Natural Lebanese directions are built around paths and landmarks, not a memorized translation of English road vocabulary. A speaker locates the destination, chooses the addressee-appropriate imperative, anchors each turn to a visible point, and checks that the route has been understood. This page uses urban Beirut speech (informal and polite-service).
The safest opening is كيف فيي روح عـ...؟ “How can I get to...?” or a location question with وين. Answers then form a chain such as كمّل دغري لحد الإشارة، وبعدين لف عاليمين “Continue straight to the light, then turn right.” The sequencing words are part of the grammar: without the landmark and بعدين, a list of “right, left, straight” is easy to misinterpret.
The working inventory
| Function | Lebanese frame | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ask a route | كيف فيي روح عـ...؟ | destination after attached عـ |
| ask location | وين ...؟ | static place or understood destination |
| continue | كمّل دغري | keep moving straight |
| turn | لف عاليمين / عالشمال | make a right / left turn |
| cross | اقطع الشارع | cross the street |
| anchor a step | عند / حد / قبال / بعد | at, next to, opposite, after |
| estimate distance | شي ... دقايق مشي | approximately ... minutes on foot |
| check | يعني ...؟ | repeat the route as a candidate understanding |
These are collocations, not word-for-word equations. English take a right maps naturally to لف عاليمين, not automatically to a verb meaning “take.” English go past the bank can be expressed by anchoring the next move بعد البنك “after the bank.”
Asking without English inversion
Present Lebanese does not need a copula in وين المدخل؟ “Where is the entrance?” Nor does it need English do in كيف فيي روح...؟ The modal فيني takes a bare imperfect.
عفوا، كيف فيي روح عالمتحف من هون؟
ʿafwan, kīf fīne rūḥ ʿal-matḥaf min hōn?
Excuse me, how can I get to the museum from here? (polite question to a stranger)
وين موقف الباص اللي بيروح عالأشرفية؟
wēn mawʾaf el-bāṣ ille byrūḥ ʿal-Ashrafiyye?
Where is the bus stop for the bus that goes to Ashrafieh? (neutral location question)
قديش بعيد مدخل الجامعة من هون؟
ʾaddēsh bʿīd madkhal el-zhēmʿa min hōn?
How far is the university entrance from here? (degree question)
The prepositions stay with their complements: من هون “from here,” عالجامعة “to the university.” The وين system develops من وين and لوين for origins and explicit endpoints.
Imperatives must agree with the listener
Route instructions are genuine commands, so the imperative changes for one man, one woman, or a group. Signs may use an impersonal masculine singular, but speech to a known listener normally agrees.
| Instruction | One man | One woman | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| continue | كمّل kammel | كمّلي kammle | كمّلوا kammlo |
| turn | لف leff | لفي leffe | لفوا leffo |
| cross | اقطع iʾṭaʿ | اقطعي iʾṭaʿe | اقطعوا iʾṭaʿo |
| go down | انزل inzal | انزلي inzale | انزلوا inzalo |
كملي دغري لحد الساحة، وبعدين لفي عالشمال.
kammle doghre la-ḥadd es-sāḥa, w-baʿdēn leffe ʿash-shmāl.
Continue straight to the square, and then turn left. (to one woman)
اقطعوا الشارع من عند الإشارة وخليكن عاليمين.
iʾṭaʿo sh-shēriʿ min ʿind el-ishāra w-khallīkon ʿal-yamīn.
Cross the street at the light and keep to the right. (to a group)
انزل عالدرج، ولما توصل عالطابق الأرضي بتشوف الباب قدامك.
inzal ʿad-darazh, w-lamma tūṣal ʿaṭ-ṭābeʾ el-arḍe btshūf el-bēb ʾoddēmak.
Go down the stairs; when you reach the ground floor, you'll see the door in front of you. (to one man)
Landmarks turn commands into a route
عند locates a turn at a landmark, حد means beside, قبال means opposite, and بعد orders the landmark before the next maneuver. عيمينك / عشمالك describes where something will appear relative to the traveler.
