Lebanese Arabic phrasebook
旅遊會話手冊
The Lebanese dialect of Arabic (اللهجة اللبنانية) is similar to that spoken in Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, somewhat different to that spoken in Egypt, and very different to other forms of Arabic. As with all dialects of Arabic, the dialect is a spoken language only; the written language always conforms to standard Arabic.
Pronunciation guide
For some Arabic sounds, there is no easy transliteration (and no single agreed transliteration). The pronunciation guide shown below is case-sensitive; for example, 'th' is a different sound to 'Th' and 'TH'. Note that there is no such thing as a diphthong in Arabic; instead, some consonants map to English diphthongs. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Vowels a like 'a' in "apple" i like 'ee' in "cheese" u like 'oo' in "too" o like 'o' in "more" e like 'e' in "bed" é like 'ai' in "claire"
Easy Consonants b like 'b' in "bed" t like 't' in "top" j like 's' in "pleasure" kh like 'ch' in Scottish "loch" (or German "nach") d like 'd' in "mad" r like 'r' in "row" z like 'z' in "haze" s like 's' in "sing" sh like 'sh' in "sheep" f like 'f' in "fun" k like 'k' in "kitten" l like 'l' in "love" m like 'm' in "mother" n like 'n' in "nice" h like 'h' in "help" w like 'w' in "weight" y like 'y' in "yes"
Difficult Consonants The following 3 consonants are pronounced by rounding the mouth as you say them. You can get an approximate effect by accentuating them in the following pronunciations.
S like 's' in "sorry" D like 'd' in "dot" T like 't' in "taught" The following consonant is almost never pronounced in the Lebanese Arabic dialect but replaced with a glottal stop, which can also be represented by an apostrophe.
q in regular Arabic : like 'c' in "call" (with the back of the throat) gh like a French or German letter "r" The following consonant (called "ha", which will be represented by the number 7), is similar to English "h" but stronger. It is pronounced deep in the throat, like the sound you make when breathing on a pair of glasses to clean them.
7 a little like a mixture of "h" and "kh" 2 a glottal stop (IPA: ʔ), or the constriction of the throat as between the syllables uh-oh, but in Arabic this is often found in strange places such as the beginning of a word. Known in Arabic as hamza ء The following consonant (called "ayn", which will be represented by the number 3), is very difficult to say. In English, the only time you will use the throat muscles used to say this letter
Phrase list
Some commonly understood Lebanese Arabic dialect phrases use either French or English words; these have been shown in quotes below to avoid confusion.
Basics (Kalimét Asesiyé) Hello. mar7aba Welcome! ahla w sahla (Lebanese people also use the French (bienvenue) or the English terms or they say just "ahlan" How are you? kifak (male), kifik (female) (I'm) fine. Mni7 (Male) - Mni7a (Female)(Lebanese people also say l 7amdella, literally: "thank God") Well (health) bikher, tamem Good mni7(m) mni7a(f) Excellent be jannin (it's excellent) or bjannin (I'm excellent) And you? w enta (male), w enté (female) Blessed l 7amdella What is your name? shoo esmak? (m), shoo esmik? (f) My name is ______ . esmé ______ . Nice to meet you. Tsharrafna How old are you? addé 3omrak? (m) addé 3omrik? (f) Please. Eza bet reed (m), eza bet reedeh (f) (literally : if you please). Also, 3mol ma3roof (m), 3mele ma3roff (f). Proper : La-w sama7et (m), la-w sama7teh (f) (literally : only if you allow it) (Lebanese people use also the English term : please) Thank you. shookran (Arabic) yeslamo (Arabic) merci (French) they also use the English expression but pronounce it "tank you, sank you, or tanx" You're welcome tekram (male) tekramé (female) Welcome (welcoming someone). ahla w sahla (it will be enough to say just "ahla") If God wills (or used as 'hopefully') eza alla rad Really? Walla or 3anjad Yes. eh or na3am No. la2 Maybe yemkin Excuse me. (getting attention) ma twekhezne Excuse me. (begging pardon) "pardon" (French is used here) I'm sorry. "sorry" (English is used here) or Be3tezeer (I excuse myself) Goodbye (Go with peace) (formal) Ma3el salémé Goodbye (informal) "bye" (English is used here) I don't speak Arabic [well]. ma be7ké 3arabé [mni7] Do you speak English? bte7ké englize? or you can just say it in English Is there someone here who speaks English? fi 7adan hon bye7ke inglize? Help me! se3dooné Okay tayib/okay/meshe Look out! oo3a or ntebih (male) ntebhé (female) For sure/Of course! akeed! Good morning. Saba7 l kher - bonjour (French) Good evening. masa l kher - bonsoir (French) Good night. "bonne nuit" (French) - tesba7 3ala kher (male) tesba7é 3ala kher (female) I don't kn
本指南改寫自 Wikivoyage （CC BY-SA）