Lebanese لحد la-ḥadd marks a boundary: a state continues until a time, movement reaches as far as a place, or a quantity rises up to a level. Its literal organizing idea is “to the limit of.” That single idea connects لحد الخمسة “until five,” لحد الجسر “as far as the bridge,” and لحد النص “up to halfway.”
English distributes these uses across until, as far as, and up to. Do not choose a different Lebanese preposition from the nearest English phrase; first identify whether the clause is tracing something up to a boundary.
Temporal limits
With a time noun, لحد + time says that a state or activity holds up to that boundary.
ضليت بالمكتب لحد الخمسة.
ḍallēt bil-maktab la-ḥadd el-khamse.
I stayed at the office until five. (continuing state with an endpoint)
المكتبة فاتحة لحد السبعة اليوم.
el-maktabe fātḥa la-ḥadd es-sabʿa l-yōm.
The library is open until seven today. (business-hours limit)
رح نضل هون لحد آخر الأسبوع.
raḥ nḍall hōn la-ḥadd ākhir el-osbūʿ.
We'll stay here until the end of the week. (future continuation)
These sentences normally suggest a change at or near the boundary—leaving at five, closing at seven—but لحد itself only establishes the limit. If the exact action at the endpoint matters, state it: لحد السبعة، وبعدين منسكر “until seven, and then we close.”
Spatial and degree limits
A route can extend as far as a landmark, and a substance or measurement can reach a visible level.
مشينا لحد الجسر وبعدين رجعنا.
mshīna la-ḥadd el-zhiser w-baʿdēn rzhiʿna.
We walked as far as the bridge and then went back. (spatial limit)
عبي الكاسة مي لحد النص.
ʿabbe l-kēse mayy la-ḥadd en-noṣṣ.
Fill the glass with water halfway. (degree/level limit; masculine addressee)
المي وصلت لحد هون بعد الشتوة.
el-mayy wiṣlit la-ḥadd hōn baʿd esh-shitwe.
The water reached up to here after the rainstorm. (visible spatial extent)
Compare destination وصلنا عالجسر “we arrived at the bridge” with extent مشينا لحد الجسر “we walked as far as the bridge.” The first reports a destination reached; the second measures how far the path or activity extended.
A full event boundary: لحد ما
When the boundary is a whole event, use لحد ما + clause. The verb after ما has its own subject. Here ما links the boundary clause; it is not negation.
نطرت لحد ما خلص الاجتماع.
nṭaret la-ḥadd ma khiliṣ el-izhtimēʿ.
I waited until the meeting ended. (completed boundary event)
ضل بالسيارة لحد ما إجي.
ḍall bis-sayyāra la-ḥadd ma izhe.
Stay in the car until I come. (informal command; projected boundary)
ما رح نعرف الجواب لحد ما توصل النتيجة.
ma raḥ niʿraf el-zhawēb la-ḥadd ma tūṣal en-natīzhe.
We won't know the answer until the result arrives. (negative main clause plus event boundary)
The English pattern not until puts strong focus on the boundary. Lebanese commonly keeps ordinary negation in the main clause and adds لحد ما for the boundary, as in the last example.
لحد and لحتى overlap, but not everywhere
Everyday لحتى can also mean “until”: نطرت لحتى خلص الاجتماع. It additionally introduces purpose, “so that,” a use that لحد does not share. Therefore لحد ما is especially transparent when you want an endpoint and no purpose reading.
اتصلت فيه لحتى خبره، مش لحد ما خبره.
ittaṣalt fī la-ḥatta khabbro, mish la-ḥadd ma khabbro.
I called him in order to tell him—not ‘until I tell him.’ (purpose contrast)
Pronunciation and choice between لحد ما and endpoint لحتى vary across speakers (regional: Levant). For Beirut production, both are current; keep لحد ما as the unambiguous boundary form and learn purpose لحتى separately.
Continuation versus a deadline with لـ
Bare attached لـ can set a target or deadline: something must be complete للجمعة “by Friday.” لحد الجمعة instead traces a continuing activity or state up to Friday. The broader recipient, purpose, and endpoint system is covered under لـ.
لازم تبعت التقرير للجمعة.
lāzem tibʿat et-taʾrīr lal-zhomʿa.
You need to send the report by Friday. (completion deadline; masculine addressee)
رح ضل اشتغل عالتقرير لحد الجمعة.
raḥ ḍall ishtaghel ʿat-taʾrīr la-ḥadd el-zhomʿa.
I'll keep working on the report until Friday. (activity continues to the boundary)
The two can describe the same project but answer different questions: deadline لـ asks when the result is due; لحد asks how long the process or state continues.
