Levantine Arabic Adverbs

How, When, Where, and How Much—in Real-Life Context

In Levantine Arabic, adverbs play a crucial role in everyday conversation. They answer questions like:

• How? (بِسُرعة – quickly)

• When? (هلّق – now)

• Where? (هون – here)

• To what degree? (كتير – a lot)

But instead of handing you a flat list, this guide breaks them down by category—time, place, degree, and manner—and shows how they work in natural, spoken chunks, just like you'd hear in daily conversation.

This is about more than vocabulary—it’s about rhythm and fluency. The more you practice these words in context, the faster they’ll come out in real time.

Adverbs of Time – ظروف الزمان

English | Levantine Arabic | Example

• Now | هلّق (hallaʾ) | هلّق بدي روح – I want to go now.

• Today | اليوم (il-yōm) | اليوم الجو حلو – The weather's nice today.

• Yesterday | مبارح (mbāriḥ) | مبارح كنت تعبان – I was tired yesterday.

• Tomorrow | بكرا (bukra) | بكرا عنا مشوار – We have an outing tomorrow.

• Later | بعدين (baʿdēn) | خلّيني أحكيك بعدين – Let me talk to you later.

• A long time ago | من زمان (min zamān) | من زمان ما شفتو – I haven’t seen him in ages.

• Soon | قريبًا (ʾarībān) | رح يرجع قريبًا – He’ll be back soon.

• Recently | من جْديد (min jdeed) | من جديد طْلعِت لهنيك – I recently went there

• Always | دايمًا (dāyman) | هو دايمًا بيتأخر – He’s always late.

• Never | أبدًا (ʾabadan) | أبدًا ما بروح لهنيك – I never go there.

• Usually | عادةً / بالعادِة (ʿādatan / bil3aadeh) | عادةً بشرب قهوة الصبح – I usually drink coffee in the morning.

• Sometimes أحيانًا (ʾaḥyānan) / ساعات (saʿāt) أحيانًا بروح عالدوام بكير – Sometimes I go to work early.

Adverbs of Place – ظروف المكان

English | Levantine Arabic | Example

Here | هون (hōn) | تعا لهون – Come here.

There | هنيك (hnīk) | هو ساكن هنيك – He lives over there.

Inside | جوّا (juwwa) | فوت جوّا – Go inside.

Outside برّا (barra) استناني برّا – Wait for me outside.

Up / Upstairs | فوق (fōʾ) | هو فوق – He’s upstairs.

Down / Downstairs | تحت (taḥt) | الميّة نازلة لتحت – The water's running down.

In front of | قدّام (ʾuddām) | وقّفت سيارتي قدّام البيت – I parked in front of the house.

Behind | ورا (wara) | خليته ورا الباب – I left it behind the door.

Note: Adverbs of place like هون (here), هنيك (there), and فوق (upstairs) tell you where something happens—but they don’t need an object. That’s what makes them adverbs, not prepositions.

Prepositions like في (in) or تحت (under), on the other hand, must be followed by something—you can’t just say هو في (“he is in”) without saying في شو؟ (“in what?”).

If it answers “where?” and stands alone, it’s likely an adverb. If it needs something after it, it’s a preposition.

Adverbs of Degree – ظروف الدرجة

English | Levantine Arabic | Example

Very | كتير (ktīr) | الجو اليوم كتير بارد – It’s really cold today.

Not at all | أبدًا (ʾabadan) | ما فهمت أبدًا – I didn’t understand at all.

A little | شوي / شويّة (šway / šwayye) | عطيني شوي – Give me a little.

Too much | زيادة (ziyāde) | هو بيحكي زيادة – He talks too much.

Almost | تقريبًا (taʾrīban) | خلّصنا تقريبًا – We’re almost done.

About | حوالي (ḥawāli) | استنيت حوالي ساعة – I waited about an hour.

Again | مرّة تانية (marré tānye) | قولها مرّة تانية – Say it again.

More | كمان (kamān) | عطيني كمان – Give me more.

