Session 21 — Phase 2 Begins: Real Conversation¶

20-hour method — Phase 2, Session 1
Focus: turning your existing grammar into spontaneous speech
Duration: ~2 hours

The first 20 sessions gave you the basic machinery. From now on, we shift the balance:

Less explanation → more retrieval → more listening → more speaking → targeted grammar.

Today's theme is meeting someone and getting to know them.

You will learn to have a conversation rather than simply construct isolated sentences.

1. Warm-up — 10 min¶

Say these aloud without looking at the English.

mar7aba, kīfak?
Hello, how are you?

ana mni7, shukran.
I'm good, thanks.

shu esmak?
What's your name?

esmi...
My name is...

wein 3aysh?
Where do you live?

ana 3aysh bi...
I live in...

shu bteshtek?
What do you do for work?

ana beshtaghil...
I work...

Now say all eight without translating them mentally.

2. Today's conversation¶

Here is the dialogue you will eventually be able to perform naturally.

B¶

mni7, shukran. w-enta?

Good, thanks. And you?

A¶

ana mni7. shu esmak?

I'm good. What's your name?

B¶

esmi Benoit. w-enta?

My name is Benoit. And you?

A¶

esmi Samer. tsharrafna.

My name is Samer. Nice to meet you.

B¶

ana 3aysh bi-Fransa.

I live in France.

A¶

shu bteshtek?

What do you do for work?

B¶

beshtaghil bil-telecommunications.

I work in telecommunications.

B¶

eh, 3andi bint.

Yes, I have a daughter.

A¶

shu bte7ebb ta3mel bi-wa2et farāghak?

What do you like to do in your free time?

B¶

b7ebb erكب الدراجة w-safar.

I like cycling and travelling.

3. New phrase: “Nice to meet you”¶

تشرفنا — tsharrafna¶

Literally related to “we were honored,” but conversationally:

tsharrafna

Nice to meet you.

You can answer:

w-ana kamen.

Me too.

Or simply:

tsharrafna.

4. “What do you do?”¶

This is an important distinction.

What are you doing?¶

shu 3am ta3mel?

What are you doing?

What do you do?¶

shu bteshtek?

What do you do for work?

You can also hear:

shu شغلك؟
shu shoghlak?

What's your job/work?

To a woman:

shu shoghlek?

5. Job vocabulary¶

You don't need a huge list.

Learn useful categories.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
شغل	shoghol	work/job
شركة	sharike	company
مهندس	mohandes	engineer
مدرس	modarres	teacher
طبيب	ṭabīb	doctor
طالب	ṭāleb	student
مدير	modīr	manager
برمجة	barmaje	programming
طب	ṭebb	medicine
جامعة	jāme3a	university

For yourself, you can simply say:

ana mohandes.

I'm an engineer.

Or:

beshtaghil bil...

I work in...

6. New structure: “I work as…”¶

بشتغل كـ...¶

beshtaghil ka-mohandes.

I work as an engineer.

But conversationally, you can often simply say:

ana mohandes.

I'm an engineer.

Or:

beshtaghil bil-IT.

I work in IT.

Don't overcomplicate this.

7. “Where do you live?”¶

وين عايش؟ — wein 3aysh?¶

To a man:

wein 3aysh?

Where do you live?

To a woman:

wein 3ayshe?

Where do you live?

Answer:

ana 3aysh bi-Rouen.

I live in Rouen.

Important¶

3āysh comes from:

3āsh

to live.

You don't need the full grammatical derivation yet.

Treat:

ana 3aysh...

as a useful chunk.

8. “Where are you from?”¶

من وين إنت؟ — min wein enta?¶

Where are you from?

Answer:

ana min Faransa.

I'm from France.

To a woman:

min wein enti?

Where are you from?

9. From vs living in¶

This distinction is important.

ana min Faransa.

I'm from France.

ana 3aysh bi-Fransa.

I live in France.

You can combine them:

ana min Faransa w-3aysh bi-Fransa.

I'm from France and live in France.

