قابلت صاحبي بالصدفة في الكافيه.

I met my male friend by chance at the cafe.

Breakdown of قابلت صاحبي بالصدفة في الكافيه.

• في: at
• صاحب: male friend
• يقابل: to meet
• الكافيه: the cafe

Questions & Answers about قابلت صاحبي بالصدفة في الكافيه.

What does قابلت mean, and why does it end in -ت?

قابلت means I met.

The base verb is قابل = to meet.
The ending -ت marks I in the past tense in Egyptian Arabic.

So:

• قابلت = I met
• قابل = he met
• قابلتِ or in speech قابلتي = you (feminine) met
• قابلتوا = you all met

In this sentence, قابلت صاحبي means I met my friend.

Why is صاحبي translated as my friend?

The word صاحب means friend, companion, or buddy in Egyptian Arabic.

When you add -ي to the end, it means my:

• صاحب = friend
• صاحبي = my friend

So صاحبي is literally friend-my.

This is very common in Arabic: possession is often shown by adding a suffix directly to the noun.

Can صاحبي mean something other than my friend?

Yes. In Egyptian Arabic, صاحبي usually means , , or . But depending on context, can sometimes suggest: