Dialogue Script — Session 13: I'm Hungry!

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 the end of Level 2, kids should be able to do this kind of mini-dialogue from memory.

The setting

Late afternoon on the balcony. Karim has just finished playing outside and comes into the kitchen. His mom (Mama) is cooking. The smell of chicken is everywhere.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Karim drops his ball by the door and walks in

Karim: Mama, ana jou'an! — Mom, I'm hungry!

Line 2 — Mama laughs, stirring the pot

Mama: Ta'a habibi! Shu biddak taakul? — Come here, my love! What do you want to eat?

Line 3 — Karim peeks into the pot

Karim: Biddi akul dajaj! Shu hayda ar-reeha? — I want to eat chicken! What's this smell?

Line 4 — Mama lifts the lid

Mama: Dajaj ma' ruz. Jaahiz ba'd shway. — Chicken with rice. Ready in a little bit.

Line 5 — Karim's little sister Lina walks in holding an empty cup

Lina: Mama, ana 'atshaneh. Biddi mayy. — Mom, I'm thirsty. I want water.

Line 6 — Mama hands her a cup of water

Mama: Tfaddali habibti. W inti Karim — jou'aneh kamaan? — Here you go, my dear. And you Lina, are you hungry too?

Line 7 — Lina shakes her head

Lina: La', ana shab'aneh. Akalt tuffaaha. — No, I'm full. I ate an apple.

Line 8 — Karim, already sitting at the table with a fork

Karim: Yalla mama, al-akil! Ana jou'an kteer! — Come on Mom, food! I'm very hungry!

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with you doing all the voices.
2. Use your hands. Hold a pretend pot. Stir. Sniff the air dramatically when Karim asks about the smell.
3. Don't stress about pronunciation. Let your child hear the rhythm of hungry, thirsty, full — جوعان، عَطشان، شَبعان.

Second time — alternate

4. You take Mama. Your child takes Karim AND Lina (or split them with a sibling if you have one).
5. Slow down on line 3. Biddi akul dajaj is the key sentence of the whole session.

Third time — switch

6. Your child takes Mama. You take the kids.
7. Mama has the questions — this pushes your child to ask, not just answer. That's the harder skill.

Fourth time — act it out

8. Move to the kitchen. Actually open the fridge. Actually hold a cup.
9. Drop the script. Use the words you remember. If you forget a line, just say what feels right in Arabic OR English — mixing is fine.
10. End with everyone sitting down to eat something real. Even a snack. The point is to connect the words to the moment.

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

Bonus vocabulary your child will pick up just by hearing this conversation. We'll teach some of these formally later — for now, just let them wash over:

• ta'a / ta'ali (تَعا / تَعالي) — come (to a boy / to a girl)
• shu biddak / shu biddik (شو بِدَّك / شو بِدِّك) — what do you want (to a boy / to a girl)
• taakul (تاكُل) — you eat
• hayda / haydi (هَيدا / هَيدي) — this (m / f)
• reeha (ريحة) — smell
• ruz (رُز) — rice
• ba'd shway (بَعد شْوَي) — in a little bit
• mayy (مَيّ) — water
• tfaddal / tfaddali (تْفَضَّل / تْفَضَّلي) — here you go / please take (m / f)
• kamaan (كَمان) — also / too
• la' (لأ) — no
• akalt (أَكَلت) — I ate
• tuffaaha (تُفّاحة) — apple
• kteer (كْتير) — very / a lot

You're not expected to drill these. Just hear them. They'll start to feel familiar over the next few sessions, because food vocabulary keeps coming back through Level 2.

A note on the dialect

The Arabic in this dialogue is Levantine spoken Arabic — what families actually say at the kitchen table in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. Notice how biddi (I want) doesn't appear in MSA textbooks — but every Levantine kid says it ten times a day.

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

Both are real. Both are taught here. If your child says biddi akul at dinner tonight, even once, this session worked.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 13