Tag Archives: Arabic folk speech

“The monkey in his mom’s eye is a gazelle” – Arabic Proverb

Context:

She learned it from her mom and grandma in Jordan. She said that the proverb means that a mom never finds a fault in her child.

Text:

Original Script: القرد بعين امه غزال

Transliteration: El ‘ird bi aine immo ghazal

Literal Translation: The monkey in his mom’s eye is gazelle

Smooth Translation: The monkey in his mom’s eyes is a gazelle

Thoughts:

I found this proverb to be really funny because although I’ve seen moments like what the proverb describes, it’s generally the opposite in my family: it’s usually the aunts and grandmas that see the child as better than they really are, and it’s usually the moms who are quick to tell their children their faults. The background information that one must have to understand the proverb is that monkeys are seen as ugly, but gazelles are seen as beautiful (there are love poems called ghazals because of that connection). Thus, the proverb implies that even if someone is as ugly as a monkey, their mom would see them as beautiful as a gazelle, which comments on the strength of family ties: the love of a mother would gloss over all the child’s faults.

“Wipe it on my beard” – Arabic Saying

Context:

He heard it a few times when he was a teenager in Jordan. According to him, someone trying to “break up the fight or reconcile the parties” would use this saying to calm the people down.

Text:

Original Script: امسحها بلحيتي

Transliteration: Imsa-ha bi lihiti

Translation: Wipe it on my beard

Thoughts:

This saying intrigues me because it does not sound like anything meaningful at first, but it starts making some sense when given some thought. The mediator, by telling the two people/groups to “wipe it on [his] beard,” is saying to leave their grievance there with him. When you wipe dirt from your hand onto another surface, the dirt is no longer on your hand, and it stays on the wall. The fact that there is saying for this shows that Arabs, like many people, commonly act as mediators.

“Is there a worm in your butt?” – Arabic Saying

Context:

She heard it a lot in her childhood from her aunts when she was in Jordan. If someone is restless, and can’t sit still, they would ask that person, “Fi doodeh bi teezak?”

Text:

Original Script: في دودة بطيزك؟

Transliteration: Fi doodeh b-teezak?

Literal Translation: Is there worm in your butt?

Smooth Translation: Is there a worm in your butt?

Thoughts:

This was a saying I heard when I was a kid, and I still find it funny to this day; it has the listener imagine someone unable to sit still because of the discomfort of having a worm in their butt. Because that situation would be considered abnormal, and it is being compared to a person who can’t sit still, the saying implies that Arabs see it abnormal for someone to not sit still and rest.

“Whoever eats alone chokes” – Arabic Proverb

Context:

She learned this from her brothers in Jordan when they were young. They were trying to convince her to share her treats (she was the youngest and was spoiled), so they would tell her this proverb, hoping that she would give them some out of fear of choking.

Text:

Original Script: اللي بياكل لحاله بزور

Transliteration: Elly biakol lahalo bizwar

Translation: Whoever eats alone chokes

Thoughts:

I’ve heard this proverb a couple of times, after I choked while eating alone. The proverb is meant to discourage people from not sharing their food, or eating by themselves, likely because Arabs usually eat as a family. This proverb focuses not on giving advice, but on protecting that family tradition.

“Your heart is white” – Arabic Saying

Context:

She said that her mom would always say this to her. They were both still in Jordan when she first heard it. According to her, you would say this “when somebody is hoping for something that you know won’t happen,” or “when somebody is hoping for somebody else to do something, but you know they won’t do it.”

Text:

Original Script: قلبك ابيض

Transliteration: Albak abyad

Translation: Your heart is white

Thoughts:

When I first heard this saying, I thought that it meant that someone was acting naïve. I clearly remember when I asked my family if there was any dessert left from the day before, only to be told “Albak abyad”; I was naïve to assume that they had not eaten it all. Even after I heard my informant’s explanation, I find it interesting how the saying associates the color white with naïveté instead of purity (the usual association). It shows that innocence to a fault (naïveté) is seen as a problem in Arabic cultures, encouraging those who hear the saying to not be overly hopeful.