The interview in Arabic
The office of a small firm, the manager talks to a person who answered an ad in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «مرحبا بك. ما حرفتك؟» — Welcome. What is your profession?; «أنا محاسب، وعملت أيضا سكرتيرا في المكتب.» — I am an accountant, and I also worked as an office secretary.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the office of a small firm, the manager talks to a person who answered an ad. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- مرحبا بك. ما حرفتك؟мархаба бик. ма хирфатук؟Welcome. What is your profession?
- أنا محاسب، وعملت أيضا سكرتيرا في المكتب.ана мухаасиб, ва-аʿмальту айдан сакритииран фи аль-мактаб.I am an accountant, and I also worked as an office secretary.
- من كان مسؤولا عنك في العمل السابق؟мин кяна масʾуулян ʿанюк фи аль-ʿамаль ас-саабик؟Who was your boss at the previous job?
- المدير. كل أسبوع كنت أبلغه عن العمل.аль-мудиир. куль усбууʿ кунту абллягуху ʿан аль-ʿамаль.The director. Every week I reported the work to him.
- هل تستطيع إدارة فريق صغير؟халь тастатыʿ идаарат фарик сагиир؟Will you be able to manage a small team?
- نعم، ثلاث سنوات كان عندي مرؤوسان.наам, саляс санаат кян ʿиндий марʾуусаан.Yes, for three years I had two subordinates.
- مكان العمل عندنا قرب النافذة.макаан аль-ʿамаль ʿинданаа гарииб ан-наафиза.Our workplace is by the window.
- متى يمكنني توقّع الجواب؟мата йюмкинюни таваʿгук аль-джавааб؟When may I expect an answer?
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| مرحبا بك. ما حرفتك؟ | мархаба бик. ма хирфатук؟ | Welcome. What is your profession? |
| أنا محاسب، وعملت أيضا سكرتيرا في المكتب. | ана мухаасиб, ва-аʿмальту айдан сакритииран фи аль-мактаб. | I am an accountant, and I also worked as an office secretary. |
| من كان مسؤولا عنك في العمل السابق؟ | мин кяна масʾуулян ʿанюк фи аль-ʿамаль ас-саабик؟ | Who was your boss at the previous job? |
| المدير. كل أسبوع كنت أبلغه عن العمل. | аль-мудиир. куль усбууʿ кунту абллягуху ʿан аль-ʿамаль. | The director. Every week I reported the work to him. |
| هل تستطيع إدارة فريق صغير؟ | халь тастатыʿ идаарат фарик сагиир؟ | Will you be able to manage a small team? |
| نعم، ثلاث سنوات كان عندي مرؤوسان. | наам, саляс санаат кян ʿиндий марʾуусаан. | Yes, for three years I had two subordinates. |
| مكان العمل عندنا قرب النافذة. | макаан аль-ʿамаль ʿинданаа гарииб ан-наафиза. | Our workplace is by the window. |
| متى يمكنني توقّع الجواب؟ | мата йюмкинюни таваʿгук аль-джавааб؟ | When may I expect an answer? |
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?
“مرحبا بك. ما حرفتك؟” (мархаба бик. ма хирфатук؟) — Welcome. What is your profession? 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.