Session 7 — Getting Around: Transport, Directions & Places¶

Cumulative time: 14 / 20 hours
Duration: ~2 hours
Main objective: become able to move around and ask for directions in Levantine Arabic.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

ask where a place is
say where you're going
ask how to get somewhere
understand left/right/straight
describe something as near/far
use common transport vocabulary
ask someone to repeat or speak slowly
use several you/he/she present-tense forms
have a short directions conversation

0:00–0:15 — Review¶

Don't look back.

Say aloud:

I'm from France.

I'm 46.

I have a daughter.

I want coffee.

I like coffee.

I don't like fish.

There is water.

I'm at home.

I work.

I go to work.

I drink coffee in the morning.

Then I go home.

Now answer:

shu bta3mel es-sub7?

What do you do in the morning?

Use at least two verbs.

0:15–0:30 — Places¶

Today we need places before we can talk about directions.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
شارع	shāre3	street
طريق	ṭarii2	road / way
محطة	ma7aṭṭa	station
مطار	maṭār	airport
فندق	fundu2	hotel
مطعم	mat3am	restaurant
كافيه	kāfih	café
سوبرماركت	supermarket	supermarket
صيدلية	saydaliyye	pharmacy
مستشفى	mustashfa	hospital
بنك	bank	bank
محطة بنزين	ma7aṭṭet benziin	petrol station
بيت	bēt	house
شغل	shoghel	work

Prioritize these:¶

shāre3 — street

ma7aṭṭa — station

maṭār — airport

mat3am — restaurant

fundu2 — hotel

bēt — house

0:30–0:45 — Where is...?¶

You already know:

wein?

Now use:

wein + place?

Examples:

wein el-mat3am?

Where is the restaurant?

wein el-fundu2?

Where is the hotel?

wein el-maṭār?

Where is the airport?

wein el-ma7aṭṭa?

Where is the station?

wein el-bank?

Where is the bank?

A very useful variation¶

وين في...؟¶

wein fi... ?

Where is there...?

For example:

wein fi supermarket?

Where is there a supermarket?

Or:

wein fi 7ammām?

Where is there a bathroom?

This is particularly useful when you don't know the local area.

0:45–1:00 — Direction vocabulary¶

These are today's essential words.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
يمين	yamiin	right
شمال	shmāl	left
دغري	doughri	straight
هون	hon	here
هنيك	hniik	there
قريب	2riib	near
بعيد	b3iid	far
قدّام	2eddām	in front
ورا	wara	behind
حدّ	7add	next to
قبال	2bāl	opposite / across from

Three words to master first¶

yamiin — right

shmāl — left

doughri — straight

Direction drill¶

Imagine someone tells you:

روح دغري.

Go straight.

Then:

لف يمين.

Turn right.

Then:

لف شمال.

Turn left.

1:00–1:15 — “Turn”¶

لف — liff¶

turn

Turn right¶

liff yamiin.

Turn right.

Turn left¶

liff shmāl.

Turn left.

Go straight¶

rou7 doughri.

Go straight.

These three phrases are worth memorizing as complete chunks.

Present tense: you go¶

Now we're going to expand beyond I.

You know:

barou7 = I go

For a male:

btrou7 = you go

For a female:

btrou7i = you go

So:

English	Levantine
I go	barou7
you go — M	btrou7
you go — F	btrou7i

This is your first systematic exposure to Levantine present-tense conjugation.

Notice the b- remains, but the person changes.

He / she goes¶

He goes¶

byrou7

She goes¶

btrou7

Yes, this is worth noticing:

btrou7 can mean “you go” to a male or “she goes,” depending on context.

This is normal in spoken Arabic.

Context matters.

The pattern¶

For rou7:

Person	Levantine
I	barou7
you M	btrou7
you F	btrou7i
he	byrou7
she	btrou7

Don't try to memorize this as abstract grammar.

Say it:

barou7
btrou7
btrou7i
byrou7
btrou7

Then repeat faster.

