Guide
Palestinian Arabic: Dialect, Phrases, and Where It's Spoken
Palestinian Arabic is a southern Levantine dialect spoken in Palestine and across the Palestinian diaspora. Warm and musical, it's closely related to Jordanian and Lebanese Arabic and mutually intelligible across the Levant. Everyday markers include biddi (I want) and mnīḥ (good), with city speech softening the classical q to a glottal stop.
Where is Palestinian Arabic spoken?
Palestinian Arabic is spoken in Palestine and by the large Palestinian diaspora around the world. Linguistically it belongs to South Levantine, the same group as Jordanian Arabic, and sits on a continuum with the wider Levantine dialect of Lebanon and Syria.
What makes Palestinian Arabic distinctive?
Palestinian has noticeable internal variety. Urban speech (for example in Jerusalem) pronounces the classical q as a glottal stop, while rural and some regional varieties keep a hard k or a g sound. This mix of city and rural pronunciations is one of the dialect's characteristic features.
What are essential Palestinian Arabic phrases?
| Meaning | Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | مرحبا | Marḥaba |
| Welcome | أهلاً وسهلاً | Ahlan wa sahlan |
| How are you? | كيفك؟ | Kīfak? |
| Good, thank God | منيح، الحمد لله | Mnīḥ, il-ḥamdu lillāh |
| Please / here you go | تفضّل | Tfaḍḍal |
| How much? | قدّيش؟ | ʾAddēsh? |
| God willing | إن شاء الله | In shāʾ Allāh |
Is Palestinian Arabic the same as Jordanian or Lebanese?
They're very close. Palestinian and Jordanian are both South Levantine and are especially similar; Lebanese is North Levantine and differs a little more in accent and vocabulary. Across all of them, speakers understand each other with ease — they're varieties of the same Levantine Arabic.
Frequently asked questions
Is Palestinian Arabic hard to learn?
No harder than other Levantine varieties. Its clear pronunciation and the fact that it's widely understood across the Levant make it an approachable dialect for beginners.
Can Palestinians and Lebanese understand each other?
Yes, easily. Both speak Levantine Arabic — Palestinian is South Levantine and Lebanese is North Levantine — and the differences are mostly accent and a handful of words.
Does ArabifyMe teach Palestinian Arabic?
Yes. ArabifyMe's Levantine journey begins in Jerusalem and covers the spoken Arabic of Palestine alongside Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.