Dialogue Script — Session 41: Asking Questions

A short bilingual conversation in Levantine Arabic that uses today's question words. Read it together, take turns playing each part, then try without the script. Kids at this level should be able to riff on this — swapping in their own questions.

The setting

A balcony in a Beirut apartment, late afternoon. Karim (age 10) is doing homework at the small balcony table. His older sister Nour (age 13) comes out holding her phone, looking for something. The neighbor's cat is on the railing.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Nour scans the balcony

Nour: Karim, wayn telifoni? — Karim, where's my phone?

Line 2 — Karim doesn't look up

Karim: Shu? Telifonik b'eidik! — What? Your phone is in your hand!

Line 3 — Nour laughs at herself

Nour: Aah sah! Tayyib, shu 'am ta'mel? — Oh right! Okay, what are you doing?

Line 4 — Karim shows her his notebook

Karim: 'Am iktub qissa. Bas ma ba'ref kif khallisha. — I'm writing a story. But I don't know how to finish it.

Line 5 — Nour sits down, curious

Nour: 'An min al-qissa? W'eimtah saaret? — Who is the story about? And when did it happen?

Line 6 — Karim thinks

Karim: 'An walad daa' bil-souq. Bas ma ba'ref lesh daa'. — About a boy who got lost in the souk. But I don't know why he got lost.

Line 7 — Nour smiles, tapping the table

Nour: Hayda as-su'aal al-muhim! Lesh? Fakker, w ba'dein iktub. — That's the important question! Why? Think, and then write.

Line 8 — Karim grins

Karim: Yalla, khallini fakker. Shukran ya Nour! — Okay, let me think. Thanks, Nour!

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with one adult doing both voices, or one kid + one adult.
2. Notice how every line has a question — that's the whole point of today.

Second time — alternate

3. One person takes Nour. The other takes Karim.
4. Read slowly. Pay attention to the question words: شو، وَين، شو، كيف، مين، إيمَتى، لَيش، لَيش.

Third time — switch

5. Swap roles.
6. Try to read with feeling — Nour is curious and a little teasing, Karim is thinking hard.

Fourth time — act it out

7. Find a table. Pretend you're on a balcony. One person is writing, the other comes out.
8. Do the whole scene without the script. Miss words, make up words — it's fine.
9. Bonus: After acting it out, make up your own ending. What was the boy doing in the souk? Why did he get lost? Use question words to figure it out together.

What new words are in here (beyond today's six question words)?

These are bonus words the dialogue exposes. We don't expect mastery — just ears opening:

• telifoni / telifonik (تيليفوني / تيليفونِك) — my phone / your phone (feminine "your")
• b'eidik (بإيدِك) — in your hand
• sah (صَح) — right / correct
• tayyib (طَيِّب) — okay / alright (a super common filler word)
• 'am ta'mel / 'am iktub (عَم تَعمَل / عَم إكتُب) — you're doing / I'm writing (the 'am makes it "in the middle of doing")
• qissa (قِصّة) — story
• bas (بَس) — but / only (tiny word, used constantly)
• ma ba'ref (ما بَعرِف) — I don't know
• khallisha (خَلِّصها) — finish it (feminine "it," because qissa is feminine)
• walad (وَلَد) — boy
• daa' (ضاع) — got lost
• souq (سوق) — market / souk
• hayda (هَيدا) — this (masculine)
• as-su'aal al-muhim (السُّؤال المُهِم) — the important question
• fakker (فَكِّر) — think! (command)
• ba'dein (بَعدين) — afterwards / then
• khallini (خَلّيني) — let me

Lots of words! Don't worry about memorizing. The shape of the conversation is what matters.

A note on the dialect

This dialogue uses Levantine spoken Arabic — what families actually say in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. Notice that today's vocabulary lists two versions of each question word: the Levantine one (shu, wayn, min, eimtah, lesh) and the MSA one (madha, ayn, man, mata, limadha).

• Levantine for talking — what Nour and Karim say to each other.
• MSA for reading and writing — what Karim is writing in his notebook.

Kids who hear both grow up fluent in both. That's the whole gift of this course.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 41