Saturday, May 3, 2008

Introduction: السلام عليكم

New Vocabulary

as-salaamu 3aleekum (السلام عليكم) - Peace be upon you (greeting)
wa-3aleekum as-salaam (وعليكم السلام) - And upon you peace (response)
yalla bina (يلله بنا) - Let's go!
ta3aala (تعالى) - Come on!
Habiibi (حبيبي) - my darling, my beloved
al-salaam (السلام) - peace, a greeting

sallam (سلّم) - to say hi
Habb (حب) - to love

Before moving into some of the songs and breaking down their sentences, it will be nice to enjoy this video and get a simple introduction to Egyptian Arabic as well as Egyptian music. This song by Hakim is entitled "as-salaamu 3aleekum (السلام عليكم)" which means "Peace be upon you." This is a common way of saying hi in Egypt as well as much of the Muslim world. The response to "as-salaamu 3aleekum (السلام عليكم)" is "wa-3aleekum as-salaam (وعليكم السلام)" which should be said whenever anyone greets you saying "as-salaamu 3aleekum (السلام عليكم)." The verb "to say hi" or "to say salaam" is thus, "sallam (سلّم)."

The musical style in this song is shaabi, which means "folk" or "people's" music but refers to a certain style of pop music driven by the distinct kind of rhythm you'll find in this song optimized for dancing with lyrical emphasis on repetition of catchy lines.

Depending on your level of Arabic you may or may not understand much of this song. Try to focus on reading along and making out the words, picking out the few phrases and vocabulary I've highlighted above. Also, enjoy the video, which depicts various potential Cairo scenarios.



اس اس السلام عليكم
طب اس اس السلام عليكم
اس اس السلام عليكم
طب اس اس السلام عليكم
السلام عليكم السلام عليكم
السلام عليكم السلام عليكم

بعد السلام يحلى الكلام
نسهر ندوب حب و غرام
الحياه حلوه يالله بينا يالله نحضن الأيام

السلام عليكم السلام عليكم

انا قلبي سلم يا حبيبي رد السلام
و افتحلي قلبك يا حبيبي و انسى الخصام

حب و ارقص غني و أوعى تبعد عني
حب و ارقص غني و أوعى تبعد عني
هات ايدك يالله دا السلام لله و لا كفايا عناد

السلام عليكم السلام عليكم

ما تضم شوقك على شوقي قرب يا واد
و احلوي يا دنيا و روقي بعد البعاد

من رموشك خذني او تعالى في حضني
ضحكة مع غمزة نظرة مع همسة
كلو يبقى تمام

السلام عليكم السلام عليكم

انا بس عايزك تديني شوية حنان
و بأحلى حب تنسيني مر الزمان

لو غلطت عاتبني مش تروح و تسبني
لو غلطت عاتبني مش تروح و تسبني
يالله يا واحشني عيش و عيشني ليه تبات زعلان

السلام عليكم السلام عليكم

بعد السلام يحلى الكلام
نسهر ندوب حب و غرام

Aside from the line "as-salaamu 3aleekum (السلام عليكم)" you may not have understood very much of the song. That's ok, because with a little explanation, you'll soon find that comprehension is not as difficult as it seems. Just take these coming lessons one at a time and learn all the target vocabulary and grammar explanations and you'll understand Egyptian shaabi songs like this in no time! Yalla, Lesson 1: ما خلاص
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20 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 9, 2008 at 12:10 AM

    hi, these lessons are wonderful and thanks a lot for actually taking up your time in making them.. i was just wondering whether you're learning turkish aswell considering you have also a turkish blog, i am turkish myself and would be pleased to help you in your turkish (if needed) since your blogs will be contributing greatly to my improvement in arabic & nothing is free in this world :D
    shukran kteer for all ur efforts :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2009 at 4:36 PM

    Ayse!!! iam turk to! well, my family migrated from turkiya in the 1800s but iam still in touch with my heritage although nothing is more important than islam. why are you interested in arabic?

    and here is a video that works:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf8jsnwrk-0&feature=related

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 12, 2009 at 3:43 PM

    Hey I went to turkey last summer!! turkiye cok guzel:) i studied turkish before i went and it is easy once you figure out the patterns, good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 15, 2009 at 4:03 PM

    Merhabba! haha I also was in turkey for a week and loved it! I made friends with the locals and experienced the real turkey, not tourist turkey. I love turks! I hope to visit Egypt and study arabic there. Im american

    ReplyDelete
  5. Essam SorourDecember 22, 2009 at 7:26 AM

    السلام عليكم ,
    أنا اسمي (عصام ٍسرور ) , مصري أنا بس حبيت أشوف الناس بره بيتعلموا اللغة بتاعتي ازاي , بيتهيألي انكوا بتعملوا كويس قوي , ربنا معاكوا لو محتاجين أي مساعدة بجد محدش يتردد في انه يتصل بيا , أكيد هيقى مبسوط جدا إني اساعد حد في انه يتعلم لغتي
    سلام ,
    peace be upon you ,
    My name is Essam , Egyptian ,I just wanted to see how the people out there are learning my lanuage , I beleive that you are doing very good , God may help you all , If you need any help seriously nobody hesitate to contact me , for sure I will be very happy to help someone to learn my language ,
    Peace ,