1:15–1:30 — Going somewhere¶

You already know:

3a = to / toward

So:

barou7 3a-bēt.

I go home.

barou7 3ash-shoghel.

I go to work.

barou7 3al-mat3am.

I go to the restaurant.

barou7 3al-maṭār.

I go to the airport.

You¶

btrou7 3al-maṭār?

Are you going to the airport?

He¶

byrou7 3al-bank.

He's going to the bank.

1:30–1:40 — How do I get there?¶

This is one of the most useful phrases today.

كيف بروح...؟¶

kif barou7 3a...?

How do I get to...?

Examples:

kif barou7 3al-maṭār?

How do I get to the airport?

kif barou7 3al-ma7aṭṭa?

How do I get to the station?

kif barou7 3al-fundu2?

How do I get to the hotel?

This is a very practical phrase.

1:40–1:50 — Near and far¶

قريب — 2riib¶

near

el-mat3am 2riib.

The restaurant is near.

بعيد — b3iid¶

far

el-maṭār b3iid.

The airport is far.

Ask:¶

2riib?

Is it near?

b3iid?

Is it far?

1:50–2:00 — The directions dialogue¶

Read once.

Then read again without translating.

You¶

عفوا، وين المطار؟

3afwan, wein el-maṭār?

Excuse me, where is the airport?

Person¶

المطار بعيد شوي.

el-maṭār b3iid shway.

The airport is a little far.

You¶

كيف بروح عَالمطار؟

kif barou7 3al-maṭār?

How do I get to the airport?

Person¶

روح دغري.

rou7 doughri.

Go straight.

بعدين لف يمين.

ba3den liff yamiin.

Then turn right.

وبعدين لف شمال.

w-ba3den liff shmāl.

Then turn left.

المطار عَإيدك اليمين.

el-maṭār 3a-iidak el-yamiin.

The airport is on your right.

You¶

بعيد؟

b3iid?

Is it far?

Person¶

لا، قريب.

la2, 2riib.

No, it's near.

You¶

شكرا!

shukran!

Thank you!

Person¶

عفوا.

3afwan.

You're welcome.

New expression: عفوا¶

You already encountered it as:

3afwan

It can mean:

you're welcome
excuse me
pardon me

Context determines the meaning.

So:

3afwan, wein...?

is a natural way to get someone's attention before asking for directions.

“I don't understand”¶

This becomes important now.

ما بفهم¶

ma بفهم / ma بفham

I don't understand.

A more natural full phrase:

ma fhemet

I didn't understand.

For your current level, memorize:

ma fhemet.

I didn't understand.

“Repeat, please”¶

عيد، لو سمحت¶

3iid, law sama7t.

Repeat, please.

Or:

3iid, law sama7ti.

to a woman.

“Slowly”¶

شوي شوي¶

shway shway

Slowly / little by little.

Very useful if someone speaks too quickly:

shway shway, law sama7t.

Slowly, please.

This is a phrase you should actually use in real conversations.

New Arabic letters¶

Today we'll add:

ع — ʿayn¶

Already encountered:

ع

Arabizi:

3

Examples:

3afwan — عفوا

3a — عَ

shāre3 — شارع

غ — ghayn¶

غ

Approximately:

gh

Example:

غالي
ghāli

expensive

ط — ṭā¶

ط

Heavy t.

Example:

طريق
ṭarii2

road

ظ — ẓā¶

ظ

Heavy z/dh-like consonant.

Recognition is enough for now.

ض — ḍād¶

ض

Heavy d.

Again:

recognition first.

Active recall test¶

A — Translate¶

Where is the airport?
Where is the restaurant?
How do I get to the hotel?
Go straight.
Turn right.
Turn left.
It's near.
It's far.
I'm going to work.
Are you going to the airport? — male

B — Build the directions¶

Use these blocks:

rou7 / doughri

Make:

Go straight.

