10 words Jordanians use every day

“Fakhem,” a word many people employ on a regular basis, is mostly used when describing something mind blowing or really cool. The literal English translation of that word is “fancy” or “luxurious,” yet it might not always mean so.

Examples: 

"Imbare7 kan FAKHEM!" (Last night was AMAZINGG!!)

"Inti fakhmeh!" (You're epic!)

"Sayartak fakhmeh"... (Your car is fancy) that's when the car owner, wearing his heart on his sleeve, expects a “mashallah” because God forbid his "fakhmeh" car get struck by the evil eye!

Listen to a bunch of Jordanians speak and you'll definitely hear this word pop-up about a million times! 

“La2allah” can never be used in a regular English conversation because it strictly means "to God" and is used as a form of exaggeration. Its use is extremely versatile and can change depending on the context. 

Exhibit A: "Walek la2allah 7elo el shab!!" = "The guy is REALLY hot!"

Exhibit B: "Imbare7 kan la2allah bard bel leil" = "Last night was super cold!"

“E5taser” is there for you to use when you need to stop a blabber from dragging a conversation for another hour. To cut things short, “E5taser” is your go-to word, one that is brief on its own. You could use it during an argument with a parent/friend to avoid anyone throwing punches or getting slapped. 

Example: "e5taser, e5taser habibi ma bidi anakesh ma3ak!" (Cut it short, I don't want to argue with you!)

It seems that we, Jordanians, experience coolness way too often. Not to sound too repetitive, we carefully pick one of several slang words for such moments. “7areega” is just another one of them. It roughly translates to "on fire" or "lit" and is used as another form of exaggeration.

Example: "Concert Mashrou Leila kanat 7areeeeeega!!" (Mashrou Leila's concert was ON FIRE!!!)

Mustafa: wallah inek 6age3! (I swear you are amazing).

“6age3” is one of those words we constantly used as kids and has somehow resurfaced over the past few years. What the word ACTUALLY means remains a mystery to its users, yet people never seem to question its meaning or origin.

Conversations usually go like this:

Person A: Mustafa jibtilak eshi 3ashan 3eedak (Mustafa I got you something for your birthday)

Mustafa: wallah inek 6age3! (I swear you are amazing!)

You ain't Jordanian if you don't say “saraha” at least 100 times a day. You can, in all literal meaning, insert it into any type of sentence and it would sound just right.

"el saraha mo 3arfeh eish bedo" (Honestly I don't know what he wants)

"saraha mo 3aref iza ra7 at5araj" (I honestly have no clue if I'm gonna graduate)

Worry not, I don't mean you're literally a serial killer, unless you are, then *dials the police*. “Saffa7” is just another Jordanian slang originally derived from the Arabic translation of “a serial killer.” No epic situation can pass by without it earning a cool expression of its own.

When you're trying to get a point across to someone and for some reason they just DON'T SEEM TO GET IT. 

You've tried rephrasing it, elaborating on it, even drawing a huge diagram to explain it. You end up with a cracked jugular vein and hypertension, yet they remain clueless with a blank stare. That's when you end up shouting: "yiiiii walak khalas insa insa" (yiii forget about it, just forget about it!)

This is your usual “I’ll be there in 5!” 

While we all know that it’s just a big fat lie, "bakhales w bajeek” (I'll finish and join you) most probably means that someone is looking for better plans with other people.