An argument at the meeting in Arabic
A small firm; two differ in opinion about the price in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «أقترح رفع السعر عشرة في المئة.» — I propose raising the price by ten percent; «لست متأكدا. ما حجتك؟» — I am not sure. What is your argument?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a small firm; two differ in opinion about the price. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- أقترح رفع السعر عشرة في المئة.актарих рафʿ ас-саʿир ʿашара фи ль-миʾа.I propose raising the price by ten percent.
- لست متأكدا. ما حجتك؟ляста мутаʾаккида. ма худжатук؟I am not sure. What is your argument?
- المصاريف ارتفعت: هذا معطى لا فكرة.аль-масаариф иртафаʿат: хаза муʿта ля фикра.The expenses grew: that is a fact, not an opinion.
- أعارض. العميل يشكو من السعر الجديد.аʿаарид. аль-ʿамиль йяшкуа мин ас-саʿир аль-джадиид.I am against it. The client complains about the new price.
- أصرّ على اقتراحي.асирру ʿаля иктираахи.I insist on my proposal.
- إذا، استطلاع رأي بين العملاء.иза, истибляаʿ раʾй байн аль-ʿумааль.Then a poll of opinion among the clients.
- أوافق، بشرط أن نقرّ بخطأ الحساب القديم.уаафигу, би-шарт анн нугарра би-хатааʾ аль-хисааб аль-кадиим.Agreed, on condition that we admit the mistake of the old calculation.
- اتخذنا قرارا: ننتقل في أقرب وقت.иттахадна гараран: нянтакиль фи аграб вакт.We have made the decision: we switch as soon as possible.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| أقترح رفع السعر عشرة في المئة. | актарих рафʿ ас-саʿир ʿашара фи ль-миʾа. | I propose raising the price by ten percent. |
| لست متأكدا. ما حجتك؟ | ляста мутаʾаккида. ма худжатук؟ | I am not sure. What is your argument? |
| المصاريف ارتفعت: هذا معطى لا فكرة. | аль-масаариф иртафаʿат: хаза муʿта ля фикра. | The expenses grew: that is a fact, not an opinion. |
| أعارض. العميل يشكو من السعر الجديد. | аʿаарид. аль-ʿамиль йяшкуа мин ас-саʿир аль-джадиид. | I am against it. The client complains about the new price. |
| أصرّ على اقتراحي. | асирру ʿаля иктираахи. | I insist on my proposal. |
| إذا، استطلاع رأي بين العملاء. | иза, истибляаʿ раʾй байн аль-ʿумааль. | Then a poll of opinion among the clients. |
| أوافق، بشرط أن نقرّ بخطأ الحساب القديم. | уаафигу, би-шарт анн нугарра би-хатааʾ аль-хисааб аль-кадиим. | Agreed, on condition that we admit the mistake of the old calculation. |
| اتخذنا قرارا: ننتقل في أقرب وقت. | иттахадна гараран: нянтакиль фи аграб вакт. | We have made the decision: we switch as soon as possible. |
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?
“أقترح رفع السعر عشرة في المئة.” (актарих рафʿ ас-саʿир ʿашара фи ль-миʾа.) — I propose raising the price by ten percent. 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.