What does my t-shirt say in Arabic?

November 29, 2010 2:32 PM

What does this Arabic writing say?

I received a t-shirt as a gift from my wonderful (but bizarre) brother-in-law. It has (what appears to be) Arabic writing on the front, but he wouldn't tell me what it says. I really hope it's nothing embarrassing.

So I turn to you, Arabic-reading MeFites. What does this writing say?

Disclaimer:
I tried to copy the writing as best I could so I could upload it to Flickr. The shirt actually has black writing on a black t-shirt, so it's sorta hard to read. Apologies for my poor attempt.

posted by AngerBoy to Writing & Language (18 answers total)

Some of those things aren't words -- it would be helpful if you could show an actual photo of the writing. The last word is "olives" (زيتون) and the word for "you have" or "with you" (عندك) is on the first line.
posted by proj at 2:48 PM on November 29, 2010

Response by poster: The black-on-black writing makes it tough, but sure. I'll give it a try. Hang on one sec.
posted by AngerBoy at 2:59 PM on November 29, 2010

Response by poster: Okay, here you go. The photo quality isn't the best, but maybe this will be more helpful than my ham-handed attempts at copying the Arabic by hand.

Anyone?
posted by AngerBoy at 3:01 PM on November 29, 2010

I can only get one more word, potato (البطاطة).
posted by proj at 3:20 PM on November 29, 2010

It's hard to tell, I am relatively new to Arabic but still able to get the gist. It's something like "when you have the potatoes and dates."
posted by fire&wings at 3:42 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

The first word is "the drama" or possible "duck." It's a colloquial word that doesn't conform to normal verb patterns.
posted by fire&wings at 3:43 PM on November 29, 2010

The first word is a noun, which makes no sense.
posted by fire&wings at 3:44 PM on November 29, 2010

Best answer: My dad, a native Arabic speaker, says the first line seems to mean "Your chest," or literally, "That chest you have." Then potatoes and olives are mentioned, but he doesn't recognize the first word of the second line, which presumably would make clear the relationship between these things. Anyway, your shirt may be about boobs.
posted by zadermatermorts at 3:49 PM on November 29, 2010 [6 favorites]

Best answer: With that clue from zadermatermorts, could this be it?

Designer Abrar Al-Musallam and Raya Tueny also updated attendees on their latest apparel creations, which were originally displayed on the 9:30 p.m. Dutch news the night before.

“Your breasts will look beautiful with potatoes and olives” and “You’re all butter, where can I start,” will be some of the lines that will be printed in Arabic on the trendy t-shirts designed by Al-Musallam.

posted by Ashley801 at 4:26 PM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

The first word is a noun, which makes no sense.

What are you talking about? It's perfectly fine to start a sentence with a noun. It's called a جملة اسمية.
posted by proj at 4:34 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Also, I recommend posting your question here if you're not satisfied, but I bet Ashley801 has got it.
posted by proj at 4:42 PM on November 29, 2010

“Your breasts will look beautiful with potatoes and olives”

That's got to be it. It definitely ends "potatoes and olives".
posted by AmbroseChapel at 5:02 PM on November 29, 2010

Response by poster: Yes! That is definitely it! Following Ashley801's link, I got to this photo, which gives us a glimpse of a t-shirt that looks identical to mine, only in green.

Man, you guys are great. I can't believe it.

In other news, now I know that I'm wearing an Arabic t-shirt about boobies. Thanks, AskMe!
posted by AngerBoy at 5:10 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Random note: Byzantine royalty sometimes had random Arabic script woven into the sleeves of their gowns, for artistic effect.
posted by ovvl at 5:34 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Personally this leaves me more questions than answers (why would olives and potatoes [???] look good with my boobs, it's almost as if you're talking about a turkey breast) but no matter.
posted by Ashley801 at 5:38 PM on November 29, 2010

It's Moroccan Arabic.

Phonetically, it's "Dak sadr 3andki dyal al-batata wa zitoun."

Literally, "That chest you(f) have with potatoes and olives."
posted by HopperFan at 6:28 PM on November 29, 2010

A quick note. The داك (daak) means 'that': it's a demonstrative pronoun, not a noun or a verb. In modern standard Arabic the usual version of this word is ذلك (dhaalik, the dh being pronounced like the th in 'then'); ذاك (dhaak) also exists, though, especially in older texts.

Ho-hum. I'm posting notes on Arabic grammar to MetaFilter. Time for bed.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 6:43 PM on November 29, 2010

Also, nice t-shirt!
posted by lapsangsouchong at 6:43 PM on November 29, 2010