Dialogue Script — Session 22: Numbers 6 to 10

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 this level, kids should be able to do this kind of mini-dialogue from memory.

The setting

Lina and her mom (Mama) are at the souk on a Saturday morning. They're at a fruit stall, and Mama is letting Lina do the counting today. The vendor (Amo Khaled — "Uncle Khaled," which is what kids politely call any older man in the Levant) is waiting patiently.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Mama hands Lina a small plastic bag

Mama: Yalla Lina, 'iddi at-tuffaah. Biddna 'ashra. — Come on Lina, count the apples. We want ten.

Line 2 — Lina picks up apples one by one, dropping them in the bag

Lina: Waahad, tnen, tlaateh, arba'a, khamseh... sitteh! — One, two, three, four, five... six!

Line 3 — Amo Khaled smiles and adds one more to her bag

Amo Khaled: W hayda kamaan waahad. Saar 'indik sab'a! — And here's one more. Now you have seven!

Line 4 — Lina keeps going, very focused

Lina: Thmaaniyeh... tis'a... w 'ashra! Khalasit! — Eight... nine... and ten! Done!

Line 5 — Mama is proud

Mama: Shaatra! 'addayti la-'ashra bil-'arabi. — Smart girl! You counted to ten in Arabic.

Line 6 — Amo Khaled hands Lina a small banana as a gift

Amo Khaled: Haydi ilik, ya shaatra. Mawzeh wihdeh bas! — This is for you, smart girl. Just one banana!

Line 7 — Lina giggles

Lina: Shukran 'amo! Wihdeh bas, mish 'ashra! — Thank you uncle! Just one, not ten!

Line 8 — Mama laughs and they walk on

Mama: Yalla habibti, ma'a as-salaama Amo Khaled! — Come on my dear, goodbye Amo Khaled!

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read the whole thing together, with you doing all three voices.
2. Slow down on the counting line (Line 2 and Line 4). That's the heart of today's session.
3. Let your child just listen and watch the apples in their head.

Second time — alternate

4. You take Mama and Amo Khaled. Your child takes Lina.
5. Use real apples if you have them! Or grapes, or LEGO pieces. Anything to count.

Third time — switch

6. Your child takes Mama and Amo Khaled. You take Lina.
7. Pretend to be small and excited about counting. Make your child be the proud grown-up.

Fourth time — act it out

8. Set up a "souk" in your kitchen. Put fruit on the counter. One person is the vendor.
9. Do the whole scene without the script. It's okay if you forget words — just keep counting.
10. Try it again with a different number target. "We want eight!" "We want nine!"

What new words are in here (beyond today's main 5)?

These are bonus words your child will pick up just from this scene. We'll teach some of them properly in later sessions — for now, just let them land:

• 'iddi / 'idd (عِدّي / عِدّ) — count! (to a girl / to a boy)
• 'addayti (عَدّيتي) — you counted (to a girl)
• biddna (بِدّنا) — we want
• at-tuffaah (التُّفّاح) — the apples (collective — like "apple" as a category)
• mawzeh (مَوزة) — banana (one banana)
• hayda / haydi (هَيدا / هَيدي) — this (masculine / feminine)
• kamaan (كَمان) — also, more, another
• saar (صار) — became / now it is
• 'indik / 'indak (عِندِك / عِندَك) — you have (to a girl / to a boy)
• khalasit (خَلَصِت) — I finished / done!
• shaatra / shaatir (شاطْرَة / شاطِر) — clever, smart (girl / boy) — a HUGE word in Arab families. You'll hear this every day.
• 'amo (عَمو) — uncle (also: a polite way to address any older man)
• bas (بَس) — only, just
• mish (مِش) — not

Don't drill these. Just say them naturally as they come up at home. Repetition over weeks does the work.

A note on the numbers

You'll notice the numbers in counting sound a little different from the numbers when you count things:

• waahad, tnen, tlaateh — counting in the air
• tuffaaha wihdeh, tuffaahten, tlaat tuffaahaat — one apple, two apples, three apples

Don't worry about this yet. For now, kids just learn the counting song: واحَد، تنين، تلاتة، أَربعة، خَمسة، سِتّة، سَبعة، ثَمانية، تِسعة، عَشرة. The "counting things" version comes later, naturally, through hearing it at meals and at the store.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 22