Lebanese أخد “take” names concrete transfer, but it also partners with particular nouns to express travel, medicine, decisions, photography, rest, and duration. The important unit is therefore not just the verb: it is أخد + complement, with the right article, preposition, and aspect. Review its irregular principal parts in the أخد verb reference; this page develops its lexical partnerships.
English also uses take widely, but the overlap is incomplete. Lebanese says أخد قرار where American English normally says “make a decision,” yet it does not build “take off a coat” with أخد. All forms on this page are ordinary urban Lebanese (informal/neutral) unless another register is marked.
The collocation map
| Lebanese frame | Meaning | What varies safely |
|---|---|---|
| أخد الباص / تاكسي | take the bus / a taxi | the vehicle |
| أخد دوا | take medicine | the medicine or dose |
| أخد قرار | make a decision | the content, often introduced by إنو |
| أخد صورة | take a picture | the other participant, introduced by لـ or مع |
| أخد استراحة | take a break | the duration |
| أخد وقت | take time | the event that requires time |
| أخد شي من حدا | take/get something from someone | theme and source |
| أخد حدا على محل | take someone to a place | person and destination |
| أخد بعين الاعتبار | take into account | the following noun |
The last row is (formal-leaning professional speech). In quick everyday conversation, حسب حساب “allow for / take into account” and انتبه لـ “pay attention to” may be more natural, depending on the intended meaning. A familiar-looking noun does not make every row interchangeable: أخد قرار is established, while a random English take + noun combination may not be.
Transport: vehicle, passenger, and destination
With a vehicle as its direct object, أخد means “use/take that means of transport.” The destination normally follows with عـ / على. With a person as object, the same verb means “take, drive, or accompany that person,” and the destination is again expressed separately.
إذا ما لقيت موقف، باخد الباص عالجامعة.
iza ma lʾēt mawʾef, bēkhod el-bāṣ ʿal-zhēmʿa.
If I can't find parking, I take the bus to the university. (informal; vehicle as direct object)
أخد خاله عالمطار ورجع قبل العجقة.
akhad khālo ʿal-maṭār w-rizhiʿ ʾabel el-ʿazhʾa.
He took his uncle to the airport and came back before the traffic. (informal; person plus destination)
The source is different: it takes من. Compare أخدني من البيت “picked me up from home” and أخدني عالشغل “took me to work.” English from and to describe opposite ends of the route, and Lebanese marks that contrast overtly.
Medicine, decisions, photos, and breaks
These are light-verb collocations: the noun supplies the specific event, while أخد carries person, tense, and aspect. Keep the noun with the verb as a learned unit.
الدكتور قاللي آخد هالدوا بعد الأكل.
ed-doktōr ʾālle ākhod had-dawa baʿd el-akel.
The doctor told me to take this medicine after eating. (neutral; medicine collocation)
بعد ما سمعنا رأي الكل، أخدنا قرار نأجل الافتتاح.
baʿd ma smiʿna raʾy el-kill, akhadna ʾarār nʾazzhel el-iftitēḥ.
After hearing everyone's opinion, we decided to postpone the opening. (neutral; literally ‘we took a decision’)
فيني آخدلكن صورة حد الشباك؟
fīne ākhodlkon ṣūra ḥadd esh-shobbēk?
Can I take a picture of you by the window? (informal; لـ marks the people benefiting from the photo)
خلينا ناخد استراحة ربع ساعة وبعدين منكمل.
khallīna nākhod istirēḥa robʿ sēʿa w-baʿdēn mnkammel.
Let's take a fifteen-minute break and then continue. (neutral workplace speech)
For photography, صوّر is also common and often more compact: صوّرنا سوا “he photographed us together.” أخد صورة presents the event as obtaining a picture; صوّر presents the act of photographing. Similarly, قرر is a one-word alternative to أخد قرار, especially when a clause follows.
Duration and aspect
In أخد وقت, the grammatical subject is the task or process that consumes time. This is not a person “taking” an object. A completed event normally has perfect أخد; a regular process has b-imperfect بياخد; an event in progress uses the Beirut baseline عم + b-imperfect.
تصليح المصعد أخد نهارين لأن القطعة ما كانت موجودة.
taṣlīḥ el-maṣʿad akhad nahārēn laʾann el-ʾiṭʿa ma kēnit mawzhūde.
Repairing the elevator took two days because the part wasn't available. (neutral; completed duration)
بهالوقت الطريق بياخد شي خمسين دقيقة.
b-hal-waʾet eṭ-ṭarīʾ byēkhod she khamsīn daʾīʾa.
At this time of day, the trip takes about fifty minutes. (informal; usual duration)
التحميل عم بياخد أطول من المتوقع.
et-taḥmīl ʿam byēkhod aṭwal min el-mtawaʾʾaʿ.