Then:

liff / yamiin

Turn right.

Then:

ba3den / liff / shmāl

Then turn left.

Then:

el-maṭār / 2riib

The airport is near.

C — Conjugation¶

Say all five:

I go.

You go — male.

You go — female.

He goes.

She goes.

Answers¶

barou7

btrou7

btrou7i

byrou7

btrou7

Notice the last two.

She goes and you go to a male can have the same surface form:

btrou7

Context tells you who is meant.

D — Personal questions¶

Answer aloud:

وين بتروح عادة؟¶

wein btrou7 3āde?

Where do you usually go?

Possible answer:

barou7 3ash-shoghel.

كيف بتروح عالشغل؟¶

kif btrou7 3ash-shoghel?

How do you go to work?

This introduces a useful question structure:

kif + verb?

How do you...?

بتروح بالسيارة؟¶

btrou7 bis-sayyāra?

Do you go by car?

Transport vocabulary¶

Now add:

Arabic	Transliteration	English
سيارة	sayyāra	car
باص	bās	bus
تاكسي	tāksi	taxi
قطار	2ṭār	train
دراجة	darrāje	bicycle
مشي	mashi	walking
طريق	ṭarii2	road/way
محطة	ma7aṭṭa	station
مطار	maṭār	airport

Useful:

barou7 bis-sayyāra.

I go by car.

barou7 bēt?

No—don't mechanically use this pattern. For transport, we'll use:

bis-sayyāra

by car.

The important preposition: بـ¶

You've already seen:

b-el-bēt

at home/in the house.

Now:

bis-sayyāra

by car.

bil-bās

by bus.

bit-tāksi

by taxi.

The pronunciation changes slightly because b- attaches to the following word.

For now, learn the chunks.

14-hour checkpoint¶

You now have a useful navigation system:

wein?
Where?

kif...?
How...?

rou7 doughri
Go straight

liff yamiin
Turn right

liff shmāl
Turn left

2riib
near

b3iid
far

hon
here

hniik
there

3a
to/toward

barou7
I go

btrou7
you go M

btrou7i
you go F

byrou7
he goes

And an important survival system:

ma fhemet
I didn't understand

3iid, law sama7t
Repeat, please

shway shway
Slowly, please

These last three may actually be more useful in a real conversation than another 20 vocabulary words, because they allow you to keep communicating when you don't understand.

Homework — 30 minutes¶

1. Directions — 10 min¶

Imagine you are giving directions from your home to a café.

Use at least:

doughri

yamiin

shmāl

ba3den

2riib / b3iid

Construct 5–8 sentences.

2. Transport — 5 min¶

Say:

I go by car.

I go by bus.

I go by taxi.

The airport is far.

The station is near.

3. Conjugation — 5 min¶

Repeat:

barou7

btrou7

btrou7i

byrou7

btrou7

Then use each in a sentence.

4. Survival phrases — 5 min¶

Say until automatic:

ma fhemet.

3iid, law sama7t.

shway shway, law sama7t.

5. Reading — 5 min¶

Read:

شارع
طريق
مطار
محطة
يمين
شمال
قريب
بعيد
روح
بروح

Your 2-minute challenge¶

Imagine you are lost in a city.

You need to find the train station.

You approach someone:

3afwan.

wein el-ma7aṭṭa?

They answer too quickly.

You say:

ma fhemet. 3iid, law sama7t. Shway shway.

They give you directions.

You ask:

2riib?

Then:

shukran!

If you can perform this entire scenario without switching to English/French in your head, Session 7 has done its job.

Next — Session 8: Talking about the past¶

16 / 20 hours.

This is the next major grammatical step.

We'll learn how to say:

yesterday
I went
I ate
I drank
I worked
I slept
I saw
I did
I was
“What did you do yesterday?”
“Where did you go?”
“I went to...”
“I didn't go...”

We'll use your existing vocabulary rather than introducing another huge vocabulary list.