# Syrian Arabic: عأساس/ على أساس



## sarllou18

Hi all,
I just want to know what this phrase means exactly, for example:
ما أساس ما في حدا هون 
Shukran!


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## Crimson-Sky

i would say : _what's the meaning of no one is here._


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## lama

Well I think it would be على أساس and not ما اساس, in this case it would mean something like: Didn't you say that there was nobody there? or For all I thought there was nobody there.


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## Crataegus

As lama mentioned this should be "ما عأساس ما في حدا هون؟", which means something like "For all I thought there's nobody here"


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## sarllou18

Crataegus said:


> As lama mentioned this should be "ما عأساس ما في حدا هون؟", which means something like "For all I thought there's nobody here"


so there is a ما before it but with 3 just before  اساس? and is this used in general in situations when you assumed something but it is in fact the opposite?


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## lama

Correct Sarllou18


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## oopqoo

I have heard ع اساس in PA as well but I can't figure out with what tone is it being said. I once had someone write to me in a chat: ...ع اساس انك بتعرف. It feels like it means "Pfft, yeah right, as if you even know..." in a contemptuous tone. Am I right at all? Anyway this doesn't converge with the meaning in this thread so maybe there are multiple meanings? Any thoughts?


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## analeeh

In this context it means 'as if', exactly. If you say _3ala 2asaas 2innak ibti3raf_ (sorry if the PA is slightly Syrian) like that it means something like 'like you would know!' or '[you're speaking] as if you know.' Likewise, if you say _3ala 2asaas 2innak maa bti3raf _the implication is that the person does know and are pretending they don't/acting as if they don't.

It has some other uses too, independently and otherwise. If someone tells you they're not hungry and then half an hour later you find them cooking, you can say _mish 3ala 2asaas maa biddak taakol? _for which we might say 'I thought you weren't hungry?' in a suitably arch tone.


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## elroy

analeeh said:


> In this context it means 'as if', exactly.


 I don't think I've heard it used that way.  @oopqoo, can you give us more of the context?

"As if" is usually قال يعني: قال يعني بتعرف

The "I thought..." analeeh describes is usually عالحساب: 





> عالحساب بتعرف / عالحساب بدكش توكل


.  على أساس with this meaning sounds familiar, but I don't think it's Palestinian.  I think we're familiar with it from Syrian shows, etc.


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## oopqoo

This was like a year ago so I don't fully remember/have access to the chat. But in any case I do remember that it was a girl from Gaza (so maybe it's a Gazan usage - which is of less interest to me because i want to speak as though I'm from Haifa or Nazareth). My Arabic wasn't that good back then so I didn't fully understand her but I did sense a standoffish tone from her (obviously because I'm Israeli and she's from Gaza) which is why I remember the ع اساس as registering contemptuous in my brain. She used it multiple times in a way that felt like "pfft yeah right..." but the only one I remember is:
انا: بأي جامعة بتدرسي؟
هي: ع اساس بتعرف جامعات غزة

Something like that...

Anyways it seems like my need for a "pfft as if..." and generally "as if" can be filled with قال يعني. Is there a difference between saying قال يعني بتعرف and كإنّك بتعرف?


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## elroy

oopqoo said:


> انا: بأي جامعة بتدرسي؟
> هي: ع اساس بتعرف جامعات غزة


 Although I probably wouldn't actively use it that way, the meaning is clear and readily understandable to any Palestinian.  Hm...maybe it's used more often than I think, and I just haven't consciously registered it?  Who knows...


oopqoo said:


> Anyways it seems like my need for a "pfft as if..." and generally "as if" can be filled with قال يعني.


 Yes, definitely.   And قال يعني can be used on its own (just like "as if" in English - and כאילו in Hebrew, right?), but I'm pretty sure عأساس cannot. 


oopqoo said:


> Is there a difference between saying قال يعني بتعرف and كإنّك بتعرف?


كإنّك is generally used as a literal, neutral "as if," not sarcastically or contemptuously or anything like that.  It always can't be used on its own.


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## oopqoo

elroy said:


> Yes, definitely.   And قال يعني can be used on its own (just like "as if" in English - and כאילו in Hebrew, right?)


By "on its own" do you mean that it's used like such?
Let's say person A is always late.
A- I promise I'll come early tomorrow!
B- As if!

ا- بوعدك رح اجي بكير بكرا
ب- قال يعني

If that's so then it can't be used on its own in Hebrew. You would say בטח... or כן בטח... in a sarcastic tone. Or in fact I feel like you could also say יעני... the word in Arabic, but it's probably only me plus a few others who say it. Anyways, saying just כאילו would feel weird here.


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## elroy

Yes, that's what I meant.  But your example has made me realize that standalone قال يعني and standalone "as if" don't always convey the same emotions.  In your example, I would probably use بس بلاش to convey the feeling of "as if."

Here's an example for قال يعني:

Four girls are having a meal together at a restaurant; three are old friends and one is a new friend.  One of the old friends is stingy so she never tips, but she wants to impress the new friend so when they get the check, she adds a tip.  One of the other friends blurts out, !قال يعني (meaning "*as if* you're generous enough to tip!").  You could say "as if!" in English there, right?  (I'm starting to have doubts. )


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## oopqoo

Alright that's interesting 

I just remembered, in both situations, yours and mine, one could reply in Hebrew יאללה יאללה (which obviously is the Arabic يلا) just on its own, or as a part of a sentence. To illustrate the sarcasm it should be pronounced with (because you can't hear my tone through writing) I'll insert it to an English sentence: "Pffft, yalla yalla who are you kidding?"
The equivalent in Hebrew: פחחח יאללה יאללה על מי אתה עובד?
Is this merely a Hebrew thing where we extended the usage of the Arabic يلا or did we actually take this usage from you guys? Would you say يلا يلا like this in PA?


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## apricots

elroy said:


> Four girls are having a meal together at a restaurant; three are old friends and one is a new friend.  One of the old friends is stingy so she never tips, but she wants to impress the new friend so when they get the check, she adds a tip.  One of the other friends blurts out, !قال يعني (meaning "*as if* you're generous enough to tip!").  You could say "as if!" in English there, right?  (I'm starting to have doubts. )



This example doesn't work for English as if. If you wanted to be a jerk in this situation you'd say something like oh, look who's decided to tip today. As if! means you don't believe something so you wouldn't use it while witnessing it. Further, as if used in that way is both regional and generational and not really used anymore. I don't know if that is the case in Arabic but I would never teach an English learner to add as if to their active vocabulary.


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## elroy

Hm, maybe I'm being influenced by Arabic here, but I feel like "As if you ever tip!" would work.  In Arabic the full version would be قال يعني عمرك بتعطي بخشيش!, which can be shortened to قال يعني! since the rest is obvious from context.  Similarly, "As if you every tip!" would be shortened to "As if!".


apricots said:


> As if! means you don't believe something


 We must have very different experiences with the expression, or you're only focusing on one possible usage.  In my experience, it's certainly not limited to situations where you don't believe something.


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## apricots

elroy said:


> We must have very different experiences with the expression, or you're only focusing on one possible usage.  In my experience, it's certainly not limited to situations where you don't believe something.



Well there is a difference between what we might call an as if statement and the standalone as if! Then there is also "act as if" which is really just a truncated version of an as if statement.


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## elroy

I was talking about the standalone “as if.”


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