The download is taking longer than expected. (neutral; process currently unfolding)
This aspect contrast is productive, but the collocation itself is fixed. استغرق is the formal written counterpart “lasted/required” (formal); using it in relaxed Beirut conversation can sound needlessly elevated.
Lexicalized prepositional frames
Literal transfer lets the preposition keep its spatial role. Lexicalized frames must be stored whole because their meaning is not predictable word by word.
أخدت النسخة من رولا وخليت الأصل معها.
akhadt en-noskha min Rōla w-khallēt el-aṣel maʿa.
I took the copy from Rola and left the original with her. (informal; literal source with من)
لازم ناخد كلفة الصيانة بعين الاعتبار قبل ما نوقع.
lāzem nākhod kilfit eṣ-ṣiyēne b-ʿēn el-iʿtibār ʾabel ma nwaʾʾeʿ.
We need to take the maintenance cost into account before signing. (formal-leaning professional speech)
Do not generalize from بعين الاعتبار to arbitrary prepositions. أخد على خاطره “felt hurt/offended” is another lexicalized expression (informal), but it describes an emotional reaction and cannot be assembled by translating English take plus a preposition.
ما تاخد على خاطرك، ما كان قصدي انتقد شغلك.
ma tēkhod ʿala khāṭrak, ma kēn ʾaṣde enteʾed shoghlak.
Don't take it personally; I didn't mean to criticize your work. (informal; fixed emotional frame)
A safe substitution frame
Use أخد + mode of transport + عـ + destination productively. Vehicle nouns such as الباص، تاكسي، السرفيس، المترو can occupy the same slot; do not insert بـ merely because English says “by bus.”
من هون مناخد السرفيس عالحمرا ومنكمل مشي.
min hōn mnēkhod es-sirfīs ʿal-Ḥamra w-mnkammel mashe.
From here we take the shared taxi to Hamra and continue on foot. (informal; productive transport frame)
Dialogue 1: at the pharmacy
قديش مرة لازم آخد هالحبوب؟
ʾaddēsh marra lāzem ākhod hal-ḥbūb?
Customer: How many times do I need to take these pills? (informal)
خد حبة بعد الغدا، وإذا وجعتك معدتك بطل تاخد الدوا واتصل بالدكتور.
khod ḥabbe baʿd el-ghada, w-iza wazhaʿitak maʿditak baṭṭel tēkhod ed-dawa w-ittaṣel bid-doktōr.
Pharmacist: Take one pill after lunch, and if it upsets your stomach, stop taking the medicine and call the doctor. (neutral advice)
Dialogue 2: changing a plan
أخدتوا قرار بخصوص الموعد؟
akhadto ʾarār b-khṣūṣ el-mawʿed?
Nour: Have you made a decision about the date? (neutral)
إيه، بس بدنا ناخد رأي الفريق قبل ما نعلن شي.
ē, bass baddna nākhod raʾy el-farīʾ ʾabel ma nʿallen she.
Sami: Yes, but we want to get the team's opinion before announcing anything. (neutral professional speech)
Here أخد رأي means “seek/get an opinion.” It does not mean deciding; the actual decision comes afterward.
Common Mistakes
Copying the English light verb
❌ عملنا قرار بعد الاجتماع.
Incorrect for this baseline — English ‘make a decision’ does not license عمل قرار.
✅ أخدنا قرار نغير الموعد بعد الاجتماع.
akhadna ʾarār nghayyer el-mawʿed baʿd el-izhtimēʿ.
We decided to change the date after the meeting.
Adding a transport preposition
❌ باخد بالباص عالشغل.
Incorrect — with أخد, the vehicle itself is the direct object.
✅ باخد الباص عالشغل إذا سيارتي بالتصليح.
bēkhod el-bāṣ ʿash-shoghol iza sayyārte bit-taṣlīḥ.
I take the bus to work if my car is being repaired.
Calquing “take off”
❌ أخد الجاكيت عنه أول ما فات.
Incorrect calque — removing clothing uses قلع.
✅ قلع الجاكيت وحطه حد الباب أول ما فات.
ʾalaʿ el-zhākēt w-ḥaṭṭo ḥadd el-bēb awwal ma fēt.
He took off his jacket and put it by the door as soon as he came in.
Confusing source and destination
❌ أخدت الملف على هالة ورجعته لعند المدير.
Incorrect for ‘from Hala’ — على marks a destination here, not a source.
✅ أخدت الملف من هالة ووصلته لعند المدير.
akhadt el-malaf min Hāla w-waṣṣalto la-ʿind el-mdīr.
I took the file from Hala and delivered it to the manager.
Key Takeaways
Use أخد with a direct vehicle, medicine, قرار, صورة, استراحة, and وقت, but learn each complement's full frame. من marks a source; عـ / لـ / لعند can mark different destinations. Aspect tells whether a duration is completed, usual, or unfolding. Fixed expressions such as أخد بعين الاعتبار and أخد على خاطره are whole lexical packages, not permission to translate English take expressions word for word.
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