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View Full Version : How can I say "I'm diabetic" in Arabic?

slipperyelm
10-24-2009, 10:58 AM
Yesterday I began tutoring some little girls in their home. I find I need to let their mother know I cannot partake of the soda and sweets she offers me due to diabetes. I thought the word for diabetes was fairly similar in most languages, but failed to be understandable yesterday. (Sugar, "siccar" she did understand.)

I'm just trying not to be rude.

Can someone help me with a phonetic pronunciation of both "thank you" and "I am diabetic" or "I have diabetes" in Arabic?
fgummett
10-24-2009, 11:22 AM
DeusXM may be your best bet... I believe he is out in that part of the World.

I did find this http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1049083

U'ani min Assukari (I suffer from diabetes) Arabic
slipperyelm
10-24-2009, 11:45 AM
Thanks, fgummett! With that I think I can make myself understood.

For your amusement, you can imagine how these little girls broke into giggles and fell over, burying their faces in the sofa when I read with them in an ABC book a line about chicks saying "peep, peep!" Again, some words are are close to universal and require only an ear, but no tough translation! I told them the chicks might also just say, "tweet, tweet." :)
fgummett
10-24-2009, 11:50 AM
I was surprised to learn that the animal sounds we learn as children are not as universal as we might suppose Derek Abbott's Animal Noise Page (http://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/animal.html) :)
Subby
10-24-2009, 12:14 PM
Well, animals sure have strong accents between countries, don't they? :)
fgummett
10-24-2009, 12:23 PM
YouTube - Pepe Le Pew: Louvre come back to me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UEKbGXK6yk) :D
genie86333
10-24-2009, 12:57 PM
Well, animals sure have strong accents between countries, don't they? :)

LOL!

Interesting that the cat's "Meow" is very close in all languages except Japanese.
slipperyelm
10-24-2009, 03:32 PM
Ah, happy memories. Back in the late 70's my family had some men who from Viet Nam staying with us as they got settled into the US. I remember the hilarity when somehow we got into a "discussion" of the sounds various animals make. All we had among us for any translation was a Red Cross book of greetings and phrases and I assure you uac-uac and wow-wow were not in the book!