Moving it to Thursday in Arabic
A phone call between two colleagues on a Monday morning in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «صباح الخير. أتصل بخصوص الموعد غدا.» — Good morning. I am calling about tomorrow's meeting; «صباح النور. تفضل، أنا أسمعك.» — Good morning. Please, I am listening.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call between two colleagues on a Monday morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- صباح الخير. أتصل بخصوص الموعد غدا.сабаах аль-хейр. аттасиль би-хусуус аль-мавиид гадан.Good morning. I am calling about tomorrow's meeting.
- صباح النور. تفضل، أنا أسمعك.сабаах ан-нур. тафаддаль, ана асмаʿук.Good morning. Please, I am listening.
- هل يمكن أن نؤجل الموعد إلى الخميس؟халь йюмкин ан нуʾаджжиль аль-мавиид иля аль-хамис؟Can we move the meeting to Thursday?
- المشكلة أن الخميس عندي اجتماع كبير.аль-мушкиля анн аль-хамис ʿиндий иджтимааʿ кябир.The thing is, on Thursday I have a big meeting.
- وماذا عن الجمعة بعد الظهر؟ва-мааза ʿан аль-джумаа баʿд аз-зухр؟What about Friday afternoon?
- الجمعة ممكنة، لكن ليس قبل الخامسة. عندي تسليم مشروع.аль-джумаа мумкина, лякинн ляйса кябля аль-хаамиса. ʿиндий таслиим машрууʿ.Friday is possible, but not before five. I have a project due.
- تمام، الجمعة في الخامسة والنصف.тамам, аль-джумаа фи аль-хаамиса ва-н-нисф.Agreed, Friday at half past four.
- جميل. وذكّرني يوم الخميس من فضلك.джамиль. ва-заккирний йаум аль-хамис мин фадлик.Great. And remind me on Thursday, please.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| صباح الخير. أتصل بخصوص الموعد غدا. | сабаах аль-хейр. аттасиль би-хусуус аль-мавиид гадан. | Good morning. I am calling about tomorrow's meeting. |
| صباح النور. تفضل، أنا أسمعك. | сабаах ан-нур. тафаддаль, ана асмаʿук. | Good morning. Please, I am listening. |
| هل يمكن أن نؤجل الموعد إلى الخميس؟ | халь йюмкин ан нуʾаджжиль аль-мавиид иля аль-хамис؟ | Can we move the meeting to Thursday? |
| المشكلة أن الخميس عندي اجتماع كبير. | аль-мушкиля анн аль-хамис ʿиндий иджтимааʿ кябир. | The thing is, on Thursday I have a big meeting. |
| وماذا عن الجمعة بعد الظهر؟ | ва-мааза ʿан аль-джумаа баʿд аз-зухр؟ | What about Friday afternoon? |
| الجمعة ممكنة، لكن ليس قبل الخامسة. عندي تسليم مشروع. | аль-джумаа мумкина, лякинн ляйса кябля аль-хаамиса. ʿиндий таслиим машрууʿ. | Friday is possible, but not before five. I have a project due. |
| تمام، الجمعة في الخامسة والنصف. | тамам, аль-джумаа фи аль-хаамиса ва-н-нисф. | Agreed, Friday at half past four. |
| جميل. وذكّرني يوم الخميس من فضلك. | джамиль. ва-заккирний йаум аль-хамис мин фадлик. | Great. And remind me on Thursday, please. |
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?
“صباح الخير. أتصل بخصوص الموعد غدا.” (сабаах аль-хейр. аттасиль би-хусуус аль-мавиид гадан.) — Good morning. I am calling about tomorrow's meeting. 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.