟

?shoo it-saw-wee?What are you doing�شو ت�شوي؟

?shoo Saar?What happened�شو �شار؟

?shoo is-sal-fah?What is going on�شو ال�شالفة؟

?shoo il-gha-da?What is the lunch�شو الغدا؟

?shoo haDa?What is this�شو هذا؟

?ayy?Whichاأي؟

?ayy wa7id?Which oneاأي واحد؟

?ayy loan?Which colorاأي لون؟

?ayy Soab?Which sideاأي �شوب؟

?ayy sa3ah?Which hourاأي �شاعة؟

?ayy noo3?Which kindاأي نوع؟

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 29 12/30/14 9:12:15 AM

Spoken Emirati Phrasebook30

ArqaamNumbersاأرقام

Sifir 0�شفر

wa7id1واحد

ith-nain2اثنني

tha-la-thah3ثالثة

3r-ba-3ah4اأربعة

kham-sah5خم�شة

sittah6�شتة

sab-3ah7�شبعة

tha-man-yiah8ثمانية

tis-3ah9ت�شعة

3sh-rah10ع�شرة

i7-da3-sh11احدع�ص

ith-na3sh12اثنع�ص

tha-lath-Ta3sh13ثالث طع�ص

ar-ba3-Ta3sh14اربع طع�ص

khams-Ta3sh15خم�ص طع�ص

���� �������� - ���� ������.indd 30 12/30/14 9:12:15 AM