Fablingo / Fablingo Lebanese / Level pre-A1
Episode 10 · Mraja3a — At Téta's flat
Duration: 10:19
Coming soon on YouTube
After this lesson you can:
Combine family, colours, objects and fi / ma fi in one tour of the flat.
In this episode
Back up in the flat Lili gives you the grand tour until the power dies mid-sentence and she announces ma fi kahraba! like it's the most normal thing in Beirut, and the moteur gag is born.
Last time, Dr. Hala handed you paperwork with perfect manners and zero warmth. Before that, Lili found Téta Nabiha’s brass key and marched you upstairs. Today, we’re back in the flat. Lili’s in charge, as usual. Breathe. Listen. We’ll weave family, colors, and that Beirut classic: fi… ma fi.
يلا! افتح، افتح! هَيّ المفتاح تبع تيتا.
The door sighs open. Dust motes in a stripe of light. Somewhere, a radio hum from the café below. Lili pats a sideboard like it’s a dog and points at a wall of photos. She’s about to introduce you to your own family.
هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو.
هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو — this is grandma, and this is grandpa · haydi Téta, w hayda jiddo
Lili just said: هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو. Hear the rhythm? haydi for feminine things and people — هيدي — and hayda for masculine — هيدا. Téta is feminine, so هيدي تيتا. Grandpa is masculine, so وهيدا جدّو. Watch your sounds: the ج in جدّو is a soft j, and double the د: جدّ-دو. Register? Totally everyday. Common mistake: don’t say هذا like in school Arabic; in Beirut it’s هيدا/هيدي.
هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو — this is grandma, and this is grandpa · haydi Téta, w hayda jiddo
Say it with me: هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو. Again, a little slower: هيـدي تيـتا… و هايـدا جدّو. Now naturally: هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو.
هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو — this is grandma, and this is grandpa · haydi Téta, w hayda jiddo
هيدا… عمّي؟ وهيدي… خالتي؟
برافو! هيدا عمّي، إي. بس هيدي مش خالتي، هيدي عمتكِ.
Tour continues. Lili taps a sturdy dining table with a chipped edge. She narrows her eyes, thinking of colors you learned with her on the square.
الطاولة حمرا.
الطاولة حمرا — the table is red · el-tawle 7amra
She said: الطاولة حمرا. tawle means table and it’s feminine. In Lebanese, colors often have a feminine form. Red is أحمر for masculine, حمرا for feminine. The 7 in 7amra is that deep h — ح — from your throat. Say el-tawle 7amra. Register: simple, everyday. Mistake to avoid: don’t say الأحمر on its own here — that’s MSA-ish. In Beirut: الطاولة حمرا.
الطاولة حمرا — the table is red · el-tawle 7amra
Say it: الطاولة حمرا. Again, slower: الطاو-لة حم-را. Now naturally: الطاولة حمرا.
الطاولة حمرا — the table is red · el-tawle 7amra
المراية زرقة…؟
إيه! برافو. المراية زرقة.
On the red table, a tiny espresso cup waits like it knew you were coming. Lili squints at it, then at you. Time to bring back fi… ma fi from the family day.
في فنجان عالطاولة.
في فنجان عالطاولة — there's a coffee cup on the table · fi finjén 3a-l-tawle
Listen: في فنجان عالطاولة. fi means there is/there are. finjén is the little coffee cup. 3a is short for على — on. It sticks to the next word: 3al-tawle becomes عالطاولة. In Beiruti speech that ل often merges: 3a-l-tawle → عالطاولة. Sounds: the 3 in 3a is ع — pull from the back of your throat. Register: super everyday. Mistake to avoid: don’t say فيه هو for ‘there is’ — just في plus your thing.
في فنجان عالطاولة — there's a coffee cup on the table · fi finjén 3a-l-tawle
Say it: في فنجان عالطاولة. Again, a little slower: في فنـجان عَ ـ الطاولة. Now naturally: في فنجان عالطاولة.
