فيه ضلمة في الشارع.

in

Breakdown of فيه ضلمة في الشارع.

• فيه: there is
• شارع: street
• ضلمة: darkness

Questions & Answers about فيه ضلمة في الشارع.

What does فيه do in this sentence?

فيه in Egyptian Arabic often means there is / there are.

So فيه ضلمة literally means there is darkness. In natural English, that often comes out as it’s dark.

A very useful pattern is:

• فيه + noun = there is/are + noun

Examples:

• فيه ناس = there are people
• فيه مشكلة = there is a problem
• فيه ضلمة = it’s dark / there is darkness

Why is it فيه and not just في?

في by itself usually means in.

But فيه in Egyptian Arabic is commonly used as an existential expression, meaning there is / there are. It is extremely common in speech.

So compare:

• في الشارع = in the street
• فيه ضلمة = there is darkness / it’s dark

Even though فيه historically contains في, learners should usually treat فيه here as a fixed spoken form meaning there is/are.

What does ضلمة mean exactly?