كان بدي احكي معك امبارح، بس نمت بكير.

In Levantine Arabic, كان بدي means something like I wanted to or I was going to / I had wanted to.

• كان = was
• بدي = I want

So literally it looks like I was wanting, but in natural English the best meaning here is usually:

• I wanted to talk to you yesterday
• or I meant to talk to you yesterday

It often gives the sense of a past intention that did not happen.

Because in Levantine, كان + بدي is a very common way to talk about a desire or intention in the past.

Compare:

• بدي احكي معك = I want to talk to you
• كان بدي احكي معك = I wanted to talk to you / I had wanted to talk to you

So كان shifts the desire into the past. It does not necessarily sound as formal or exact as English tense labels; it is just the normal everyday way to express a past wish or plan.

بدي is a very common Levantine way to say I want.

It comes historically from something like in my desire / my wish is, but learners should usually just memorize it as a unit:

• بدي = I want
• بدك = you want
• بده = he wants
• بدها = she wants

So in this sentence:

• كان بدي احكي = I wanted to speak / talk

Because this is colloquial Levantine, not Modern Standard Arabic.

In everyday Levantine, حكى / يحكي is a very common verb meaning:

• to talk
• to speak
• sometimes to say / tell

So:

• احكي معك = talk with you

In Modern Standard Arabic, a learner may expect أتكلم معك, but that would sound more formal or standard-language-like.

مع means with, and -ك is the attached pronoun you.

So:

• معك = with you

This is very normal in Arabic. Prepositions often take attached pronouns:

• معي = with me
• معك = with you
• معه = with him
• معها = with her

So احكي معك literally means talk with you.

In writing without vowel marks, معك can represent either:

• معَك / maʿak = with you (to a male)
• معِك / maʿik = with you (to a female)

The spelling is usually the same in normal Arabic writing, so you know the gender from context or pronunciation.

Yes. امبارح and مبارح both mean yesterday in Levantine.

The version without the initial ا is also very common:

• مبارح = yesterday
• امبارح = yesterday

Both are normal colloquial spellings. Pronunciation can vary a bit by region and speaker.

Here بس means but.

So the sentence is:

• كان بدي احكي معك امبارح، بس نمت بكير.
• I wanted to talk to you yesterday, but I slept early.

In other contexts, بس can also mean only / just, so learners need to rely on context.

Examples:

• بس هون = only here
• كنت بدي أجي، بس تعبت = I wanted to come, but I got tired

• نمت = I slept
• بكير = early

So literally:

• نمت بكير = I slept early

In natural English, we usually say:

• I went to sleep early
• or I fell asleep early

Arabic commonly uses slept early where English prefers went to sleep early.

Usually بكير means early, but it can also carry the idea of too soon or earlier than expected, depending on context.

In this sentence, it simply means:

• early

So نمت بكير = I went to sleep early

Do not confuse it with comparative forms in English. It is just the normal colloquial word here.

Because Arabic verbs often already show the subject.

For example:

• نمت already means I slept
• احكي after بدي is understood as that I talk / to talk

And بدي itself already means I want.

So adding أنا is possible, but not necessary:

• أنا كان بدي احكي معك = possible, but more emphatic
• كان بدي احكي معك = normal everyday phrasing

Arabic often drops subject pronouns when the meaning is already clear.

The sentence order is very natural for Levantine:

• كان بدي احكي معك امبارح، بس نمت بكير.

Literally:

• was wanting-I talk with-you yesterday, but slept-I early

This sounds normal in dialect. The time word امبارح can move around somewhat:

• كان بدي امبارح احكي معك
• امبارح كان بدي احكي معك

But the original version is very natural and common.

Yes, it often can.

كان بدي احكي معك امبارح، بس نمت بكير does not just state a fact; it often implies:

• I meant to talk to you
• I wanted to, but it didn’t happen
• maybe even sorry, I missed the chance

So it can sound softer and more personal than a plain factual statement.

Yes, small parts may vary, but this sentence is broadly understandable across the Levant.

Possible variations include:

• مبارح instead of امبارح
• كنت بدي احكي معك instead of كان بدي احكي معك
• أحكي with or without the written hamza, depending on spelling style

But the overall structure is very typical Levantine.

Yes. كنت بدي is also very common and many learners will hear it often.

• كنت بدي احكي معك = I wanted to talk to you
• كان بدي احكي معك = also used in speech, especially in colloquial flow

In very careful grammatical terms, كنت more directly matches I was, but dialect speech is flexible, and both patterns are heard. A learner should definitely recognize both.

A common Levantine-style pronunciation would be something like:

kaan baddi eHki maʿak/maʿik mbaareH, bas nemt bkkiir

A few notes:

• بدي is usually baddi
• احكي is often eHki or aHki, depending on speaker
• معك is maʿak to a male, maʿik to a female
• امبارح / مبارح is often pronounced mbaareH
• بكير is bkiir

Exact pronunciation varies by country, city, and speaker.