Or:

ana min Faransa bas 3aysh bi-Madrid.

I'm from France but live in Madrid.

10. New connector: “also”¶

كمان — kamen¶

also / too

Examples:

ana kamen.

Me too.

b7ebb el-ahwe kamen.

I like coffee too.

b7ebb es-safar w-b7ebb el-ba7er kamen.

I like travelling and I also like the sea.

This is a very useful everyday connector.

11. “But”¶

Review:

bas

but

Example:

b7ebb el-ahwe, bas ma بشرب kteer.

I like coffee, but I don't drink much.

ana min Faransa, bas b7ebb el-3arabi.

I'm from France, but I like Arabic.

12. “Because”¶

لأن — la2an¶

because

Examples:

b7ebb el-3arabi la2an lugha 7elwe.

I like Arabic because it's a beautiful language.

ma baddi rou7 la2an ta3bān.

I don't want to go because I'm tired.

You don't need to master subordinate clauses yet.

Just learn:

la2an = because

13. Likes and interests¶

You already know:

b7ebb

I like/love.

Now build longer answers.

b7ebb el-mūsi2a.

I like music.

b7ebb el-ba7er.

I like the sea.

b7ebb es-safar.

I like travelling.

b7ebb ركوب الدراجة.

I like cycling.

b7ebb el-3arabi.

I like Arabic.

Now combine:

b7ebb es-safar w-el-mūsi2a.

I like travelling and music.

14. “In my free time”¶

بوقت فراغي — bi-wa2et farāghi¶

in my free time

You can use:

bi-wa2et farāghi b7ebb...

In my free time I like...

For example:

bi-wa2et farāghi b7ebb rou7 3al-ba7er.

In my free time I like going to the sea.

15. New question: What do you like?¶

شو بتحب تعمل؟ — shu bte7ebb ta3mel?¶

What do you like to do?

Answer:

b7ebb...

I like...

Examples:

b7ebb esma3 mūsi2a.

I like listening to music.

b7ebb اتفرج 3a YouTube.

I like watching YouTube.

b7ebb اطلع مع رفقاتي.

I like going out with my friends.

b7ebb rou7 3al-ba7er.

I like going to the sea.

16. “With my friends”¶

رفقاتي — ref2āti¶

my friends

ma3 ref2āti.

with my friends.

Example:

b7ebb اطلع ma3 ref2āti.

I like going out with my friends.

ref2āt is a very common Levantine word for friends.

You already know:

ma3

with.

So:

ma3 + person

is a structure you can reuse everywhere.

17. Family review¶

Ask:

3andak 3ayle?

Do you have a family?

Answer:

eh, 3andi...

Yes, I have...

Examples:

3andi bint.

I have a daughter.

3andi iben.

I have a son.

3andi ukht w-akh.

I have a sister and a brother.

3andi bint w-iben.

I have a daughter and a son.

18. Asking about children¶

3andak wlad?

Do you have children?

wlad = children.

Answer:

eh, 3andi بنت.

Yes, I have a daughter.

or:

la, ma 3andi wlad.

No, I don't have children.

19. Asking someone's age¶

قديش عمرك؟ — addeish 3omrak?¶

How old are you?

To a man:

addeish 3omrak?

To a woman:

addeish 3omrek?

Answer:

3omri 46 sene.

I'm 46 years old.

3omr = age

sene = year

Don't worry about numerical grammar yet.

20. Numbers review¶

You should be comfortable with at least:

Number	Arabic	Transliteration
1	واحد	wā7ad
2	تنين	tnēn
3	تلاتة	tlāte
4	أربعة	arba3a
5	خمسة	khamse
6	ستة	sitte
7	سبعة	sab3a
8	تمانية	tmāne
9	تسعة	tis3a
10	عشرة	3ashara

Don't try to master every number today.

21. Conversation drill #1¶

I'll give you the question.

Answer aloud before reading the model.

Q:¶

shu bteshtek?

ana beshtaghil...

22. Conversation drill #2 — Add information¶

Now don't give one-word answers.