في فنجان عالطاولة — there's a coffee cup on the table · fi finjén 3a-l-tawle
في مفتاح عالطاولة.
تع، تع هون. هيدا الصالون… وهونيك المطبخ… والممر طويل كتير.
Quick check-in before the next room. You met family with هيدي… وهيدا…, colored a table, and placed a cup. Say them once more out loud. Good? Let’s keep walking.
The kitchen is a museum of Téta moves: a tin of rice with tape, a lemon wrapped in newspaper, a crocheted curtain. The fridge hums… then thinks about it.
في سكّر… بس ما في قهوة.
هيِّه! هيك! في… وما في… برافو.
Footsteps on the stair. A familiar tray silhouette fills the doorway. Of course: Abu Naji, ambassador of welcome, balancing two tiny cups and a plate of sesame ka3k like it’s nothing.
شرب قهوة بالبيت أحلى. تفضّلوا… وبون أوسيطيه للتيتا.
شكراً… في قهوة عالطاولة!
إيه، في قهوة… وبقلب كبير.
He glances at the ceiling light like it’s a cat with moods. Beirut’s most regular irregularity is on its way.
فهَيك… هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو… الطاولة حمرا… وفي فنجان عالطاولة…
The light gives one heroic flicker… and darkness drops like a curtain. The fridge sighs into silence. Lili doesn’t even blink.
ما في كهربا!
ما في كهربا! — there's no electricity! · ma fi kahraba!
She said: ما في كهربا! ma fi is ‘there isn’t/there aren’t’. kahraba is electricity — note the kh sound is خ, from your throat but softer than 7. Stress it like KA-hraba. Register: completely normal in Beirut, several times a day in some buildings. Mistake to avoid: don’t add hiye; just ما في كهربا!
ما في كهربا! — there's no electricity! · ma fi kahraba!
Say it: ما في كهربا! Again, slower: ما… في… كَهـ-رَ-با. Now naturally: ما في كهربا!
ما في كهربا! — there's no electricity! · ma fi kahraba!
ما في ضو… بس في قهوة.
ولا يهمّك. بعد شوي بيشتغل الموتور. إذا لا… منغنّي له شوي!
The moteur — the neighborhood generator — kicks in when the state power cuts. There’s a schedule. There’s also the ritual joke: threaten to sing to it until it behaves. Welcome to the club.
في شمعة بالمطبخ… بس ما في ولا بطارية.
الشمعة صفرا… والطاولة حمرا.
A soft knock. Maya from across the landing, hair in a clip, holding a string of fairy lights like a peace offering.
هاي! في ضو صغير إذا بدكن… وبالمناسبة، أنا مايا.
هيدي تيتا… وهيدا جدّو.
Somewhere below, a cough… a rattle… the hum of the moteur slides up like a bass note. One lamp pops back to life. The room exhales.
شفتي؟ ما بدّو غير أغنية صغيرة.
Let’s lock in what your mouth just did. Point to someone: هيدي… وهيدا…. Color a thing: الطاولة حمرا. Place it in space: في فنجان عالطاولة. And when Beirut goes dark? ما في كهربا! Say them once each. Beautiful.
إذا حابين… بكرا عشية عنا مقلوبة. في أكل… وفي قصص. بتجو؟
إيه! في جيران طيّبين… وما في خوف.
Today you toured a home and a language: introduced family, painted the room with color, put things on the table, and survived a cut with a joke. Keep pointing and saying what you see. The city answers back.
Two new episodes each week — Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe, practice out loud, and we’ll see you downstairs at the café… unless, you know, ما في كهربا. Yalla, bye.
Vocabulary
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| هيدي تيتا، وهيدا جدّو | this is grandma, and this is grandpa | |
| الطاولة حمرا | the table is red | |
| في فنجان عالطاولة | there's a coffee cup on the table | |
| ما في كهربا! | there's no electricity! |
Grammar in this lesson
None new — consolidates zero-copula, fi / ma fi, have, noun gender and demonstratives; the fi / ma fi seam made fully audible; noun-gender agreement heard (el-tawle 7amra, feminine).