# She hasn't said boo!



## Andrew___

Hi guys, in English there is a phrase "She hasn't said boo!" which means that she hasn't said a word, she has kept silent etc.

For context, imagine the following conversation:
_
"Has Samira responded to your invitation?"
"No, *she hasn't said boo*, and it's now been 2 weeks."_

My attempts are:

*MSA: * 
لم تقل شيئا
لم تقل أي كلمة
لم ترد بعد

*Egyptian:*
ma 2aalitsh walla kilma khaaaaaaaliS!

*Iraqi:
*ma qaalit/kaalit walla shi


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## Mahaodeh

in Iraq it's gaalet (I know, it's confusing, somethimes they say the qaaf, sometimes it's k and others it's g, in the case of قال, it's always g excpet in Mousil).

I have a note though for both the EA and IA, you actually said: she didn't say _nothing_, when you mean she didn't say _anything_! so basically what you said is that she said _everything_ or _something_! It should be ma 2aalitsh(i) 7aaga and ma gaalet shi.

However, many Arabs actually do say that (although not all), especially when stressing, because they mean "ma gaalet l_a itha chanat jaya_ wala shi" the part in italics is dropped and it leaves a double negation which is wrong actually! I usually tease people when they say something like that by replying "ya3ni gaalet shi?" 

I also wanted to say something regarding the English version; *she hasn't said boo*. In Iraq, they may say something like "gaalet baw" بَوْ; baw is a word that means "be careful, danger", usually said to very young children. The phrase, however, means something very different in Iraq, it means "she said: beware, I might hurt you" - it's sort of an adiom. There is also "gaalet 3aw" (she barked = idiom for "she was rude, angry and/or scary") and "gaalet day" (she "popped in" then left quickly).

I just thought this might be intersting to know.


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## Andrew___

Thanks Maha for that.



Mahaodeh said:


> I also wanted to say something regarding the English version; *she hasn't said boo*. In Iraq, they may say something like "gaalet baw" بَوْ; baw is a word that means "be careful, danger", usually said to very young children.



I am quite amazed to hear that.  This is what "boo" means in English too.  It is used most of the time in the context of scaring children, for example if someone hides and then comes out and startles the child.


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## Awatoufa

*لم تنبس ببنت شفة*


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## Andrew___

Awatoufa said:


> *لم تنبس ببنت شفة*



Thanks Awatoufa.  What does this literally mean?  "She did not utter in a girl lip"?   What is going on here?


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## elroy

In MSA you could say لم تتفوه بكلمة.


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## yasmeena

Andrew___ said:


> Thanks Awatoufa. What does this literally mean? "She did not utter in a girl lip"?  What is going on here?


 
بنت شفة 'a lip's daughter' which is 'a word' (lips give birth to words). So the expression means : she did not utter a word.


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## Haroon

Hi Andrew, as the context is an invitation, ...





Andrew___ said:


> &quot;She hasn't said boo!&quot; which means that she hasn't said a word, she has kept silent etc.
> 
> *Egyptian:*
> ma raaditsh 3alia ( bi walla kilma )khaaaaaaaliS!


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## ayed

ماقالت برم she hasn't said "brimm"
_maqalt brimm_


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## Awatoufa

ayed said:


> ماقالت برم she hasn't said "brimm"
> _maqalt brimm_


 Hi ayed! brimm is it dialect? I've never heard about it!!


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## Haroon

ayed said:


> ماقالت بم she hasn't said "bimm"
> _maqalt bimm_


 
Nice suggestion


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## Andrew___

ayed said:


> ماقالت برم she hasn't said "brimm"
> _maqalt brimm_


 
Does this work in Iraqi Arabic? (assuming we change the pronounciation to "ma gaalat brimm")


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## ayed

See Mahaodeh to confirm this.I think it does work.


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## Mahaodeh

Andrew___ said:


> Does this work in Iraqi Arabic? (assuming we change the pronounciation to "ma gaalat brimm")


 
I've never heard it before; but it may be used in the Southwest (lower Furaat) if it's common in Saudi.

Anyway, if I heard it in a sentence for the first time I think I would get the gist even though I haven't heard it before.


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## elroy

I just thought of something you can say in Palestinian Arabic: متخنفستش (_matkhanfasatesh_).  I'd be interested in finding out whether this verb is used in other dialects.


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## cherine

In Egypt, el khanfasa has a totally different meaning. It's when someone dresses up in a strange style. This usage was "created" in the sixties with الخنافس (the Beatles)


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## Mahaodeh

elroy said:


> I just thought of something you can say in Palestinian Arabic: متخنفستش (_matkhanfasatesh_). I'd be interested in finding out whether this verb is used in other dialects.


 
Just a wild guess; it was originally متنفستش, but then some people added the khaa' for the fun of it and it became so common you can use it without anyone not understanding it's meaning! 

Well, I've seen things like that happen during my lifetime so I don't think it's too far fetched.


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## yasmeena

elroy said:


> I just thought of something you can say in Palestinian Arabic: متخنفستش (_matkhanfasatesh_). I'd be interested in finding out whether this verb is used in other dialects.


 
I've never heard anything close in Lebanon. The only خنفسة I can think of is the expression متل الخنفسة بالطاسة.


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## elroy

Very interesting.  So it seems to be specifically Palestinian. 





cherine said:


> In Egypt, el khanfasa has a totally different meaning. It's when someone dresses up in a strange style. This usage was "created" in the sixties with الخنافس (the Beatles)


 So would you say "tkhanfas" to mean "he dressed that way"? 





Mahaodeh said:


> Just a wild guess [...]


 I never thought about the etymology.  You may be right! 


yasmeena said:


> I've never heard anything close in Lebanon. The only خنفسة I can think of is the expression متل الخنفسة بالطاسة.


 What does that mean?


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## yasmeena

elroy said:


> What does that mean?


 
I think it is of a Syrian origin.



> متل الخنفسة بالطاسة
> الخنفسة هي الخنفساء، حشرة من القشريات، والطاسة هي كوب دائري المقطع واسع السطح قليل الارتفاع، والمثل يرمز لمن يكثر من الحركة دون طائل ولا فائدة، مثل الخنفسة إذا وضعت في الطاسة تقضي عمرها في حركات اعتباطية سريعة دون أن تتمكن من الخروج.


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