تعا
taʿacommand, to a man
The Lebanese command "come" is تعا (taʿa) for a man and تعي (taʿi) for a woman. For "he comes" use بيجي (biji), and for "he came" use إجا (eja).
Meaning: to come (verb)
Ways to say it
| Lebanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| تعا | taʿa | command, to a man |
| بيجي | biji | he comes |
The verb changes with the person: بجي (baji) is "I come" and بتجي (btiji) is "you come".
Which one should you use?
The standard Arabic verb is جاء (jāʼa), but in speech people use إجا (eja) for the past.
Did you know?
- In Lebanese Arabic the verb for "to come" has an irregular past form إجا (eja) that does not look like the present بيجي (biji).
Examples in context
- تعا معيtaʿa maʿiCome with me.
- بيجي بكراbiji bukraHe is coming tomorrow.
- إجا من شويeja men shwayyHe came a little while ago.
Example conversation
Hiba asks her friend Zein whether their friend Ziad is coming to dinner.
- Hibaزياد بيجي عالعشا؟Ziyād biji ʿal-ʿasha?Is Ziad coming to dinner?
- Zeinإي، بيجي الساعة تمانيةēh, biji es-sāʿa tmēneYes, he is coming at eight.
- Hibaمنيح، تعا إنت بكيرmunīḥ, taʿa ent bakīrGood, you come early.
