Putting It All Together: Real-Life Dialogues and Practice - Everyday Conversational Arabic: Practical Phrases for Real Life

Q: You did not understand the last sentence and want the person to repeat ONLY the last part politely. Which phrase is best?

معلش، ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟. The best choice is "معلش، ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟" (Sorry, can you repeat the last thing?). It directly and politely asks the person to repeat the last part. The other options either say your Arabic is weak, ask "What do you mean?", or ask someone to write it down, which are related but not exactly a request to repeat the last part.

New Words and Phrases: Repair and Connecting Phrases

In this step you will learn useful "glue" phrases to connect ideas and handle moments when you do not understand in real-life conversations.

Word	Pronunciation	Translation	Example
معلش	maʿ-leesh	sorry / never mind (very common, informal)	معلش، ما فهمت.(Sorry, I did not understand.)
ممكن تعيد؟	MUM-kin ta-ʿEED?	Can you repeat?	ممكن تعيد؟ ما سمعت كويس.(Can you repeat? I did not hear well.)
ممكن أتكلم ببطء؟	MUM-kin tit-kal-lim bi-BOTʾ?	Can you speak slowly?	لو سمحت، ممكن تتكلم ببطء؟(Please, can you speak slowly?)
ممكن تكتب؟	MUM-kin TIT-ktoob?	Can you write it down?	العنوان صعب شوية، ممكن تكتب؟(The address is a bit difficult, can you write it down?)
يعني	YAʿ-ni	I mean / that is / um (filler and clarifier)	أنا قريب، يعني حوالي خمس دقايق من هنا.(I am close, I mean about five minutes from here.)
تقصد إيه؟	TIʾ-sud ee?	What do you mean?	آسف، تقصد إيه بـ «الموقف»؟(Sorry, what do you mean by 'the station'?)
معلش، عربيتي مش قوي.	maʿ-leesh, ʿa-ra-BEE-ya-tee mish aʾ-WEE	Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong.	معلش، عربيتي مش قوي. ممكن إنجليزي شوية؟(Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong. Can we use a little English?)
آخر حاجة	AA-khir HA-ga	the last thing / one more thing	آخر حاجة، الحساب من فضلك.(One last thing: the bill, please.)

Language Pattern: Repair Strategies and Clarifying Meaning

In real conversations, you often need to fix problems in understanding. These are called repair strategies. Arabic has short, very common phrases for this.

1. Asking someone to repeat

Use ممكن تعيد؟ (MUM-kin ta-ʿEED?)

ممكن = "is it possible / can (you)"
تعيد = "you repeat"

You can extend it by adding what you want repeated:

Arabic: ممكن تعيد الجملة؟

Phonetic: MUM-kin ta-ʿEED il-JUM-la?

English: Can you repeat the sentence?

2. Asking someone to slow down

Use ممكن تتكلم ببطء؟ (MUM-kin tit-kal-lim bi-BOTʾ?)

تتكلم = "you speak"
ببطء = "slowly"

You can also combine with "please":

Arabic: لو سمحت، ممكن تتكلم ببطء شوية؟

Phonetic: law sa-MAHT, MUM-kin tit-kal-lim bi-BOTʾ SHWAY-ya?

English: Please, can you speak a bit slowly?

3. Saying you did not understand

Very common pattern:

معلش، ما فهمت.

Phonetic: maʿ-leesh, ma fi-HIMT.

English: Sorry, I did not understand.

You can add "كويس" (kway-yis = well):

Arabic: معلش، ما فهمت كويس.

Phonetic: maʿ-leesh, ma fi-HIMT kway-yis.

English: Sorry, I did not understand well.

4. Asking what someone means

Use تقصد إيه؟ (TIʾ-sud ee?)

تقصد = "you mean"
إيه = "what"

You can be more specific:

Arabic: تقصد إيه بـ «الموقف»؟

Phonetic: TIʾ-sud ee bi "il-MAW-ʾif"?

English: What do you mean by "the station"?

