Lebanese uses three extremely common fraction words in daily life: نص “half,” تلت “third,” and ربع “quarter.” They measure time, food, distance, money, and portions. Less common denominators can be built systematically, but speakers often choose a transparent “number over number” expression when precision matters.
Fractions are not ordinary cardinal numbers. تلات كتب counts three whole books; تلات أرباع الكتاب measures three parts out of four of one book. That difference determines both the fraction form and the noun phrase after it.
The everyday core: half, third, and quarter
The fraction normally comes before the unit or whole being measured. With a unit noun, use its singular: نص ساعة، ربع كيلو. With a definite whole, the fraction and noun form a tight possessive-like chain: نص الكمية، تلت الصف.
| Value | Standalone form | With a counted unit or whole | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | نص | نص ساعة | noṣṣ sāʿa |
| 1/3 | تلت | تلت الكمية | tilt el-kammiyye |
| 1/4 | ربع | ربع كيلو | robʿ kīlo |
| 2/3 | تلتين | تلتين الكمية | tiltēn el-kammiyye |
| 3/4 | تلات أرباع | تلات أرباع الساعة | tlēt arbāʿ es-sēʿa |
| 1/5 | خمس | خمس المبلغ | khimes el-mablagh |
| 4/5 | أربع أخماس | أربع أخماس المبلغ | arbaʿ akhmēs el-mablagh |
خلصت نص الشغل، وبكفي الباقي بكرا.
khallaṣt noṣṣ esh-shoghol, w-bkaffe l-bēʾe bokra.
I finished half the work, and I'll continue the rest tomorrow. (informal)
حط ربع كيلو جبنة، مش نص كيلو.
ḥoṭṭ robʿ kīlo zhibne, mish noṣṣ kīlo.
Put in a quarter kilo of cheese, not half a kilo. (informal measurement)
تقريبا تلت الصف كان غايب اليوم.
taʾrīban tilt eṣ-ṣaff kēn ghēyeb el-yōm.
About a third of the class was absent today. (neutral; approximate fraction of a collective)
With a collective such as الصف, singular agreement is natural because the fraction is conceptualized as one portion. With an explicitly plural human set, plural agreement is also common: نص الطلاب إجوا “half the students came.” The Partitives page explains why agreement can follow the selected people rather than the fraction word alone.
Two parts use the dual; three or more use a plural denominator
تلتين is the dual of تلت and means “two thirds.” With three or more parts, use a cardinal numerator plus the plural fraction noun: تلات أرباع “three quarters,” أربع أخماس “four fifths.” This is genuine noun number inside the fraction: the denominator word is singular for one part, dual for two, and plural for three through ten.
قريت تلتين الكتاب بليلة وحدة.
ʾrēt tiltēn el-ktēb b-lēle waḥde.
I read two thirds of the book in one night. (informal)
الخزان بعده تلات أرباعه مليان.
el-khazzēn baʿdo tlēt arbāʿo milyēn.
The tank is still three quarters full. (informal; possessive suffix marks the whole)
The productive series beyond quarter is real, but it is less automatic in casual conversation. خمس، سدس، سبع، تمن، تسع، عشر can mean a fifth through a tenth (careful/technical); their exact vowels and frequency vary with education and context. There is no pedagogical virtue in forcing a rare lexical fraction into a safety instruction. A transparent calculation can be clearer.
Number over number for transparent calculation
In mathematical, statistical, and explanatory speech, على can separate numerator and denominator: اتنين على خمسة “two over five.” This construction presents the written fraction directly and avoids relying on a less familiar denominator plural. Use independent number forms on both sides.
النتيجة اتنين على خمسة، يعني أربعين بالمية.
en-natīzhe tnēn ʿala khamse, yaʿne arbaʿīn bil-miyye.
The result is two fifths, meaning forty percent. (careful explanatory speech)
اكتب تلاتة على تمانية، وبعدين حولها لرقم عشري.
oktob tlēte ʿala tmēnye, w-baʿdēn ḥawwilha la-raʾam ʿishre.
Write three over eight, then convert it to a decimal. (academic/classroom instruction)
Do not confuse a fraction with a ratio. اتنين على خمسة normally reads 2/5 as one numerical value. اتنين لخمسة presents a relationship “two to five,” for example a mixing ratio or comparison between groups. Technical communities may adopt additional notation-specific wording, so state what the numbers compare.
النسبة اتنين لواحد: كاستين مي لكل كاسة رز.
en-nisbe tnēn la-wāḥad: kēstēn mayy la-kill kēset rozz.