Adverbs of Manner – ظُروف الطَريقة

English | Levantine Arabic | Example

Like this | هيك (hēk) | ليش هيك عم تحكي؟ – Why are you talking like that?

This way | بهالطريقة (b-haṭ-ṭarīʾa) | فهمني بهالطريقة – Explain it this way.

Quickly | بسرعة (bisurʿa) | خلّص بسرعة – Finish quickly.

Slowly | شوي شوي (šway šway) | سوق شوي شوي – Drive slowly.

Right away | حالًا (ḥālan) | ردّ حالًا – Answer right away.

Currently | حاليًا (ḥālyan) | أنا حاليًا مشغول – I’m busy at the moment.

Together | سوا (sawa) | طلعنا سوا – We went out together.

Alone | لحاله (lihaalo) | راح لوحده – He went alone.

Continuously | على طول (ʿala ṭūl) | عم بيشتغل على طول – He’s working nonstop.

On purpose | عن قصد (ʿan ʾaṣd) | عملها عن قصد – He did it on purpose.

How to Form Adverbs Using بشكل

In Levantine Arabic, one common way to express manner (how something is done) is to use the word بِشَكل (bišakl), meaning “in a way” or “in a manner.”

It’s often combined with an adjective to create an adverb—just like we do in English when we turn “calm” into “calmly” or “serious” into “seriously.”

Structure:

بِشَكل + adjective = in a [adjective] way

You’ll hear this all the time in conversation, especially when describing how someone behaves or how something happens.

Common Examples in Levantine Arabic

بِشَكل جَدِّي – seriously
عم بحكي معك بشكل جدّي – I’m talking to you seriously.

بِشَكل واضِح – clearly
فسّرلي بشكل واضح – Explain it to me clearly.

بِشَكل عام – generally
بشكل عام، اللبنانيين كتير مضيافين – In general, Lebanese people are very hospitable.

بِشَكل غَريب – strangely
كان عم يتصرّف بشكل غريب – He was acting weirdly.

بِشَكل رسمي – formally
بعتلهم الدعوة بشكل رسمي – I sent them the invitation formally.

بِشَكل سريع – quickly
خلصنا المشروع بشكل سريع – We finished the project quickly.

بِشَكل مِهَني – professionally
كتب الإيميل بشكل مهني – He wrote the email professionally.

Notes on Usage

• In fast speech, بِشَكل can be reduced to just بـ with the adjective:

  • بـشكل واضح → بـواضح (less common but you may hear it in casual speech)

• It’s more common in semi-formal or emphatic contexts. If you want to say something simply, you might just use the plain adverb:
  “عم يشتغل بسرعة” is more common than “بشكل سريع” in casual talk.

Drill Tip:

Have students switch between the adjective and the بشكل form.
هو جَدِّي → هو عم يحكي بشكل جدّي
هي سَريعة → هي عم تشتغل بشكل سريع

This helps them develop fluency with both forms and understand the flexibility of adverb construction in Levantine.

How I Teach Adverbs with Rhythm and POV Practice

In my lessons, I don’t just give lists—I use patterned repetition and point-of-view-focused drills to make sure learners can use these adverbs in real time.

Here’s how:

• Focus on one POV at a time (I, you, he/she, we...)

• Use natural verbs and everyday adverbs in rhythm

• Switch stimulus (person spoken to/about) so students must quickly recall the right form

Example drill:
I say: "إنت – تحكي – بسرعة"
You say: "إنت عم تحكي بسرعة."

Then I switch the subject:
هو – يكتب – شوي شوي → "هو عم يكتب شوي شوي."

Once learners can do this under pressure, fluency takes off.

Final Thought: Adverbs Are Rhythm Anchors

Adverbs in Levantine Arabic aren't decorative—they're foundational. They let you time, shape, and color your sentences. If verbs are the bones of a sentence, adverbs are the muscle and tone.

Start collecting full phrases, not single words. Drill them in rhythm. Practice switching point of view. And let your speaking flow from patterns, not translation.

Fluency starts not with memorization—but with movement and sound.