Degree words locate a quality on a scale. كتير منيح is high on the “good” scale, غالي شوي is only somewhat expensive, and هالقد بعيد expresses a surprisingly large or demonstrated degree. These words do not change for gender or number; the adjective still carries ordinary agreement.
Real Lebanese usage is more flexible than an English-style rule saying “the adverb always goes before the adjective.” Both pre- and post-adjective positions occur, with rhythm, focus, and politeness influencing the choice.
كتير raises the degree
كتير is the ordinary Beirut intensifier “very/really.” It can precede or follow a predicate adjective. Preposed كتير packages the high degree with the adjective; postposed كتير often sounds like an emphatic confirmation or evaluation.
هيدا المحل كتير منيح.
hayda l-maḥall ktīr mnīḥ.
This place is really good. (informal; preposed degree word)
الأكل منيح كتير، خصوصي السمك.
el-akel mnīḥ ktīr, khoṣūṣe s-samak.
The food is very good, especially the fish. (informal; postposed emphasis)
هيدي السيارة كتير سريعة.
hayde s-sayyāra ktīr srīʿa.
This car is very fast. (informal; feminine adjective agreement)
Position is not a rigid meaning switch. Intonation can make منيح كتير neutral and كتير منيح emphatic. The safe principle is that كتير stays close to the adjective whose degree it modifies. The broader placement system is developed under degree adverbs.
A full gender-number mini-paradigm
The degree word stays unchanged; مبسوط carries agreement.
| Referent | Phrase | Agreement-bearing form |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | شاب كتير مبسوط shābb ktīr mabsūṭ | مبسوط |
| feminine singular | بنت كتير مبسوطة bent ktīr mabsūṭa | مبسوطة |
| masculine/mixed human plural | شباب كتير مبسوطين shabēb ktīr mabsūṭīn | مبسوطين |
| feminine human plural | بنات كتير مبسوطين banēt ktīr mabsūṭīn | مبسوطين |
رامي كتير مبسوط بالنتيجة.
Rāme ktīr mabsūṭ bin-natīzhe.
Rami is very happy with the result. (informal; masculine singular)
نادين مبسوطة كتير بالشغل الجديد.
Nādīn mabsūṭa ktīr bish-shoghl el-zhdīd.
Nadine is very happy with the new job. (informal; feminine singular, postposed degree)
الموظفين الجداد كتير مبسوطين.
el-mwaẓẓafīn el-zhdēd ktīr mabsūṭīn.
The new employees are very happy. (informal; human plural)
شوي lowers or softens the degree
With adjectives, شوي means “a little/somewhat.” It is especially common after the adjective, where it can sound like a softening afterthought. Before the adjective it presents the low degree as one integrated description.
الفستان شوي غالي.
el-fustēn shwayy ghāle.
The dress is a little expensive. (informal; integrated low degree)
الفستان غالي شوي.
el-fustēn ghāle shwayy.
The dress is expensive—just a bit. (informal; common postposed mitigation)
وطي الصوت شوي، الولد نايم.
waṭṭe ṣ-ṣawt shwayy, el-walad nāyem.
Lower the volume a little; the child is asleep. (informal; degree on an action)
The first two sentences can describe the same price. The second naturally lets a speaker soften criticism after saying غالي. That pragmatic understatement matters in shops, requests, and disagreement.
هالقد points to a degree
هالقد means “this much/that much/so.” It can refer to a visible measure, a degree already discussed, or a surprisingly high level. Beirut ق is pronounced ʾ, so the learner reading is hal-ʾadd.
ما توقعت الطريق يكون هالقد طويل.
ma twaʾʾaʿt eṭ-ṭarīʾ ykūn hal-ʾadd ṭwīl.
I didn't expect the road to be this long. (informal; degree before adjective)
ليش زعلان هالقد؟
lēsh zaʿlēn hal-ʾadd?
