Word
معي كتاب صغير.
Meaning
I have a small book with me.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about معي كتاب صغير.
Why does the sentence not use a verb meaning have?
In Arabic, including Levantine, possession is often expressed without a verb like English have.
- معي literally means with me
- So معي كتاب صغير is literally something like With me [is] a small book
- Natural English translation: I have a small book
This is a very common pattern in spoken Arabic.
What exactly does معي mean?
معي means with me.
It is made of:
- مع = with
- ـي = me / my as an attached pronoun
So:
- معي = with me
- معك = with you
- معه = with him
- معها = with her
In everyday Levantine, معي is often used to mean I have when talking about something physically with you or available to you.
How do I pronounce معي?
A common pronunciation is maʿi.
A few notes:
- ma like ma in mama
- ʿ represents the Arabic letter ع, a sound English does not really have
- i like ee in see, but shorter
So it sounds roughly like:
ma-ʿi
If the ع is hard at first, that is normal. Many learners need time with it.