Decoding Lebanese Family Terms: From Parents to Cousins

In this video, I dive into the heart of Lebanese culture by exploring the terms we use to describe our family members. As the sun blazes outside, reaching temperatures of up to 40 degrees, we’ll stay indoors and navigate the intricate web of familial terms in the Lebanese dialect. From the basics like “mother” and “father” to the more nuanced distinctions between different types of uncles and aunts, we’ll unravel the linguistic threads that tie a Lebanese family together. Whether you’re a beginner looking to grasp the essentials or someone aiming to delve deeper into the language, this lesson offers insights that mirror the rich tapestry of Lebanese family life.

Transcript:

Welcome to a New Lesson in Lebanese Arabic

I hope you are having a good summer. Here it’s too hot, it’s 36 degrees, and in the sun outside it goes up till 40 maybe. So let’s forget about trips, and learn a serious lesson today, and it’s about families. How do you call each other in the Lebanese dialect?

Basic Family Terms

• Family: 3ayleh
• My family: 3aylteh

My family is about:

• My father: bayyeh
• Mother: emm
• My mother: emmeh

Extended Family Terms

• My brother: khayyeh
• My sister: ekhteh
• My grandmother: setteh
• My grandfather: jeddeh

About Uncles and Aunts

Now, uncle. If by “uncle” I want to say the brother of my father I say 3ammeh. If I want to say uncle as the brother of my mother, I say khaleh.

The same for aunt. It’s 3amteh from my father’s side, and from my mother’s side it’s khalteh.

Cousins in Lebanese Arabic

My cousin: I tell you good news, you can also say cousin, because it gets tricky.

About the cousin: I want to say I’m going to my cousin’s, then I would say ana ray7a 3end cousinteh.

Other Family Relations

Now if you want to say husband, you say jawzeh.

• Son: ebneh
• Daughter: benteh
• My mother-in-law: 7ameteh
• My father in law: 3ammeh

Conclusion

I hope you understood it, and if you want me to continue with the family names like there are also names for the sister of your husband, but it’s complicated. Do you want that? if you want that, write to me and I’ll be happy to make a video about it.

So bye, for now, I’m going to visit my family: bayyeh w emmeh w ekhteh w khayyeh and all of the people. Have fun, and cheers guys!

Recap:

English	Lebanese (Latin Letters)	Lebanese (Arabic Alphabet)
Family	3ayleh	عايلة
My family	3aylteh	عايلتي
My father	bayyeh	بيّي
Mother	emm	أم
My mother	emmeh	أمي
My brother	khayyeh	خيّي
My sister	ekhteh	أختي
My grandmother	setteh/teta	ستّة/تيتا
My grandfather	jeddeh	جدّي
My uncle (father’s side)	3ammeh	عمّي
My uncle (mother’s side)	khaleh	خالي
My aunt (father’s side)	3amteh	عمتي
My aunt (mother’s side)	khalteh	خالتي
My cousin (male)	eben 3ammeh/eben khaleh	ابن عمّي/ابن خالي
My cousin (female)	bent 3ammeh/bent khaleh	بنت عمّي/بنت خالي
Husband	jawzeh	جوزي
Wife	marteh	مرتي
Son	ebneh	ابني
Daughter	benteh	بنتي
My mother-in-law	7ameteh	حماتي
My father-in-law	3ammeh	عمّي

Spread the dialect!