Arabic

Habibi

April 15, 2011
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Habibi is a term of endearment that means “my sweetheart.” You say it like this: ha BEE bee. Try to use the word habibi in context 3 times today. If you want to get super fancy you can say, “Lamahzah taDHak, HaBEEbee? Hal lughatee al AHrabeeya sayyee?   (Why are you laughing, Habibi? Is my [...]

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Ahlan Baby!

January 9, 2011
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Well, I finally finished it. Actually, it’ll never be done since it’s a blog and a resource website and a photography portfolio. But at least I’ve finished enough of it that I feel alright making it public so-to-speak. I’ve been working on building this website for the past couple of months to put all my [...]

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حبيبتي

June 7, 2010
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I’m going to teach you something very fun to say in Arabic. You’re going to want to use it every day– trust me. Habibti is pronounced: ha BEEB tee It’s a term of endearment that means “dear” or “sweetheart.” If you are talking about a female, you say ha BEEB tee, and if you are [...]

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حرام

May 14, 2010
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حرام is pronounced “ha RAHM,” and is usually said with gusto for emphasis. “Haram!” my friend gasped when she saw my classmate’s new pixie haircut for the first time. “Your long hair is gone and your hair is like a man’s. Haram!” Haram literally means “illegal, forbidden, prohibited.” Although there are some very serious crimes [...]

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حــنــا

April 17, 2010
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I realized that when I told you that Fern has a henna tattoo on her shoulder that some of you may not know what this means. This is حــنــا. Henna is a quasi-natural temporary tattoo. The designs can be as simple as the one you see here or intricately complex requiring hours of work. A [...]

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Arabic logos

March 31, 2010
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Every so often I like to post pictures of logos in Arabic. I like to practice reading Arabic by working through brand names, and it keeps the laughs coming because of the substitutions they use for letters that aren’t in their alphabet. Like Bambers and Bebzi. Any guesses on this round of logos? Here’s a [...]

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Bilingual invitation

March 26, 2010
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Aliza asked why I was “writing Arabic swirlies” on her birthday party invitation. I told her it was so that our neighbors would be able to understand what the invitation is about. She said, “But Mommy, they already know I’m going to be a princess.” Indeed!

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