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- One-of-a-kind resource for learning Egyptian slang
- Contains expressions you won't find in any other book
- AUC Press quality
- Definitely not for beginners
- No included audio
- Slightly high price
'Arabi Liblib is a rare gem for learners of Egyptian Arabic that teaches vocab and expressions you won't find in any Arabic course. It's also written in colloquial Egyptian rather than MSA or English.
If you're aiming for an advanced level in Egyptian or to really take your 'street language' to the next level, you need this.
Can you recommend a good book that has helped you understand the finer details of colloquialisms (including bad words) in Arabic?
From time to time I put up reviews and recommendations of Arabic books (see here and here) and tools that I use or have used which I think might be of some help to you.
Today I’m going to briefly share another one that I’ve just bought.
The comment section is always open to your input so if you have any recommendations of your own feel free to share it with everyone!
UPDATE: See the list of my best Arabic resources here.
‘Arabi Liblib (Fluent Arabic)
I recently purchased an incredibly useful advanced book on the Egyptian dialect of Arabic called ‘Arabi Liblib – Egyptian Colloquial Arabic for the Advanced Learner – 1: Adjectives and Descriptions.
It’s one of a three part series (see 2nd and 3rd parts) on adjectives, idiomatic expressions and proverbs used in everyday colloquial speech in Egypt.
From the introduction:
“The goal of this book is to help advanced students of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic to achieve a near-native level of proficiency through a focus on adjectives and expressions used to describe people.”
The title of the book is a colloquialism itself – ‘Arabi Liblib’ (Fluent Arabic).
A lib is a seed (usually refers to a pumpkin seed), and the reason why it’s used to refer to fluency is because of the way you use your mouth/lips to open and chew the seeds (you usually have bits of seed shell on your lips).
It’s a metaphor implying that words are all over your lips like seed shells.
Here are three random example entries from the book:
| hot - hottie - babe | مز – مزة – مزز |
|---|---|
| stoned | مسطول |
| bullshitter | ابو لمعة – مافيش مؤنث – مافيش جمع |
When you’re watching a film in any language or walking the streets in any country you come across terms like this all the time (this is generally true anywhere you go on the planet). They’re terms that conventional textbooks will never teach you.
They may seem rude or inappropriate to some people but the fact remains that until you get a handle on common language like this you’ll never fully grasp the language.
One of the things I like about this book is that descriptions of the words are written in Colloquial Egyptian and not English.
At first I wondered why they did this and didn’t just provide an English translation, but now I appreciate that when you read an explanation in colloquial speech it actually feels like a native person is explaining the word to you.
This makes a huge difference believe me!
UPDATE: Since writing this review, several other advanced textbooks have come out of AUC that also teach this way. See my review here.
Here’s an example of the explanations in colloquial dialect:
| Stoned | مسطول | شخص في غير وعيه نتيجة المخدرات | A person who’s not ‘with it’ as a result of drugs |
|---|
This book has and will continue to be a huge help to me as it really clarifies a lot of things that I hear a lot when watching movies or travelling but can never find a definition or adequate explanation for.
If you’re learning Arabic and want to learn more about the ‘Arabi Liblib series you can get it here.
I plan to put together some tutorial videos soon on how I use tools like this effectively along with media to teach myself ‘street slang’ without necessarily travelling or needing to be in an immersion context.
Our new resource for colloquial Arabic dialects – all naturally spoken
This is an updated appendage to the original ‘Arabi Liblib review.
I just want to let you know that not too long ago, we released a massive online resource for spoken Arabic that covers 8 spoken varieties including Egyptian.
It’s been a huge undertaking putting it together but in a short time, we’ve had literally thousands of people join our community and improve their spoken Arabic.
The resource is called TalkInArabic.com.
Make sure to a have a look and let us know what you think!
Do you know of another Arabic books like ‘Arabi Liblib?
Share it in the comment section below!
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8 COMMENTS
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Shlomi
Almost every Yiddish book intended for mass consumption.
@spicksandspecks
Where are the 3 books in the series available in Cairo, ie which bookshops? Preferably near Maadi - Kutub Khan, Adam, Volume1??
arabiliblib
Hello everyone,
You can also benefit more if you visit our blog. More drills, useful links (authentic materials), index of English words found in each book, ... etc. are in our blog.
All the best,
Kamal
@JaredRomey
The best all-around nasty collection of dirty Spanish is the book D!rty Spanish: Everyday Slang from “What’s Up?” to “F*%# Off!” by Juan Caballero, from Ulysses Press. It’ll make a sailor blush.
For German there is Scheisse! The Real German You Were Never Taught in School by Gertrude Besserwisser from Penguin.
Portuguese has Slang: Gírias Atuais do Inglês by Jack Scholes, from Disal Editora. Mr. Scholes is a long-recognized guru of Brazilian slang and has numerous books on the topic.
All three of these are sitting nearby on my bookshelf.
nadsat
I think this book’s somewhat well known, but I found “Breaking out of Beginner’s Spanish” invaluable for colloquialisms, slang, and just getting the finer points and connotations of certain phrases.
mezzoguild
I hadn’t heard of it before. I’ll check it out. Thanks.
mailaoshi
”Niubi!: The Real Chinese You Were Never Taught in School“ is my favourite book for swear words in Chinese. The glossary at chinasmack.com is also great.
mezzoguild
Thanks for the recommendation.
chinasmack.com is interesting! :)