All dialects: false friends

elroy said:
I think "buttermilk" is لبن مخيض in Palestinian. (There's also لبن رايب, but I'm not totally sure what that is.) سمنة is specifically "ghee," isn't it?
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In Morocco, the word is masculine (سمن) and refers to "ghee" only. This usage crosses Egypt/Sudan then (without stopping).
 
    • نو in Morocco and Algeria (Tunisia also?) means "rain" while in Yemeni, it means "clouds".
    ازار in Morocco means "sheet" (for covering oneself to sleep) and in Yemen, it's a piece of cloth you wrap around your waist to cover the lower half of the body.
    Another one which didn't come my mind until now is بيت: in Morocco, it means "room" (بيت النعاس, بيت الراحة etc) while in many other, it means "home".

    (Source: a Yemeni I met few times ago we started discussing about that matter).
     
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    Back in the early 80s in Yemen, one had to make international phone calls through the post office. I went with an Egyptian friend of mine so he could call his wife. After a few times of him going to the counter and then waiting, nothing happened. Finally he told me that the guy at the counter kept telling him ماشي which to his mind meant "OK, going through". I explained to him that in Sanaani the guy was saying ما شيء ---- meaning "nothing ---- (not working)"
     
    In Morocco قشّ means "straw" while in some Algerian areas, I discovered it means "clothes" :D.

    هزّ in the Maghreb means "to lift" (beside رفد) while in other dialects it means "to shake" (حرّك or ساس in Morocco).

    ريحان means "myrrh" in the Maghreb but "basil" in some other dialects (we call basil حبق)

    مزروب (from زرب/سرب in MSA) in the Maghreb means "to be in a hurry" while in Egypt it's vulgar :D

    عجلة in Egypt means "bike" while in most other places it is understood as "wheel".

    حطّة in Palestine means kufiya while in some rural Moroccan dialects, it means "house" :D.

    بقى/يبقى means "to stay/to remain/to keep doing" in Morocco and in most dialects I think. In Egypt it means "to become".

    ولّى/رجع in Morocco means "to come/get back" and "to become" (beside صبح for "to become") while in most dialects it means "to come/get back".

    ردّ means "to reply/to give back" and in Morocco it also means "to put back something" (I.e. ردّ الكتاب لموضعته) while in Libya, it means "to come back" (نرّدوا بعد الفصل).
     
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    I.K.S. said:
    It is an expression, originally it means tent pitching, it goes back to the days of semi_nomadic lifestyle.
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    واليوم الناس ما بقاوا يستخدموا الكلمة؟ أنا شخصيا ما عمري سمعتها حيث ماني من الغرب ,ولكن قريتها على شي موقع​
     
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    لا مستعملة غالبا في القرى كمجاز وطرفة، نسمعهم الواحد لا شرى دار جديدة كيقولو له "مبروك الحطة" مثلا
     
    We say قشاوش (plural of قش) for "things; clothes".

    جمع قشاوشك لا يشوفوهم الضياف. (jma3 qshaawshek la yshuufuuhum eD-Dyaaf)

    غنطبخ قشاوش الدجاجة اللي دبحتها البارح باش ما نضيعوش نعمة ربي. (gha-natbukh qshaawesh ed-djaaja lli dba7tha l-baare7 baash ma nDayy3uushi na3met rabbi)
     
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    مازيان means "good, nice" in Morocco and "beautiful" in Tunisia.

    قلّب in Morocco means "to turn something over" or "to look for" (it has synonyms) while in other dialects it means "to turn something over"

    غادي in Morocco and Western Algeria means "going" while in Eastern Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Western Egypt, it means "over there".

    وقع means "to happen" in Morocco and "to fall" in Egypt.

    بلّع in Eastern Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia means "to close" (it has synonyms) while بلع in other dialects means "to swallow".

    ذراري from Morocco to Libya means "kids" while in Yemen it means "animal offsprings" :D.

