Arabic words in Drake's song

The Arabic parts of the lyrics are:

Habiibtii please, 'anaa 'akiid: 'anti wa 'anaa 'aHlaa
Drake – Only You Freestyle

Since this is a blog on a website for learning Arabic, I also show a more correct version.

Habiibatii, 'anaa muta'akkid: 'anti wa 'anaa 'aHlaa
حَبِيبَتِي, أَنا مُتَأَكِّد: أَنتِ وَأَنَا أَحلَى

We will go through both Drakes and my version, and the difference between them.

My darling

Habiibatii = my darling (f)
حَبِيبَتِي

To say "my darling" in Arabic, we start with "darling" that is (Habiib) in Arabic. (Habiib) is masculine, and is therefore used when the darling is a man.

To say "my darling", we add (ii) at the end.

To say darling in feminine, we add (a) at the end of (Habiib). So if the darling is a woman, we say (Habiiba).

To say "my darling" to a woman, we use the word (Habiiba) and add the suffix (tii). Now we have the word that appears in Drake's song: (Habiibatii).

Drake, however, pronounces it as (Habiibtii) instead of (Habiibatii). That is, he skips the (a) before the ending. It is common for the pronunciation to differ between Arabic dialect and standard Arabic.

I am sure

Then Drake sings ('anaa' akiid).

Since ('anaa) means "I" and (' akiid) means "sure", we understand that Drake means "I am sure" or "I am certain". The sentence is understandable, but not correct. The word ('akiid) is not used about people who are certain, but about things that are certain. When a person is certain, we use the word (muta'akkid) instead.

'akiid = certain (about things)
أَكِيد
muta'akkid = certain (about humans)
مُتَأَكِّد

If you are a beginner in Arabic, you may think that a verb is missing. But in Arabic, a verb corresponding to "is" is rarely needed.

You may also wonder what the sign (') at the beginning of the words (' anaa) and ('akiid) and in the middle of the word (muta'akkid) means. It is the letter Hamza. The letter has no sound but means a short pause in the pronunciation. This is called glottal stop. Hamza ensures that the pronunciation is (anaa akiid) instead of (anaakiid) and (muta akkid) instead of (mutakkid).

You and me are sweeter

'anti wa 'anaa 'aHlaa = you and me are sweeter
أَنتِ وَأَنا أَحلَى

The Arabic word ('anti) means "you".

However, Drake sings ('inti) instead of ('anti) . That pronunciation is common in Arabic dialect.

Then there is the word (wa) that simply means "and".

We already know the Arabic word for "I".

With these three words we get ('anti wa 'anaa) which means "you and I". As easy in Arabic as in English.

Now we come to the last word. We start with the basic form of the word: (Hulw).

(Hulw) means "sweet". You might think of the confection Halwaa which is very sweet. The words (Hulw) and (Halwaa) have the same root.

The word (Hulw) can be used literally. For example, a sweet dessert. It can also be used in a more general sense. A person or an experience can be (Hulw). The word (Hulw) can therefore be translated into different words in English, depending on the context, for example "sweet", "beautiful", "nice" or "wonderful".

As you may have noticed, Drake's song does not contain (Hulw). However, it contains ('aHlaa) which is comparative of (Hulw). That is, "sweeter".

Now we have the sentence ('anti wa 'anaa 'aHlaa) that means "you and I are sweeter". This sentence also has no verb in Arabic.

Since the word for sweet is not used in its literal sense, we can translate the sentence a little more freely into English if we want. For example, "you and I are more wonderful". On the Internet, I have seen the translation "you and I look better together".

Pronounce Arabic better than Drake

When I listened to how Drake sings in Arabic, I was not impressed. Firstly, he ignored the letter Hamza at the beginning of ('anaa). Instead of (wa 'anaa), he sings (waana).

Secondly, he tries too hard when he pronounces the Arabic letter H.

The Arabic letter ح is pronounced like an h, but more forcefully.

The letter H should be pronounced with a strong exhale. Imagine that you are thirsty on a hot day, drink a sip of cold water and sigh contentedly "Hhhh". The word ('aHlaa) that means "sweeter" contains this H. But Drake instead pronounces the word as ('akhlaa), which is wrong. The pronunciation (kha) instead corresponds to another Arabic letter.

The Arabic letter خ is pronounced kh, as in the composer Bach.

Drake in standard Arabic

By analyzing the Arabic words in Drake's song, we can see that they mean something like "My darling, I am certain that you and I are sweeter together." If we want to say it correctly, and in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), we can say:

If you want to know more about the sentences, click on the eye symbol below and you will get a detailed description of each word and their grammar and function in the sentence. If you find the sentences difficult, comment at the bottom of the page and I will try to explain.

Glossary from Drake's song

Now you have hopefully learned a little more Arabic thanks to Drake. I end this blog post with a dictionary. The next time you listen to Drake's song, you will recognize the new Arabic words you have learned.