Egyptian Arabic A1, Unit 3: My name is …

My name is …

Egyptian Arabic A1 · Unit 3

GoalSay your name and read a few common names.

New words

اِسْمِي (ismi) · my nameأَحْمَد (aḥmad) · Ahmed (a man's name)مَرْيَم (maryam) · Maryam (a woman's name)عُمَر (ʿumar) · Omar (a man's name)سَلْمَى (salma) · Salma (a woman's name)مِينَا (mīna) · Mina (a man's name)

Explanation

اِسْمِي means “my name”: اِسْم is “name” and the ending ـِي is “my”. There is no word for “is”, so اِسْمِي أَحْمَد means “my name (is) Ahmed”. You can also say أَنَا أَحْمَد, “I am Ahmed”. A name has no special letters: you read it like any other word. The sound ع in عُمَر is made deep in the throat; you will practise it later. Try to read the names with the transliteration first, then without it.

Say	Meaning
اِسْمِي أَحْمَد	My name is Ahmed
اِسْمِي مَرْيَم	My name is Maryam
أَنَا عُمَر	I am Omar
أَنَا سَلْمَى	I am Salma

Worked examples

Ahmed

اِسْمِي أَحْمَد.

Maryam

اِسْمِي مَرْيَم.

Two people say their names.

Press and listen to four names.

اِسْمِism · name+ي-i · my

Break the word اِسْمِي into its two parts: “name” and “my”.

Class activity

Write اِسْمِي and then your own name in Arabic letters, copying the sounds as well as you can. Say the sentence aloud three times. Then say the names of two people in your family in Arabic.

Practice

Say in Arabic: “My name is Omar”.

Which name belongs to a woman: مَرْيَم or أَحْمَد?

Listen. A girl says her name. Which name do you hear: Hana, Nur or Sara?

What does the ending ـِي mean in اِسْمِي?

This man is called Mina. What does he say?

Introductions

My name is …