Breakdown of الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون احسن من الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر، بس الفيديو عالكمبيوتر اكبر.
Questions & Answers about الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون احسن من الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر، بس الفيديو عالكمبيوتر اكبر.
How would I pronounce this sentence?
A natural Levantine-style pronunciation would be:
il-kāmīra lli ʿa-t-tilifōn aḥsan min il-kāmīra lli ʿa-l-kambyūter, bas il-vīdyo ʿa-l-kambyūter akbar.
A few notes:
- الـ often sounds like il- in Levantine.
- اللي is often pronounced lli.
- عالـ is short for على الـ.
- تلفون is often pronounced tilifōn.
- كمبيوتر is often pronounced something like kambyūter.
- بس here sounds like bas.
What does اللي mean here?
اللي means that / which / the one that. It is the common Levantine relative word.
In this sentence, it appears twice:
- الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون = the camera that is on the phone
- الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر = the camera that is on the computer
In natural English, you would often translate these as:
- the phone camera
- the computer camera
So اللي helps attach extra information to the noun before it.
What does عالـ mean?
عالـ is a contraction of على الـ.
So:
- عالتلفون = على التلفون
- عالكمبيوتر = على الكمبيوتر
Literally, على usually means on. In this kind of sentence, it can mean something like:
- on the phone
- on the computer
- sometimes more naturally in English: the phone’s or the computer’s
So الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون is literally the camera that is on the phone, but idiomatically it means the phone camera.
Why is there no word for is in the sentence?
Because in Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not expressed.
So:
- الكاميرا ... احسن = the camera ... is better
- الفيديو ... اكبر = the video ... is bigger
There is no separate word for is in the present tense. This is very normal in both Levantine and Standard Arabic.
Why is احسن used for better?
احسن means better in everyday speech.
It comes from the idea of more good / nicer / better and is extremely common in Levantine.
So:
- احسن من = better than
In this sentence:
- احسن من الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر = better than the camera on the computer
This is the usual conversational way to say better.
Why is من used after احسن?
Because من is the normal word used after a comparative, like than in English.
So:
- احسن من = better than
- اكبر من = bigger than
- اصغر من = smaller than
In this sentence:
- احسن من الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر = better than the camera on the computer
Why is اكبر used, and what pattern is it?
اكبر means bigger.
It is a comparative form, like many Arabic comparatives:
- كبير = big
- اكبر = bigger
So:
- الفيديو عالكمبيوتر اكبر = the video on the computer is bigger
This comparative pattern is very common in Arabic:
- اكبر = bigger
- اصغر = smaller
- احسن = better
- اسرع = faster
Why doesn’t احسن agree with الكاميرا, since camera is feminine?
This is a very common learner question.
Even though الكاميرا is feminine, the comparative form in this kind of sentence usually stays in the basic masculine singular form.
So you say:
- الكاميرا احسن
- الكاميرا اكبر
- السيارة اسرع
You do not usually change the comparative to match the gender here.
So احسن and اكبر are correct even with feminine nouns like الكاميرا.
Why are التلفون and الكمبيوتر definite with الـ?
Because the sentence is talking about specific, identifiable things:
- the phone
- the computer
Also, in Arabic, when something is described with a relative clause, it is often definite in this kind of context:
- الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون = the camera that is on the phone
- الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر = the camera that is on the computer
This sounds natural and specific, not vague.
What does بس mean here?
Here بس means but.
So the sentence is structured like this:
- The camera on the phone is better than the camera on the computer, but the video on the computer is bigger.
Important: بس can also mean only / just in other contexts. But here, because it connects two contrasting ideas, it clearly means but.
Is الفيديو treated as masculine here?
Yes. In this sentence, الفيديو is treated as masculine, which is very common.
That is why the comparative is:
- اكبر = bigger
So:
- الفيديو عالكمبيوتر اكبر = the video on the computer is bigger
Borrowed words like فيديو are often treated as masculine unless usage strongly points another way.
Why does Arabic say the camera that is on the phone instead of simply the phone camera?
Arabic often uses a relative-clause structure where English might prefer a noun modifier.
So English:
- the phone camera
- the computer camera
Levantine can naturally say:
- الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون
- الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر
Both mean the same thing, but Arabic is building the phrase differently:
- noun + اللي
- description
This is a very common and useful Levantine pattern.
Is تلفون the only word you would use here, or could people say something else?
People could definitely say something else.
In everyday Levantine, many speakers would also say:
- موبايل = mobile / cell phone
- تليفون / تلفون = telephone / phone
So depending on the speaker, you might hear:
- الكاميرا اللي عالموبايل
- الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون
Both are understandable. تلفون in your sentence is completely normal, but موبايل is also very common in daily speech.
Could عالكمبيوتر mean on the computer or in the computer?
Literally, it is based on على = on. But in real usage, the exact English translation depends on context.
So عالكمبيوتر can be understood as:
- on the computer
- on the computer screen
- on the computer itself
- sometimes more naturally: the computer’s
In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is probably:
- the camera on the computer
- the video on the computer
So you should not translate على too mechanically every time. Context decides the most natural English wording.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning ArabicMaster Arabic — from الكاميرا اللي عالتلفون احسن من الكاميرا اللي عالكمبيوتر، بس الفيديو عالكمبيوتر اكبر to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions