Dialogue Script — Session 4: How Are You?

A short bilingual conversation in Levantine Arabic that uses today's vocabulary. Read it together, take turns playing each part, then try without the script. By session 5, kids should be able to do this kind of mini-dialogue from memory.

The setting

Two cousins, Lina and Karim, meet on the balcony of their building one afternoon. Karim has been at football practice. Lina is sitting with a book. The sun is going down over the neighborhood.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Karim walks onto the balcony, a little out of breath

Karim: Marhaba Lina! Kifik? — Hi Lina! How are you?

Line 2 — Lina looks up from her book and smiles

Lina: Ahlan Karim! Al-hamdu lillah, mniha. W inta kifak? — Hi Karim! I'm good, thanks. And you, how are you?

Line 3 — Karim flops down on a chair

Karim: Wallah ta'ban! La'ibna footbol sa'tayn. — Honestly, I'm tired! We played football for two hours.

Line 4 — Lina laughs

Lina: Sa'tayn?! Ya haraam. Shu biddak tishrab? — Two hours?! Oh poor you. What do you want to drink?

Line 5 — Karim wipes his forehead

Karim: Mayy baarda, law samahti. — Cold water, please.

Line 6 — Lina's mom calls from inside the kitchen

Mama: Karim habibi! Kifak ya 'ammo? — Karim dear! How are you, sweetie?

Line 7 — Karim calls back, sitting up straight

Karim: Tamam khaalti, al-hamdu lillah! — All good, auntie, thank God!

Line 8 — Lina hands him the water

Lina: Tfaddal. Irtaah shway. — Here you go. Rest a little.

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with you doing both voices.
2. Notice the back-and-forth: kifak / kifik gets asked, then answered, then asked back. That's the shape of the whole conversation.

Second time — alternate

3. You take Karim's lines. Your child takes Lina's lines (or vice versa — let them pick).
4. Read slowly. Make eye contact when you speak.

Third time — switch

5. Trade roles. Whoever was Lina is now Karim.
6. If you have a third person around (a sibling, a second parent, a classmate), they can be Mama for line 6.

Fourth time — act it out

7. Stand up. Pretend your living room or classroom is the balcony.
8. One of you walks in tired from "football." The other is reading. Do the whole scene with gestures — flopping down, wiping a forehead, handing over an imaginary glass of water.
9. Don't look at the script. Miss words. Make it your own.

What new words are in here (beyond today's main 6)?

Bonus words your child will pick up just from hearing the dialogue. We'll formally teach some of these later — for now, just let them wash over:

• wallah (والله) — "honestly" / "I swear" — a very common Levantine filler
• la'ibna (لَعِبنا) — we played
• footbol (فوتبول) — football / soccer
• sa'tayn (ساعتَين) — two hours
• ya haraam (يا حَرام) — "oh poor thing" (sympathy, not religious here — it's just an expression)
• shu biddak / biddik (شو بِدَّك / بِدِّك) — what do you want (to a boy / to a girl)
• tishrab (تِشرَب) — you drink
• mayy (مَيّ) — water
• baarda / baarid (بارْدة / بارِد) — cold (feminine / masculine)
• law samahti / law samaht (لَو سَمَحتي / لَو سَمَحت) — please (to a girl / to a boy)
• ya 'ammo (يا عَمّو) — affectionate "sweetie" used by adults to kids (literally "uncle," but used backwards as a term of love)
• khaalti (خالتي) — my aunt (mother's sister, also used for any close family friend)
• tfaddal / tfaddali (تْفَضَّل / تْفَضَّلي) — "here you go" / "please, go ahead" (to a boy / to a girl)
• irtaah (اِرتاح) — rest (command form, to a boy)
• shway (شْوَيّ) — a little / a bit

You're not expected to memorize these. Just hear them. They'll come back.

A note on the dialect

The Arabic in this dialogue is Levantine spoken Arabic — what people actually say in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. Notice how kifak and kifik change depending on who you're talking to (a boy or a girl). That's a feature of Arabic in general — almost everything has a masculine and feminine form. Kids absorb this naturally just by hearing it over and over.

One small thing to notice: al-hamdu lillah is used by everyone — Muslims, Christians, atheists, grandmas, taxi drivers. In daily Levantine life it just means "I'm doing okay, thanks for asking." It's the universal answer.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 4