SHU ZAKI or SHU ZAAKI?

Things You Need to Know About Arabic… and English

In Levantine Arabic, people say “شو ذكي” (shū zakī) in Levantine Arabic to express admiration for someone’s intelligence. It translates to “How smart!” or “So smart!” and is commonly used in various contexts to compliment someone’s cleverness or smart actions.

For example, if someone comes up with a brilliant solution to a problem, you might say “شو ذكي” to acknowledge their intelligence.

However, the phrase “شو ذكي” (shū zaki) isn’t typically used to describe something as smart. Instead, people would more commonly use phrases like “هالبرنامج كتير ذكي” (hal-barnāmej ktīr zakī) for “This program is very smart” or “الفكرة كتير ذكية” (il-fikra ktīr zakīye) for “The idea is very smart.”

The expression “شو زاكي” (shū zākī), with a long aa, however, is used to describe food as delicious or tasty. It translates to “How delicious!” or “So tasty!” This phrase is commonly used when someone wants to express how much they enjoyed a particular dish.

For example, if you taste a delicious meal, you might say “شو زاكي” to compliment the food.

Check out my multilingual books! https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08WJG8SC5/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=b3b4ed84-035d-4d3c-b119-9cef8606a502&ref_=ap_rdr