Conversation regularly develops trouble: a word was not heard, a reference was unclear, an inference was wrong, or the speaker chose the wrong expression. Lebanese شو؟, كيف؟, targeted repeats, candidate understandings, and قصدي let participants locate and fix that trouble without restarting the whole conversation.
“Repair” here does not mean that the original sentence was ungrammatical. It is the conversational work of restoring enough shared understanding to continue. The best form identifies how much is wrong: open شو؟ treats the trouble as broad, while repeating one word with a rise pinpoints it.
Choose the narrowest repair that fits
| Repair format | What it treats as troublesome | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|
| شو؟ | the prior turn was not heard or understood | intimate, ordinary informal speech |
| كيف؟ | “pardon?” or “how do you mean?” | ordinary speech; prosody disambiguates |
| عفوا، شو قلت؟ | the prior wording needs repetition | stranger, service, or professional setting |
| عالجمعة؟ / مين؟ | one specific element | efficient targeted repair |
| قصدك...؟ / يعني...؟ | a proposed interpretation | understanding check |
Open repair: شو؟ and كيف؟
Short شو؟ with a clear rise can mean “what did you say?” among people who share an informal register. A low, abrupt شو؟ can instead sound challenging: “What?” كيف؟ can request repetition or question the meaning, but it also has the ordinary lexical meaning “how?”
منلتقي عالسبعة. — شو؟ ما سمعتك.
mniltaʾe ʿas-sabʿa. — shū? ma smiʿtak.
We'll meet at seven. — What? I didn't hear you. (open hearing repair)
قررت ما كفي بالمشروع. — كيف؟ شو صار؟
ʾarrart ma kaffe bil-mashrūʿ. — kīf? shū ṣār?
I've decided not to continue with the project. — What do you mean? What happened? (understanding repair)
عفوا، شو قلت؟ الصوت كان واطي.
ʿafwan, shū ʾilt? eṣ-ṣawt kēn wāṭe.
Sorry, what did you say? The sound was low. (polite hearing repair)
The explicit account ما سمعتك or الصوت كان واطي locates the problem in hearing, not in the other person's intelligence or truthfulness.
Targeted repeats: show exactly where trouble lies
Repeating the questionable item with rising intonation is economical. It preserves everything else in the prior turn as understood.
الموعد صار الجمعة. — عالجمعة؟ مش عالخميس؟
el-mawʿed ṣār el-zhomʿa. — ʿal-zhomʿa? mish ʿal-khamīs?
The appointment is now Friday. — Friday? Not Thursday? (targeted date repair)
سلمت الملف لنديم. — لمين؟
sallamt el-malaf la-Nadīm. — la-mīn?
I gave the file to Nadim. — To whom? (targeted person repair)
قال بدو خمسين نسخة. — خمسين ولا خمستعش؟
ʾāl baddo khamsīn noskha. — khamsīn walla khamistaʿash?
He said he wants fifty copies. — Fifty or fifteen? (contrastive number repair)
English learners sometimes ask a broad “What?” even when only one word is uncertain. A targeted repeat reduces effort and prevents the speaker from needlessly repeating an entire explanation. See echo questions for the grammar of repeating a constituent as a question.
Candidate understandings: propose, do not declare
قصدك...؟ “do you mean...?” and يعني...؟ “so, does that mean...?” offer a candidate for confirmation. A rising contour keeps the candidate negotiable. A falling contour may sound like the listener has already decided what the speaker meant.
قصدك نبعت النسخة القديمة ولا الجديدة؟
ʾaṣdak nibʿat en-noskha l-ʾdīme walla l-zhdīde?
Do you mean we should send the old copy or the new one? (candidate understanding)
يعني بدك نلغي الموعد كله؟
yaʿne baddak nilghe l-mawʿed killo?
So do you mean you want us to cancel the whole appointment? (consequence check)
عم بتقول إنو السعر شامل التوصيل؟
ʿam btʾūl inno s-siʿer shēmel et-tawṣīl?
Are you saying the price includes delivery? (checking a consequential detail)
A candidate understanding can be face-sensitive because it lets the original speaker confirm, reject, or refine the interpretation in the next turn.
Self-repair and other-correction
Speakers often correct themselves before anyone asks. قصدي marks the replacement as the intended formulation; يعني can reformulate rather than simply reverse an error.
منلتقي الخميس... قصدي الجمعة بعد الظهر.
mniltaʾe l-khamīs... ʾaṣde l-zhomʿa baʿd eḍ-ḍohor.
We'll meet Thursday... I mean Friday afternoon. (self-correction)
هو رفض... يعني طلب وقت قبل ما يقرر.
huwwe rafaḍ... yaʿne ṭlib waʾet ʾabel ma yʾarrer.
He refused... I mean, he asked for time before deciding. (repairing an overstatement)
When correcting someone else, correct the item rather than publicly evaluating the person. يمكن قصدك... softens a nonurgent correction. Direct لأ، الجمعة is efficient when an immediate factual correction matters.
يمكن قصدك الجمعة، لأنو الخميس عطلة.
yimken ʾaṣdak el-zhomʿa, la-anno l-khamīs ʿoṭle.
