Phrases
Words become speech here — eight everyday scenes, in MSA and the spoken Arabic you'll actually hear: Levantine, Egyptian, or Moroccan, your choice.
14 dialogues
Levantine Arabicشامي
Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
The Arabic of the Levant — the closest dialect to home for Hebrew speakers, and the one you'll hear from Haifa to Beirut.
ق becomes a glottal stop
City speech says ʾ for ق: قلب → ʾalb, قهوة → ʾahwe — the very sound of Hebrew א.
b- present, raḥ future
baktub 'I write', biḥkī 'he speaks'; raḥ marks what is about to happen.
mā … -sh
Negation wraps the verb: mā baʿrifsh 'I don't know'; mish negates nouns and adjectives.
ē and ō
MSA ay and aw flatten to ē and ō: بيت bēt, يوم yōm — exactly what Hebrew did in בֵּית and יוֹם.
Feminine -e
A final ة often sounds -e after a front consonant: madrase, ʿarabiyye.
Every dialogue has an MSA ⇄ dialect toggle; vocabulary cards, letters, and verb tables show the same dialect's street forms.
Greetings & Introductions
Two strangers strike up a conversation on the bus to Amman.
At the Coffee Shop
Ordering coffee and knafeh at a café in Nazareth.
In the Taxi
A taxi ride from downtown Amman to the airport.
At the Market
Buying vegetables and bargaining politely at the town souq.
Asking for Directions
Lost near the old city, a visitor stops a local for the way
At the Restaurant
A table for two, a vegetarian question, and the bill
Small Talk at the Office
Two colleagues catch up: work, family, weather, weekend plans
At the Doctor's
A headache since yesterday gets a checkup and a prescription
First Day at School
A new student finds a friendly face on the first morning of the school year
In Class
A morning lesson: attendance, page numbers, a request to repeat, and tomorrow's homework
Homework Together
Two friends compare homework over the phone, puzzle out a word, and plan a study session with snacks
The School Trip
The eighth grade boards the bus for a day at a nature reserve
Family Dinner
Around the dinner table: a good grade, a dish-washing dispute, and weekend plans
The After-School Club
Signing up for the mixed football team — and bringing a friend along