    ( and by the way Chris I'm sure that you are such a professional teacher ) keep up the good work

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anwar AllieMarch 19, 2010 at 5:28 AM

    Salaam Esam How do i contact you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. adam rayfieldMarch 22, 2010 at 5:40 PM

    Hi and thank you for this great blog. I am a Canadian moving to Cairo to teach in August and I am keen to learn Egyptian Arabic. I also was wondering the number system you use to translate arabic words into english. What are the sounds for those numbers?
    Once again thanks for the great site. It is a great learning tool and I am having a fun time learning the language. Thanks and hope to hear from you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. malaikainafricaMay 27, 2010 at 12:57 PM

    I love it!

    I lived in the Middle East for a total of two years and am currently an Arabic instructor in Washington, D.C. bahib masr muuuuuut!

    ReplyDelete
  9. husseinDecember 25, 2010 at 8:50 AM

    ASALAMU ALAIKUM AHLAN WA SAHLAN MY NAME IS HUSSEIN AND I AM ASKING BECAUSE I FIND THIS QUITE CONFUSING, WHEN EGYPTIANS TALK, SOME OF THE WORDS ARE NOT PRONOUNCES FOR E.G. ALA adi WHEN ITS MEANT TO BE ALA qadi SO I WONDERING HOW THEY CAN DO THAT

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    salam aliykum, i use to be very fluent in Arabic when i was 5 and younger and i'm 20 now and needing to learn again i know some but not as well as i used to be, also not in a place where people speak it, im in small town in U.S. and really needing to pick back up on my language. insha allah, well any commets just mailing me thanks, diyanah_dahlisaa at yahoo dot com, take care to all,
    Maa Asalama.

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    salam aliykum, i use to be very fluent in Arabic when i was 5 and younger and i'm 20 now and needing to learn again i know some but not as well as i used to be, also not in a place where people speak it, im in small town in U.S. and really needing to pick back up on my language. insha allah, well any commets just mailing me thanks, diyanah_dahlisaa at yahoo dot com, take care to all,
    Maa Asalama.

    ReplyDelete
  12. german translation servicesOctober 21, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    This is great lesson and helpful in learning.


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    ReplyDelete
  13. ShiYuanShuangJanuary 28, 2012 at 12:38 AM

    I'm liking your lessons so far. I have two years of Standard Arabic and one year of Moroccan Darija, but have always wanted to learn Egyptian. Thanks for sharing the video, but as for it depicting "various potential Cairo scenarios", I think it is more lulzy than realistic.

    ReplyDelete
  14. IsOctober 17, 2012 at 2:10 AM

    Esalaamu alaykum (X4)

    After greetings
    The words become nicer
    We'll sleep late, to test love and love
    The life is coming
    Let's go!
    To embrace the days

    Esalaamu alaykum (X 4)

    My heart said hello
    answer back greetings to me
    And open your heart to me
    And forget the fighting (X2)
    Love and dance and sing
    Don't go far away from me (x2)
    Give me your hands
    The greetings for God
    Enough with being stubborn!

    Esalaamu alaykum (X 4)

    Let's put your love with my love
    Come closer ya wald*--yeah
    A more beautiful world more clear
    After being far away--yeah (X2)
    Where your eyelashes take me
    Come into my hug (X2)
    Laugh with dimples
    Just look with a soft voice
    Everything is fine

    Esalaamu alaykum (X 4)

    I just want you to give me some love--yeah
    Most beautiful love
    you let me forget the sad days--yeah (X2)
    If I was wrong blame me
    Don't go away and leave me (X2)
    Yalla someone I miss
    Live and let me live
    Don't spend the night upset!

    Esalaamu alaykum (X 4)

    After greetings
    The words become nicer
    We'll sleep late, to test love and love
    The life is coming
    Let's go!
    To embrace the days

    Es--es--esalaamu alaykum (to fade)

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJuly 23, 2013 at 6:29 PM

    The first time I heard this was 2008. My Lebonese friend showed me a dance to this song. I had no idea what the song said and thought id never hear it again. This was a nice surprise to find while I'm learning the carene Arabic dialect:) Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousAugust 19, 2013 at 5:10 PM

    Why is this dialect Nationalism.It's a kind of Racisim. Better teach people High Arabic then useless Egyptian or other Arabic dialect.Protct your Language and Heritage just like the Turkish do.

    Good Doer

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fakhr el-ZamanNovember 1, 2013 at 4:24 AM

    baraka allah feik..ged sa3adteni kathiran..mar7aa..mar7aa..w kuntu 3aarifan bi el-su3uudiyya..w ma kuntusy 3aarifan bi el-misriyya w ged 3alemteny..shokran 2awi..! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. iklan gratisJuly 6, 2015 at 11:34 AM

    I am so glad to get this lesson.

    ReplyDelete
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