مين mīn asks about a person or people. Lebanese uses the same form where formal English distinguishes who and whom: مين إجا؟ “who came?”, مين شفت؟ “whom did you see?”, مع مين حكيت؟ “whom did you speak with?” Case does not change the question word.
What changes is its syntactic role. Subject مين controls a default singular verb when the answer’s number is unknown; object مين leaves agreement with the known subject; a preposition normally comes directly before مين.
مين as an unknown subject
When مين is the subject and the answer's number is genuinely unknown, the verb is commonly masculine singular by default. A plural answer does not require the question to predict that plurality. If the context already presupposes a group and asks which members acted, plural agreement can occur; that is a marked, context-supported reading rather than the neutral default taught here.
مين دق عالباب بهالوقت؟
mīn daʾʾ ʿal-bēb b-hal-waʾet?
Who knocked on the door at this hour? (neutral subject question)
مين بيشتغل بالمحل نهار الجمعة؟
mīn byishtighel bil-maḥall nhār el-zhomʿa?
Who works at the shop on Friday? (habitual subject question)
مين عم بيحكي بالغرفة التانية؟
mīn ʿam byiḥke bil-ghorfe t-tēnye?
Who's talking in the other room? (current subject question)
مين وصل بكير؟ رنا وكريم.
mīn wiṣil bkīr? Rana w-Karīm.
Who arrived early? Rana and Karim. (singular-default question, plural answer)
The answer supplies its own agreement in a full clause: رنا وصلت but رنا وكريم وصلوا. Agreement in the question reflects the unknown slot, not the eventual answer.
مين as object: no “whom” form
When مين is the object, the verb agrees with the subject. It can be fronted neutrally or remain in place when the action is already established.
مين شفت بالمستشفى مبارح؟
mīn shift bil-mostashfa mbēreḥ?
Who did you see at the hospital yesterday? (fronted object)
قلت إنك قابلت حدا مشهور. قابلت مين؟
ʾelt innak ʾābalet ḥada mashhūr. ʾābalet mīn?
You said you met someone famous. Who did you meet? (contextual in-situ object)
دعيتوا مين عالعشا؟
dʿīto mīn ʿal-ʿasha?
You invited WHO to dinner? (echo or incredulous object question)
English speakers sometimes overcorrect toward whom. Lebanese مين never changes form, even after a preposition.
Predicate and identification questions
With a demonstrative or pronoun, مين identifies a person: مين هيدا؟ “who is this?”, هي مين؟ “who is she?” No present copula is required.
مين هيدا اللي واقف حد المدير؟
mīn hayda lle wāʾef ḥadd el-mdīr?
Who's this person standing next to the manager? (identification)
المتصل الجديد مين؟
el-mottaṣel el-zhdīd mīn?
Who is the new caller? (contextual predicate position)
The frequent extension مين اللي...؟ highlights the person associated with a full proposition: مين اللي حجز الطاولة؟ “who was it that booked the table?” This is more explicitly identifying than plain مين حجز الطاولة؟. Detailed cleft structure belongs on cleft questions.
مين اللي غير وقت الموعد من دون ما يخبرنا؟
mīn ille ghayyar waʾet el-mawʿed min dūn ma ykhabberna?
Who was it that changed the appointment time without telling us? (focused identification)
Prepositions precede مين
Say مع مين “with whom,” لمين “to/for whom,” من مين “from whom,” and عن مين “about whom.” Lebanese does not need English preposition stranding.
مع مين رايحة عالحفلة الليلة؟
maʿ mīn rāyḥa ʿal-ḥafle l-lēle?
Who are you going to the party with tonight? (female addressee)
لمين بعتت النسخة المعدلة؟
l-mīn baʿattet en-noskha l-mʿaddale?
Who did you send the revised copy to? (recipient question)
عن مين كانوا عم بيحكوا بالمقابلة؟
ʿan mīn kēno ʿam byiḥko bil-muʾābale?
Who were they talking about in the interview? (topic complement)
Short answers and a social dialogue
Short answers name the person. A pronoun or full repeated verb is added only when it clarifies contrast.
مين جاب الحلو؟ جاد.
mīn zhēb el-ḥilo? Zhēd.
Who brought dessert? Jad. (natural short answer)
مين رح يكون عالعشا بكرا؟
mīn raḥ ykūn ʿal-ʿasha bokra?
Maya: Who will be at dinner tomorrow? (social planning)
أنا ورنا، ويمكن يجي سامي كمان.
ana w-Rana, w-yimken yzhe Sāme kamēn.
Nour: Rana and I, and Sami might come too. (plural answer)
طيب، مين لازم خبر عن تغيير المكان؟
ṭayyeb, mīn lāzem khabber ʿan taghyīr el-makēn?
Maya: Okay, who should I tell about the change of venue? (object question)
خبري كريم؛ هو بيخبر الباقيين.
khabbre Karīm; huwwe byikhabber el-bāʾyīn.
Nour: Tell Karim; he'll tell the others. (direct practical answer)
Formal Arabic distinguishes مَن (formal) in pronunciation and syntax, but ordinary Beirut conversation uses مين. Regional Levantine varieties broadly share مين, with phonetic differences that should be recognized rather than mixed into the production baseline.
Common Mistakes
❌ مين إجوا عالباب؟
Incorrect as the neutral unknown-subject default — do not assume a plural answer in advance.
✅ مين إجا عالباب بهالساعة؟
mīn izha ʿal-bēb b-hal-sēʿa?
Who came to the door at this hour?
❌ مين حكيتي معه؟
Incorrect as English-style preposition stranding — place مع before مين.
✅ مع مين حكيتي عن المشكلة؟
maʿ mīn ḥakēte ʿan el-moshkle?
Who did you talk with about the problem?
❌ مين عملتي اتصلتي؟
Incorrect — Lebanese does not insert a translated do-support verb.
✅ بمين اتصلتي أول ما وصلتي؟
b-mīn ittaṣalte awwal ma wiṣelte?
Who did you call as soon as you arrived?
❌ من مين اللي واقف هونيك؟
Incorrect — this doubles the unknown-person slot with two competing question forms.
✅ مين اللي واقف هونيك حد الشباك؟
mīn ille wāʾef hūnīk ḥadd esh-shobbēk?
Who is the person standing over there by the window?
Key Takeaways
مين covers both “who” and “whom.” Use singular-default agreement when it is the unknown subject; let the known subject control the verb when مين is the object. It also serves as a present predicate for identification. Put prepositions before it, use in-situ placement for contextual or echo questions, and let the answer supply its own singular or plural agreement.
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