Maybe you mean Friday, because Thursday is a holiday. (mitigated other-correction)
لأ، مش هيك قصدي. عم بحكي عن السعر من دون توصيل.
laʾ, mish hēk ʾaṣde. ʿam baḥke ʿan es-siʿer min dūn tawṣīl.
No, that's not what I mean. I'm talking about the price without delivery. (rejecting an interpretation, not the person)
Spelling and names
When sound and reference both fail—especially with an unfamiliar name—ask for spelling. Lebanese uses تهجّي in careful speech and can simply say كيف بينكتب؟ “how is it written?” Letter names are naturally more formal than surrounding conversation.
ما فهمت الاسم. فيك تهجيه؟
ma fhimt el-ism. fīk t-hazhzhe?
I didn't catch the name. Can you spell it? (polite practical repair)
رامي: راء، ميم، ياء.
Rēme: rā, mīm, yā.
Rami: rā, mīm, yā. (spelling a name by letter names)
اسم العيلة كيف بينكتب؟
ism el-ʿēle kīf byinkatab?
How is the family name written? (asking for orthographic form)
Dialogue 1: a noisy café
Two friends arrange a pickup while music makes hearing difficult (informal, intimate).
بمرق لعندك عالستة ونص.
bmoroʾ la-ʿindak ʿas-sitte w-noṣṣ.
Tala: I'll come by your place at six thirty.
شو؟ عالسبعة ونص؟
shū? ʿas-sabʿa w-noṣṣ?
Jad: What? At seven thirty? (open repair followed by a candidate)
لأ، عالستة ونص. الصوت هون كتير عالي.
laʾ, ʿas-sitte w-noṣṣ. eṣ-ṣawt hōn ktīr ʿāle.
Tala: No, at six thirty. The sound here is really loud. (correction plus account for trouble)
Dialogue 2: clarifying a workplace instruction
A coordinator checks a manager's instruction before acting (neutral professional).
بعتوا العرض للزبون بعد التعديل.
baʿto l-ʿarḍ laz-zabūn baʿd et-taʿdīl.
Manager: Send the proposal to the client after the revision.
قصدك نبعتله المسودة هلق، ولا النسخة النهائية بعد التعديل؟
ʾaṣdak nibʿatlo l-msawwide hallaʾ, walla n-noskha n-nihēʾiyye baʿd et-taʿdīl?
Coordinator: Do you mean send him the draft now, or the final copy after the revision? (candidate alternatives)
النسخة النهائية. منيح إنك سألت.
en-noskha n-nihēʾiyye. mnīḥ innak saʾalt.
Manager: The final copy. Good that you asked. (confirmation without blaming the listener)
Repairing a repair initiator
A sharp, low شو؟ can be heard as a challenge rather than a hearing request. The speaker can repair both the practical problem and the unintended stance.
شو؟
shū?
What? (low, abrupt delivery can sound challenging)
عفوا، ما سمعت آخر كلمة. شو قلت؟
ʿafwan, ma smiʿt ākher kilme. shū ʾilt?
Sorry, I didn't hear the last word. What did you say? (mitigated hearing repair)
The account ما سمعت removes the possible implication “your statement is absurd,” and آخر كلمة narrows the repeat requested.
Register, variation, and conventionality
هلا تكرمت بإعادة ما قلت؟ (formal) is suitable for highly formal or stylized speech, but with a close friend it sounds ceremonious. شو قلت؟ or ما سمعتك fits ordinary conversation. Palestinian and Jordanian إيش؟ is useful recognition input (regional: Palestine, Jordan); the Beirut production baseline here is شو؟.
In a correction, لأ، قصدي... does not necessarily reject the other person's proposal or relationship. It rejects the candidate formulation and supplies a replacement. English speakers who interpret every لأ as a global refusal can miss this local repair function.
Common Mistakes
Using broad شو؟ for one uncertain word
❌ شو؟
Too broad when only the day was unclear; it asks the speaker to diagnose the trouble.
✅ عالخميس؟
ʿal-khamīs?
On Thursday? (targeted repair with rising intonation)
Making a candidate sound like a verdict
❌ يعني إنت لغيت الموعد.
With a firm fall, this declares the interpretation rather than checking it.
✅ يعني إنت لغيت الموعد؟
yaʿne inte laghēt el-mawʿed?
So you canceled the appointment? (negotiable candidate with a rise)
Correcting the person instead of the item
❌ إنت غلط، الموعد الجمعة.
Needlessly face-threatening for an ordinary date correction.
✅ يمكن قصدك الجمعة، مش الخميس.
yimken ʾaṣdak el-zhomʿa, mish el-khamīs.
Maybe you mean Friday, not Thursday.
Using a formal repair with a friend
❌ هلا تكرمت بإعادة ما قلت؟
Register mismatch in ordinary intimate conversation.
✅ شو قلت؟ ما سمعتك.
shū ʾilt? ma smiʿtak.
What did you say? I didn't hear you.
Key Takeaways
Use شو؟ or كيف؟ for broad trouble, a repeated word with a rise for a specific problem, and قصدك...؟ or يعني...؟ to offer an understanding for confirmation. قصدي marks self-correction; mitigated formats can correct another speaker without evaluating the person. Prosody distinguishes a neutral repair request from a challenge, and the next turn reveals whether لأ rejects the content or only replaces one formulation.
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