Watan 3a Watar is a long-running Roya comedy series which pokes fun at Middle Eastern political and societal issues. “وطن ” means country or homeland and “وتر” means a string so the title, وطن ع وتر, loosely translates to “homeland hanging by a string.”

The show stars Palestinian comedians Imad Farajin, Mohammed Al-Titi and Motasem Fahmawi. Watan 3a Watar first became famous as a Ramadan special in Palestine in 2009. It toed the line politically by making fun of both Fatah and Hamas and eventually moved to Roya TV.

This episode centers around مواقف محرجة or “embarrassing situations”. The episode is broken into four skits, each depicting an embarrassing encounter: passing gas in the car right before someone asks for a ride, taking off one’s shoes at a friends house while wearing old socks, not recognizing someone who says hello to you on the street, and checking one’s makeup in a car window without realizing there’s someone inside. All of these are light subjects, but many of the other episodes address more complex themes. Additional episodes are available to watch for free on Roya’s website.

Vocabulary / مفردات

Note: time stamps count down to match Roya’s video player

8:03
اجازة
A break/holiday

7:54
أنا معطل اليوم
I’m off work/school today

7:47
بنزين
Petrol/gas

7:40
بسمع أغاني
I hear a song

7:36
طلعيها
Give her a ride
Literal translation: take her

7:30
تنفس
To breathe

7:01
شو شميتها؟
What did you smell?

5:47
تفضل
الله يزيد فضلك
Pleasantries exchanging when welcoming someone into a house or offering someone an item. “Here you go” plus the polite response

5:22
إشليها
Take it off (in reference to the character’s shoes)

4:37
بدي أقوم أصلي
I want to get up and pray

4:32
خذي راحتكم
Take your time

3:13
مش بتعرفني؟
You don’t know me?

3:05
نفطر سوا
We eat iftar (break the Ramadan fast) together

2:35
!حل عني
Get away from me!