Question:

shu bte7ebb ta3mel?

Instead of:

b7ebb es-safar.

Say:

b7ebb es-safar w-rou7 3a blād jdīde.

I like travelling and going to new countries.

Question:

shu bteshtek?

Instead of:

mohandes.

Say:

ana mohandes w-beshtaghil bil-IT.

I'm an engineer and I work in IT.

The goal is to add one extra sentence to every answer.

23. New skill: keeping the conversation going¶

A beginner often answers:

eh.

And the conversation stops.

Instead, learn to return the question:

w-enta?

And you?

w-inti?

And you? — feminine

Example:

ana min Faransa. w-enta?

I'm from France. And you?

This tiny phrase is extremely important for real conversation.

24. “Really?”¶

عنجد؟ — 3anjad?¶

Really?

Examples:

ana من فرنسا.

I'm from France.

3anjad?

Really?

eh, 3anjad.

Yes, really.

Another useful reaction:

7لو!

Nice!

mni7!

Good!

mمتاز!

Excellent!

Don't overuse reactions. One is enough.

25. “What about you?”¶

You now have:

w-enta?

and you?

A slightly more explicit version:

w-shu 3andak?

And what about you?

But for now, prioritize:

w-enta?

This should become automatic.

26. Full conversation¶

Now read this without translating word by word.

A: mar7aba! kīfak?

B: mni7, shukran. w-enta?

A: mni7. shu esmak?

B: esmi Benoit. w-enta?

A: esmi Karim. tsharrafna.

B: w-ana kamen.

A: min wein enta?

B: ana min Faransa. w-3aysh bi-Fransa.

A: shu bteshtek?

B: ana mohandes. beshtaghil bil-IT.

A: 3andak wlad?

B: eh, 3andi bint.

A: shu bte7ebb ta3mel bi-wa2et farāghak?

B: b7ebb es-safar, el-ba7er, w-rakib 3al-bicycle.

A: 3anjad? 7لو!

B: eh. w-enta, shu bte7ebb ta3mel?

This is the kind of dialogue you should now start being able to produce, not merely recognize.

27. Arabic reading¶

Now remove the transliteration.

Read:

مرحبا! كيفك؟

منيح، شكرا. وإنت؟

شو اسمك؟

اسمي بنوا.

من وين إنت؟

أنا من فرنسا.

وين عايش؟

أنا عايش بفرنسا.

شو بتشتغل؟

أنا مهندس.

عندك ولاد؟

إي، عندي بنت.

شو بتحب تعمل بوقت فراغك؟

بحب السفر والبحر.

Try reading it three times.

First: slowly.

Second: normally.

Third: without stopping.

28. Listening simulation¶

I will give you a short spoken-style passage.

Don't translate every word.

Try to identify the information.

mar7aba, esmi Karim. ana min Lubnān w-3aysh bi-Beirut. ana mohandes w-beshtaghil bi-sharike IT. 3andi بنتين. bi-wa2et farāghi b7ebb el-ba7er w-es-safar. w-enta?

Extract:

Name
Country
City
Job
Family
Interests

Your answers should be:

Karim
Lebanon
Beirut
Engineer
Two daughters
Sea and travelling

This is an important change in your learning strategy:

Don't try to understand every word. Extract meaning.

29. Production challenge¶

Now create your own version.

Use this skeleton:

mar7aba, esmi...

ana min...

3aysh bi...

beshtaghil...

3andi...

b7ebb...

bi-wa2et farāghi...

3am اتعلم 3arabi la2an...

Speak for 60–90 seconds.

Don't write it first if you can avoid it.

30. New grammar: “because + sentence”¶

You now have:

la2an

because

Use it to explain things.

b7ebb el-3arabi la2an lugha 7elwe.

I like Arabic because it's a beautiful language.

3am اتعلم 3arabi la2an baddi احكي مع الناس.

I'm learning Arabic because I want to talk with people.

b7ebb es-safar la2an b7ebb شوف blād jdīde.

I like travelling because I like seeing new countries.

