بعد قليل جاء دوري، ثم تكلمت مع زبونة عن ثمن الخدمة.

Yes. بعد قليل is a very common expression meaning after a little while, shortly, or soon.

Literally:

• بعد = after
• قليل = little / a small amount

So the phrase literally means after a little, but in natural English we usually say soon, a little later, or after a short while.

In fully vowelled Arabic, it would be:

• بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ

Here, بعد is followed by a noun in the genitive, so قليل takes genitive ending in full MSA.

Exactly. جاء دوري literally means my turn came.

This is a very natural Arabic way to express it became my turn or then it was my turn.

Breakdown:

• جاء = came
• دوري = my turn

So Arabic expresses this idea differently from English. Instead of saying I got my turn, it often says my turn came.

This kind of wording is very common in Arabic.

دوري consists of:

• دور = turn
• ـي = my

So:

• دور = turn
• دوري = my turn

This ـي is the attached possessive pronoun meaning my.

You will see the same pattern in many other words:

• كتابي = my book
• بيتي = my house
• اسمي = my name

So دوري is not a separate word for my turn; it is a noun plus a suffix.

This is normal Arabic word order.

The sentence begins with:

• بعد قليل = after a little while

Then comes the verb:

• جاء = came

Then the subject:

• دوري = my turn

So the structure is:

• time expression + verb + subject

This is a very common pattern in Arabic, especially in narrative style.

Also, since دور is singular masculine, جاء is singular masculine too.

Because the verb itself already tells you the subject.

تكلمت here means I spoke or I talked. The I is built into the verb ending.

In full vocalization:

• تكلّمتُ = I spoke

So Arabic often does not need a separate subject pronoun like أنا.

You could say:

• ثم أنا تكلمت...

but that would usually add emphasis, something like:

• Then I spoke... with extra stress on I.

In normal speech and writing, the pronoun is usually omitted because the verb already shows it.

In unvowelled Arabic writing, تكلمت can be ambiguous by itself.

It could represent:

• تكلّمتُ = I spoke
• تكلّمتْ = she spoke

So how do we know which one is meant?

From context.

Since the sentence is talking about my turn in the first part, the natural continuation is then I spoke.

If the text were fully vowelled, the difference would be clear:

• تكلّمتُ = I spoke
• تكلّمتْ = she spoke

This is a very common feature of normal Arabic writing: short vowels are usually omitted, so readers rely on context.

ثم means then and usually shows sequence with some sense of progression.

So:

• ثم = then / after that

Compared with other connectors:

• و = and
• فـ = so / then / and then, often more immediate
• ثم = then, often a bit more clearly sequential or slightly more spaced out

In this sentence:

• بعد قليل جاء دوري، ثم تكلمت... means something like:
• After a little while my turn came, then I spoke...

Using ثم makes the order of events very clear.

Here مع literally means with, and with verbs like تكلم it often corresponds to English talk with, talk to, or speak with.

So:

• تكلمت مع زبونة = I spoke with a female customer / I talked to a female customer

Arabic often uses مع in places where English might say either with or to.

So this is completely normal.

Because زبونة means female customer.

Compare:

• زبون = customer, often male or generic in some contexts
• زبونة = female customer

The ـة ending is the common feminine marker in Arabic.

So the sentence specifically tells you that the customer was a woman.

Here عن means about or concerning.

So:

• تكلمت مع زبونة عن ثمن الخدمة means:
• I spoke with a female customer about the price of the service

Breakdown:

• عن = about
• ثمن = price
• الخدمة = the service

This is a very common use of عن after verbs of speaking:

• تحدث عن... = talked about...
• سأل عن... = asked about...
• تكلم عن... = spoke about...

This is an iḍāfa construction, often called a possessive or genitive construction.

It is made of:

• ثمن = price
• الخدمة = the service

Together:

• ثمن الخدمة = the price of the service

Important points about iḍāfa:

1. The first noun usually does not take ال here.
2. The second noun determines definiteness.
3. The second noun is in the genitive.

So:

• ثمن خدمة = a service’s price / price of a service
• ثمن الخدمة = the price of the service

Because in an iḍāfa construction, the first noun normally does not take الـ.

So Arabic says:

• ثمن الخدمة

not:

• الثمن الخدمة

The definiteness comes from the second noun:

• الخدمة = the service

Because the second noun is definite, the whole phrase becomes definite:

• ثمن الخدمة = the price of the service

This is one of the most important patterns in Arabic grammar.

A fully vowelled version would be:

بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ جَاءَ دَوْرِي، ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمْتُ مَعَ زَبُونَةٍ عَنْ ثَمَنِ الْخِدْمَةِ.

This shows several useful things:

• بَعْدَ: accusative-style form after being used as an adverb
• قَلِيلٍ: genitive after بعد
• جَاءَ: past tense, masculine singular
• دَوْرِي: my turn
• تَكَلَّمْتُ: I spoke
• زَبُونَةٍ: genitive after مع
• ثَمَنِ: genitive after عن
• الْخِدْمَةِ: genitive as the second term of the iḍāfa

In normal Arabic writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you would normally see: بعد قليل جاء دوري، ثم تكلمت مع زبونة عن ثمن الخدمة.

Other verbs are possible, but تكلمت is natural and correct.

Some alternatives:

• تحدثت = I talked / I spoke
• ناقشت = I discussed
• قلت = I said

The choice depends on nuance:

• تكلمت مع زبونة = I spoke/talked with a customer
• تحدثت مع زبونة = very similar, often slightly more formal in some contexts
• ناقشت زبونة = I discussed with a customer / I discussed something with a customer

So تكلمت is a good everyday verb here.