عندي فكرة لمشروع جديد في العمل.

Arabic does not usually use a normal verb equivalent to English to have in sentences like this.

عندي literally means at me or with me:

• عند = at, with, in the possession of
• ـي = my / me

So عندي فكرة literally means At me is an idea, which is the natural Arabic way to say I have an idea.

This is very common in both Modern Standard Arabic and everyday Arabic.

Both are acceptable in Modern Standard Arabic.

• عندي فكرة = I have an idea
• لدي فكرة = I have an idea

لدي often sounds a little more formal or written, while عندي is very common and natural. In a sentence like this, either one works well.

A careful pronunciation is:

ʿindī fikrah li-mashrūʿ jadīd fī l-ʿamal

A fully vowelled version would be:

عِندي فِكْرَةٌ لِمَشْروعٍ جَديدٍ في العَمَلِ

Roughly word by word:

• عِندي = ʿin-dī
• فِكْرَة = fik-rah
• لِمَشْروع = li-mash-rūʿ
• جَديد = ja-dīd
• في العَمَل = fī l-ʿa-mal

The letter ع is a deep throat sound with no exact English equivalent.

فكرة means idea.

It is a feminine noun, which is why it ends with ة (tāʾ marbūṭah). In pause, it is pronounced like -a, so فكرة sounds like fikra(h).

You can think of it simply as the normal Arabic word for idea.

The لِـ here means for.

So:

• فكرة لمشروع = an idea for a project

This لِـ is attached directly to the noun:

• لِ + مشروع = لمشروع

That is very normal in Arabic. Prepositions often attach directly to the following word.

In Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• مشروع جديد = a new project

This is the normal order:

• noun + adjective

Also, the adjective must match the noun in features like definiteness, gender, number, and case.

Here:

• مشروع = indefinite, masculine, singular
• جديد = also indefinite, masculine, singular

So they match correctly.

Because the meaning is a new project, not the new project.

Compare:

• لمشروع جديد = for a new project
• للمشروع الجديد = for the new project

In Arabic, if the noun is indefinite, the adjective must also be indefinite:

• مشروع جديد = a new project

If the noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite:

• المشروع الجديد = the new project

Here في العمل means at work or in the workplace/work context.

• في = in / at
• العمل = the work / work

In English, we usually translate it more naturally as at work:

• I have an idea for a new project at work

Arabic often uses في in places where English uses either in or at.

In Arabic, abstract nouns and general concepts are often made definite where English might not use the.

So العمل literally looks like the work, but in context it can simply mean:

• work
• the workplace
• one’s job

This is very natural Arabic usage. You do not need to force the into the English translation every time.

A simple breakdown is:

• عندي = a prepositional/adverbial phrase meaning I have literally at me
• فكرة = the main noun, idea
• لمشروع جديد = a phrase describing what kind of idea it is: for a new project
• في العمل = another phrase giving context: at work

A more formal grammar explanation is that عندي functions like a fronted predicate, and فكرة is the delayed subject. But as a learner, the most useful thing is to understand the pattern:

عندي + noun = I have + noun

For example:

• عندي سؤال = I have a question
• عندي مشكلة = I have a problem
• عندي فكرة = I have an idea

In fully inflected MSA, you could write:

عِندي فِكْرَةٌ لِمَشْروعٍ جَديدٍ في العَمَلِ

Here is why:

• فِكْرَةٌ is nominative
• مَشْروعٍ comes after the preposition لِـ, so it is genitive
• جَديدٍ matches مَشْروعٍ, so it is also genitive
• العَمَلِ comes after في, so it is genitive

In normal reading and speech, these short case endings are often not pronounced fully, especially at the end of pauses.

Yes. Arabic word order is somewhat flexible.

For example, you could also say:

• لدي فكرة لمشروع جديد في العمل
• فكرة لمشروع جديد عندي in a very marked or special context, though this is less neutral

The version you were given, عندي فكرة لمشروع جديد في العمل, is very natural and straightforward.

The most direct meaning of لِمَشروع جديد is for a new project.

If you wanted an idea about a new project, Arabic would more naturally use something like:

• فكرة عن مشروع جديد

So:

• فكرة لمشروع جديد = an idea for a new project
• فكرة عن مشروع جديد = an idea about a new project

That small preposition change makes a real difference.

Yes. The final phrase gives the context, so you can swap it out.

For example:

• عندي فكرة لمشروع جديد في الجامعة = I have an idea for a new project at the university
• عندي فكرة لمشروع جديد في الشركة = I have an idea for a new project in the company
• عندي فكرة لمشروع جديد للمدرسة = I have an idea for a new project for the school

This is a useful pattern to memorize:

عندي فكرة لـ... في...

meaning roughly:

I have an idea for ... in/at ...