Lower Intermediate - Internet disconnection

Lisa should have drawn a distinction between two different uses of the German word "Mann". When "Mann" is a vocative it corresponds to "ja rajul", but when it is an interjection it means "Gosh!" or "Damn it!" I recently heard the following example in a German film: "Mann! Das haben wir wirklich verbockt!" (Damn it! We've made a real mess of things!"

I've heard 'Man!' used in a similar way (not directed at a particular man) in American movies as an expression of exasperation - perhaps from Germanic roots in US culture.

@ psibear

That's an interesting point. In modern German "Mann" is rarely used as a vocative, but it is frequently employed as an interjection (with or without "oh").

A few days ago I noticed an interesting example in a German TV film. A young woman makes a spiteful remark about her sister. Her father, who is sick and tired of the ceaseless bickering between his daughters, immediately loses his temper and exclaims: "Oh Mann! So kann das doch hier nicht weitergehen!" (Damn it all! Things can't go on like this here!) He is not calling his daughter a man. "Oh Mann" is merely an interjection which expresses his exasperation. "Ja rajul" (the literal Arabic equivalent of "oh Mann") wouldn't make sense here.

Perhaps Ehab and Mohamed could give us a few Arabic expressions for "Damn it all". What would Ehab say if Mohamed tripped over the carpet and dropped an expensive computer on the floor?

'Damn it!' in Arabic is
تبًّا
tabban
or
يا للعنة
yaa lila3na
or
العمى
al 3ama (literally, 'the blindness')

@ vinod

Thank you for your very useful comment. "Tabban" has been used in the podcast entitled "Wrong bus", but the other expletives you mention are new to me although I've already discovered "'amaa" (blindness) and "la'na" (curse) in YouTube videos.

Incidentally, it's just occurred to me that the German expletive "Mann" can also express enthusiasm, as in the following example: Mann! War das romantisch! (Wow! How romantic!)