Introducing Yourself: Dialogue
Read a longer introduction between Fatima and Tom, including hometown, age, and work.
Read the conversation
-
Fatima: s-salamu 3alaykum.
السلام عليكم.
Peace be upon you. -
Tom: wa 3alaykum s-salam.
وعليكم السلام.
And peace be upon you, too. -
Fatima: sm7 li, wesh nta fransawi?
سمح لي، واش نتَ فرنساوي؟
Excuse me, are you French? -
Tom: lla, ana mirikani.
لا، أنا مريكاني.
No, I am American. -
Fatima: mnin f mirikan?
منين ف مريكان؟
Where in the U.S. are you from? -
Tom: mn mdint Seattle f wilayat Washington. u nti?
من مدينة سياتل ف ولاية واشنطن. ونتِ؟
From the city of Seattle in Washington State. And you? -
Fatima: mn Rabat.
من الرباط.
From Rabat. -
Tom: sh7al f 3mrk?
شحال ف عمرك؟
How old are you? -
Fatima: tnayn u 3shrin 3am. u nta?
تنين وعشرين عام. ونتَ؟
Twenty-two years old. And you? -
Tom: rb3a u tlatin 3am.
ربعة وتلاتين عام.
Thirty-four years old. -
Fatima: wesh nta mzuwj wlla mazal?
واش نتَ مزوج ولا مازال؟
Are you married, or not yet? -
Tom: mazal. u nti?
مازال. ونتِ؟
Not yet. And you? -
Fatima: lla, baqiya. wesh nta turist?
لا، باقية. واش نتَ توريست؟
No, not yet. Are you a tourist? -
Tom: lla, ana khddam m3a hay’at s-salam.
لا، أنا خدام مع هيئة السلام.
No, I work with the Peace Corps. -
Fatima: bslama.
بالسلامة.
Goodbye. -
Tom: n-shufk mn b3d.
نشوفك من بعد.
See you later.
Focus on the questions
Find the lines that ask about nationality, hometown, age, marital status, and being a tourist. Compare u nta? and u nti? as the speakers return a question.
Practice
Read both roles slowly, then cover the English. Identify where Tom and Fatima are from and how old each is. Practice the greeting and hometown part using information that is true for you.
Reading guide
Transliteration key: 3 = ع, 7 = ح, sh = ش, kh = خ, gh = غ. A dot under a consonant marks an emphatic consonant. Latin spellings are reading aids; they do not fully capture pronunciation.
Source and audio
Adapted from Peace Corps/Morocco, Basic Introduction to Arabic, lesson 7 (PDF page 8). Formatting, English dialogue glosses where present, and practice prompts are LearnLahja adaptations.
Audio is not currently available for this lesson.