# Levantine/Lebanese Arabic: I talked to him



## MaryamD

Salam ya nas,

first I a beginner in learning Arabic.
I am studying it and want to achieve a level to be able to habe a conversation to Arabic people.

So here is my question:

How do you say “I talked to him“?

7aket ma3u or kan a7ki ma3u?

Thanks for any help.


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## Matat

7aket ma3u. = I spoke with him.
حكيت معه

kint a7ki ma3u. = I used to speak with him. (Don't forget to conjugate the verb)
كنت احكي معه

kint 3am ba7ki ma3u wa2t... = I was speaking with him when...
...كنت عم بحكي معه وقت


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## MaryamD

Thank you very much for replying.
But I still have a question.

I understand now what you explained but as I know it‘s right to say “kan 3andi dars“
in this case with the verb 3andi it works with kan but how can I understand when to use kan and when to use kint?


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## Matat

MaryamD said:


> I understand now what you explained but as I know it‘s right to say “kan 3andi dars“


Yes, "kan 3andi dars" is correct. The reason for the confusion is because of how this sentence is understood in English versus how it is in Arabic. In English, we would translate this as "I had a lesson", where "I" is the subject. In Arabic, the subject is actually "dars", which is why the verb is in the third person (kan), not in the first person (kint). A more direct translation is "A lesson was with me", but of course, this doesn't make much sense when said in English. When translating between English and Arabic, it is important to understand that the way sentences are structured is completely different, so the subject and object in one language might be reversed when translated to the other.


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## Mahaodeh

MaryamD said:


> in this case with the verb 3andi it works with kan



عندي is not a verb, it's a noun but the best translation to English is using a verb that's why in English we translate it as "I have". عند is mostly used as an adverb.

Having said that, it is possible to use kaan followed by a verb, and what you suggested is not grammatically incorrect, it's just not what you were trying to say.


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## MaryamD

Thank you very much for this clear eplanation Matat and Mahaodeh.


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## apricots

Matat said:


> In Arabic, the subject is actually "dars", which is why the verb is in the third person (kan), not in the first person (kint).



Also keep in mind that kan 3and_ doesn't change for gender or number and is always kan.


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## MaryamD

Ya3ni if I want to say “I wanted to sleep“ where there is no noun, it would be “kint beddi anam“, right?
Or kint beddi a7ki ma3ak?


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## analeeh

Matat said:


> 7aket ma3u. = I spoke with him.
> حكيت معه
> 
> kint a7ki ma3u. = I used to speak with him. (Don't forget to conjugate the verb)
> كنت احكي معه
> 
> kint 3am ba7ki ma3u wa2t... = I was speaking with him when...
> ...كنت عم بحكي معه وقت



Minor point, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a dialect that combines the three features exemplified by _kint _(i-u merger in stressed syllables), _a-7ki_ (_a_- as the first person prefix) and _ma3-u _(final _-o/u_ merger). Beiruti would have something like _e7ki_, and Damascene _ma3o_.


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## Ghabi

MaryamD said:


> How do you say “I talked to him“?


Hello. Which particular dialect are you asking about?


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## MaryamD

Hey,

I try to focus on the Levantine Arabic.


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## apricots

Yes but from which country? There are significant differences between Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian.


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## MaryamD

Especially from Lebanese.


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## Matat

MaryamD said:


> “kint beddi anam“


This sounds correct in Lebanese, but I'm not fully certain. Damascene is pretty similar to most Lebanese dialects and they say "kint biddi naam".


MaryamD said:


> Or kint beddi a7ki ma3ak?


In Damascene, "kint biddi e7ki ma3ak".


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## bearded

Mahaodeh said:


> عندي is not a verb, it's a noun


 Really? I thought it was a preposition+enclitic pronoun.


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## apricots

Matat said:


> This sounds correct in Lebanese, but I'm not fully certain. Damascene is pretty similar to most Lebanese dialects and they say "kint biddi naam".
> 
> In Damascene, "kint biddi e7ki ma3ak".



Would it not be kint badde nēm in Lebanese?


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## analeeh

Yes.

With _bidd-/badd-_ you also have the option of using invariable _kaan. _(_kaan biddi naam_) I would even say this is more common than conjugating the verb.


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## elroy

analeeh said:


> With _bidd-/badd-_ you also have the option of using invariable _kaan. _


 Not in Palestinian. 


bearded said:


> I thought it was a preposition+enclitic pronoun.


 In Arabic it's a ظرف مكان in the construct state.  A ظرف مكان is considered a noun (اسم) in Arabic grammar.


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## Matat

apricots said:


> Would it not be kint baddi nēm in Lebanese?


Not sure.


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