    رجى/يرجى= to expect in Morocco, to wait in Libya and Eastern Morocco (and certainly Western Algeria).
     
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    Hemza said:
    قلّب in Morocco means "to turn something over" or "to look for" (it has synonyms) while in other dialects it means "to turn something over"
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    The interesting part here is قلّب على with the ق means "to look for" while the same verb with rural pronunciation; ''gelleb'' means "to keep turning sth. over".
     
    Hemza said:
    بلّع in Eastern Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia means "to close" (it has synonyms) while بلع in other dialects means "to swallow".
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    In Tunisia both meanings exist, بلّع and ابلع. we only use بلّع to say بلّع فمك
     
    raamez said:
    Iraqi على باله means he thinks
    ,while in Syrian it means he wishes
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    Not necessarily.

    شو قالتلي حماتي ما إجت على بالي
    Whatever my mother-in-law says, I don't care.

    شو على بالك ؟
    What's on your mind ? What's wrong with you ?

    خطر على بالي فلان
    I've just recalled (someone) (right now, suddenly).

    Hemza said:
    ردّ means "to reply/to give back" and in Morocco it also means "to put back something" (I.e. ردّ الكتاب لموضعته) while in Libya, it means "to come back" (نرّدوا بعد الفصل).
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    It also can mean 'to reply/give back' and 'to put back something' in Syria as well as many other things.

    'to reject (a letter, an offer, a favor, etc), to refuse (a parcel, a delivery, a letter, etc), to push back, to close (a door), to let fall back (curtains, one's clothing), to cover/wrap something with a clothing item, to protect from the sun/from humidity' and also 'to prompt, whisper (an answer, someone's text, etc)'.
     
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    raamez said:
    Iraqi على باله means he thinks
    ,while in Syrian it means he wishes
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    I would say that the meaning of he wishes is understood figuratively in this case: he’s thinking of something because he wants it so much.

    In fact, I’d say that both meanings exist in both dialects.
     
    In Tunisia, I discovered that سخانة means "hot/warm weather". In Morocco, it means "fever" (at least where I come from) :D.

    Edit: سخونية means "fever" in Egypt and Sudan while it means "warmness/heat" in Morocco.
     
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    سخانة means heat and fever in Tunisian Arabic

    If I am not mistaken it also means heat in Egyptian and Sudanese Arabic
     
    بنّة in Eastern Libya means "smell" while in the rest of the Maghreb, I think it mainly means "taste" and "smell" (nouns) though both are linked.
     
    Today I learnt that in Egypt, حاذق means "salty" :eek:. In Morocco, this is used mostly in the feminine to speak about a woman who manages well her household.
     
    Just to make it clearer, it's pronounced with a دال, so 7aade2 حادق, and the degree of saltness is 7odo2eyya حدوقية. :D
    tounsi51 said:
    سخانة means heat and fever in Tunisian Arabic

    If I am not mistaken it also means heat in Egyptian and Sudanese Arabic
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    I don't remember hearing anyone use سخانة, but we have sokhuuna سخونة for heat (and sometimes used as a metaphor for enthusiasm) but حَرّ is more common when talking about the weather being hot. and sokhoneyya سخونية for fever.
     
    Hemza said:
    فيسع in Maghrebi dialects means "right now/quickly" but Tunisians (@tounsi51 :p ) seem to pronounce it فيسا and it sounds like an Egyptian word...:rolleyes: I leave Egyptians commenting about that :D :p
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    I recently found out that in a Yemeni dialect they also say "fisa/fisa3" meaning "quickly" through a video on youtube on which a Yemeni gave some typical words of his dialect and this was one of them. Me being Tunisian was surprised, i didnt even know Moroccans are familiar with the same word. Speaking to non-Tunisians i always skipped this word and use a more fus7a word like bi sor3a to make sure its understood. Even towards fellow Maghrebis.
     
