# It better not...



## airelibre

How do you say the following?

It better not have changed since last time.

As in, the speaker will be annoyed or angry if the thing has happened.


----------



## Drink

My guess would be אני מקווה ש-:

אני מקווה שלא השתנה מהפעם האחרונה.

Can someone confirm this and correct my grammar?


----------



## airelibre

Nice suggestion, but it doesn't have that same "zing" to it. 
If I had meant "I hope not..." then I would have used that.

About the sentence, I would only change it to שזה לא rather than just שלא, but I'm not a native speaker.


----------



## Drink

airelibre said:


> Nice suggestion, but it doesn't have that same "zing" to it.
> If I had meant "I hope not..." then I would have used that.
> 
> About the sentence, I would only change it to שזה לא rather than just שלא, but I'm not a native speaker.



I think that would depend on context; I'm more worried about "מהפעם האחרונה". As for the zing, the word "hope" has different zings in different languages. In Russian for example, "Я надеюсь что..." ("I hope that...") can have much the same zing as English "It better not...". Which is why we need a native speaker to confirm the Hebrew zing.


----------



## arielipi

אין פה תרגום ישיר, אבל מה שאני חושב הוא כדאי שלא.
כדאי מאד שדבר לא השתנה מהפעם האחרונה שהייתי פה


----------



## origumi

A genuine assertive Hebrew speaker would use here the Arabic expression דיר באלאק . Originally "pay attention" but in Hebrew slang a severe warning, either to an individual or to the surrounding situation.

.דיר באלאק, שישאר כמו בפעם הקודמת

Detailed explanation here.


----------



## Drink

origumi said:


> A genuine assertive Hebrew speaker would use here the Arabic expression דיר באלאק . Originally "pay attention" but in Hebrew slang a severe warning, either to an individual or to the surrounding situation.
> 
> .דיר באלאק, שישאר כמו בפעם הקודמת
> 
> Detailed explanation here.



Very interesting. A few questions: Can you say this even if there is no particular person you are giving the warning to? Also, if you are speaking to a female, would it be דירי באליק?


----------



## arielipi

דיר באלאק לא משנה למי ולמה. ל בשווא נע.


----------



## origumi

Drink said:


> Very interesting. A few questions: Can you say this even if there is no particular person you are giving the warning to? Also, if you are speaking to a female, would it be דיר באליק?


The safa-ivrit site says:

דיר באלק – זהירות! מילת איום ואזהרה מפני ביצוע פעולה.  בערבית, דיר בַּאלַכּ (دِير بَالَك) משמעו 'הסב את תשומת לבך', כלומר 'שים לב'.  בערבית זאת רק צורת הציווי ליחיד (לרבים: דיר באלכום וכו'), אבל בעברית משתמשים בה ללא שינוי המין לכל הגופים.
https://www.safa-ivrit.org/imported/arabic.php

I guess it's directed more often to a person but can be used as a general exclamation.


----------



## airelibre

I have heard this before, sounds about right from the context. Thanks for the answers.

I'm fairly sure it doesn't change for gender in Hebrew, but not 100%.


----------



## origumi

airelibre said:


> I'm fairly sure it doesn't change for gender in Hebrew, but not 100%.


I've never heard the feminine form. The plural דיר באלקום does exist.

BTW, as with any slang word, be careful to use it only in appropriate context (my recommendation: never in writing, only in friendly environment or when you have unquestionable authority).


----------



## Drink

origumi said:


> I've never heard the feminine form. The plural דיר באלקום does exist.
> 
> BTW, as with any slang word, be careful to use it only in appropriate context (my recommendation: never in writing, only in friendly environment or when you have unquestionable authority).



Why isn't the plural "דיר*ו* באלקום" as it would be in Arabic?


----------



## airelibre

origumi said:


> I've never heard the feminine form. The plural דיר באלקום does exist.
> 
> BTW, as with any slang word, be careful to use it only in appropriate context (my recommendation: never in writing, only in friendly environment or when you have unquestionable authority).


Of course, I would never write "it better not" in formal writing.


----------



## origumi

Drink said:


> Why isn't the plural "דיר*ו* באלקום" as it would be in Arabic?


Formation of slang expressions borrowed from another language is often a riddle. Hebrew speakers take the Arabic expression idiomatically and do not analyze its grammatical structure. Maybe the singular appeared first, and when the plural באלקום emerged it was too late for דיר to change accordingly.

Also, I think that many Israelis regard דיר באלקום as an alternative form of דיר באלאק, unaware that the former contains a plural form.


----------



## Drink

origumi said:


> Formation of slang expressions borrowed from another language is often a riddle. Hebrew speakers take the Arabic expression idiomatically and do not analyze its grammatical form. Maybe the singular appeared first, and when the plural באלקום emerged it was too late for דיר to change accordingly.
> 
> Also, I think that many Israelis regard דיר באלקום as an alternative form of דיר באלאק, unaware that the former is a plural form.



Interesting. I think Israelis should put a little more effort into learning Arabic.


----------

