Robyn Lesley

A friendly Lebanese way to say “have a good day” is نهارك سعيد (nhārak saʿīd). The more neutral يوم سعيد (yōm saʿīd) works for anyone.

The standard way to say “thanks” in Lebanese is شكراً (shukran).

Common Lebanese words for “idiot” are غبي (ghabi), أهبل (ahbal) and حمار (ḥmār), which literally means “donkey”.

In Lebanese Arabic a husband says مرتي (marti) for “my wife”. The base word is مرت (marat), and the formal word is زوجة (zawje).

To wish someone an enjoyable meal in Lebanese Arabic, say بالهنا والشفا (bil-hana w esh-shifa).

The most common way to tell someone to hurry up in Lebanese is يلا (yalla). To be clear, say يلا بسرعة (yalla bsurʿa).

In Lebanese Arabic “week” is أسبوع (esbūʿ). The plural is أسابيع (asābīʿ).

The Lebanese word for mother is إم (emm), and إمي (emmi) means “my mother”.

The Lebanese word for school is مدرسة (madrase). Children say رايح عالمدرسة (rayeh 3al-madrase), “I am going to school”.

In Lebanese Arabic the usual word for the toilet is حمّام (ḥammām). People also say تواليت (twālēt), and the formal word مرحاض (marḥāḍ) is rare in speech.