لف عاليمين عند الفرن، مش عند أول شارع.
leff ʿal-yamīn ʿind el-foron, mish ʿind awwal shēriʿ.
Turn right at the bakery, not at the first street. (contrastive landmark)
الصيدلية حد البنك وقبال محل الورد.
eṣ-ṣēdaliyye ḥadd el-bank w-ʾbēl maḥall el-ward.
The pharmacy is next to the bank and opposite the flower shop. (static landmark description)
بعد الجسر الصغير، الطريق بتقسم؛ خليك عاليسار.
baʿd el-zhiser eṣ-ṣghīr, eṭ-ṭarīʾ btiʾsam; khallīk ʿal-yasār.
After the small bridge, the road splits; keep left. (driving direction)
Here يسار is useful in a keep-left instruction, while everyday turn directions in Lebanon often use شمال. Because شمال also means “north,” the construction and landmark make the directional meaning clear.
Distance is usually an estimate plus a mode
قريب/بعيد answers a qualitative question. Add شي before an amount for an approximation and name the mode when it matters: مشي “on foot” or بالسيارة “by car.”
مش بعيد؛ شي سبع دقايق مشي إذا ما وقفت بالطريق.
mish bʿīd; shī sabeʿ dʾāyeʾ mashe iza ma waʾafet biṭ-ṭarīʾ.
It's not far—about seven minutes on foot if you don't stop along the way. (approximate distance)
بالسيارة قريبة، بس بهالساعة الزحمة بتأخر.
bis-sayyāra ʾrībe, bass b-has-sēʿa z-zaḥme btʾakhkher.
It's close by car, but at this hour traffic causes delays. (contextual estimate)
A route estimate is not a timetable promise. شي explicitly presents the number as approximate.
Substitution frame: build a route safely
Use كمّل دغري لحد X، بعدين لف Y عند Z:
كمل دغري لحد الدوار، بعدين لف عاليمين عند محطة البنزين.
kammel doghre la-ḥadd ed-dawwār, baʿdēn leff ʿal-yamīn ʿind maḥaṭṭet el-banzīn.
Continue straight to the roundabout, then turn right at the gas station.
كملي دغري لحد المدرسة، بعدين لفي عالشمال عند المكتبة.
kammle doghre la-ḥadd el-madrase, baʿdēn leffe ʿash-shmāl ʿind el-maktabe.
Continue straight to the school, then turn left at the bookshop. (to one woman)
The frame keeps three roles stable: endpoint of the straight segment, direction of the turn, and landmark identifying the turn.
Clarifying and confirming the route
Repeat only the uncertain piece, or summarize the route with يعني...؟. A rising contour makes the summary a check rather than a claim.
عند أول إشارة ولا الإشارة اللي بعد الجسر؟
ʿind awwal ishāra walla l-ishāra lle baʿd el-zhiser?
At the first light, or the light after the bridge? (targeted clarification)
يعني بكمل دغري وبلف شمال بعد المستشفى، صح؟
yaʿne bkammel doghre w-bleff shmāl baʿd el-mostashfa, ṣaḥḥ?
So I keep going straight and turn left after the hospital, right? (route confirmation)
إذا وصلت عالساحة يعني قطعت المدخل؛ ارجع شوي لورا.
iza wiṣelt ʿas-sāḥa yaʿne ʾaṭaʿet el-madkhal; irzhaʿ shwayy la-wara.
If you reach the square, you've passed the entrance; go back a little. (repair instruction)
Dialogue 1: a pedestrian asks a shopkeeper
مرحبا، وين أقرب صراف آلي من هون؟
marḥaba, wēn aʾrab ṣarrāf āle min hōn?
Visitor: Hello, where's the nearest ATM from here?
امش دغري لهديك البناية، ولف يمين قبلها.
imshe doghre la-hadīk el-binēye, w-leff yamīn ʾabla.
Shopkeeper: Walk straight to that building and turn right before it.
