Lesson 38: How to Conjugate the Verb “To Travel” in Lebanese

MarHaba guys, long time no see! Summer is near, so let’s get ready for our vacations by learning one of the most important verbs: “to travel” (safar – سفر).

This lesson will break down the complete conjugation of the verb “to travel” in all its main tenses: present, present continuous, past, past habitual (“used to”), and future.

Full Transcript: Conjugating “To Travel” (Safar)

Before we start, here is a quick review of the pronouns we will be using.

Pronoun	Transliteration	Arabic
I	ana	أنا
You (m.)	enta	إنتَ
You (f.)	enteh	إنتِ
He	huwweh	هو
She	hiyyeh	هي
We	neHna	نحن
You (pl.)	ento	إنتو
They	henneh	هنّي

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1. Present Simple Tense (“I travel”)

This tense is used for general habits, e.g., “I travel every summer.”

Pronoun	Lebanese Arabic (Transliteration)	Lebanese Arabic (Script)
I	ana bsefir	أنا بسافر
You (m.)	enta btsefir	إنتَ بتسافر
You (f.)	enteh btsefreh	إنتِ بتسافري
He	huwweh bisefir	هو بسافر
She	hiyyeh btsefir	هي بتسافر
We	neHna mnsefir	نحن منسافر
You (pl.)	ento btsefro	إنتو بتسافروا
They	henneh bisefro	هنّي بسافروا

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2. State Verb / Active Participle (“I am traveling”)

Important Note: In the video, I call this the “present continuous,” but it is more accurately a “state verb” (active participle). It functions like an adjective to describe the state of the subject. For example, ‘ana msefir’ means “I am in a state of traveling.”, as if to say “I’m a traveler”, which actually would be the same.

(The true present continuous for an action in progress would use 3am (عم), e.g., ‘ana 3am sefir’ – “I am traveling right now.”)

This state verb has a simple, adjective-like conjugation:

Form	Lebanese Arabic (Transliteration)	Lebanese Arabic (Script)	Used For
Singular Masculine	msefir	مسافر	ana (m.), enta, huwweh
Singular Feminine	msefra	مسافرة	ana (f.), enteh, hiyyeh
Plural (all genders)	msefreen	مسافرين	neHna, ento, henneh

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3. Past Simple Tense (“I traveled”)

This tense is used for a completed action in the past, e.g., “I traveled last month.”

Pronoun	Lebanese Arabic (Transliteration)	Lebanese Arabic (Script)
I	ana sefaret	أنا سافرت
You (m.)	enta sefaret	إنتَ سافرت
You (f.)	enteh sefarteh	إنتِ سافرتي
He	huwweh sefar	هو سافر
She	hiyyeh sefarit	هي سافرت
We	neHna sefarna	نحن سافرنا
You (pl.)	ento sefarto	إنتو سافرتوا
They	henneh sefaro	هنّي سافروا

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4. Past Habitual (“I used to travel”)

This tense is used for actions that were repeated in the past. It is formed by adding the verb “to be” (kint) before the main verb.

Pronoun	Lebanese Arabic (Transliteration)	Lebanese Arabic (Script)
I	ana kint sefir	أنا كنت سافر
You (m.)	enta kint tsefir	إنتَ كنت تسافر
You (f.)	enteh kinteh tsefreh	إنتِ كنتي تسافري
He	huwweh kein ysefir	هو كان يسافر
She	hiyyeh keinit tsefir	هي كانت تسافر
We	neHna kinna nsefir	نحن كنا نسافر
You (pl.)	ento kinto tsefro	إنتو كنتوا تسافروا
They	henneh keino ysefro	هنّي كانوا يسافروا

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5. Future Tense (“I will travel”)

This tense is formed by adding the prefix raH (رح) before the verb.

Pronoun	Lebanese Arabic (Transliteration)	Lebanese Arabic (Script)
I	ana raH sefir	أنا رح سافر
You (m.)	enta raH tsefir	إنتَ رح تسافر
You (f.)	enteh raH tsefreh	إنتِ رح تسافري
He	huwweh raH ysefir	هو رح يسافر
She	hiyyeh raH tsefir	هي رح تسافر
We	neHna raH nsefir	نحن رح نسافر
You (pl.)	ento raH tsefro	إنتو رح تسافروا
They	henneh raH ysefro	هنّي رح يسافروا

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Example Sentences

“I’m traveling to Paris today.” (female)
‘ana msefra 3a Paris l yom.’
(أنا مسافرة على باريس اليوم)

“I travel every summer.”
‘ana bsefir kil sayf.’
(أنا بسافر كل صيف)

“My brother and father traveled last month to Brazil.”
‘khayyeh w bayyeh sefaro l shaher l madeh 3al Brazil.’
(خيي وبيي سافروا الشهر الماضي على البرازيل)

“We used to travel every year.”
‘neHna kinna nsefir kil seneh.’
(نحن كنا نسافر كل سنة)

“When will you (plural) travel?”
’emta raH tsefro?’
(إيمتى رح تسافروا؟)

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Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Lebanese Phrase	Transliteration	English Meaning
سفر	Safar	To travel (verb root)
بسافر	Bsefir	I travel (present)
مسافر / مسافرة	Msefir / Msefra	…is traveling (state verb m/f)
سافرت	Sefaret	I traveled (past)
كنت سافر	Kint sefir	I used to travel
رح سافر	RaH sefir	I will travel
على	3a	To (destination)
كل	Kil	Every
صيف	Sayf	Summer
شهر	Shaher	Month
الماضي	l Madeh	Last / Past
سنة	Seneh	Year
إيمتى؟	emta?	When?