كنا بدنا نغير القفل اليوم، بس السباك قال انو ما معه وقت.

It means something like we wanted to or we were going to.

In Levantine:

• بدنا = we want
• كنا بدنا = we wanted / we were planning to

In this sentence, كنا بدنا نغير القفل اليوم suggests a past plan that did not happen, especially because the next part gives the reason.

No. Each word does a different job:

• بدنا gives the idea of wanting / intending
• كنا puts that idea in the past

So:

• بدنا نغير القفل = we want to change the lock
• كنا بدنا نغير القفل = we wanted to change the lock / we were going to change the lock

A good way to think about it is that كان often works like a past-time helper in Levantine.

بدنا is part of a very common Levantine pattern meaning want or would like.

Some common forms are:

• بدي = I want
• بدك = you want
• بده = he wants
• بدها = she wants
• بدنا = we want
• بدكن = you all want
• بدهم = they want

So بدنا is not a regular MSA-style verb conjugation. It is a very common colloquial form you should learn as a set.

After بدنا, Levantine normally uses the imperfect verb form:

• بدنا نغير = we want to change
• not بدنا بنغير

This is similar to English want to change.

Here:

• نغير = we change / we change something
• after بدنا, it means to change

So بدنا نغير literally works like we want to change.

نغير comes from غيّر, which means to change.

In context, with something like a lock, it often means:

• change
• replace
• sometimes swap out

So in this sentence, نغير القفل is naturally understood as change/replace the lock.

Yes, it can move. Levantine word order is fairly flexible.

This sentence has:

• كنا بدنا نغير القفل اليوم = We wanted to change the lock today

But you could also hear:

• اليوم كنا بدنا نغير القفل
• كنا اليوم بدنا نغير القفل

The version in your sentence is very natural and neutral. Putting اليوم earlier usually adds a bit more emphasis to today.

Here, بس means but.

So:

• ... اليوم، بس ... = ... today, but ...

In Levantine, بس can have several meanings depending on context, including:

• but
• only
• that’s enough / stop

In this sentence, it clearly means but.

Yes. Here:

• قال = he said
• انو = that

So قال انو = he said that

In spoken Levantine, انو / إنو is a very common way to introduce a clause after verbs like said, knew, heard, and so on.

So:

• قال انو ما معه وقت = he said that he doesn’t have time

Yes, very often.

Both are natural:

• قال انو ما معه وقت
• قال ما معه وقت

The version with انو can sound a bit clearer or smoother, especially in longer sentences, but both are common in speech.

Literally, it is something like there isn’t time with him or time is not with him.

Levantine Arabic does not use a normal verb like English to have in this kind of sentence. Instead, it often uses words like:

• مع = with
• عند = at / with

So:

• معه وقت = he has time
• ما معه وقت = he doesn’t have time

This is a very important everyday pattern in spoken Arabic.

Yes. ما عنده وقت also means he doesn’t have time.

In many situations, ما معه وقت and ما عنده وقت are very close in meaning.

A rough nuance is:

• معه وقت can feel a little more like he has time available
• عنده وقت can feel a little more general, like he has time

But in everyday conversation, they are often interchangeable.

Because س is a sun letter.

That means the ل of الـ assimilates to the next consonant in pronunciation. So:

• written: السباك
• pronounced: is-sabbāk or es-sabbāk

So the l sound disappears in speech, but the spelling stays the same.

One common pronunciation would be:

kénna baddna nghayyer il-’efel il-yōm, bas is-sabbāk ’āl innu ma ma‘o wa’et

A few notes:

• ق may sound like ’ (a glottal stop), g, or q, depending on region
• انو may sound like innu or annu
• vowels vary from one Levantine area to another

So you may hear slightly different versions, but the grammar stays the same.