For and against in Arabic
A building residents' meeting, discussing the roof repair in Arabic. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «السقف قديم, وعندنا ماء في الشتاء.» — The roof is old, and in winter we have water; «رغم أن الإصلاح ضرورة, المال لا يكفي.» — Although the repair is necessary, there is not enough money. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a building residents' meeting, discussing the roof repair. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- السقف قديم, وعندنا ماء في الشتاء.ас-сатх кадийм, ва-ʿинднаа маа фи аш-шитаа.The roof is old, and in winter we have water.
- رغم أن الإصلاح ضرورة, المال لا يكفي.рагма анн аль-исляах даруура, аль-мааль ля йакфий.Although the repair is necessary, there is not enough money.
- من وجهة نظري, الانتظار غالي.мин виджхат назарий, аль-интизар гаали.From my point of view, waiting is expensive.
- أوافق جزئيا, غير أن الجيران يعترضون.увафик джузʾиййан, гайр анн аль-джираан йяʿтаридуун.I partly agree; however, the neighbors object.
- من يدعم الإصلاح, يرفع اليد.мин йядʿум аль-исляах йярфаʿ аль-йад.Whoever supports the repair raises a hand.
- ممتاز, هذا حل وسط.мумтаз, хаза халль васат.Great, that is a compromise.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| السقف قديم, وعندنا ماء في الشتاء. | ас-сатх кадийм, ва-ʿинднаа маа фи аш-шитаа. | The roof is old, and in winter we have water. |
| رغم أن الإصلاح ضرورة, المال لا يكفي. | рагма анн аль-исляах даруура, аль-мааль ля йакфий. | Although the repair is necessary, there is not enough money. |
| من وجهة نظري, الانتظار غالي. | мин виджхат назарий, аль-интизар гаали. | From my point of view, waiting is expensive. |
| أوافق جزئيا, غير أن الجيران يعترضون. | увафик джузʾиййан, гайр анн аль-джираан йяʿтаридуун. | I partly agree; however, the neighbors object. |
| من يدعم الإصلاح, يرفع اليد. | мин йядʿум аль-исляах йярфаʿ аль-йад. | Whoever supports the repair raises a hand. |
| ممتاز, هذا حل وسط. | мумтаз, хаза халль васат. | Great, that is a compromise. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Arabic in this situation?
“السقف قديم, وعندنا ماء في الشتاء.” (ас-сатх кадийм, ва-ʿинднаа маа фи аш-шитаа.) — The roof is old, and in winter we have water. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.