اسمي علي.

My name is Ali.

Breakdown of اسمي علي.

• اسم: name
• ي: my
• علي: Ali

Questions & Answers about اسمي علي.

How do you pronounce اسمي علي in Levantine Arabic?

A common Levantine pronunciation is ismi ʿAli or esmi ʿAli, depending on the speaker and region.

• اسمي = ismi / esmi
• علي = ʿAli

A simple approximation for English speakers is:

• IS-mee a-LEE
  But remember that the first sound in علي is ع (ʿayn), which does not exist in English.

What does اسمي mean literally?

اسمي is made of two parts:

• اسم = name
• ـي = my

So اسمي literally means my name.

Arabic often shows possession by adding a suffix to the noun, instead of using a separate word like my.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Arabic, sentences like My name is Ali usually do not use a present-tense verb meaning is.

So:

• اسمي علي = literally my name Ali
• natural English translation = My name is Ali

This is completely normal in both Levantine and Standard Arabic.