This translator turns English into Lebanese Arabic, the dialect people speak day to day in Lebanon. It does not output Modern Standard Arabic (fusha), the formal Arabic of news and books, which sounds stiff in conversation. It also works the other way, from Lebanese Arabic to English.
Results come in Arabic script. Pro adds Arabizi, the Latin-letter spelling Lebanese people use when texting, where numbers stand in for sounds English lacks (3 for ع, 7 for ح, 2 for the glottal stop), and plays each translation aloud.
Lebanese Arabic changes with the people in the conversation. “How are you?” is kifak to a man, kifik to a woman and kifkon to a group. Set You are and Speaking to and the translation uses the right forms. Add context, such as “texting a friend”, to steer the tone.
| English | Lebanese Arabic | Arabizi |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? (to a man) | كيفك؟ | kifak? |
| What do you want? (to a man) | شو بدّك؟ | shu baddak? |
| I don't know | ما بعرف | ma ba3ref |
| Where are you going? (to a woman) | لوين رايحة؟ | la wein raay7a? |
| Let's go | يلّا | yalla |