Emta Njawzak Yamma (ايمتى نجوزك يما) is a song about resisting family and societal pressure to get married and settle down. In the song, the members of the hip hop group DAM alternate between describing and defending the chaotic state of their own lives. DAM - whose name means “everlasting” in Arabic and “blood” in Hebrew - is known for their lyrics that focus on social and political issues, from inter-generational tensions to race and ethnic conflicts to women’s rights. Emta Njawzak Yamma is one of the group’s more lighthearted songs.

DAM’s Arabic lyrics are full of Palestinian slang, which can be difficult to understand if you’re not familiar with the dialect. We’ve pulled out and explained some of those phrases in the vocabulary list below, including a common colloquial way to negate a word or phrase and an example of the subjunctive ما.

Emta Njawzak Yamma and Prozac by DAM, are both featured in one of our favorite Netflix shows, AlRawabi School for Girls. Those two songs are off the group’s Ben Haana wa Maana album.

ولا ليرة، ولا بيتكوين
No money, no bitcoin 
مسلطنة وايش بدكم؟
(I’m) like a Sultan, what you want? 
 
ايمتى نجوزك يما؟
When will you marry? 
ايمتى تركز يما؟
When will you settle down? 
ايمتى نجوزك يما؟
When will you marry? 
والبنك يتصلي ايمتى تيجي عنا؟ 
The bank asks when I’m coming by
قولوله، دونت ووري انا اوكي 
Tell them: don’t worry, I’m okay
غنوله، مزبط ومسوچير 
Sing to them: it’s fine, it’s settled
قولوله، دونت ووري انا اوكي
Tell them, don’t worry, I’m okay 
غنوله، بلا هال مشكنتا ومتخوزق
Sing to them: no mortgage, I’m gutted

الارمات، ديك بدق عالباب 7
7 alarms, rooster knocking at the door 
وانا تحت اللحاف، امي عالبلكون جيرتي دبري عريس
I’m under the quilt, mom’s on the deck asking the neighbor to find me a groom
احصائيات، اغلب الازواج بتنامش ع نفس الفراش
Statistics, most spouses don’t sleep in the same bed
وامي ع الآيفون زبطي سيري عريس
My mom on her iPhone asking Siri for a husband
قولوا لإبن الحلال يستنى لانو العالم عم بستناني
Tell that nice boy to wait cause the world’s waiting on me
بلاقي شريكي بعد ما الاقي حالي وحاليا
I’ll find a partner after I find myself
بصحة العزوبية، صباح الضهرية المرخية
Cheers to being single, in the meantime

…ايمتى نجوزك يما؟

ويلي ويلي ويل، انتو وين وانا وين
My, oh my, where are you? Where am I? 
ولد مع ولدين، جيبوا مخدة جيبوا سرير
A kid, with two kids. Someone bring a pillow, someone bring a bed
لا بنام لا بفيق، انا بصحي الديك
I don’t sleep, I don’t wake up, I’m the one who wakes the rooster
مينوس من جديد، في حساب بنكي في كم بطريق
My bank account so negative there’s penguins in there

…ايمتى نجوزك يما؟

بلا ضغط
No pressure
بلا كبت
No repression 
بلا غصب
No force
بلا ضغط
No pressure
بلا كبت
No repression 
بلا غصب
No force

حيوا قراري حيوا، حيوا حبيبتي حيواحيوا حريتي حيوا، حيوا حيوا
Respect my decisions, respect my lover, respect my freedom, respect it

ايمتى نجوزك يما؟
When will you marry
ولا ليرة
No money 
ايمتى تركز يما؟
When will you settle down?
ولا بيتكوين
No bitcoin
ايمتى نجوزك يما؟
When will you marry 
وايش بدكم
What do you want?
والبنك يتصلي ايمتى تيجي عنا؟
The bank keeps asking when I’m coming

Vocabulary / مفردات

نجوز (ان اتزوج)
To get married

يما
Mama (يا ماما), an actual mother or used as a term of endearment (as it is here)
This word can also be used to emphasize there being a lot of something:
يما حبيته
I really loved him

تركز (ركز)
To focus

مشكنتا
Home loan/mortgage in Palestinian dialect

متخوزق/ة (خزق)
Stabbed or impaled

دبر
To conduct, orchestrate, or prepare

إحصائية / احصائيات
Statistic/s

بتنامش
You/she doesn’t sleep
Adding a ش to the end of a word like this is one way to negate a word or phrase in colloquial Arabic

زبط (ظبط)
To set/set-up
This is also the root of the word مظبوط, commonly used to mean right, okay, or correct

إبن الحلال
A nice boy
As in, “when are you going to find yourself a nice boy to marry”

شريك/ة
A partner (can be a romantic partner, business partner, etc.)

بعد ما الاقي
After I find
When using بعد and قبل in the subjunctive, for example:
بعد ما ارجع عالبيت
After I get home
بعد ما ارجع عالبيت
Before I travel
قبل ما بسافر
It must be followed by a ما, which conveys the uncertainty of the subjunctive state; this thing that you’re about to describe is contingent on you doing something else before or after (ex: returning home or traveling).

العزوبية
Singlehood or celibacy

بفيق
or
بصحي
I wake up

من جديد
Again or anew

بلا
Without; lacking

حيوا
Respect (you all command form)
This word is also used as a very slang way to say “hey.”