Learn about buying a phone card
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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 |
|---|
| While most people couldn't or wouldn't step outside without their cell phones, when visiting another country, sometimes it's a little too far for you local carrier. |
| In recent years, you can rent a cell phone when you get to Morocco and we’ll cover this in another lesson, but the good old payphone is still an option when you're travelling in Morocco. |
| Public phones in Morocco take coins and phone cards. You can buy cards starting from 10 Dh (which is about a dollar) at any teleboutique, which means phone store in the country. |
| I’ll tell you more about these amazing phone shops later. For now, let’s work on asking for a card. |
| Now, before asking for a card, you may want to find out if they have the cards. |
| In Arabic, "do you have telephone cards?" is andkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? (عندكم بطاقة د الهاتف؟). |
| andkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| Once again: andkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| The first word, andkum (عندكم), means "you have." |
| Let’s break it down: andkum |
| And, andkum |
| This is followed by biṭāqah, which in Arabic is “card.” |
| biṭāqah |
| biṭāqah |
| This is followed by di, which meanse “of.” |
| di |
| di |
| Followed by al-hātif, which means “telephone.” |
| al-hātif |
| al-hātif |
| So altogether, we have: andkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| Literally, it means "do you have a card of phone?" or "do you have a phone card?" |
| The answer to this will be either “yes,” ʾāh (آه) or “no,” la (لا). |
| In the case that they have the cards, you'll want to ask for one. |
| Let's start with a 50-Dh card, which is about a $5 card. |
| In Arabic, "a 50-Dh telephone card please" is waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk (واحد البطاقة ديال خمسين درهم عفاك). |
| waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| The first word, waāḥid (واحد), means “one.” |
| waāḥid |
| waāḥid |
| This is followed by al-biṭāqah (بطاقة), which as we say, is "card", |
| al-biṭāqah |
| And, al-biṭāqah |
| This is followed by dīal, which is "of" |
| dīal |
| dīal |
| To recap here, we have: waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal, meaning “one card of” |
| This is followed by ḫimsīn, which is “fifty.” |
| ḫimsīn |
| ḫimsīn |
| And followed by dirham, or “Dirham.” |
| dirham |
| dirham |
| The last word is ʿafāk (عفاك), which is "please." |
| ʿafāk |
| ʿafāk |
| So altogether, we have: waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| And literally, it means “One card of 50-Dh please.” |
| You can use the same question to ask for cards of 100 Dirhams, which is miʾaẗ dirham |
| miʾaẗ dirham |
| Or 200 Dirhams - mi'atān dirham. |
| mi'atān dirham |
| Cultural Insights |
| When you want to make a phone call, you definitely should do it at a teleboutique, pronounced tīlībūtīk in Arabic. Tele for “telephone” and boutique for “shop.” These are privately run, very nice shops with phone booths. Most of them have doors for privacy which is something you never find in scattered individual phones on the street. |
| Now, the best thing about these teleboutique is that they have an attendant to provide change, phone cards, advice, prepaid cell phone cards, and cell phones, too. So don't worry if you only have bills on you, they'll break them for you. |
| The other great thing is their convenience, you can find one everywhere, sometimes two or three within the same block. These teleboutique have been so popular over the last decade that individual public phonebooths are almost non-existent. |
| Now, if you can spot one, remember to use the phrase we learned before - “Is there a teleboutique near here?” |
| Again, this is: kaāyin šiī tīlībūtīk qarīb? |
| kaāyin šiī tīlībūtīk qarīb? |
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! |
| "Do you have telephone cards?" - ʿandkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| ʿandkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| ʿandkum biṭāqah di al-hātif? |
| "A 50-Dh card please." - waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| waāḥid al-biṭāqah dīal- ḫimsīn dirham ʿafāk |
| "Is there a teleboutique near here?" - kaāyin šiī tīlībūtīk qarīb ? |
| kaāyin šiī tīlībūtīk qarīb? |
| kaāyin šiī tīlībūtīk qarīb? |
| 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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