Why are you so upset? (informal; postposed degree)
عنجد القهوة قوية هالقد؟
ʿanzhad el-ʾahwe ʾawiyye hal-ʾadd?
Is the coffee really that strong? (informal; surprised degree question)
Postposed هالقد often focuses the surprising size of the degree: “that strong?” Preposed هالقد قوية packages the same measure before naming the property. The distinction is discourse focus, not a different dictionary meaning.
Endpoint adjectives resist ordinary very
Some adjectives describe open scales: something can be more or less expensive, tall, tired, or clear. Others name an endpoint: complete, empty, closed, or broken. Endpoint adjectives can still be coerced into a scale, but the result has a specific practical reading.
| Expression | Natural interpretation |
|---|---|
| غالي كتير | high on an open price scale |
| مفتوح شوي | partly open / ajar |
| فاضي تقريبا | almost empty |
| كامل تقريبا | almost complete |
| مسكر للآخر | closed all the way |
خلي الشباك مفتوح شوي.
khalle sh-shobbēk maftūḥ shwayy.
Leave the window slightly open. (informal; partial endpoint)
التقرير كامل تقريبا، ناقصه جدول واحد.
et-taʾrīr kēmel taʾrīban, nāʾṣo zhadwal wāḥad.
The report is almost complete; it's missing one table. (professional Lebanese; endpoint approached)
سكر الباب للآخر، الهوا قوي.
sakker el-bēb lal-ēkher, el-hawa ʾawe.
Close the door all the way; the wind is strong. (informal; endpoint expression)
كتير كامل is normally odd in the literal sense because completion is an endpoint, not a broad scale. Advertising, humor, and metaphor can override that logic, but they should be learned as contextual effects.
Understatement and polite negativity
Degree expressions often manage interpersonal tone rather than measure an objective scale. مش كتير منيح literally says “not very good,” but it is a common tactful way to signal that something is bad. غالي شوي may politely stand in for “too expensive for me.”
الفيلم مش كتير منيح بصراحة.
el-fīlem mish ktīr mnīḥ b-ṣarāḥa.
The film isn't very good, honestly. (informal; tactful negative evaluation)
السعر عالي شوي على ميزانيتي.
es-siʿer ʿāle shwayy ʿala mīzēniyyte.
The price is a little high for my budget. (polite service talk; softened refusal)
الغرفة زغيرة شوي، يعني ما رح تكفينا.
el-ghorfe zghīre shwayy, yaʿne ma raḥ tkaffīna.
The room is a little small—meaning it won't be enough for us. (informal; understatement clarified)
The literal size of شوي cannot be read from the word alone. Tone, situation, and the next clause reveal whether it is precise moderation or diplomatic understatement.
Regional مرة as very
As a degree intensifier, مرة “very” is characteristic of Hijazi Arabic and is not the production baseline for Beirut. Do not generalize it to every Gulf variety: its distribution within the Arabian Peninsula is regional. Lebanese مرة ordinarily means “a time/once,” as in مرة تانية “another time.”
الفستان مرة حلو.
el-fustān marra ḥilw.
The dress is very nice. (regional: Hijazi; recognition form, not Beirut baseline)
الفستان كتير حلو.
el-fustēn ktīr ḥelo.
The dress is very nice. (informal Beirut baseline)
Do not blend regional intensifiers to sound generically “Arabic.” Choose كتير for the course's Lebanese production voice and recognize degree مرة in Hijazi speech.
Human and nonhuman plurals
The degree word is always invariant. The adjective after it still reflects the referent and the speaker's construal.
الموظفين كتير تعبانين اليوم.
el-mwaẓẓafīn ktīr taʿbānīn el-yōm.
The employees are very tired today. (informal; human plural)
السيارات الجديدة كتير غالية.
es-sayyārāt el-zhdīde ktīr ghālye.
New cars are very expensive. (informal; grouped nonhuman plural, feminine singular)
هالسيارات كتير غاليين، بس كل وحدة إلها ميزاتها.
has-sayyārāt ktīr ghālyīn, bass kell waḥde ilha mīzēta.