Don't worry about grammatical perfection.

The goal is to start connecting ideas.

31. New connector: “and then”¶

You know:

w-

and

ba3dēn

then

Combine:

re7et 3ash-shoghol w-ba3dēn raje3et 3al-bēt.

I went to work and then came home.

This lets you tell stories rather than list sentences.

32. Mini-story¶

Read:

mbāre7 bfii2et بكير. shrebt ahwe w-akalet fṭūr. ba3dēn re7et 3ash-shoghol. eshtaghlet 7atta es-sā3a khamse. ba3dēn raje3et 3al-bēt. 3amalt 3asha w-akalet ma3 benti. bil-lēl 7akeit ma3 ṣā7bi w-nimt.

Don't memorize it.

Understand the structure:

wake up → coffee → breakfast → work → home → dinner → friend → sleep

33. Retelling exercise¶

Now tell the same story without looking.

You can change details.

The important thing is the structure:

bfii2et → shrebt → akalet → re7et → eshtaghlet → raje3et → akalet → 7akeit → nimt

This is active recall.

34. Your first real conversation task¶

Imagine you meet another Arabic learner.

You have five minutes.

You need to find out:

Their name
Where they're from
Where they live
Their job
Whether they have children
Their interests
Why they're learning Arabic

Use:

shu...?

wein...?

min wein...?

3andak...?

shu bte7ebb...?

lēsh...?

Then return the questions:

w-enta?

35. Vocabulary — today's additions¶

Levantine	Transliteration	English
تشرفنا	tsharrafna	nice to meet you
كمان	kamen	also / too
عنجد	3anjad	really
شغل	shoghol	work/job
شركة	sharike	company
عايش	3aysh	living
ولاد	wlad	children
رفقاتي	ref2āti	my friends
وقت فراغ	wa2et farāgh	free time
لأن	la2an	because
سفر	safar	travelling
بحر	ba7er	sea
لغة	lugha	language
جديد	jdīd	new
ممتاز	mumtāz	excellent

36. Today's core chunks¶

Memorize these as whole units:

shu esmak?
What's your name?

esmi...
My name is...

min wein enta?
Where are you from?

ana min...
I'm from...

wein 3aysh?
Where do you live?

ana 3aysh bi...
I live in...

shu bteshtek?
What do you do?

3andak wlad?
Do you have children?

shu bte7ebb ta3mel?
What do you like to do?

bi-wa2et farāghi...
In my free time...

w-enta?
And you?

tsharrafna.
Nice to meet you.

3anjad?
Really?

la2an...
Because...

37. Homework¶

Exercise 1 — One-minute introduction¶

Record yourself saying:

who you are
where you're from
where you live
your job
your family
your interests
why you're learning Arabic

No notes.

Exercise 2 — Question drill¶

Say these questions aloud five times each:

shu esmak?

min wein enta?

wein 3aysh?

shu bteshtek?

3andak wlad?

shu bte7ebb ta3mel?

lēsh 3am تتعلم 3arabi?

The objective is automaticity, not memorization for an exam.

Exercise 3 — Arabic-only answers¶

Answer these without English:

shu esmak?

min wein enta?

wein 3aysh?

shu bteshtek?

3andak wlad?

shu bte7ebb ta3mel?

lēsh 3am تتعلم 3arabi?

Aim for 2–3 sentences per answer.

Exercise 4 — Listening¶

Take the dialogue in Section 26.

Read it once.

Then cover the English.

Read it again.

Finally, try to reconstruct the conversation from memory.

Session 21 target¶

At the end of this session, you should no longer think only in terms of:

Arabic word → English translation

Start thinking in chunks:

shu esmak?

ana min...

wein 3aysh?

b7ebb...

bi-wa2et farāghi...

la2an...

w-enta?

That's the beginning of conversational fluency.

Session 22 should build on this with a major practical topic: food, cafés and ordering in a restaurant, while introducing the very important distinction between “I want,” “I would like,” “I’ll have,” and “give me…” in natural Levantine.