The ratio is two to one: two cups of water for each cup of rice. (neutral recipe instruction)
Percentages use بالمية
Everyday Lebanese says بالمية, literally “in the hundred.” The number before it is the percentage value: عشرة بالمية، خمسة وعشرين بالمية، مية بالمية. Formal writing commonly uses بالمئة or the symbol ٪ (formal), but ordinary Beirut pronunciation remains بالمية.
| Display | Spoken Lebanese | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | عشرة بالمية ʿashara bil-miyye | rate by itself |
| 25% | خمسة وعشرين بالمية khamse w-ʿishrīn bil-miyye | compound percentage |
| 50% من الطلاب | خمسين بالمية من الطلاب | percentage of an overt set |
| 100% | مية بالمية miyye bil-miyye | complete rate; also emphatic “absolutely” |
الخصم عشرين بالمية، والسعر بعد الخصم أربعين دولار.
el-khaṣem ʿishrīn bil-miyye, wis-siʿer baʿd el-khaṣem arbaʿīn dōlār.
The discount is twenty percent, and the price after the discount is forty dollars. (neutral; percentage and price read aloud)
حوالي ستين بالمية من الموظفين وافقوا.
ḥawāle sittīn bil-miyye min el-mwaẓẓafīn wāfaʾo.
Around sixty percent of the employees agreed. (neutral; approximate rate with plural human agreement)
مية بالمية also functions idiomatically as “completely / definitely” (informal). Context distinguishes an actual measured 100% from emphatic certainty.
Fractions in time and approximate quantity
Clock language uses the same fractions but a specialized frame: خمسة وربع is 5:15, خمسة وتلت is 5:20, and خمسة ونص is 5:30. These expressions measure the hour already begun. With إلا, the fraction is subtracted from the upcoming hour.
الموعد الساعة خمسة وربع، مش خمسة ونص.
el-mawʿed es-sēʿa khamse w-robʿ, mish khamse w-noṣṣ.
The appointment is at quarter past five, not half past five. (informal; time read aloud)
Approximation can scope over the fraction: تقريبا نص الكمية means the measured portion is approximately half. It does not change the fraction's internal grammar.
An exact and approximate kitchen dialogue
قديش رز بدنا للعشا؟
ʾaddēsh rozz badna lal-ʿasha?
Maya: How much rice do we need for dinner? (informal)
حط كاستين بالضبط، وشي نص كاسة زيادة إذا إجوا الكل.
ḥoṭṭ kēstēn biḍ-ḍabṭ, w-shi noṣṣ kēse zyēde iza izho l-kill.
Rami: Put exactly two cups, and about another half cup if everyone comes. (informal; exact then approximate measure)
منيح، وبحط مي بنسبة اتنين لواحد.
mnīḥ, w-bḥoṭṭ mayy b-nisbe tnēn la-wāḥad.
Maya: Good, and I'll add water at a two-to-one ratio. (informal recipe talk)
The exact dual كاستين gives two whole cups. شي نص كاسة deliberately leaves the added half approximate. The ratio then states how the two ingredients relate; it is not another estimate.
Common Mistakes
Adding English “of” everywhere
❌ خلصت نص من الشغل.
Non-baseline for ‘half the work’ — the ordinary fraction chain is direct.
✅ خلصت نص الشغل.
khallaṣt noṣṣ esh-shoghol.
I finished half the work. (informal)
Leaving the denominator singular after three
❌ شرب تلات ربع القنينة.
Incorrect — a numerator from three through ten takes the plural denominator أرباع.
✅ شرب تلات أرباع القنينة.
shirib tlēt arbāʿ el-ʾannīne.
He drank three quarters of the bottle. (informal)
Mixing formal and colloquial fraction forms
❌ نطرت ثلث ساعة.
Register mismatch for this Beirut baseline — everyday speech uses تلت, not formal ثلث.
✅ نطرت تلت ساعة.
nṭaret tilt sāʿa.
I waited a third of an hour, twenty minutes. (informal)
Using formal case-marked percent language in conversation
❌ الخصم عشرون بالمائة.
al-khaṣmu ʿishrūna bil-miʾati
Register mismatch — this is formal, case-oriented MSA rather than ordinary Beirut speech.
✅ الخصم عشرين بالمية.
el-khaṣem ʿishrīn bil-miyye.
The discount is twenty percent. (informal/neutral Lebanese)
Keeping an English plural after a compound price
❌ السعر خمسة وعشرين دولارات.
Incorrect — a compound above twenty takes singular دولار.
✅ السعر خمسة وعشرين دولار.
es-siʿer khamse w-ʿishrīn dōlār.
The price is twenty-five dollars. (informal)
Key Takeaways
- Put common fractions directly before the measured unit or whole: نص ساعة، ربع كيلو، تلت الصف.
- Use the dual for two parts and a plural denominator for three or more: تلتين، تلات أرباع.
- Use numerator + على + denominator for a transparent mathematical fraction, and لـ for a stated ratio.
- Say بالمية in ordinary Lebanese; label بالمئة/بالمائة as formal writing.
- Mark approximation outside the fraction with تقريبا، حوالي، شي, and keep exact measurements explicit where consequences matter.
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