Breakdown of عندي ساعة جميلة.
جميلjamîl
beautiful
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
عند'inda
at / to have
ساعةsâ'a
watch / hour
Questions & Answers about عندي ساعة جميلة.
How exactly does عندي translate to 'I have'?
The word عندي is made of two parts: عند (which means 'at' or 'with') and the attached pronoun ـي (which means 'me' or 'my'). In Arabic, instead of using an action verb for 'to have', we use these prepositions to literally say 'at me', which translates to 'I have'.
Where is the word for 'a' in this sentence?
Arabic does not have a separate word for 'a' or 'an'. If a noun does not have ال ('the') attached to the beginning, it is automatically understood to mean 'a' or 'an'. Therefore, ساعة alone means 'a watch'.
Why does the word for 'beautiful' (جميلة) come after the word for 'watch' (ساعة)?
Unlike English, where we say 'a beautiful watch', Arabic puts the noun first and the describing word (adjective) second. So the sentence literally says 'at me a watch beautiful'.
Why does جميلة end with a ة (taa marbouta)?
Adjectives in Arabic must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because ساعة is a feminine word (which we can tell by its ending ة), the base adjective for beautiful (جميل) must also add a ة to become جميلة.
I thought ساعة meant 'hour'. Does it also mean 'watch'?