قبل البناية، مش بعدها؟
ʾabel el-binēye, mish baʿda?
Visitor: Before the building, not after it? (targeted confirmation)
إيه، وبتلاقيه دغري عيمينك.
ē, w-bitlāʾī doghre ʿ-yamīnak.
Shopkeeper: Yes, and you'll find it immediately on your right.
Dialogue 2: correcting a driver
لو سمحت، نزلني عند مدخل الحديقة الجديد.
law samaḥt, nazzelne ʿind madkhal el-ḥadīʾa l-zhdīd.
Passenger: Please drop me at the new entrance to the park.
هاد المدخل اللي بعد الإشارة؟
hād el-madkhal ille baʿd el-ishāra?
Driver: The entrance after the traffic light? (course-baseline هاد)
لأ، هيدا القديم. كمل مية متر كمان.
laʾ, hayda l-ʾdīm. kammel miyye meter kamēn.
Passenger: No, that's the old one. Continue another hundred meters. (common Lebanese هيدا, explicitly modeled as the speaker's variant)
تمام، صار واضح.
tamēm, ṣār wāḍeḥ.
Driver: All right, it's clear now.
Variation and register
The production baseline uses دغري، شمال، هاد، هاي (informal, urban Lebanese). هيدا/هيدي are common Lebanese demonstratives (regional: Lebanon). Systems containing هاد، هادا، هاي are heard in different Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian communities (regional); learn a speaker's system rather than alternating forms at random. إلى اليمين / إلى اليسار are (formal) MSA-style directions common in signage and prepared announcements, while ordinary conversation favors عاليمين / عالشمال or contextually عاليسار.
Common Mistakes
❌ كيف بعمل روح عالمرفأ؟
Incorrect English-style do construction—فيني directly licenses the bare motion verb.
✅ كيف فيي روح عالمرفأ من هالطريق؟
kīf fīne rūḥ ʿal-marfaʾ min haṭ-ṭarīʾ?
How can I get to the port by this road?
❌ خذ يمين عند الصيدلية.
Unnatural literal calque of English ‘take a right’ in this Beirut route frame.
✅ لف عاليمين عند الصيدلية المناوبة.
leff ʿal-yamīn ʿind eṣ-ṣēdaliyye l-mnēwbe.
Turn right at the on-duty pharmacy.
❌ كملي دغري وبعدين لف يمين.
Agreement breaks mid-route—the first command addresses a woman, but the second switches to masculine.
✅ كملي دغري وبعدين لفي يمين عند الكراج.
kammle doghre w-baʿdēn leffe yamīn ʿind el-karāzh.
Continue straight, then turn right at the garage. (to one woman)
❌ وين البنك موجود هو؟
English copula and pronoun transfer makes a simple location question needlessly heavy.
✅ البنك وين بهالشارع؟
el-bank wēn b-hash-shēriʿ?
Where is the bank on this street?
❌ لف شمال عند هيدا الإشارة.
Incorrect gender agreement—إشارة is feminine, so هيدا cannot modify it.
✅ لف شمال عند هاي الإشارة الكبيرة.
leff shmāl ʿind hāy el-ishāra l-kbīre.
Turn left at this large traffic light. (course demonstrative baseline)
Key Takeaways
Ask with كيف فيي روح عـ...؟ or وين...؟, then build the answer as agreeing imperatives anchored to landmarks. A dependable chain is كمّل دغري لحد X، بعدين لف Y عند Z. Add the mode to distance estimates, and confirm a route by repeating the uncertain landmark or summarizing it with rising يعني...؟. Keep demonstratives and regional direction words coherent within one speaker's variety.
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- تحت and فوق: Below and AboveA2 — Use Lebanese تحت and فوق for vertical location and paths, distinguish فوق from contact على, and extend both words to hierarchy, pressure, and thresholds.
- Hearing, Understanding, and Correcting RepairC1 — Repair trouble in Lebanese conversation through open questions, targeted repeats, candidate understandings, correction, and spelling.