Syrian Words & Phrases: 100 Words, 20 Expressions

Quick answer The most useful Syrian Arabic words are small everyday ones: shu (what), wein (where), kif (how), hallaʾ (now), baddi (بدي, I want), mnih (good), ktir (a lot). The phrases you hear all day in Damascus are yalla (come on), tfaddal (here you are), yaʿtik el-ʿafye (يعطيك العافية, well done) and tekram ʿeinak (gladly). Fifty words and all 20 expressions are below; the PDF has the full list with a 7-day plan.

What are the most common Syrian words?

The 100 core words on this sheet are grouped by what they do in a sentence, not alphabetically: pronouns and little words, questions and time, people and family, verbs, food and town, and describing words. All of them are given the way people say them in Damascus. Here are the first fifty, the ones you will hear within an hour in any Syrian home or café.

The other 50 words, the people, verbs, food and describing words, are in the PDF with the same columns, plus three tick boxes (day 1, day 3, day 7) next to every word for the 7-day plan.

Common Syrian Arabic phrases and expressions

Words get you understood; these expressions make you sound Syrian. Most come in pairs: someone says one, you answer with the other.

The sheet has all 20, including shukran, ʿafwan, inshallah, mashallah and maʿ es-salame, an exercise that asks which one fits six everyday situations, and a souq role play for two.

How do you say "I want" and "I have" in Syrian Arabic?

Two of the most useful words on the list do not conjugate like verbs; they take endings. baddi is "I want", baddak / baddek "you want" (m / f), baddo "he wants". ʿandi is "I have", ʿandak / ʿandek "you have". Both are negated with ma: ma baddi, ma ʿandi waʾt (I have no time).

How is Syrian vocabulary different from Standard Arabic and other dialects?

A Standard Arabic word list and a Damascus one disagree on many of the most frequent words. "What" is ma / madha in MSA and shu in Syria; "now" is al-an versus hallaʾ; "not" is laysa versus mu; "I want" is uridu versus baddi. Damascus also softens sounds: ق becomes a glottal stop (ʾahwe, coffee), ث becomes t (ktir), and many words end in a soft -e. Lebanese is very close (hayda instead of hada, more French loans like merci), Palestinian is close too, while Egyptian uses different everyday words such as eh for "what" and ʿayiz for "I want". For more cross-dialect basics, see common Arabic words and essential Arabic phrases for travelers.

How the 7-day plan on the sheet works

About 20 minutes a day. Days 1 to 5 take the 100 words group by group, with reviews built into day 3 and day 5. Day 6 is for the 20 expressions, learned in their pairs. Day 7 is the whole list plus the sentence page: 15 sentences built only from the list, to read aloud and translate. Every word has three tick boxes, D1, D3 and D7; tick only when you can say the word from the English alone. This is the last of the five Syrian sheets: the verbs behind these words are on worksheet 4, and the series starts with hello and greetings in Syrian Arabic. Other Levantine dialects are on the Levantine Arabic worksheets page.

What's inside the PDF

• 100 numbered core words in six groups: little words, questions and time, people, verbs, food and town, describing words. Arabic script, Damascus pronunciation and English side by side
• 20 everyday Syrian expressions with when to use them, from yalla and tfaddal to yaʿtik el-ʿafye, tekram ʿeinak and ʿanjad?
• A 7-day plan (about 20 minutes a day) with two review days and three tick boxes per word for spaced repetition
• 15 sentences built only from words in the list, with Arabic script, to read aloud and translate
• Exercises: opposites, odd one out, the right expression for 6 situations, a souq role play for pairs, a Day-7 self-test out of 50
• Answer key and teacher notes on a separate page you can remove before handing out

How to use it on your own

Follow the plan on page 1: one group a day, each word said out loud three times and put into one sentence you could use this week. On Day 6 learn the 20 expressions in their pairs (yaʿtik el-ʿafye, allah yʿafik). On Day 7 read the 15 sentences and do the 50-word self-test; 40 hits or more means the core vocabulary is in place.

How to use it in class

Works as a running vocabulary programme over seven lessons: one group as a 10-minute warm-up with choral repetition, then pairs quiz each other from the English column. Drill the expressions as call and response, since the replies are what make learners sound Syrian. The souq role play (section D) is the speaking task; Ex. 1 with 15 sentences is the test of the list.

Preview

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Syrian Arabic words?

The top of the list is mostly small words: ana (I), enta / enti (you), shu (what), wein (where), kif (how), hallaʾ (now), hon (here), mu (not), bas (only, but), kaman (also), fi (there is), baddi (I want), ʿandi (I have), mnih (good) and ktir (a lot, very). The first 50 of the 100 core words are in the table on this page.

What are some common Syrian expressions and slang?

You will hear yalla (come on), tfaddal (here you are, come in), yaʿtik el-ʿafye (well done, said to anyone working) with the reply allah yʿafik, tekram ʿeinak (gladly), ʿala raasi (with pleasure), ʿanjad? (really?), wallah (I swear), dakhlak (please, I beg you) and sahtein (enjoy your meal). The worksheet lists 20 of them with when to use each.

How do you say "I want" in Syrian Arabic?

baddi. It takes person endings instead of conjugating: baddi (I want), baddak / baddek (you want, m / f), baddo (he wants), badda (she wants), baddna (we want). baddi ʾahwe means I want coffee, and before a verb the verb drops its b-: baddi ruh, I want to go.

Are Syrian and Lebanese words the same?

Most of them, yes. Damascus and Beirut share shu, wein, kif, hallaʾ, baddi, mnih and ktir. The differences are small and frequent: Syrians say hada for this where Lebanese say hayda, and Lebanese use more French (merci, bonjour). A learner of one understands the other within days.

Should I learn Syrian words or Modern Standard Arabic words?

For conversation, Syrian. Many top words differ: what is ma / madha in MSA and shu in Damascus, now is al-an versus hallaʾ, not is laysa versus mu, I want is uridu versus baddi. MSA is for reading news and books; this list is for talking to people.

Is this word list free?

Yes. Download the PDF, print it and copy it as often as you like for personal use and in class. Please keep the Yallah Speak credit in the footer.