Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
ArabicPod101.com presents Arabic Survival Phrases. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Arabic speaking countries, with particular focus on Morocco. So join us for Arabic Survival phrases. You will be surprised at how far a little Arabic will go.
Now before we jump in, remember to stop by ArabicPod101.com, there you’ll find an accompanying PDF, additional learning tools in the premium learning center, and other great Arabic language learning materials. In addition, you’ll find more information in the post. And if you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

Lesson focus

In today’s lesson, we'll introduce a phrase that will help you track down that specific something you're looking for.
Today's phrase is "Where can I buy (something)?"
First, we need something, so let's use the word "book,” which is kitāb (كتاب) in Arabic.
Let’s break it down by syllable: kitāb
Now let's hear it again: kitāb
In Arabic, "Where can I buy a book?" is fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb? (فين يمكن نشري شي كتاب؟)
fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
Let’s break it down by syllable: fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
Once again: fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
The first word, fiīn (فين), means "where"
Let's break it down and hear it one more time: fiīn
fiīn
This is followed by yumkn (يمكن), which in Arabic means "possible"
yumkn
yumkn
So to recap here, we have fiīn yumkn, literally, this means “where possible.”
Let’s take a look at the next word, nišrī (نشري), which is a conjugated form of the verb "buy."
nišrī
And, nišrī
This is followed by šī (شي), which in this case translates to "a”; in other cases, it also means “some.”
šī
šī
This is followed by kitāb (كتاب), which in Arabic, again, is "book."
Let's hear it once again: kitāb
kitāb
So altogether, we have: fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
Literally, the phrase means something like "where possible I buy a book?" meaning "Where can I buy a book?"
Now, to ask for a different item, we can just replace the word kitāb, “book,” with any other word and the phrase works just fine.
Let's try balgha (بلغة), which is Arabic for traditional slippers.
You'll probably want to get yourself a pair or two of them, so let's see how you can say "Where can I buy some slippers?"
In Arabic, this is fiīn yumkn nišrī šī balgha? (فين يمكن نشري شي بلغة؟)
fiīn yumkn nišrī šī balgha?
fiīn yumkn nišrī šī balgha?
The only thing that changes is the thing your’re looking for. In this case, it’s balgha.
Let's break it down and hear it one more time: balgha
balgha
balgha
This phrase will come in handy before leaving the hotel, talking with taxi drivers, or other people trying help to you locate a desired item. Now that you're able to ask, you're going to need an answer. As we’re running out of time, we'll cover that in the next lesson.
You can also imply the same thing by saying “I want to buy (something).”
In Arabic, this is barīd našrī (something)
barīd našrī (بريد نشري)
I think it’s worth knowing this phrase as well, let’s look at its components.
barīd means “I want.”
barīd
barīd
This is followed by našrī, which is a conjugated form of the verb “to buy.”
So both words together: barīd našrī mean “I want to buy.”
All you have to do is add your desired item after barīd našrī.

Outro

Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so حظ سعيد, that means "good luck" in Arabic.
Ok, here we go!
“Where can I buy...?” - fiīn yumkin našrī šiī?
fiīn yumkin našrī šiī?
fiīn yumkin našrī šiī?
“Where can I buy a book?” - fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
fiīn yumkn nišrī šī kitāb?
“I want to buy...” - barīd našrī
barīd našrī
barīd našrī
All right. This is going to do it for this lesson of Arabic Survival Phrases. Remember to stop by ArabicPod101.com. There you’ll find an accompanying PDF, additional learning tools in the premium learning center, and other great Arabic language learning materials. See you soon, which in Arabic is - ilā al-liqāʾ.

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