Gulf Arabic: Level 1

اشوفك كل يوم

“I see you every day”

محمد عبده

 

• أَشُوفكِ كُلّ يَوْم وَأَرْوَحَ

Ašūfak kull(i) yōm w-arūḥ

ّI see you every day… and leave. 

– شاف، يشوف  = dialect word for “to see”

– yōm = yawm in Fuṣḥā (diphthongs usually become elongated vowels in dialects (except for Lebanese for example))

– راح، يروح  = dialect word for “to go”

 

• وَأَقُول نَظَرة تُرَدّ الرُوح

w-agul naẓra taridd ir-rūḥ

Saying (to myself), that a glance will place back the sole (to its original place).

 

 

• أعيش فِيها عشان بكرا

A‘iš fīha ‘ašan bukra

I live in it for the sake of tomorrow.

– عشانِ  = shortened form of على شأن  (note that hamzas usually are either dropped or elongate the neighboring vowel)

– بكرا = tomorrow (often bāčir in Gulf/Iraqi dialects)

 

• عشان ليليّ اللي كُلّهُ جُرُوح

‘aša-lēli li kullah jurūḥ

Because of my night, full of pain (lit.: wounds).

– ‘aša-lēli = ‘ašan lēli (the n is assimilated)

– اللي (illi / li) = Fuṣḥā الذي ; realized as illi after consonants and li after vowels

 

• صَحِيح النَظْرَة ما تَكْفِي

ṣaḥīḥ, in-naẓra ma tikfi

It’s true, a glance isn’t enough,

 

• من الآلام ما تُشْفِي

min il-ālām ma tišfi

Doesn’t cure the pains.

 

• وَلٰكِن عذرنا الحاضِر

walākin ‘udhr(a)na al-ḥāẓir

But our excuse is the present.

 

• نُراعِي الوَقْت وَالخاطِر

nirā‘i il-wagt u-il-khāṭir

We guard the time and the thought.

 

• وَما دامَ النَظَر مَسْمُوح

U-ma dām in-naẓar masmūḥ

And as long as a glance is allowed…

 

• أُشَوِّفكِ كُلّ يَوْم وَأَرْوَحَ

Ašūfak kull(i) yōm w-arūḥ

… I see you every day… and leave.

 

• عَسَى النَظْرَة ترد الرُوح

‘asa in-naẓra taridd ir-rūḥ

• توصِينِي عَلى الكِتْمان

Tiwaṣṣīni ‘ala il-kitmān

You urge me to hide.

 

• وَتبْغَى حَبّنا ما يبان وَتَنْسانِي

u-tibġa ‘hubb(a)na ma yibān u-tinsāni

You want our love not to be discovered and that you forget me.

 

• تَقُول لَيّ وَدنا صافِي

Tigulli widd(a)na ṣāfi

You say to me that our love is pure.

 

• وَتحسب حبّنا خافُيَ

u-tiḥsib ḥubb(a)na khāfi

And you count on our love being hidden.

 

• تُرَى راعِي الهَوَى مَفْضُوح

Tara rā‘i il-hawa mafḍūḥ

Look, the guardian of love is disgraced.

 

• نُخاف مَن أَي وَالدُنْيا

Nkhaf min ē w-id-dunya

What are we scared of when the world…

– nkhaf = note that is it not “nkhāf” – this is because a long vowel is shortened in some dialects (Egyptian, this Saudi dialect) if it appears in a syllable that starts and ends in a consonant (CVVC)

– أَي = what? (especially in Egypt and some dialects of Saudi-Arabia)

 

• تُحاسِبنا عَلى الثانِيَة

tiḥāsibna ‘ala ith-thanya

counts our every second

– thanya = note again that it is not thānya because the syllable structure is thān-ya and thus the long ā lies in a CVVC syllable and is thus shortened

 

• بتاخذ مننا الأَشْواق

bitākhudh minna il-ašwāg

It will take our longing.

 

• وتعطينا حياه ثانِيَة

u-ta‘ṭīni ḥāya thanya

And give us a second life.

– thanya = note again that it is not thānya because the syllable structure is thān-ya 

 

• يا صاحِب المَعْنَى

Ya ṣāḥib il-ma‘na

O’ you whom I’m talking about

 

• إِن كُنتِ تَسْمَعنا

In kunt(i) tisma‘na

In case you’re listening to us.

 

• لا الوَقْت يَخْدَعنا

La-l-wagt yikhdha‘na

If time betrays us.

– لا = when (in some Gulf dialects; probably from اذا  which became الا  and eventually لا

 

• نرْجع وَنَتَعَنَّى

nirja‘ u-nit‘anna

We’ll come back and (continue to) struggle.