Pronoun limits and questions
A pronoun can attach to حد when the boundary referent is already clear: لحده “up to it” and, in a literal route reading, لحدك “as far as where you are.” These are one written word. With a person, destination لعندك is usually more natural than لحدك, and neither form automatically means English “it is up to you”; responsibility or choice is normally القرار إلك “the decision is yours.”
رسمنا خط عالحيط، والمي وصلت لحده.
rasamna khaṭṭ ʿal-ḥīṭ, wil-mayy wiṣlit la-ḥaddo.
We drew a line on the wall, and the water reached up to it. (masculine suffix referring to خط)
Ask لحد إمتى؟ for a time boundary and لحد وين؟ for spatial extent. Keep the entire prepositional phrase before the rest of the question.
لحد إمتى رح تضل الطريق مسكرة؟
la-ḥadd imta raḥ tḍall eṭ-ṭarīʾ msakkara?
Until when will the road remain closed? (temporal limit)
لحد وين فينا نكمل بالسيارة؟
la-ḥadd wēn fīna nkammel bis-sayyāra?
How far can we continue by car? (spatial limit)
Route dialogue
فينا نكمل بهالطريق لحد الضيعة؟
fīna nkammel b-hal-ṭarīʾ la-ḥadd eḍ-ḍayʿa?
Driver: Can we continue on this road as far as the village?
لأ، الطريق مفتوحة لحد الجسر بس.
laʾ, eṭ-ṭarīʾ maftūḥa la-ḥadd el-zhiser bass.
Local: No, the road is open only as far as the bridge.
ولحد إمتى رح تضل مسكرة بعد الجسر؟
w-la-ḥadd imta raḥ tḍall msakkara baʿd el-zhiser?
Driver: And until when will it remain closed past the bridge?
لحد ما يخلصوا التصليح، يمكن لبكرا.
la-ḥadd ma ykhallṣo t-taṣlīḥ, yimken la-bokra.
Local: Until they finish the repairs—maybe until tomorrow.
Common Mistakes
❌ ضليت بالمكتب ل الجمعة.
Incorrect spelling for the intended لحد expression, and attached لـ alone does not foreground continuation.
✅ ضليت بالمكتب لحد الجمعة.
ḍallēt bil-maktab la-ḥadd el-zhomʿa.
I stayed at the office until Friday.
❌ نطرت لحد خلص الاجتماع.
Incorrect in the target clause pattern — insert linker ما before the boundary event.
✅ نطرت لحد ما خلص الاجتماع.
nṭaret la-ḥadd ma khiliṣ el-izhtimēʿ.
I waited until the meeting ended.
❌ وين مشيتوا لحد؟
Incorrect English-style stranding — وين follows لحد.
✅ لحد وين مشيتوا قبل ما ترجعوا؟
la-ḥadd wēn mshīto ʾabel ma tirzhaʿo?
How far did you walk before you came back?
❌ المي وصلت لحد هو.
Incorrect — a pronoun complement referring back to خط attaches as a suffix.
✅ المي وصلت لحده.
el-mayy wiṣlit la-ḥaddo.
The water reached up to it. (masculine suffix referring to a line or mark)
Key Takeaways
Use لحد + noun for a time, place, or degree boundary and لحد ما + clause when a whole event closes the interval. The construction tracks continuation or extent; deadline لـ instead targets completion. Keep suffixes attached, ask لحد إمتى؟ / لحد وين؟, and reserve لحتى's additional purpose use for clauses meaning “so that.”
Now practice Arabic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- لـ: To, For, and BelongingA1 — Use لـ for recipients, beneficiaries, purposes, belonging, and deadlines, with the Lebanese إلـ suffix forms.
- من...لـ and Time RangesA2 — Build Lebanese from-to ranges for hours, dates, routes, and abstract transfers while making endpoint inclusion explicit when it matters.
- قبل and بعد: Before and AfterA2 — Order Lebanese events, people, and time periods with قبل and بعد, including noun complements, clauses with ما, and suffixed forms.
- إمتى: WhenA1 — Ask about event times, schedules, past and future points, starting points, and deadlines with Lebanese إمتى.
- حتّى: Even and UntilB1 — Distinguish scalar حتى ‘even’ from temporal حتى ‘until,’ and choose bare حتى, لحتى, or لحد ما according to focus, endpoint, and register.
- Pronoun Suffixes after PrepositionsB1 — Use Beirut suffixed forms of مع، من، على، في، لـ, and بـ, including their irregular stems and verb-selected meanings.