كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية.

I had wanted to browse the novel.

Breakdown of كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية.

• كان نفسي: I had wanted to
• الرواية: the novel
• يتصفح: to browse

Questions & Answers about كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية.

What does كان نفسي mean here?

It is an idiomatic Egyptian Arabic expression for I wanted to, I wished to, or I felt like.

A rough breakdown is:

• كان = was
• نفسي = my self / my soul / my desire

But you should not translate it word-for-word. As a whole, كان نفسي + verb is a very common colloquial way to talk about a desire in the past.

So:

• كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية = I wanted to browse/leaf through the novel

Depending on context, it can also sound a little wistful, like I had wanted to or I wish I could have.

Why is كان in the past tense? Does that mean the wish is over or unfulfilled?

Usually, yes: كان puts the desire in the past.

So كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية often suggests:

• I wanted to browse the novel
• I had wanted to browse the novel
• sometimes I wish I could have browsed the novel

Very often, this structure carries a slight sense that the desire was not fulfilled, or at least that we are looking back on it. But that is not guaranteed purely by grammar; context decides.

Compare:

• نفسي اتصفح الرواية = I want / feel like browsing the novel
• كان نفسي اتصفح الرواية = I wanted / had wanted to browse the novel