Breakdown of أنا آكل كل شيء غير اللحم.
الal
the
أناana
I
شيءshay'
thing
أكلakala
to eat
لحمlahm
meat
كلkull
all / every
غيرghayr
not, un- (before an adjective); other than
Questions & Answers about أنا آكل كل شيء غير اللحم.
Why does آكل have a wavy line on top of the first letter?
That wavy line is called a madda. It represents two alifs combined. Since the root for the verb to eat starts with an alif, the 'I' form of the present tense adds another alif prefix at the beginning. Instead of writing two of them together side by side, Arabic combines them into آكل (aakul).
How does the phrase كل شيء translate to everything?
The word كل means all or every, and شيء means thing. When you put كل before an indefinite, singular noun, it means every. So كل شيء literally translates to every thing.
How are we using غير in this sentence?
The word غير means other than, except, or unlike. It is a very useful word to express exceptions. In grammar, it links to the following noun using a possession phrase structure (an idafa), meaning the word following it is grammatically treated as its owner.
Why is there an ال on اللحم when the English translation just says meat?
In English, we often drop 'the' when talking about general categories like meat, music, or water. In Arabic, general concepts and broad categories almost always need the definite article ال (al-). That is why it is written as اللحم (the meat).
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