South Levantine and North Levantine Arabic
The Levantine family has one line inside it: the north, with Lebanese and Syrian, and the south, with Palestinian and Jordanian. Here is what changes when you cross it.
Short answer
North Levantine = Lebanese + Syrian (Beirut, Tripoli, Damascus, Aleppo). South Levantine = Palestinian + Jordanian (Jerusalem, Ramallah, Gaza, Amman, Irbid). The grammar is shared: the same b- prefix for the present, the same baddi / biddi for "I want", the same pronouns. What changes is one negation suffix, the pronunciation of ق, the colour of the vowels and the intonation.
North vs. south, point by point
| Feature | North (Lebanese, Syrian) | South (Palestinian, Jordanian) |
|---|---|---|
| Negation | Usually bare ma: ma baʿrif. | Ma + the -sh suffix: ma baʿrafsh. |
| The letter ق | Glottal stop in cities: ʾalb. | Glottal stop in cities; hard g in Bedouin and rural speech: galb. |
| The vowel ā | Closes towards ē in Lebanese: kēn. | Stays open: kān. |
| 'I want' | baddi | biddi |
| 'Now' | halla2 | hāla / hēla |
| 'This' | hāda | hādhīri |
| 'Very' | ktīr | kthīr |
| 'Where from?' | mnēn? | min wēn? |
| 'Okay' | ṭayyib, zyēn | tamām |
| Loanwords | French and English, especially in Lebanon. | Turkish and English; Hebrew in everyday speech in Israel and the territories. |
| Intonation | Rising, sing-song, recognised at once. | Flatter, with its own accent in Amman and Jerusalem. |
| Learning material | The most of anywhere: music, drama, courses, native teachers. | Thinner; usually studied through north Levantine. |
The same sentence from both ends
"I don't know what he wants."
- North (Beirut, Damascus): ma baʿrif shu baddo
- South (Ramallah, Amman): ma baʿrafsh shu biddo
One suffix and one vowel. That is the distance between British and American English, not between English and German.
Where the line actually runs
Not along a border. The contact zone blurs it in both directions: southern Lebanon shares features with northern Palestine, Tripoli sounds partly Syrian, and in Amman two registers live side by side — the urban one of Palestinian origin, and the Bedouin one with a hard g for ق. The map of the Levantine zones, with its sources, is in the Arabic dialects guide.
The four, one at a time
- Lebanese vs Syrian — the two northern ones, almost identical.
- Lebanese vs Palestinian — the north facing the urban south.
- Lebanese vs Jordanian — the south with one foot in the desert: Amman and the Bedouin accent.
Which to learn
- No specific regional tie → the north, meaning Lebanese: the most material and the widest access to native teachers, with the south covered in the same hand.
- Family or a partner from Palestine or Jordan → still Lebanese, with the local words and accent corrected along the way in 1-on-1 lessons.
- You need the south for work or study → the start is still north Levantine; the differences are added once you have the shared grammar and vocabulary.
First step
Everything is written in Arabizi, so you speak from the first lesson; the free material is in the resources article, and the free trial lesson is with a native teacher.
The other comparisons
- Lebanese vs. Egyptian
- Lebanese vs. Syrian
- Lebanese vs. Palestinian
- Lebanese vs. Jordanian
- Levantine vs. Gulf
- Levantine vs. Iraqi
- Levantine vs. Maghrebi
- Levantine vs. Peninsular
- All the dialects, side by side
Frequently asked questions
What is South Levantine Arabic?
The variety of Levantine spoken in Palestine and Jordan. Together with North Levantine — Lebanese and Syrian — it forms the shami family: the same grammar, roughly 80–90% shared vocabulary, different accents.
What is the most audible difference between north and south?
Negation. The south often adds the -sh suffix (ma baʿrafsh), the north usually stops at ma (ma baʿrif). Then come the pronunciation of ق, vowel colour and intonation: Lebanese rises in a sing-song, the south stays flatter.
If I learn Lebanese, can I speak in the south?
Yes. A Lebanese speaker holds ordinary conversations in Ramallah, Jerusalem or Amman. You adjust a suffix, a few words and the accent — you are not learning another language.
Where does the line between north and south run?
Through the contact zone, not along a border. Southern Lebanon shares features with northern Palestine, Tripoli sounds partly Syrian, and in Amman the urban speech of Palestinian origin lives beside the Bedouin speech with a hard g for ق.
Which should I learn: north or south?
The north, unless you have a specific regional tie. Lebanese has the most material, the most native teachers and the largest media exposure. With it you cover the south too; the other way round is harder, because southern material is thinner.
Start with a free trial lesson
30 minutes with a native teacher — online worldwide or in person in Bucharest. No obligation.