Egyptian Arabic A1, Unit 15: Right, left, straight

Right, left, straight

Egyptian Arabic A1 · Unit 15

GoalGive and follow simple directions.

New words

يَمِين (yimīn) · rightشِمَال (shimāl) · leftدُغْرِي (dughri) · straightلِفّ يَمِين (liff yimīn) · turn right (to a man)لِفّ شِمَال (liff shimāl) · turn left (to a man)اِمْشِي دُغْرِي (imshi dughri) · walk straight

Explanation

Three words give directions: يَمِين (right), شِمَال (left) and دُغْرِي (straight). To tell a man to turn, say لِفّ يَمِين. To tell a woman, say لِفِّي يَمِين. اِمْشِي (walk) is the same for a man and a woman. These are commands: there is no pronoun. Add مِن فَضْلَك to be polite. The direction word comes after the verb.

To a man	To a woman	Meaning
لِفّ يَمِين	لِفِّي يَمِين	turn right
لِفّ شِمَال	لِفِّي شِمَال	turn left
اِمْشِي دُغْرِي	اِمْشِي دُغْرِي	walk straight

Worked examples

Omar

لَو سَمَحْتِي، فِين المَحَطَّة؟

Hana

اِمْشِي دُغْرِي، وِبَعْدِين لِفّ يَمِين.

Omar

شُكْرًا!

Hana

عَفْوًا.

Hana gives directions to Omar. Press each line.

Three directions with arrows. Press each card.

Class activity

Stand in a room and give yourself commands: اِمْشِي دُغْرِي، لِفّ يَمِين، لِفّ شِمَال. Move as you say them. Then ask a friend to guide you with your eyes closed, using the same words.

Practice

Say «right» and «left».

Tell a man to turn left.

The arrow shows the way. Which word do you say?

Tell a woman to turn in the direction of the arrow.

Press Listen. Which way: right or left? To a man or to a woman?

Around town, taxis and directions

Right, left, straight