Word
لو الملح كتير، ممكن نحط شوية طماطم كمان في الصلصة.
Meaning
If the salt is too much, we can add some more tomatoes to the sauce.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about لو الملح كتير، ممكن نحط شوية طماطم كمان في الصلصة.
Why does the sentence start with لو? Does it mean if here?
Yes. In Egyptian Arabic, لو commonly means if and introduces a condition:
- لو الملح كتير = if the salt is too much / if it’s too salty
It is very common in everyday speech. In this sentence, the speaker is setting up a situation and then giving a possible solution.
Why is there no verb in لو الملح كتير? Shouldn’t it say something like if the salt is much with a verb?
This is very normal in Arabic. In the present tense, Arabic often leaves out the verb to be.
So:
- الملح كتير literally looks like the salt much
- but it naturally means the salt is a lot / there is too much salt / it’s too salty
This is called a nominal sentence. Egyptian Arabic does this all the time:
- الأكل سخن = the food is hot
- البيت كبير = the house is big
- الملح كتير = the salt is too much
If you are an English speaker, this may feel incomplete at first, but in Arabic it is perfectly normal.
What exactly does كتير mean here?