5. Softening with معلش (sorry / never mind)

معلش is very flexible. It can mean "sorry", "never mind", or "it is okay" depending on context. In repair strategies, it makes your request more polite:

Arabic: معلش، ممكن تعيد؟

Phonetic: maʿ-leesh, MUM-kin ta-ʿEED?

English: Sorry, can you repeat?

6. Personalizing your level of Arabic

To warn people that you are a learner, use:

Arabic: معلش، عربيتي مش قوي.

Phonetic: maʿ-leesh, ʿa-ra-BEE-ya-tee mish aʾ-WEE.

English: Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong.

You can then add a request:

Arabic: معلش، عربيتي مش قوي. ممكن تتكلم ببطء؟

Phonetic: maʿ-leesh, ʿa-ra-BEE-ya-tee mish aʾ-WEE. MUM-kin tit-kal-lim bi-BOTʾ?

English: Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong. Can you speak slowly?

Practice Dialogue: From Greeting to Asking for Directions

In this dialogue, you will see how to combine greetings, small talk, asking for directions, and repair strategies when you do not understand everything.

A traveler is in a new city and asks a local for directions to a café.

Traveler

السلام عليكم.

Peace be upon you. (Hello.)

Local

وعليكم السلام، أهلاً وسهلاً.

And peace be upon you. Welcome.

Traveler

معلش، عربيتي مش قوي. ممكن تتكلم ببطء شوية؟

Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong. Can you speak a bit slowly?

Local

أكيد، مفيش مشكلة. تحب تروح فين؟

Of course, no problem. Where would you like to go?

Traveler

أنا عايز كافيه قريب من هنا، يعني مكان هادي شوية.

I want a café near here, I mean a place that is a bit quiet.

Local

في كافيه كويس هناك، خمس دقايق مشي.

There is a good café there, five minutes on foot.

Traveler

معلش، ما فهمت كويس. ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟

Sorry, I did not understand well. Can you repeat the last thing?

Local

أكيد. الكافيه خمس دقايق مشي من هنا.

Sure. The café is five minutes on foot from here.

Traveler

ممكن تكتب الاسم لو سمحت؟

Can you write the name, please?

Local

طبعاً، اتفضل. آخر حاجة، خُد الشارع ده على طول.

Of course, here you go. One last thing: go straight on this street.

Traveler

شكرًا جزيلاً، مع السلامة.

Thank you very much, goodbye.

Local

العفو، مع السلامة.

You are welcome, goodbye.

Check Your Understanding: Repair Phrases

Choose the best Arabic phrase for the situation described.

You did not understand the last sentence and want the person to repeat ONLY the last part politely. Which phrase is best?

معلش، ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟
معلش، عربيتي مش قوي.
تقصد إيه؟
ممكن تكتب؟

Show Answer

Answer: A) معلش، ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟

The best choice is "معلش، ممكن تعيد آخر حاجة؟" (Sorry, can you repeat the last thing?). It directly and politely asks the person to repeat the last part. The other options either say your Arabic is weak, ask "What do you mean?", or ask someone to write it down, which are related but not exactly a request to repeat the last part.

Key Terms

معلش: Common informal "sorry / never mind / it is okay" used to soften requests or reactions.
يعني: Flexible word meaning "I mean / that is / um"; used to clarify or fill pauses.
آخر حاجة: Literally "last thing"; used as "the last thing" or "one more thing" when adding a final point.
تقصد إيه؟: Means "What do you mean?"; used to clarify meaning of a word or phrase.
ممكن تعيد؟: Means "Can you repeat?"; useful when you did not hear or understand.
ممكن تكتب؟: Means "Can you write it (down)?"; helpful for addresses, names, or numbers.
ممكن أتكلم ببطء؟: Literally "Can (you) speak slowly?"; used to ask someone to slow down.
معلش، عربيتي مش قوي.: Set phrase meaning "Sorry, my Arabic is not very strong"; prepares the listener to speak more simply.