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### The High Cost of Living

When discussing everyday finances, a common topic is the high cost (**غلاء**) of living. To keep a healthy budget and save money, it is important to avoid wastefulness (**تبذير**).

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### Prices and Commodities

As inflation affects the market, the price of an everyday commodity (**سلعة**) often escalates (**تصاعد**). This directly impacts the standard of living (**معيشي**).

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### Managing Family Expenses

Running a household requires careful financial management (**تدبير**). The word **أسرة** refers to the immediate family making these budget decisions.

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### Austerity and Incurring Costs

During an economic crisis or recession, governments and families might be forced to adopt an austerity (**تقشف**) plan to protect their savings (**مدخر**).

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When businesses or individuals face financial difficulties, they may incur (**تكبد**) sudden expenses or significant losses. This verb is frequently used in formal contexts to describe taking on a heavy financial burden.

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Discussing the Cost of Living

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
wastefulness	تبذيرtabdhir
Avoid wastefulness in order to save money.	تجنب التبذير لكي توفر المال.tajannabi at-tabdhîra likay tuwaffira al-mâl.
high cost	غلاءghalâ'
The professor said that the high cost of living is very difficult.	قال الأستاذ إن غلاء المعيشة صعب جدا.qâla al-ustâdhu inna ghalâ'a al-ma'îshati sa'bun jiddan
If we had reduced wastefulness, we would have saved a large amount.	لو قللنا من التبذير، لوفرنا مبلغا كبيرا.law qallalnâ mina at-tabdhîri, lawaffarnâ mablaghan kabîran
to escalate	تصاعدtasâ'ada
commodity	سلعةsil'ah
The price of every commodity in the market escalated.	تصاعد سعر كل سلعة في السوق.tasâ'ada si'ru kulli sil'atin fi as-sûq.
living (relating to livelihood or conditions)	معيشيma'îshiyy
The minister said that the standard of living is stable.	قال الوزير إن المستوى المعيشي مستقر.qâla al-wazîru inna al-mustawâ al-ma'îshiyya mustaqirrun
family (immediate)	أسرةusra
The family had to pay the electricity bill yesterday.	كان يجب أن تدفع الأسرة فاتورة الكهرباء أمس.kâna yajibu an tadfa'a al-usratu fâtûrata al-kahrabâ'i amsi.
management	تدبيرtadbîr
The wife is responsible for managing the family's expenses.	الزوجة مسؤولة عن تدبير نفقات الأسرة.azzawjatu mas'ûlatun 'an tadbîri nafaqâti al-usrati
austerity	تقشفtaqashshuf
The government started a harsh austerity plan due to the crisis.	بدأت الحكومة خطة تقشف قاسية بسبب الأزمة.bada'ati al-hukûmatu khuttata taqashshufin qâsiyatan bisababi al-azmati
saving	مدخرmuddakhar
The woman said that inflation ate our savings.	قالت المرأة إن التضخم أكل مدخراتنا.qâlati-l-mar'atu inna-t-tadakhkhuma akala muddakharâtinâ.
to incur	تكبدtakabbada
The company incurred a big loss because of the recession.	تكبدت الشركة خسارة كبيرة بسبب الركود.takabbadati ash-sharikatu khasâratan kabîratan bisababi ar-rukûdi
My sister had to buy a washing machine, but she incurred other expenses.	كان يجب أن تشتري أختي غسالة، لكنها تكبدت نفقات أخرى.kâna yajibu an tashtariya ukhtî ghassâlatan, lâkinnahâ takabbadat nafaqâtin ukhrâ.
If we had implemented the austerity plan, we would have succeeded in managing the family's money.	لو نفذنا خطة التقشف، لنجحنا في تدبير مال الأسرة.law naffadhnâ khuttata at-taqashshufi, lanajahnâ fî tadbîri mâli al-usrati
The prices escalated, so we spent all our savings.	تصاعدت الأسعار، فصرفنا كل مدخراتنا.tasâ'adati al-as'âru, fa sarafnâ kulla mudakharâtinâ
The standard of living was affected when the price of every commodity escalated.	تأثر المستوى المعيشي عندما تصاعد سعر كل سلعة.ta'aththara al-mustawa al-ma'ishiyyu 'indama tasâ'ada si'ru kulli sil'atin
The wife complained about the high cost of living.	شكت الزوجة من غلاء المعيشة.shakati az-zawjatu min ghalâ'i al-ma'îshah
sufficiency (enough)	كفايةkifâya
We don't earn enough.	لا نكسب بما فيه الكفاية.lâ naksibu bimâ fîhi l-kifâyah.
Salaries are not high enough.	الرواتب ليست عالية بما فيه الكفاية.ar-rawâtibu laysat 'âliyatan bimâ fîhi l-kifâyah

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