    @Aloulu some Yemeni dialects use فيسع and غدوة حوت جلجلان and a looot of words used in the Maghreb. In Oman as well فيسع is used. And indeed it is used in Morocco so no worry you can go for it.
     
    Hello everyone,

    I found a funny game which consists of imagining a dialogue between two speakers of two different dialects and to point out at the misunderstandings because of false friends 😁. I found two instances one between Estonian and Finnish and another between Polish and Czech (both explained in English). It was very funny to see how far the misunderstandings could go and I thought it would be something to try to do in Arabic. The dialect I'm the most exposed to is Egyptian hence I will use my own experience for the following little text between a Moroccan and an Egyptian since there are many false friends:

    Once upon a time, an Egyptian decided to call his Moroccan friend and greeted him with عامل ايه to which the Moroccan said that he wasn't doing anything peculiar. He then suggested to the Egyptian to have some meal made of طعام (mo: couscous) with حوت (mo: fish) with a كويّس (mo: small glass) of لبن (mo: sour milk) and with قرعة عصير حامض وحامي (mo: a bottle of warm lemon juice) and to finish with one حبة الملوك (mo: cherry). Shocked, the Egyptian wondered who could eat such a foolish meal made of whale meat accompanied by a nice of milk and a squash full of a pungent acid juice and wondered what could be that seed of the kings. The Moroccan told him that he would عيّط (mo: to call) him later to the speechless Egyptian who couldn't get why the Moroccan wanted to cry. The Egyptian said that بقّه wasn't really willing to accept such a meal and in any case, he would rather eat some لقمة القاضي with some بطاطا (eg: sweet potatoes) but the Moroccan replied back that a megaphone wasn't supposed to eat and that no judge would share the meal with them and that potatoes wouldn't go well with the rest. The Egyptian guy then suggested why not go buy some عين البقر (eg: wallnut), but the Moroccan disgusted by the idea of eating a cow eye told him that he would rather eat raw ورقة سيدنا موسى (mo: sage). Puzzled that his friend could find a parchment belonging to Musa, the Egyptian was even more astonished that he was willing to eat it. Fine, the Moroccan will come to eat with مرته (mo: his wife). Offended by the word, the Egyptian said that this wasn't an appropriate way to call a ستّ.
    And so on :D.

    اللي عنده شي أفكار يتفضل :D

    Though the little story is fictional, some of the misunderstandings quoted here really occured between me and my Egyptian friend. I didn't display all the Egyptian meanings since I guess most of you know the words meaning.
     
    I don't have the creativity to make a scene out of the false friends lol.

    I know one time an Egyptian women asked a friend of my mother that she wanted حلة which means "pot", but the other woman misunderstood her thinking that she wanted "diarrhea" because that's what the word حلة means in some Peninsular dialects (although very rarely used today).

    I always thought that there is a potential for pranking speakers of other dialects by saying أحب طعم المسمار or telling them I added مسمار to their food, but I don't know if this meaning of مسمار is common across the dialects.
     
    HoopoeOfHope said:
    I always thought that there is a potential for pranking speakers of other dialects by saying أحب طعم المسمار or telling them I added مسمار to their food, but I don't know if this meaning of مسمار is common across the dialects.
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    It would work on me! I have no idea what meaning you’re referring to…

    Wait! Is it cloves???
     
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    :eek: :D That’s hilarious. Right up there with Moroccan حوت 🐳 and Egyptian لبن!
     
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    I just remembered: ملوخية in most countries (including Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) is jute mallow while in Morocco, it designates okra. Preparing a meal between speakers of different dialects may be challenging :D.

    Another two instances which left us clueless that occurred between me and my Egyptian friend (who was my roommate for a long time):
    Eg: عايز كمثرى؟
    Mo: تبغي انجاص؟

    or

    Eg: اقفل الحنفية
    Mo: سدّ البزبوز

    No one of us understood the other's word in both cases :D.
     
