Egyptian Arabic Curriculum — Grade 5, Semester 1 — Page 11

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

أَلَمْ أُلَوِّثْ مَاءَ النَّهْرِ

Did I not pollute the river water?

أَنَا لَمْ أُلَوِّثْ مَاءَ النَّهْرِ، لَمْ أَمْنَعِ الْفَيَضَانَ فِي مَوْسِمِهِ، لَمْ أَحْجِزِ الْمَاءَ الْجَارِيَ، أَعْطَيْتُ الْخُبْزَ لِلْجَوْعَى، وَأَعْطَيْتُ الْمَاءَ لِلْعَطْشَى

I did not pollute the river water, I did not stop the seasonal flood, I did not block the flowing water, I gave bread to the hungry, and I gave water to the thirsty.

هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ هَذِهِ الْجُمَلَ مِنْ قَبْلُ؟

Have you heard these phrases before?

هَلْ تَعْلَمُونَ كَمْ يَبْلُغُ عُمْرُ هَذِهِ الْجُمَلِ؟

Do you know how old these phrases are?

فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ هَذِهِ الْجُمَلُ يَبْلُغُ عُمْرُهَا آلَافَ السِّنِينَ!

In truth, they are thousands of years old!

هَلِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَتَوَقَّعُوا عَنْ أَيِّ نَهْرٍ تَتَحَدَّثُ هَذِهِ الْجُمْلَةُ؟

Were you able to guess which river this sentence refers to?

نَعَمْ، تَوَقُّعُكُمْ صَحِيحٌ إِنَّهَا تَتَحَدَّثُ عَنْ أَبِي الْأَنْهَارِ الْإِفْرِيقِيَّةِ كَمَا يُطْلَقُ عَلَيْهِ، إِنَّهُ نَهْرُ النِّيلِ الْعَظِيمُ.

Yes, you guessed correctly; it refers to what is known as the father of African rivers: the great Nile.

هَذِهِ الْجُمَلُ جُزْءٌ مِنْ اعْتِرَافَاتِ الْمِصْرِيِّ الْقَدِيمِ مِنْ نَصٍّ يُسَمَّى (الْخُرُوجُ إِلَى النَّهَارِ)، وَهُوَ نَصٌّ فِرْعَوْنِيٌّ قَدِيمٌ.

These lines are part of the ancient Egyptian confessions from a text known as The Coming Forth by Day, an ancient Pharaonic work.

وَقَدْ بَدَأَ الْمِصْرِيُّ الْقَدِيمُ اعْتِرَافَاتِهِ بِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُلَوِّثْ مَاءَ النِّيلِ، وَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَضَعْ أَيَّ عَقَبَةٍ تَمْنَعُ مَاءَ نَهْرِ النِّيلِ مِنَ الْجَرَيَانِ، وَلَمْ يَمْنَعِ الْفَيَضَانَ، وَاخْتَتَمَ اعْتِرَافَاتِهِ بِأَنَّهُ يَحْنُو عَلَى الْمُحْتَاجِينَ وَيُشَارِكُهُمُ الطَّعَامَ وَالْمَاءَ.

The ancient Egyptian began his confessions by stating he had not polluted the Nile, nor had he placed any obstacles to block its flow or prevent its flooding, and he concluded by affirming his compassion for the needy and his willingness to share food and water with them.

وَرَدَ النَّصُّ بِعِدَّةِ أَسْمَاءَ أُخْرَى مِثْلَ: (الْخُرُوجُ لِلنَّهَارِ)، (الْخُرُوجُ فِي النَّهَارِ).

The text appears under several other names, such as The Coming Forth to the Day or The Coming Forth in the Day.

Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 32 nouns)

• لَوَّثَ — to pollute
• مَنَعَ — to prevent
• حَجَزَ — to block
• أَعْطَى — to give
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• عَلِمَ — to know
• بَلَغَ — to reach
• اِسْتَطَاعَ — to be able
• تَوَقَّعَ — to expect
• تَحَدَّثَ — to speak
• أَطْلَقَ — to call
• سَمَّى — to name
• بَدَأَ — to begin
• وَضَعَ — to place
• اِخْتَتَمَ — to conclude
• حَنَا — to be compassionate
• شَارَكَ — to share
• وَرَدَ — to appear
• مَاءٌ — water
• نَهْرٌ — river
• فَيَضَانٌ — flood
• مَوْسِمٌ — season
• جَارٍ — flowing
• خُبْزٌ — bread
• جَائِعٌ — hungry
• عَطْشَانٌ — thirsty
• جُمْلَةٌ — sentence
• عُمْرٌ — age
• حَقِيقَةٌ — truth
• أَلْفٌ — thousand
• سَنَةٌ — year
• تَوَقُّعٌ — expectation
• صَحِيحٌ — correct, healthy (adjective)
• أَبٌ — father
• إِفْرِيقِيٌّ — African
• عَظِيمٌ — great
• جُزْءٌ — part
• اِعْتِرَافٌ — confession, admission
• مِصْرِيٌّ — Egyptian
• قَدِيمٌ — ancient
• نَصٌّ — text
• خُرُوجٌ — exit
• نَهَارٌ — daytime
• فِرْعَوْنِيٌّ — Pharaonic
• عَقَبَةٌ — obstacle
• جَرَيَانٌ — flow
• مُحْتَاجٌ — needy
• طَعَامٌ — food
• اِسْمٌ — name
• آخَرُ — other