هل تسمعني؟
hal tasma'uni?
The English phrase "can you hear me?" is translated into Arabic as هل تسمعني؟ (hal tasma'uni?).
This phrase is used to check if someone is able to perceive your voice. Note that while هل تسمعني؟ asks if a person can hear your voice, you would use هل تراني؟ if you wanted to ask "can you see me?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the question particle هل (hal), which is used to form yes/no questions, the verb تسمع (tasma'u) meaning "you hear" and the suffix ني (ni) which is the first-person singular pronoun meaning "me".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form هل تسمعني؟ is used when addressing a male listener. When addressing a female listener, use هل تسمعينني؟.
How do you pronounce it?
hal tasma'uni?
Did you know?
- If you are checking a connection on a phone call, an Arabic speaker might say صوتك واصل؟ which literally translates to 'Is your voice reaching?'
- Because Arabic is a root-based language, the word for 'hearing' سمع is closely related to the word for 'reputation' or 'fame' سمعة, as both involve being heard by others.
- The root of the verb in تسمع is related to the concept of 'obedience' in several Semitic languages. In an older context, hearing and listening were linguistically tied to the act of following instructions.
Examples in context
- أعتذر للإزعاج، هل تسمعني؟I'm sorry for the interruption, can you hear me?
- عفوًا، هل بإمكانك سماعي؟Excuse me, can you hear me?
- واحد اثنين، تسمعني؟One, two, can you hear me?
- يا زلمة، سامعني؟Hey buddy, can you hear me?
- هل تسمعني؟hal tasma'unī?Can you hear me?
- أنا أتحدث، هل تسمعني؟ana atahaddath, hal tasma'unī?I am speaking, can you hear me?
Example conversation
Yousef and Maryam are talking on a phone call.
- يوسف Youssefمريم، هل تسمعني؟Maryam, hal tasma'uni?Maryam, can you hear me?
- مريم Maryamنعم يا يوسف، أسمعك جيداً.Na'am ya Yousef, asma'uka jayyidan.Yes Yousef, I hear you well.
- يوسف Youssefجيد، لأن الإشارة ضعيفة هنا.Jayyid, li-anna al-ishara da'ifa huna.Good, because the signal is weak here.
- مريم Maryamلا مشكلة، أنا أسمعك الآن.La mushkila, ana asma'uka al-aan.No problem, I hear you now.
