كنا بدنا نعزم الجارة، بس كانت مشغولة مع بنتها.

A natural breakdown is:

• كنا = we were
• بدنا = we wanted / we were wanting
• نعزم = to invite
• الجارة = the female neighbor
• بس = but
• كانت = she was
• مشغولة = busy
• مع بنتها = with her daughter

So the structure is roughly:

• كنا بدنا نعزم الجارة = We wanted to invite the neighbor
• بس كانت مشغولة مع بنتها = but she was busy with her daughter

This is very natural everyday Levantine Arabic.

It may look strange if you translate word by word, but كنا بدنا is a very common Levantine way to say we wanted or we were planning/intending to.

Here is the idea:

• بدنا by itself means we want
• كنا بدنا puts that wanting in the past: we wanted

So:

• بدنا نعزمها = we want to invite her
• كنا بدنا نعزمها = we wanted to invite her

English uses wanted as one word, but Levantine often expresses this with كان + a present-time expression.

بدنا is a very common Levantine word meaning we want.

It comes from بدّ plus a pronoun ending. In Levantine:

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

So بدنا نعزم literally means we want to invite.

This is colloquial Levantine, not Modern Standard Arabic. In MSA, you would more likely see نريد for we want.

Because after بدنا in Levantine, the next verb is normally in the imperfect/present form.

So:

• بدنا نعزم = we want to invite
• كنا بدنا نعزم = we wanted to invite

Even though the whole idea is past, the verb after بدنا stays in that normal imperfect form.

This is similar to English in a way:

• We wanted to invite...

English also does not say we wanted invited. It uses another verb form after wanted. Arabic just uses its own pattern.

In Levantine, عزم often means to invite, especially in everyday speech.

So:

• نعزم الجارة = we invite / we want to invite the neighbor

Depending on context, عزم can also have shades like:

• inviting someone over
• inviting someone to food
• hosting someone

But in this sentence, invite is the best and most natural translation.

Also, the first sound in عزم is the Arabic letter ع, which does not exist in English. Learners often just approximate it at first, and that is normal.

Because الجارة means the female neighbor, while الجار means the male neighbor.

This sentence is talking about a woman, which is also why the next clause says:

• كانت مشغولة = she was busy

Everything matches a feminine singular person.

So:

• الجار = the male neighbor
• الجارة = the female neighbor

The ـة ending is a very common feminine marker in Arabic.

Because Arabic adjectives and past-tense forms usually agree with the person they describe.

Here, the person is الجارة, which is feminine singular. So the sentence uses feminine singular forms:

• كانت = she was
• مشغولة = busy (feminine)

If the neighbor were male, you would say:

• كان مشغول

So the feminine grammar here helps confirm that the neighbor is a woman.

Here بس means but.

So:

• ..., بس ... = ..., but ...

It is very common in spoken Levantine Arabic.

In more formal Arabic, you might see words like:

• لكن
• ولكن

But in everyday conversation, بس is extremely natural.

Be aware that بس can also mean only / just in other contexts. Here, though, it clearly means but.

مع بنتها means with her daughter.

Breakdown:

• مع = with
• بنت = daughter / girl
• بنتها = her daughter

The ending -ها means her.

So:

• بنتي = my daughter
• بنتك = your daughter
• بنتها = her daughter

This kind of attached pronoun is very common in Arabic.

Arabic often does not repeat the subject if it is already clear from context.

After الجارة, the sentence continues with:

• بس كانت مشغولة...

The feminine singular form كانت already tells you the subject is she, and the most obvious she here is the neighbor.

So Arabic does not need to repeat:

• بس الجارة كانت مشغولة

That version is possible, but less natural here because the subject is already understood.

Yes, several parts are strongly Levantine:

• بدنا for we want
• بس for but
• the overall conversational structure

A more formal MSA-style sentence might be something like:

• كنا نريد أن ندعو الجارة، لكنها كانت مشغولة مع ابنتها.

Main differences:

• بدنا → نريد
• نعزم → ندعو in more formal wording
• بس → لكن / لكنها
• بنتها → ابنتها in formal Arabic

The original sentence sounds natural and everyday in Levantine.

A rough Levantine pronunciation would be:

kénna biddna nʕazem il-jāra, bas kānit mashghūle maʕ binta

A few notes:

• كنا often sounds like kénna or konna, depending on region
• بدنا is often pronounced biddna
• نعزم includes the sound ع
• الجارة is roughly il-jāra
• مشغولة is roughly mashghūle
• بنتها is often pronounced binta in connected speech

Exact pronunciation varies across Levantine regions, but this gives you a good everyday approximation.