# حاضر، نفسي أقول لك على اللي في بالي وارتاح



## dyrina

Last time I posted here, I got a real good translation from a few people, could you please help me out again and translate this line?

7ader 7ader, nefsy 2aolek 3ala elly fe baly wa artaaa7

Thank you !


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## clevermizo

dyrina said:


> Last time i posted here i got a real good translation from a few people, could you please help me out again and translate this line?
> 
> 7ader 7ader, nefsy 2aolek 3ala elly fe baly wa artaaa7
> 
> Thank you !



My attempt: Alright, I'll tell you myself what's on my mind and I'll feel better (I'll be at ease).


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## WadiH

clevermizo said:


> My attempt: Alright, I'll tell  I feel like telling you myself  what's on my mind and I'll  [so I'll] feel better (I'll be at ease).


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## dyrina

Thank you so much, guys!


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## Josh_

I don't think we need the 'myself' in the sentence.  So my suggestion is, "Alright, I want to/feel like telling you what's on my mind so I can find relief.


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## WadiH

Josh_ said:


> I don't think we need the 'myself' in the sentence. So my suggestion is, "Alright, I want to/feel like telling you what's on my mind so I can find relief.


 
True.


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## clevermizo

Why do we translate a2ullek here as "I want to/feel like telling you..." rather than just "I'll tell you"? Is it the lack of _b- _or _7/h-_? (I.e. that the naked verb has a modal meaning?)


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## WadiH

clevermizo said:


> Why do we translate a2ullek here as "I want to/feel like telling you..." rather than just "I'll tell you"? Is it the lack of _b- _or _7/h-_? (I.e. that the naked verb has a modal meaning?)


 
That's the translation of "nefsy a2ullak", not "a2ullak" (i.e. "nefsy" = "I feel like ...", "I would like to ...", "I wish ...", etc.).


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## clevermizo

Wadi Hanifa said:


> That's the translation of "nefsy a2ullak", not "a2ullak" (i.e. "nefsy" = "I feel like ...", "I would like to ...", "I wish ...", etc.).



I see. I didn't know this use. That's probably why I translated nafsi literally.


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## Nikola

clevermizo said:


> I see. I didn't know this use. That's probably why I translated nafsi literally.


See this thread http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=186659


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## clevermizo

Nikola said:


> See this thread
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=186659




ِThanks! It all becomes further clear .


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## Josh_

I'm sure everyone understands by now, but reading through this thread and the thread Nikola linked to I still see the possibility of ambiguity.  So just for the sake of clarity I wanted to point out that نَفس nafs and نِفس nifs, while from the same root and spelled the same way, are two separate words.  The former, a noun meaning self or soul, and the latter, a noun meaning appetite or desire:

maliish nifs lish-shughl. 
I don't feel like working.
kutr il-Halawiyyaat bitsidd in-nifs.
Too many sweets spoils the appetite.  

Combined with pronominal suffixes nifs can be a modal of desire:

nifsi anaam.
I feel like sleeping.
nifsu yiruuH gineenit yellowstone il-waTaniyya wa-yShuuf kull il-malaamiH il-khaaSSa bi-Haraarit baaTin il-2arD illi fiiha.
He would like to go to Yellowstone National Park and see all the geothermal features there. (completely random sentence)


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## WadiH

Josh_ said:


> I'm sure everyone understands by now, but reading through this thread and the thread Nikola linked to I still see the possibility of ambiguity. So just for the sake of clarity I wanted to point out that نَفس nafs and نِفس nifs, while from the same root and spelled the same way, are two separate words. The former, a noun meaning self or soul, and the latter, a noun meaning appetite or desire:


 
I should point out that this distinction in pronunciation between "nifs" and "nafs" applies only in some regions (such as Egypt) and not others (such as Arabia).


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## palastina10

It means 
ok ok, I would like to tell you what I mean ,so I can feel comfortably.


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## cherine

Wadi Hanifa said:


> I should point out that this distinction in pronunciation between "nifs" and "nafs" applies only in some regions (such as Egypt) and not others (such as Arabia).


First, I'd like to confirm that the whole sentence is clearly Egyptian.

Wadi, do Saudi use nifs (in the meaning "I want to/feels like")? Don't you use "baddi"?

I mean that only those who use this word this way have a difference between nifs and nafs, otherwise, there's only one word: nafs; not two words with one pronounciation.
What do you think?


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## FaWzY

I think this phrase is better interpreted as
"Alright, I wish I could tell you what's on my mind/in my heart and get it off my chest"


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## WadiH

cherine said:


> First, I'd like to confirm that the whole sentence is clearly Egyptian.
> 
> Wadi, do Saudi use nifs (in the meaning "I want to/feels like")? Don't you use "baddi"?
> 
> I mean that only those who use this word this way have a difference between nifs and nafs, otherwise, there's only one word: nafs; not two words with one pronounciation.
> What do you think?


 
We use "widdi" ("baddi" is Shami), or "nafsi" (not "nifsi"). We're able to distinguish between "nafs" as in "my desire" and "nafs" as in "soul" by context, but if you think about it you'll realize that the reason Arabs use "nafs/nifs" to express desire is _because_ it is the word for soul or heart; i.e. it means "deep in my heart I want" this or that. What I'm trying to say is this is not a random coincidence that we use nafs/nifs to express desire. That's why in Arabia, usually "widdi" is weaker or more normal than "nafsi", which has a stronger, more longful connotation. I don't know if that was clear enough.

Here are some examples:

"widdi ashtiri sayyarah" ودّي أشتري سيّارة
"nafsi law marrah ma tinsa tdigg el bab"  نفسي لو مرّة ما تنسى تدقّ الباب
"nafsi yiji el yom elly arta7 feeh min el shu3'l" نفسي يجي اليوم اللي أرتاح فيه من الشغل

The first one is neutral (someone telling his friend about his plans), the second one expresses frustration, and the third one is an expression of a fervent, unlikely wish.


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## cherine

Wadi Hanifa said:


> We use "widdi" ("baddi" is Shami), or "nafsi" (not "nifsi"). We're able to distinguish between "nafs" as in "my desire" and "nafs" as in "soul" by context, but if you think about it you'll realize that the reason Arabs use "nafs/nifs" to express desire is _because_ it is the word for soul or heart; i.e. it means "deep in my heart I want" this or that.


Thanks 
And yes, I think I knew the origin. In Egypt, we use the expression "fe nefsi" to mean "in my heart" or "it's my wish".
Example:
3ayza a3mel elli fe nefsi
I want to do what I wish/like

a3ado sawa, we aal kol elli fe nefso
They sat together, and he said all what he had on his mind

And in fuS7a, we can't forget the Quranic verse حاجةً *في نفس يعقوب* قضاها  I'm sure it's the origin of the colloquial usage.



> What I'm trying to say is this is not a random coincidence that we use nafs/nifs to express desire. That's why in Arabia, usually "widdi" is weaker or more normal than "nafsi", which has a stronger, more longful connotation. I don't know if that was clear enough.


Yes, it is. And thanks again for the information 

P.S.
Thanks for the examples. In Egypt, the emphasis is sometimes expressed with "yaama" (=very much), like : يا ما كان في نفس أشوفه قبل ما يسافر 
And I just remembered that some Egyptian dialects also use "beddi" بدي but I don't know if they have the same difference between beddi and nefsi as in Arabia.


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