In this lesson, we will cover terminology for reporting service outages, understanding utility tariffs, and paying bills.
Reporting Outages
When reporting a service outage (انقطاع) or a short circuit (ماس), you often need to specify when or how it happened. To express adverbs of time or manner—such as "in the evening" (مساء) or "immediately" (حالا)—Arabic frequently uses indefinite nouns in the accusative case, indicated by a double-vowel ending.
| A power outage occurred in the evening because of a short circuit. | حدث انقطاع في الكهرباء مساء بسبب ماس.hadatha inqitâ'un fî al-kahrabâ'i masâ'an bisababi mâssin. |
| What is the reason for the internet service outage? | ما سبب انقطاع خدمة الإنترنت؟mâ sababu inqitâ'i khidmati l-internet? |
| You must report the short circuit immediately. | عليك أن تبلغ عن الماس حالا.alayka an tuballigha 'ani al-maassi hâlan |
Bills and Payments
Utility bills involve financial dues (مستحقات) that require payment (سداد). Notice how adverbs of time like "in the morning" (صباحا) and "tomorrow" (غدا) specify payment deadlines.
| We settled the electricity bill dues in the morning. | سددنا مستحقات فاتورة الكهرباء صباحا.saddadnâ mustahaqqâti fâtûrati l-kahrabâ'i sabâhan |
| The electricity bill payment date is tomorrow. | موعد سداد فاتورة الكهرباء غدا.maw'idu sadâdi fâtûrati al-kahrabâ'i ghadan |
| You all must confirm the payment of the fees. | عليكم أن تؤكدوا سداد الرسوم.'alaykum an tu'akkidû sadâda r-rusûm |
Arrears and Numbers 21–99
If bills go unpaid, you may accumulate arrears (متأخرات), leading to your service being disconnected (مقطوع).
When discussing quantities like amounts owed or areas affected, you will encounter compound numbers. For numbers between 21 and 99, Arabic states the units (ones) digit first, followed by the conjunction و (and), then the tens digit. The noun being counted is always singular and in the accusative case.
| I paid forty-five dollars for the arrears. | دفعت خمسة وأربعين دولارا للمتأخرات.dafa'tu khamsatan wa-arba'îna dûlâran lil-muta'akhkhirât. |
| The service was cut off because of the consumption fee arrears. | انقطعت الخدمة بسبب متأخرات رسوم الاستهلاك.inqata'ati al-khidmatu bisababi muta'akhkhirâti rusûmi al-istihlâk |
| Gas is disconnected in twenty-five streets. | الغاز مقطوع في خمسة وعشرين شارعا.al-ghâzu maqtû'un fî khamsatin wa 'ishrîna shâri'an. |
Backup Power and Infrastructure
When dealing with outages, you might need a candle (شمعة) or a generator (مولد).
| We lit twenty-one candles in the dark. | أشعلنا إحدى وعشرين شمعة في الظلام.ashalnâ ihdâ wa-ishrîna shamatan fi-zh-zhalâm |
| The company bought thirty-two generators. | اشترت الشركة اثنين وثلاثين مولدا.ishtarati sh-sharikatu ithnayni wa thalathiina muwallidan. |
Knowing terminology for household infrastructure, such as sewers (مجاري) and cables (كابل), helps you communicate clearly with maintenance services.
| The plumber repaired the sewage network pipe. | صلح السباك أنبوب شبكة المجاري.sallaha as-sabbâku unbûba shabakati al-majârî |
| We need thirty-four meters of the cable. | نحتاج إلى أربعة وثلاثين مترا من الكابل.nahtâju ilâ arba'atin wa thalâthîna mitran mina alkâbili |