Robyn Lesley

In Lebanese Arabic “today” is اليوم (el-yōm). It is the same word as in standard Arabic and is used in speech all the time.

The everyday Lebanese word for husband is جوز (jōz). A wife says جوزي (jōzi) for “my husband”. The formal word is زوج (zawj).

In Lebanese Arabic “ugly” is بشع (bashiʿ) for a masculine noun and بشعة (bashiʿa) for a feminine one. The formal word is قبيح (ʔabīḥ).

To call a woman pretty in Lebanese Arabic you say حلوة (helwe), and for a man you say حلو (helo).

To welcome someone in Lebanese Arabic you can say أهلا وسهلا (ahlan wa sahlan).

A gift is a هدية (hdiyye) in Lebanese Arabic. The plural is هدايا (hadāya). To give a gift say هيدي هدية إلك (haydi hdiyye ilak), “this is a gift for you”.

Blue is أزرق (azraʼ) for masculine nouns and زرقا (zarʼa) for feminine ones in Lebanese Arabic.

In Lebanese Arabic “sleeping” is نايم (nāyim) for a man or boy and نايمة (nāyme) for a woman or girl. For a group you say نايمين (nāymīn).

In Lebanese Arabic you can call a boss معلم (muʿallem), a respectful word for a head or an expert. The formal word for a manager is مدير (mudīr).

In Lebanese Arabic “true” is صحيح (ṣaḥīḥ). To say it is not true, use مش صحيح (mish ṣaḥīḥ). People also use صحيح to mean “right” or “correct”.