Dialogue Script — Session 35: Numbers 11 to 20

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 now, kids should be getting comfortable doing these mini-dialogues from memory.

The setting

Sami is helping his mom (Mama) at the souk (the outdoor market). They're at the fruit stand, buying oranges and apples. The vendor is busy weighing things. Mama wants Sami to count out the fruit because he just learned his big numbers.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Mama hands Sami a plastic bag

Mama: Sami, 'idd al-burtuqaal! Baddi 'ishrin habbeh. — Sami, count the oranges! I want twenty pieces.

Line 2 — Sami starts dropping oranges into the bag, counting out loud

Sami: Waahid, tnayn, talaata... ihda'sh, ithna'sh, thalata'sh! — One, two, three... eleven, twelve, thirteen!

Line 3 — Mama looks over, smiling

Mama: Shaatir! Kammil, habibi. — Smart boy! Keep going, sweetheart.

Line 4 — Sami keeps counting, slower now

Sami: Arba'ta'sh... khamasta'sh... mama, shu ba'd khamasta'sh? — Fourteen... fifteen... mama, what comes after fifteen?

Line 5 — Mama leans down, helps him

Mama: sitta'sh, saba'ta'sh, tamanta'sh, tisa'ta'sh, w ba'dayn 'ishrin! — Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, and then twenty!

Line 6 — Sami finishes the bag, proud

Sami: Khallast! 'Ishrin burtuqaaleh, mama! — Done! Twenty oranges, mama!

Line 7 — The vendor laughs and hands Sami an apple

Al-bayyaa': Shaatir ya batal! Khud tuffaaha hadiyyeh. — Smart kid, hero! Take an apple as a gift.

Line 8 — Sami grins

Sami: Shukran! Ballash a'idd at-tuffaah kamaan? — Thanks! Should I start counting the apples too?

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with you doing all three voices.
2. Don't worry about pronunciation perfection. Just let your child hear the numbers rolling out in a real situation.

Second time — alternate

3. You take Mama and the vendor. Your child takes Sami.
4. Slow down on the counting lines. Let your child really say each number.

Third time — switch

5. Your child takes Mama (and the vendor). You take Sami.
6. Now your child has to say the hard counting line — sitta'sh, saba'ta'sh, tamanta'sh, tisa'ta'sh, 'ishrin. That's a tongue-twister on purpose. It's the stretch.

Fourth time — act it out

7. Stand up. Use real fruit if you have it — oranges, apples, grapes, anything. Or use Legos, socks, coins. Doesn't matter.
8. Actually count them into a bag. Say each number out loud as you drop it in.
9. Do it again with twenty of something else. Twenty steps. Twenty claps. Twenty jumps.

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

These are bonus words your child will hear inside the dialogue. Don't drill them — just let them land:

• 'idd (عِدّ) — count! (command, to a boy)
• baddi (بَدّي) — I want
• habbeh (حَبّة) — piece / one of something (used for counting fruit, pills, small items)
• shaatir (شاطِر) — smart, clever, "good job" (to a boy; shaatra / شاطْرَة for a girl)
• kammil (كَمِّل) — keep going! continue!
• habibi (حَبيبي) — my dear (to a boy; habibti to a girl)
• shu (شو) — what?
• ba'd (بَعد) — after
• w ba'dayn (وبَعدين) — and then
• khallast (خَلَّصت) — I finished / I'm done
• burtuqaal / burtuqaaleh (بُرتُقال / بُرتُقالة) — oranges / one orange
• tuffaah / tuffaaha (تُفّاح / تُفّاحة) — apples / one apple
• al-bayyaa' (البَيّاع) — the vendor / seller
• batal (بَطَل) — hero, champion (used playfully with kids)
• khud (خُد) — take! (to a boy; khudi / خُدي to a girl)
• hadiyyeh (هَدِيّة) — a gift
• kamaan (كَمان) — also, too
• ballash (بَلَّش) — should I start / shall I begin?

You're not expected to memorize these. They'll come back in later sessions. For now, just hear them.

A quick note on the numbers

You'll notice Mama jumped in with the numbers we haven't officially taught yet — sitta'sh through tisa'ta'sh (16–19). That's on purpose. Kids hear the pattern (everything ends in -ta'sh / -a'sh) before they formally learn each one. By Session 36, they'll already feel familiar.

Also: in Levantine, you'll hear both thalata'sh and talata'sh for thirteen — the th often softens to a t in everyday speech. Both are correct. Don't correct your child either way.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 35