Lebanese Arabic translator (Levantine)
Lebanese Arabic translator for the whole Levant: the box below turns English into Shami, the dialect of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Under the translation you get harakat, the Standard Arabic version, a readable transliteration and a Listen button. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Translations are generated by an AI model and can be wrong; the Standard Arabic line is there so you can compare. Up to 1000 characters at a time.
What you get on this page
- Levantine is pre-selected. One setting covers Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian speech, which share the same grammar and most words.
- Under each result: vowel marks, the MSA line for comparison, Latin letters that follow Beirut and Damascus pronunciation, Copy and Listen.
- Free with a daily site-wide limit, 1,000 characters per request, no account.
How Levantine Arabic differs from Standard Arabic
Shami is the Arabic of Beirut, Damascus, Amman and Jerusalem, and it is softer and faster than the written language. The question words give it away first: shuu for what, ween for where, keef for how, leesh for why. The verb for want disappears and a possessive takes its place: biddi, literally my wish, means I want. Present verbs carry a b- prefix (bi7ki, I speak) and 3am in front of them marks something happening right now. In the cities qaf is a glottal stop, so 'addeesh asks how much; in rural Jordan and among Bedouin speakers the same letter is a hard g.
Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian differ about as much as American and British English: a few words, the feminine ending (-e in Beirut and Damascus, -a in Amman) and intonation. A translation into Levantine is understood in all four, and the MSA line under it is the form all of them write.
| English | MSA (harakat) | MSA, how it reads | Dialect (harakat) | Dialect, how it reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What? | مَاذَا | maadhaa | شُو | shuu |
| How are you? | كَيْفَ حَالُكَ | kayfa 7aaluka | كِيفَك (m.) / كِيفِك (f.) | keefak / keefik |
| Now | الآنَ | al-aana | هَلَّق | halla' |
| Good, fine | جَيِّد | jayyid | مْنِيح (m.) / مْنِيحَة (f.) | mnee7 / mnee7a |
| I want | أُرِيدُ | ureedu | بِدِّي | biddi |
Common Levantine phrases
These fourteen lines work from Tripoli to Aqaba. Where a Lebanese speaker says something slightly different from a Jordanian, the note says so. Masculine and feminine forms depend on the person you address.
| English | Arabic (harakat) | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | مَرْحَبَا | mar7aba |
| Good morning | صَبَاح الخِير | sabaa7 il-kheer |
| How are you? | كِيفَك (m.) / كِيفِك (f.) | keefak / keefik |
| I'm fine, thank God | مْنِيح الحَمْدُ لِلّٰه (m.) / مْنِيحَة الحَمْدُ لِلّٰه (f.) | mnee7 / mnee7a, il-7amdu lillaah |
| Thank you | شُكْرًا | shukran |
| Thanks (for a favor) | يِسْلَمُو | yislamu (short for: bless your hands) |
| Please | مِن فَضْلَك (m.) / مِن فَضْلِك (f.) | min fadlak / min fadlik |
| Sorry | آسِف (m.) / آسْفِة (f.) | aasif / aasfe |
| Where is the bathroom? | وِين الحَمَّام؟ | ween il-7ammaam? |
| How much is this? | قَدِّيش هَادَا؟ | 'addeesh haada? (Lebanese: hayda) |
| I don't understand | مَا عَم بِفْهَم | maa 3am bifham |
| Yes / No | إِي / لَأ | ee / la' |
| One, two, three | وَاحَد، تْنِين، تْلَاتِة | waa7ad, tneen, tlaate |
| Goodbye (said when leaving) | بْخَاطْرَك (m.) / بْخَاطْرِك (f.) | bkhaatrak / bkhaatrik |
Does Google Translate support Lebanese or Syrian Arabic?
No. Google Translate returns Modern Standard Arabic and nothing else, and most general translators do the same, so I want coffee comes back as ureedu qahwa when a Beiruti says biddi 'ahwe. There are no vowel marks on the result either, which leaves a learner guessing at every short vowel. Here the dialect line and the MSA line are shown together, both with harakat, and the transliteration follows the Levantine pronunciation rather than the textbook one.
Lebanese Arabic translator: accuracy and limits
An AI language model produces the translation. Everyday messages come out well; slang, poetry, legal and medical text are where it slips, and the Levant has real regional variety, so a Palestinian reader may phrase a line differently from a Lebanese one. Compare with the MSA line and ask when in doubt. Not for contracts, medical instructions or official paperwork.
One request takes up to 1,000 characters (about 150 words). The site has one daily free limit; when it is used up the page tells you to come back tomorrow. No documents, photos, OCR or voice input, no app, nothing to buy. Nothing you type is stored. Direction pages: English to Lebanese Arabic; neighbors: Egyptian and Iraqi; and the transliteration page explains the 3 and 7 in the Latin line.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Lebanese Arabic translator the same as a Levantine one?
Yes. Lebanese is one of the Levantine (Shami) varieties, together with Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian. The Levantine setting gives you the shared spoken form that all of them use.
Is there a separate Jordanian Arabic translator?
Not a separate one; Jordanian uses the same grammar and most of the same words as Lebanese and Syrian. Pick Levantine; the main difference you will hear in Amman is a hard g where Beirut says a glottal stop.
Can I use it as a Syrian Arabic translator?
Yes. Damascus speech is the reference for Levantine in most textbooks, and the output here follows it closely, with the feminine -e ending Syrians and Lebanese share.
Does Google Translate have Syrian or Lebanese Arabic?
No. Google outputs Modern Standard Arabic only, without harakat. This page gives the dialect plus the MSA version so you can compare them.
Does this cover Levantine Arabic sign language?
No. Lebanese and Jordanian sign languages are separate languages with their own grammar; this tool works with spoken and written Arabic only.
Is the Lebanese Arabic translator free?
Yes, with a daily free limit for the whole site and no account. There are no credits or paid tiers.