Learn Lebanese Arabic with Native Speakers | PBC Languages
Practice real Lebanese Arabic with natives from Beirut, Tripoli and beyond. Skip the textbook Arabic nobody speaks on the street.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
Lebanese Arabic drops the classical 'qaf' sound almost entirely, replacing it with a glottal stop: 'qalb' (heart) becomes something closer to '2alb'. There's no tu/usted split like in Spanish, but verbs and adjectives change by gender, not formality, so you'll hear 'kifak' to a man and 'kifik' to a woman for 'how are you'. Verbs in the present take a b- prefix that doesn't exist in Modern Standard Arabic, so 'I understand' is 'bafham', not the MSA 'afham'.
Within the country itself you'll notice differences: Beirut speech is fast and clipped, Tripoli in the north leans closer to Syrian intonation, and the south and Bekaa valley have their own rhythm and vocabulary. None of this is taught in standard Arabic courses, which focus on MSA, the language of news and books but not of actual conversation.
A huge chunk of everyday Lebanese vocabulary comes from French, a legacy of the French Mandate period (1920-1943): people say 'merci' more often than 'shukran', and words like 'trotwar' (sidewalk) or 'ascenseur' get used as-is. There's also Turkish influence left over from Ottoman rule, showing up in words like 'kbayeh' or 'tabe'. Practicing with someone from Lebanon means you actually absorb this mix instead of memorizing a version of Arabic that isn't spoken anywhere.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Kifak / Kifik | Ezzayak (Egyptian) | How are you, said to a man / to a woman |
| Shu | Ma / Matha (MSA) | What, used constantly in casual speech |
| Mnih | Kwayes (Egyptian) | Good, fine, ok |
| Halla2 | Al'an (MSA) | Now; the '2' stands for the glottal stop replacing the qaf |
| Kteer | Jiddan (MSA) | Very, a lot |
| Yalla | Yalla (shared, but core to Lebanese speech) | Come on, let's go, hurry up, depending on tone |
| Tabe | Tayyeb (MSA) | Ok, fine; shows Turkish-era influence |
| Btehki Arabi? | Btetkallam Arabi? (Syrian) | Do you speak Arabic? Note the b- prefix on the verb |
| Merci | Shukran (MSA) | Thanks; French loanword used more than the Arabic word itself |
Exchanges looking for a partner
How it works here
-
Sign up and say your level
Two minutes. If you do not know your level, we place you in the first class.
-
Pick a class or an exchange
Classes are led by a native teacher. An exchange is with another member: half the time in their language, half in yours.
-
Join by video, nothing to install
From your phone or your computer. If you cannot make it, cancel and get your place back.
Questions about this
Will people in other Arab countries understand Lebanese Arabic?
Yes, largely. Levantine Arabic is understood across Syria, Jordan and Palestine, and Lebanese music and TV have made it widely recognized across the Arab world. It won't help much in Morocco or the Gulf, where dialects diverge more.
What about the time difference with Lebanon?
Beirut runs on Eastern European Time, so plan your exchange around that when scheduling with your partner. Most people find early evening in Lebanon works well for both sides.
Is this useful for official Arabic exams?
Not directly. Exams like the DALF or university placement tests are based on Modern Standard Arabic, not the Lebanese dialect. What you gain here is the ability to actually hold a conversation, which MSA study alone doesn't give you.
Where should I start if I've never studied Arabic?
Skip the alphabet obsession at first and focus on transcribed phrases: greetings, numbers, basic questions. Get comfortable hearing and repeating sounds like the glottal stop and the 'ayn' before worrying about reading script.
Keep looking around
Start this week
A free account, a free first group class, and exchanges that never cost anything.