These cars are very expensive, but each one has its advantages. (informal; individuated nonhuman plural)
Choosing a jacket
شو رأيك بالكبيرة؟
shū raʾyak bil-kbīre?
Maya: What do you think of the big one? (informal; feminine ellipsis)
كتير واسعة عليي.
ktīr wēsʿa ʿalayye.
Rami: It's much too loose on me. (informal; omitted feminine noun remains understood)
والزغيرة؟
wiz-zghīre?
Maya: And the small one? (informal; natural ellipsis)
ضيقة شوي، بس أحسن من الكبيرة.
ḍayyaʾa shwayy, bass aḥsan min el-kbīre.
Rami: A little tight, but better than the big one. (informal; mitigated degree and comparison)
Common Mistakes
Putting the adjective before its noun because English does
❌ اشتريت غالية شوي شنطة.
Incorrect — degree modification does not move an ordinary adjective before its noun.
✅ اشتريت شنطة غالية شوي.
ishtarēt shanṭa ghālye shwayy.
I bought a slightly expensive bag. (neutral postnominal adjective)
Dropping the article from a definite attributive adjective
❌ ما بدي الشنطة غالية كتير.
Incorrect for ‘I don't want the very expensive bag’ — bare غالية is a predicate, not an attributive modifier.
✅ ما بدي الشنطة الغالية كتير.
ma badde sh-shanṭa l-ghālye ktīr.
I don't want the very expensive bag. (informal; definite attributive adjective)
Applying feminine singular to a human plural
❌ الموظفين كتير تعبانة.
Incorrect in the Beirut baseline — a human plural requires a plural adjective.
✅ الموظفين كتير تعبانين.
el-mwaẓẓafīn ktīr taʿbānīn.
The employees are very tired. (informal; human plural)
Using regional مرة as the Beirut default
❌ هيدا مرة حلو بلهجة بيروت.
Incorrect variety label — degree مرة is characteristic of Hijazi speech, not the course's Beirut production baseline.
✅ هيدا كتير حلو بلهجة بيروت.
hayda ktīr ḥelo b-lahzhe Bayrūt.
This is very nice in Beirut speech. (informal baseline)
Treating every endpoint as an open scale
❌ التقرير كتير كامل.
Unnatural in the literal sense — complete names an endpoint, so ordinary ‘very’ does not fit.
✅ التقرير كامل تقريبا.
et-taʾrīr kēmel taʾrīban.
The report is almost complete. (professional Lebanese; endpoint approached)
Key Takeaways
Use كتير for a high degree, شوي for a low or politely softened degree, and هالقد for a pointed or surprising measure. These words remain invariant while the adjective agrees. Let adjective scale determine whether an ordinary intensifier makes sense, and keep regional مرة as a recognition form rather than blending it into the Beirut baseline.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Adjectives after the NounA1 — Place ordinary Lebanese adjectives after their nouns and distinguish attributive phrases, predicates, marked evaluations, and adjective ellipsis.
- Adjective Plurals in Lebanese ArabicB1 — Choose lexical broken plurals, productive -īn forms, or invariant loans and apply human versus nonhuman plural agreement in Lebanese.
- Comparatives with أكتر and Elative FormsA2 — Compare people and things with productive أكتر phrases, inherited elatives, and standards introduced by من.
- Participles Used as AdjectivesB1 — Use participle-shaped words as agreeing descriptions, distinguish lexical qualities from eventive results, and keep complements and definiteness clear.
- Degree Words: كتير, شوي, هالقد, and MoreA2 — Use Lebanese degree words to intensify, soften, measure quantities and events, and distinguish ordinary scales from natural endpoints.
- Quantity Questions with قدّيشA1 — Ask about counts, amounts, prices, time, duration, and degree with Lebanese قدّيش and the right kind of associate.