Tag Archives: Arabic folk speech

“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.

“You’re beating water in a mortar” – Arabic Saying

Context:

She first heard this saying from her grandma when she was in elementary school in Jordan. She says that you would say this when “somebody keeps talking about a problem and trying to solve it a different way, but you know there is no other answer.”

Text:

Original Script: بدق المي بالهاون

Transliteration: Bido’ el my bil hawen

Literal Translation: Beat the water in mortar

Smooth Translation: You’re beating water in a mortar

Thoughts:

When my informant first told me this several years ago, I realized from the imagery that I was doing something in a way that no progress could be made. The comparison lies in how you do nothing to the water if you beat it in a mortar with a pestle; you just waste time and energy. This saying shows that Arabs value efficiency, since this is a warning said to those who are wasting their time.

“Nothing scratches your itch like your nails” – Arabic Proverb

Context:

He heard this proverb when he was a kid, in Jerusalem. He would hear it being said when someone asks for help, but the helper does not do it the way the person wanted it done.

Text:

Original Script: ما حك جلدك الا ضفرك

Transliteration: Ma hack jildak illa dofrak

Literal Translation: Nothing scratches your skin like your nails

Smooth Translation: Nothing scratches your itch like your nails

Thoughts:

When he said this proverb out loud today (when I forgot to complete something he asked me to do), I quickly wrote it down. It reminded me of the English proverb “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Proverbs generally give advice in indirect ways, and this proverb does so by giving a comparison: it is much more efficient to scratch your own itch than to ask someone else to do it; you would have to tell them where and how hard to itch.

“We brought you, Moeen, to help. It turns out you need the help.” – Arabic Saying

Context:

He recalls hearing it when he was very young, in Jerusalem, but can’t put it in a time frame. “I used to hear it a lot, but not for me; I could not help at that point.” “We use it when we ask someone for help, but we find out that they need help in that area. For example, if you ask someone for help with homework, and they say, ‘Yeah, I need help in that too.’”

Text:

Original Script: جبناك يا معين تتعين. طلع بدك مين يعين

Transliteration: Jibnak ya Moeen tateen. Tilah biddak meen yaeen.

Translation: We brought you, Moeen, to help. It turns out you need the help.

Thoughts:

This saying delivers the message of “I thought you could help me, but you can’t” in a rhyme in order to take out some of the edge (the rhyme between “tateen” and “yaeen” gets lost in translation to English). This is similar to the Biblical idiom “the blind leads the blind” (Matthew 15:14);* both occupy the space between seriousness and humor, which makes the messages behind them easier to take.

*https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A14&version=NASB

“Hit the iron while it’s still hot” – Arabic Proverb

Context:

He learned it from his mom (according to him, she would say it a lot) when he was “around four or five years old,” when he was in Jerusalem. He said that you would use this proverb to tell somebody to “follow through while the opportunity still exists.”

Text:

Original Script: اضرب الحديد وهو حامي

Transliteration: Odrob al hadid ou houeh hami

Literal Translation: Hit the iron while it’s hot

Smooth Translation: Hit the iron while it’s still hot

Thoughts:

When I first heard the proverb from him two years ago, when I was trying to find a summer job, I did not need an explanation to know that he was telling me to follow through without delay; the image of a blacksmith shaping red-hot iron, as well as the common knowledge that hot metal is easier to shape than cold metal, got the point across. Until he explained it to me today, I thought that one would say it to tell someone to follow through while it is still fresh, or to not stop something while you are already in the right mindset. I would often use it to justify why I could not stop midway through something–I did not want to have to heat up the iron again. Even if I had not heard my informant’s explanation, I would still think that this proverb shows that there is an imperative in Arabic culture to finish what you started in a time-efficient manner.