Learn vocabulary about means of transportation
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| 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 |
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| In Morocco, the bus is an important means of transportation for locals because they’re cheap, even though they don’t have fixed departure and arrival times. However, before you get on the bus you probably want to confirm if the bus is going to your destination. We can accomplish this by asking "Does this bus go to" and then add in a destination. |
| In today’s lesson, we’ll use “medina” as our destination. |
| “Medina” is Arabic for city, and in Morocco it also means “downtown.” |
| In Arabic, “Does this bus go to the Medina” is “Had tobis ka-ymshi l medina?” (هاد طوبيس كيمشي لمدينة؟) |
| Had tobis ka-ymshi l medina? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Had tobis ka-ymshi l medina? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Had tobis ka-ymshi l medina? |
| The first word “had” (هاد) means “this.” This is followed by “tobis” (طوبيس) which in Arabic is “bus.” It’s actually the French word “autobus” that has been shortened to “tobis.” |
| Let’s take a look at the next word, “kaymshi” (كيمشي) means “goes.” The letter “l” (ل) is the preposition “to.” |
| So, to recap here, we have “had tobis kaymshi l …?” (هاد طوبيس كيمشي ل...؟) which means “This bus is going to …?” This is your key phrase. All you need to do now is add a destination. For example, “Had tobis kaymshi l medina?” means “Does this bus go to the medina?” |
| Now what if you want to go to the train station? |
| "Train station" in Arabic is “mahattat al-qitar” (محطة القطار). |
| So, “does this bus go to the train station?” is “had tobis kaymshi l al-qitar?” |
| In Arabic, this is: (هاد طوبيس كيمشي لمحطة القطار؟) |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: had tobis kaymshi l al-qitar? |
| Okay! Once you have the right bus there are a few things you need to know about riding the bus in Morocco. Every bus has an attendant who collects money and gives you a ticket. So, when you get on a bus, find a seat, and he or she will come to you. As for the bus fare, it’s 4 Dh in Casablanca and Rabat. It’s a flat fee so it doesn’t matter how long you ride the bus for. Now, an important thing is when you arrive at your stop and you want to get off the bus. There is no button to push or anything. You just need to stand up when you approach your stop, as a sign to the driver that you want to get off. If you don’t stand up, and if nobody else does, the driver will just keep going thinking that nobody wants to get off. Ask the attendant if you don’t know where your stop is. But what if you don't know where your stuff is? The best thing to do is to tell the bus attendants your destination and he or she will make sure to tell the driver to stop and that's what I do. |
| Now, bus stops are some of the most random places in Morocco, they’re overcrowded, people don't line up to get on them, they have no schedules; you just show up and hope the bus will arrive soon. They are generally safe but you want to watch out for your wallet and purse because some of the best pickpocketing happens here when everybody rushes toward the bus to get on them. If you can, I suggest you take a taxi, but you'll miss out on a very interesting cultural experience. |
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! |
| “Does this bus go to the train station?” - had tobis kaymshi l al-qitar? |
| had tobis kaymshi l al-qitar? |
| had tobis kaymshi l al-qitar? |
| “train station” in standard Arabic - maḥaṭṭaẗi al-qiṭār |
| maḥaṭṭaẗi al-qiṭār |
| maḥaṭṭaẗi al-qiṭār |
| “train station” in spoken Arabic - al-qitar |
| al-qitar |
| al-qitar |
| 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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