Dialogue Script — Session 10: I Want / I Don't Want

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 — and by session 10, your child might surprise you and lead it.

The setting

It's morning. Karim (age 6) is sitting at the kitchen table in his pajamas. His mom (Mama) is at the counter, making breakfast before school. The window is open and you can hear the neighbor's kids outside.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Mama opens the fridge

Mama: Sabaah al-khayr ya Karim! Biddak halib? — Good morning, Karim! Do you want milk?

Line 2 — Karim shakes his head

Karim: La, ma biddi halib. Biddi ma'. — No, I don't want milk. I want water.

Line 3 — Mama pours water, then holds up bread

Mama: Tikram. W biddak khubz? — Here you go. And do you want bread?

Line 4 — Karim nods, hungry

Karim: Aah, biddi khubz! Biddi khubz w jibneh. — Yes, I want bread! I want bread and cheese.

Line 5 — Mama smiles, puts a plate down, then picks up an apple

Mama: Tamaam. W hayy at-tuffaha lal-madraseh, okay? — Okay. And this apple is for school, okay?

Line 6 — Karim makes a face

Karim: Ma biddi tuffaha! Biddi moz. — I don't want an apple! I want a banana.

Line 7 — Mama laughs

Mama: Maashi ya habibi. Moz al-yom, tuffaha bukra! — Okay my love. Banana today, apple tomorrow!

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with you doing both voices.
2. Let your child just hear the rhythm of بِدّي and ما بِدّي. That's the whole game today.

Second time — alternate

3. You take Mama's lines. Your child takes Karim's lines.
4. Karim's lines are the easier ones — they're mostly just biddi + a food, or ma biddi + a food. That's on purpose.

Third time — switch

5. Your child takes Mama. You take Karim.
6. Now your child has to ask — "biddak halib?" — which is a stretch. Help them. Whisper the line if you need to.

Fourth time — act it out

7. Go to your actual kitchen. Open the actual fridge.
8. Pour real water. Hold up real bread, a real apple, whatever you have.
9. Let your child say بِدّي or ما بِدّي to each thing. That's the whole lesson, living in your kitchen.
10. Bonus: do this every morning this week. By Friday, you won't need the script.

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

These are bonus words the dialogue exposes. Don't drill them — just let them land.

• sabaah al-khayr (صَباح الخَير) — good morning
• biddak (بِدّك) — do you want? / you want (to a boy)
• biddik (بِدِّك) — do you want? (to a girl)
• tikram (تِكرَم) — "here you go" / "as you wish" (a warm, generous little word — used constantly)
• aah (آه) — yes (casual, Levantine — different from the more formal na'am)
• la (لا) — no
• jibneh (جِبنة) — cheese
• tamaam (تَمام) — okay / great / perfect
• hayy (هاي) — this (feminine; "this apple")
• lal-madraseh (للمَدرَسة) — for school
• moz (مَوز) — banana
• maashi (ماشي) — okay / fine / alright (literally: "walking")
• ya habibi (يا حَبيبي) — my dear / my love (to a boy)
• al-yom (اليوم) — today
• bukra (بُكرا) — tomorrow

You're not expected to memorize all of these. Just hear them. Words like tikram, maashi, and tamaam show up in almost every Levantine conversation — your child will start catching them everywhere.

A note on بِدّي

بِدّي (biddi) is one of the most useful words in spoken Arabic. It means "I want," but it's also how Levantine speakers say "I'm going to" or "I need to." You'll hear:

• بِدّي روح (biddi rooh) — I want to go / I'm going to go
• بِدّي نام (biddi naam) — I want to sleep
• بِدّي إِياك (biddi iyyak) — I want you (a sweet thing parents say to little ones)

And ما بِدّي (ma biddi) — "I don't want" — might just become your child's favorite phrase this week. That's fine. That's the deal. You taught them a real sentence in Arabic, and now they're going to use it on you. Welcome to language learning.

A note on the dialect

The Arabic in this dialogue is Levantine spoken Arabic — what people actually say in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. بِدّي is purely Levantine; in Egyptian Arabic they'd say 3ayiz / 3ayza, and in MSA ureed. We're teaching one dialect well rather than confusing kids with three at once.

• Levantine for talking (what families say)
• MSA for reading and writing (what books and signs use)

Both are real, both are useful, both are taught here.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 10