Lesson 14: انا مش بعيد

New Vocabulary

raghm (رغم) - in spite of, despite
saa3itha (ساعتها) - at the same time, at that time, then and there
Taayil (طايل) - getting to, reaching
gaay (جاي) - coming
xaTwa (خطوة) - step, footstep
maw3iid (موعد) pl. mii3aad (ميعاد) - appointment, date, appointed time
gah al-3ayn fi al-3ayn (جه العين في العين) - for one eye to meet another

Su3ub (صُعُب) - to get more difficult
shaaf (شاف) - to see
3azar (عذر) - to excuse and sympathize with, to pardon

After that vocab filled Lesson 13, I thought it was time to do a song that reviews some things you already know. This lesson centers on the song "ana mish ba3iid (انا مش بعيد)" by Medhat Saleh, an Egyptian pop singer of the generation of Amr Diab. The title, which means "I am Not Far," refers to the awkward situation in the song in which the two lovers are estranged from one another despite their close proximity. Take a listen and read along.

انا مش بعيد يا حبيبتي عنك
ده اللي بينا خطوتين
ورغم شوقي وقربي منك
صعب تيجي العين في العين

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى
جاي لك فى ميعادى

ايوة شايفك وانتى لا
بس بكرة هتشوفينى
وتعرفى اننا ليا حق
واكيد ساعتها هتعزرينى

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى
جاي لك فى ميعادى

انا مش سايبك ده انا علشانك
بتغرب واتحدى الدنيا
خليكى يا حبيبتى مكانك
جاى اخدك من الدنيا التانيه

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك
بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك
مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى

There's some tricky sentences in here, but for the most part the song is very clear. Let's take a look at the first and titular line:

انا مش بعيد يا حبيبتي عنك

You should understand this. If it helps I will reorder it for you like this: "ana mish ba3iid 3annik ya Habiibi (انا مش بعيد عنك يا حبيبي)" "i am not far from you my darling."

ده اللي بينا خطوتين

"xaTwa (خطوة)" is a step, so "xaTwatayn (خطوتين)" means "two steps." Break down this sentence. "This which is between us is two steps." Meaning they are in close proximity of each other.

Next line:

ورغم شوقي وقربي منك

"raghm (رغم)" is a very important word meaing "in spite of." You will also see it in "3ala raghm min (على رغم من)" meaning "despite" and "raghm inn (رغم إن)" meaning "although" or "despite the fact that." Here "raghm shuu'i wa 'urbi minnik (رغم شوقي وقربي منك)" means then, "in spite of my desire and closeness to you."

Last line of the verse:

صعب تيجي العين في العين

Of course we know the word "Sa3ab (صعب)" to mean "hard" or "difficult." At the beginning of the sentence, it takes the meaning of "it's hard." Here we have a little bit of an idiomatic phrase. As we know, the verb "gah (جه)" means "to come." "tiigi al-3ayn (تيجي)" means "the eye comes." However for one eye to come to another eye or "tiigi al-3ayn fi al-3ayn (تيجي العين في العين)" means "the eye comes in the eye" but really "the eye meets the eye" or here in this context "my eye meets yours," so the line could be translated as "it's hard to make our eyes meet."

Here comes the chorus:

يمكن قدامي ومش طايلك

Remember the word "'udaam (قدام)" meaning "in front of." The word "Taayil (طايل)" is from the verb "Taal (طال)" which has many meanings. Just know that "Taayil (طايل)" here means "getting to" or maybe "reaching." So he says, "maybe you're in front of me and I'm not getting to you." In keeping with the theme of the song, they are right there with each other but it seems like they are miles apart.

Next line:

بس انا فى القلب اكيد شايلك

These are all words you know. If you're having trouble understanding, consult the Egyptian Arabic Vocabulary provided on this site.

مهما اتعب وطريقى هيصعب جاي لك فى ميعادى

First the unclear words. The verb "Su3ub (صُعُب)" means "to become more difficult." So "mahma it3ab wa Tarii'i hayiS3ab (مهما اتعب وطريقي هيصعب)" means 'no matter how tired I get and how hard my road gets." The word "maw3id (موعد)" is "date" or "appointment." The plural is "mii3aad (ميعاد)." "gaay lik fi mii3aadi (جايلك في ميعادي)" means like "I'm coming to you in my appointment" or "I'm coming to you on time," meaning essentially that he will be there when he needs to be.

Next verse:

ايوة شايفك وانتى لا

Might look a little weird, but it just means "yes, I see you and you don't (see me)."

Next line:

بس بكره هتشوفينى

Did you get it?

Here is the continuation of the last line:

وتعرفى اننا ليا حق

"And you'll know I'm right."

Next line:

واكيد ساعتها هتعزرينى

The verb "3azar (عذر)" means "to excuse and sympathize with." "saa3itha (ساعتها)" means something like "at the same time" or "then and there." So the whole thing means, "for sure, then and there, you'll excuse me and sympathize with me," meaning she'll understand and forgive him.

Chorus again, then the final verse:

انا مش سايبك
ده انا علشانك بتغرب واتحدى الدنيا

Remember the word "saab (ساب)" meaning "to leave behind." "3alashaanik (علشانك)" means as we've learned means "for your sake." "itgharrab (اتغرب)" means "to leave one's country or town," literally "to make oneself estranged." "itHadda (اتحدى)" means "to challenge" or "to take on." So, "I'm not leaving you, I'm leaving and taking on the world for you."

The last lines are nothing new for you guys:

خليكى يا حبيبتى مكانك
جاى اخدك من الدنيا التانيه

Understood? Go back an listen again and again to ingrain the chorus into your head, as was done to me once in a Cairo internet cafe (the owner played this song over and over for like a half hour). Maybe this lesson was easy, but the next one is even easier and will show how much progress you've made! Lesson 15: انت معايا