Asking politely
Add من فضلك(min fadlika) — please — to any request, before or after it. To stop a stranger and ask something, open with لو سمحت(law samaht), excuse me (literally if you would allow).
| Coffee, please. | قهوة من فضلك.qahwatan min fadlik |
| Excuse me, where is the hotel? | لو سمحت، أين الفندق؟law samahta, ayna al-funduq? |
If you need someone to wait, say لحظة(lahza) — (just) a moment.
Apologizing
آسف(âsifun) means sorry. It is an adjective, so it agrees with the speaker: a woman says آسفة.
| Sorry, I do not understand. | آسف، أنا لا أفهم.âsif, ana lâ afham. |
Offering and agreeing
تفضل(tafaddal) is the word you use when you hand something over, invite someone in, or let them go first — here you are, please come in, go ahead. To a woman it is تفضلي.
| Come in, make yourself at home. | تفضل، البيت بيتك.tafaddal, al-baytu baytuka |
| word | use |
|---|---|
| حسنا | okay, all right — agreeing to something |
| طبعا | of course — an enthusiastic yes |
Asking what something means
يعني(yaani) means it means. With ماذا it makes the classroom question you will need most: ماذا يعني هذا؟(mâdhâ ya'nî hâdhâ?) — what does this mean?
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
