The new colleague in Arabic
The office corridor, two coming back with coffee, discussing the newcomer in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «مَن كان الرجل في المكتب؟» — Who was that man in the office?; «متوسط الطول، أصلع وحاجباه كثيفان.» — Of medium height, bald, with thick eyebrows.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the office corridor, two coming back with coffee, discussing the newcomer. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- مَن كان الرجل في المكتب؟ман кяна ар-раджуль фи аль-мактаб؟Who was that man in the office?
- متوسط الطول، أصلع وحاجباه كثيفان.мутавассит ат-тууль, аслаʿ ва-хаджибааху кясиифаан.Of medium height, bald, with thick eyebrows.
- لا، هذا كان أصغر وشعره مجعّد.ля, хаза кяна асгар ва-шаʿруху муджаʿʿад.No, that one was younger and curly-haired.
- آه، الزميل الجديد. يبدو اجتماعيا وجديا.аах, аз-замииль аль-джадид. йабду иджтимааийян ва-джиддийян.Ah, the new colleague. He seems sociable and serious.
- فكرة. وهو مجتهد؟фикра. ва-хува муджтахид؟Looks like it. And is he hardworking?
- نعم، ومؤدب مع الجميع. يحترم الكل.наам, ва-муʾаддаб маʿа аль-джамиʿ. йяхтарим аль-куль.Yes, and well-mannered with everyone. He respects everyone.
- الذي قبله كان سريع الغضب.аль-лязи кябляху кяна сарииʿ аль-гадаб.The one before him was hot-tempered.
- صحيح. هذا يتصرف بأدب مع الجميع.сахих. хаза йятасарраф би-адаб маʿа аль-джамиʿ.Right. And this one behaves politely with everyone.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| مَن كان الرجل في المكتب؟ | ман кяна ар-раджуль фи аль-мактаб؟ | Who was that man in the office? |
| متوسط الطول، أصلع وحاجباه كثيفان. | мутавассит ат-тууль, аслаʿ ва-хаджибааху кясиифаан. | Of medium height, bald, with thick eyebrows. |
| لا، هذا كان أصغر وشعره مجعّد. | ля, хаза кяна асгар ва-шаʿруху муджаʿʿад. | No, that one was younger and curly-haired. |
| آه، الزميل الجديد. يبدو اجتماعيا وجديا. | аах, аз-замииль аль-джадид. йабду иджтимааийян ва-джиддийян. | Ah, the new colleague. He seems sociable and serious. |
| فكرة. وهو مجتهد؟ | фикра. ва-хува муджтахид؟ | Looks like it. And is he hardworking? |
| نعم، ومؤدب مع الجميع. يحترم الكل. | наам, ва-муʾаддаб маʿа аль-джамиʿ. йяхтарим аль-куль. | Yes, and well-mannered with everyone. He respects everyone. |
| الذي قبله كان سريع الغضب. | аль-лязи кябляху кяна сарииʿ аль-гадаб. | The one before him was hot-tempered. |
| صحيح. هذا يتصرف بأدب مع الجميع. | сахих. хаза йятасарраф би-адаб маʿа аль-джамиʿ. | Right. And this one behaves politely with everyone. |
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?
“مَن كان الرجل في المكتب؟” (ман кяна ар-раджуль фи аль-мактаб؟) — Who was that man in the office? 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.