A feeling without "I am": ashʿur bi-, ʿandii and the two-member phrase
In English a feeling is a verb: "I am ashamed", "I am bored". Here a feeling is a thing: you have khajal, you have malal. There is no verb "to have", so the owner and the feeling simply stand side by side: ʿandii khajal — I have shame. For example: “أشعر بالخجل من تأخيري” — I am ashamed of my lateness. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In English a feeling is a verb: "I am ashamed", "I am bored". Here a feeling is a thing: you have khajal, you have malal. There is no verb "to have", so the owner and the feeling simply stand side by side: ʿandii khajal — I have shame.
Three working constructions. ʿandii — "I have": a mood, a fear, a wish. ashʿur bi- — "I feel with": shame, lightness, boredom — what flows. And the short two-member phrase with no preposition at all: ana haaziin — I am sad.
One trap: "I am ashamed" is not shame "for" but shame "in". The guilty thing is added through min: "ashʿur bi-l-khajal min dhaalik" — I am ashamed of that. Here the feeling arrives FROM the cause.
Table
| sense | construction | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have | ʿandii + noun | ʿandii khajal | I am ashamed |
| I feel | ashʿur bi- + noun | ashʿur bi-l-malal | I am bored |
| I am such | ana + adjective | ana haaziin | I am sad |
| you have | ʿandaka + noun | ʿandaka suʾaal | you have a question |
| now | al-aan | ashʿur bi-l-khajal al-aan | I am ashamed now |
By example
- أشعر بالخجل من تأخيريашʿур би-ль-хаджаль мин таʾхиирийI am ashamed of my lateness
- عندي رغبة في الرحلةʿиндий рагхба фи ар-рихляI have a wish to travel
- أنا مبسوط اليومана мабсуут аль-йаумI am glad today
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say I am ashamed in Arabic?
In English a feeling is a verb: "I am ashamed", "I am bored". Here a feeling is a thing: you have khajal, you have malal. There is no verb "to have", so the owner and the feeling simply stand side by side: ʿandii khajal — I have shame.
Feelings without to be in Arabic?
In English a feeling is a verb: "I am ashamed", "I am bored". Here a feeling is a thing: you have khajal, you have malal. There is no verb "to have", so the owner and the feeling simply stand side by side: ʿandii khajal — I have shame.
Ashuur bi vs indii for feelings?
One trap: "I am ashamed" is not shame "for" but shame "in". The guilty thing is added through min: "ashʿur bi-l-khajal min dhaalik" — I am ashamed of that. Here the feeling arrives FROM the cause.
How to say I am cold in Arabic?
In English a feeling is a verb: "I am ashamed", "I am bored". Here a feeling is a thing: you have khajal, you have malal. There is no verb "to have", so the owner and the feeling simply stand side by side: ʿandii khajal — I have shame.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“أشعر بالخجل من تأخيري” (ашʿур би-ль-хаджаль мин таʾхиирий) — I am ashamed of my lateness. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.