Episode 23 · I have it / it's on me / it's mine

Welcome back to the ḥayy. Yesterday, Abu Naji officially set aside a chair for you at the café. You're no longer just a visitor passing through—you're becoming a fixture here.

Today, you've got a very domestic mission: groceries. You've wandered into Sett Sana's dekkéné, the neighborhood corner shop. It is glorious, chaotic, and packed floor to ceiling with everything from fresh lemons to batteries.

You just need one crucial thing to go with your breakfast. Bread. Let's see if she has any left.

mar7aba sett sana2... 3indik khibz?

عندك خبز؟ — Do you have bread? · 3indik khibz?

To ask a woman 'Do you have?', we use the word 3indik. It starts with that deep, tight sound in the throat, the 3.

Try it with me, asking 'do you have' to a woman: 3indik.

And 'bread' is khibz. The kh is that raspy sound, like you're gently clearing your throat. Put it together: 3indik khibz?

عندك خبز؟ — Do you have bread? · 3indik khibz?

3inde, 3inde. tfaddal.

عندي، عندي — I have, I have · 3inde, 3inde

She does! She replies, 3inde, 3inde. 'I have, I have.'

عندي، عندي — I have, I have · 3inde, 3inde

So if 3indik means 'you have' for a woman, 3inde means 'I have'. We use it to talk about things we own, or things we stock in a shop. Say it with me: 3inde.

chokran... 2addech?

You ask 'how much?', and she tells you... but as your hand goes into your pocket, your stomach drops. You left your wallet on Téta's kitchen table.

sett sana2... ma ma3e masaré halla2.

ما معي مصاري هلّق — I don't have money on me now · ma ma3e masaré halla2

This is a life-saver phrase. ma ma3e means 'I don't have on me.' Notice the difference? You use 3inde for things you own in general. But if it's about what is physically in your pockets right now, you say ma3e.

So to say 'I don't have on me', we add the negation ma to make it ma ma3e. Try that: ma ma3e.

Then we add masaré, which is our word for money, and halla2, which means now. Put it together. I don't have money on me now: ma ma3e masaré halla2.

ما معي مصاري هلّق — I don't have money on me now · ma ma3e masaré halla2

Let's pause and lock these in. To ask a woman if she has something, like bread: 3indik khibz?... 3indik khibz? To say 'I have', as in owning or stocking it: 3inde, 3inde... 3inde, 3inde. And to say you physically don't have money on you right now: ma ma3e masaré halla2... ma ma3e masaré halla2.

You are bracing yourself to return the bread, but Sett Sana just waves her hand dismissively. She reaches under the counter and pulls out a battered, thick, blue notebook.

kteb! kteb!

la2 ya lili, hayda el-kteb ile.

هيدا الكتاب إلي — This book is mine · hayda el-kteb ile

Lili thinks it's a coloring book, but Sett Sana tells her: hayda el-kteb ile. 'This book is mine.'

هيدا الكتاب إلي — This book is mine · hayda el-kteb ile

The word ile means 'mine' or 'belongs to me'. Try saying it, starting with that sharp vowel: ile.

So to say 'this book is mine', we say: hayda el-kteb ile. Say it with me: hayda el-kteb ile.

هيدا الكتاب إلي — This book is mine · hayda el-kteb ile

chou el-ism?

3a-l-daftar?

عالدفتر؟ — On the tab? · 3a-l-daftar?

You just got offered the ultimate privilege of the Lebanese neighborhood! The daftar is the ledger, the tab. It literally means 'notebook'.

When you say 3a-l-daftar, you're saying 'on the notebook', which means putting it on your tab. You just pay it off at the end of the month. Try saying it: 3a-l-daftar.

It starts with the sound 3, merging straight into the word for notebook. Let's do it again, with feeling. You're asking to confirm: 3a-l-daftar?

عالدفتر؟ — On the tab? · 3a-l-daftar?

eh, 3a-l-daftar. inta men el-7ayy.

She says yes, on the tab. Because you're from the neighborhood now. You walk out into the sunshine holding your bread, feeling like a true local.

sar 3indak daftar?

Jad catches you walking out. He knows exactly what just happened. The real question is, how long until that tab gets out of control? We'll see.

Before we go, let's review your new survival skills. 'Do you have bread?' to a woman: 3indik khibz?... 3indik khibz? 'I have': 3inde, 3inde... 3inde, 3inde. 'I don't have money on me now': ma ma3e masaré halla2... ma ma3e masaré halla2. 'This book is mine': hayda el-kteb ile... hayda el-kteb ile. And the magical neighborhood tab, 'On the tab?': 3a-l-daftar?... 3a-l-daftar?

Excellent work today. We post new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, so make sure you come back to see just what happens next in the ḥayy. Yalla, bye!