INTRODUCTION |
In this lesson, we'll cover phrases used for apologizing. Since you haven’t quite mastered Egyptian Arabic, it's probably a good idea to go over the phrases for apologizing, as they’ll likely come in handy. |
GRAMMAR POINT・ |
One of the most common ways of saying “I’m sorry,” in Egyptian Arabic is |
ana aasef |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) ana aasef. |
Once more: |
ana aasef. |
The first word, ana, means “I”. As you’ve probably noticed, Arabic does not need the verb “to be”. |
The second word, aasef, is an adjective that means “sorry”. |
(slow) aasef |
aasef |
Altogether, we have |
(slow) ana aasef. |
ana aasef. |
・ |
If you are a woman, you have to replace aasef with aasefa. |
ana aasefa. |
(slow) ana aasefa. |
ana aasefa. |
You can also omit ana and just say aasef or aasefa. This works the way “excuse me” does in English. |
Let’s hear it once again: |
(slow) aasef |
aasef |
If you are a women, you have to replace aasef with aasefa. |
(slow) aasefa |
aasefa |
If you are in the city, you will hear many people use the English “sorry” as it is, with a little bit of an Egyptian accent. |
Lets hear it one more time: |
(slow) sorry |
sorry |
It is polite, yet it is used for minor apologies. |
・ |
ana aasef giddan! is another way to say you're sorry. It is used only for deeper apologies, meaning “I am very sorry.” |
Let’s read it one more time: |
(slow) ana aasef giddan. |
ana aasef giddan. |
As we learned at the beginning of this lesson, ana aasef means “I’m sorry”. Adding the word giddan, which means “so” or “very”, emphasizes the apology. |
(slow) giddan |
giddan |
Let’s hear the whole expression one more time: |
(slow) ana aasef giddan. |
ana aasef giddan. |
3 Comments
HideHave you ever used those words? Has anyone ever said them to you?
Salaam Rubens,
Thank you for your question. Please note that our Lesson Notes and Lesson Transcripts are only available in PDF format for our upgraded members.
Kind regards,
Levente (ليفينتي)
Team ArabicPod101.com
Can you make the lesson transcript link for download available for this lesson?