Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Will you marry me?

My meimei is having her katb kitab this weekend. It's also been a long time since I last translated a song so this is dedicated to her (being her favorite). Baraka Allahu lakoma wa baraka 3alaykoma wa jama3 baynakoma!

As always, feel free to add comments, corrections, or ask questions. ^_^


The song is only 4 minutes, but couldn't find a 4 min video that could be embedded.

في كلام لما بيتقال بيغير كل حياتنا معاه
Some things when said, change our whole life along with them

عاللي بيستهلوا ندور طول العمر ونستناه
Those who are worth looking for our whole lives and waiting for them

أنا من اللحظه دي بقولك إني بحبك أكتر مني
From this moment, I’m telling you I love you more than myself

إنتي اللي عشانك بأكتب شعر
You’re the one I write poetry for

إنتي اللي عشانها بأغني
You’re the one I sing for

تتجوزيني
Will you marry me?

مش عايز غيرك في الحياة
I don’t want anyone but you in life

أوعي تسيبيني
Don’t leave me

من غير ما أتكلم انتي بتسمعيني
Without talking, you hear me

عشانك أطول السما لو حبتيني
For you I’d reach out to the sky, if you (just) love me

أنا حاسس إن الكون وياكي بأشوفه بشكل جديد
I feel like I see the universe in a new way when I’m with you

الدنيا بتضحك وإنتي معايا
The world smiles/laughs when you’re with me

تكشر وإنتي بعيد
(And) frowns when you’re away

أنا شايف فيكي ولادنا ومستقبلنا ودنيا أمان
I see in you our children, future and a safe world

مهما هنكبر ونعجز هأفضل أحبك زي زمان
No matter how much we grow and get old, I’ll always love you like before

تتجوزيني
Will you marry me?

مش عايز غيرك في الحياة
I don’t want anyone but you in life

أوعي تسيبيني
Don’t leave me

من غير ما أتكلم انتي بتفهميني
Without talking, you understand me

عشانك أطول السما لو حبتيني
For you I’d reach out to the sky, if you (just) love me

أنا من اللحظه دي بقولك إني بحبك أكتر مني
From this moment, I’m telling you I love you more than myself

انتي اللي عشانك باكتب شعر
You’re the one I write poetry for

إنتي اللي عشانها بأغني
You’re the one I sing for

تتجوزيني
Will you marry me?

مش عايز غيرك في الحياة
I don’t want anyone but you in life

أوعي تسيبيني
Don’t leave me


من غير ما أتكلم انتي بتسمعيني
Without talking, you hear me

عشانك أطول السما لو حبتيني
For you I’d reach out to the sky, if you (just) love me

تتجوزيني
Will you marry me?




Ew3i (said to a female) / ew3a (said to a male) can have different meanings:
  1. Don’t
    * Ew3a tru7 henaak. Don’t go there.
    * Ew3i tkhaafi. Don’t be afraid.
  2. You’d better not…  (usually ew3a tkun / ew3i tkuni…)
    * Ew3i tkuni betfakkari tghayyari ra2yek. You’d better not be thinking of changing your mind.
    * Ew3a tkun 3ayez tetgawwez tani. You’d better not want to marry again.
  3. Watch out!
    * Ew3a el3arabeyya! Watch out for the car!

    Another way to warn someone would be by saying: 7aseb / 7asbi.
    * 7asbi elshay! Watch out for the tea! (you’re going to spill it).
    * 7aseb, elwalad hayo2a3. Watch out, the boy is going to fall.
  4. Get out of the way (not very polite when talking to adults, so it's best for people you're familiar with)
    * Ew3i! Get out of my way! Move!
    * Ew3a, 7aseb. (said to a kid) Excuse me.

    A polite way of saying that would be:
    * 3an eznak (to male) / 3an eznek (to female) which just means excuse me (lit. with your permission)
    * Law sama7t (to male) / Law sama7ti (to female) which is lit. please but it would be understood from the situation, e.g. you're in a narrow aisle. 


Hanekbar w n3aggez:
Nekbar means (we) grow and n3aggez means (we) grow old.
It’s perfectly normal to use them together when talking about aging, but if you want to use one only, nekbar would sound a bit odd for adults.


Monday, November 1, 2010

Now I know the answer to "Are you Egyptian?"

My answer has changed over time depending on how I define myself, or how much I think the asker needs to know. But after seeing this article (in Arabic), I can confidently say, "No, and neither are you!". ^_^

It turns out if someone accuses you of not being Egyptian, there's no way you can prove it, at least realistically. And in all other cases the accuser should bring evidence, but in this one case it's the accused person's job to come up with evidence of his/her innocence. Your National ID number, passport,  birth certificate even your military service certificate (for men) aren't enough to prove your citizenship.

So how do you get proof of Egyptian citizenship? Well, anyone who has settled in Egypt before November 5, 1914, and isn't a national of a foreign country, is Egyptian by law. That date is when Egypt ceased to be part of the Ottoman Empire.

To get the certificate proving your citizenship you need:

  1. Both your parent's birth certificates
  2. Your grandparents' birth certificates
  3. Your great-grandparents' birth certificates etc. all the way back to 1914
  4. Then you need to prove that your grandfather's grandfather had been residing in Egypt before that date by coming up with (1) a receipt for electricity, gas or telephone payment & (2) a property contract registered before the said date.
So have fun proving it!