Arabic in Palestine
The official language in Palestine is Arabic.
Palestinian people speak English well, though, once you try even a little Arabic, they’d get very happy and become more friendly to you. (Palestinians are already very friendly, but even more!)
The Arabic language is spoken widely between Arabic Peninsula and Maghreb (northern Africa). However, each country has own dialect, sometimes it’s difficult to understand each other depending on the dialects.
The Arabic spoken in Palestine is very close to Syrian, Lebanese or Jordanian dialects. Egyptian dialect is also understood.
Here, we introduce some Palestinian dialect.
Greetings
Sabah al-Khair: Good morning.
Sabah al-Nour: Good morning to you, too.
Marhaba: Hello.
Marhabaten: Hello to you, too.
Massa al-Khair: Good evening.
Massa al-Nour: Good evening to you, too.
Ma’assalamah: Goodbye.
Shukran: Thank you.
Afwan: You’re welcome.
Keef hak?: How are you (to men)
Keef hek?: How are you (to women)
Tama’am: I’m good.
Aywa | Na’am: Yes.
La : No.
Transportation
Wein hada? : Where is it? (wein = where)
Shopping
Chou hada? : What is this? (chou = what)
Kam hada? : How much is this?
Numerals
- ١ wahad
- ٢ etnen
- ٣ talata
- ٤ arba’a
- ٥ khamsa
- ٦ sitta
- ٧ sab’a
- ٨ tamanyeh
- ٩ tis’a
- ١٠ ‘ashara
- ١١ hda’sh
- ١٢ tna’sh
- ١٣ talata’sh
- ١٤ arbata’sh
- ١٥ khamsata’sh
- ١٦ sitta’sh
- ١٧ sabata’sh
- ١٨ tamanta’sh
- ١٩ tisat’sh
- ٢١ ‘ishreen
- ٢١ wahad wa ‘ishreen
- ٣٠ talateen
- ٤٠arba’een
- ٥٠ khamseen
- ٦٠ sitteen
- ٧٠ sabeen
- ٨٠ tamaneen
- ٩٠ tisseen
- ١٠٠ miyya
- ٢٠٠ miteyn
- ٣٠٠ talatmiyya
- ١٠٠ alba’miyya
- ١٠٠٠ alf
- ٢٠٠٠ alfen
- ٣٠٠٠ talat-talaf
- ١٠٠٠٠ ‘ashar-talaf