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    Some good ones to mine for this kind of dialogue would definitely be ست/مرة and the different meanings of عافية lol. I also just learned that فاصوليا and لوبيا are flipped between Egypt and the Levant!

    This dialogue isn't about different dialects, but it's a joke I copied down from my family a while ago (hopefully not too jankily) and it came to mind:


    واحد فرنسي وواحد إنجليزي إجوا عالضيعة ولقوا وحدة عم تعبّي من الصهريج، أشّرتلهن سألتهن عطشانين يا عيني؟ وهنّي أشّروا وقالوا ايه فعبّتلهن وشربوا
    قام الفرنسي بس خلص قلها merci فقالتلو لأ المرسة؟ شو بدك بالمرسة؟ والإنجليزي كمان شكرها فقالتلو طب إنتا التاني شو بدك بالتنكة؟


    ...mar(a)se ~ mar(a)si being a word for the rope you lower a bucket or other container into a well/reservoir with, and tan(a)ke ~ tan(a)ki being one such container :D
     
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    Pear is interesting because it has many names. I feel like I alternate between أجاص and عرموط and كمثرى. Same with eggplants which have similar names but each one is slightly off from the other باذنجان and بيذجان، بيدجان، بتنجان، باتنجان.

    wriight said:
    قام الفرنسي بس خلص قلها merci فقالتلو لأ المرسة؟ شو بدك بالمرسة؟ والإنجليزي كمان شكرها فقالتلو طب إنتا التاني شو بدك بالتنكة؟
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    That's a fun coincidence. We call the rope رشا and I think تنكة is related to تانكي.
     
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    HoopoeOfHope said:
    I feel like I alternate between أجاص and عرموط and كمثرى.
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    For me, it's نجاص, with a نون. Another one to add to your list. ;)

    HoopoeOfHope said:
    Same with eggplants which have similar names but each one is slightly off from the other باذنجان and بيذجان، بيدجان، بتنجان، باتنجان.
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    I say بيتنجان, with a long ē and a t.

    Going back to false friends, here's one that I think will stump all of you: do you know what صَباح means in (some varieties) of Palestinian Arabic? I think this meaning is unique to Palestinian Arabic.
     
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    @wriight you talked about عافية and that reminded me that in Morocco (actually in many other places across the Maghreb as well) its meaning differs according to the context: either it means "fire" or it means something like "to strengthen" when we say عافاك (الله).

    elroy said:
    Going back to false friends, here's one that I think will stump all of you: do you know what صَباح means in (some varieties) of Palestinian Arabic? I think this meaning is unique to Palestinian Arabic.
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    Let me guess: breakfast?
     
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    Wow, you didn't know that before?!

    If so, I'm very impressed!
     
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    elroy said:
    Wow, you didn't know that before?!

    If so, I'm very impressed!
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    I would never have got it without your hint, but in Arabic it's common to associate the forehead with 'light' (e.g. وضّاح الجبين), so based on your hint I decided it could only be that.
     
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    That would also be a good idea to list the false friends within a country. For instance, within Morocco, ليمون is a false friend: in my area (and some others) it means "lemon" while in Western dialects, it means "orange".
     
    I just thought about another one: باش.

    In Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria and Libya/Western Egypt, it means "for" or "in order to"
    In Tunisia, it is the way to form the future.
    Hence أعطيني فلوس باش نركب المواصلات for instance means in the 4 mentioned countries "give me money to allow me to take the transport" but in Tunisia it means "give me money, I will take the transport" :D.
     
    tounsi51 said:
    Not at all, in Tunisia باش can express the future but it also means for and in order to
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    Sorry, I didn't know. Indeed, it would be unlikely to not have this meaning in Tunisia while it is present in both neighbouring countries (Algeria/Libya). I thought it was only used for the future.
     
    Another one which just came to my mind: in most dialects, موس means "shaver" while in Hilalian Maghrebi dialects (traditionally at least), it means "knife" (non Hilalian dialects at least in Morocco use سكين).
     
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