Lebanese عاشʿāsh means “live, stay alive, experience a life or period.” Its hollow-verb card is عاش، عشت، بيعيش، عيش، عايشʿāsh–ʿisht–byʿīsh–ʿīsh–ʿāyesh. Residence is one important use, but everyday Lebanese often prefers participle عايش or ساكن when location is the point.
English live covers being alive, residing, and leading a kind of life. Lebanese distributes those readings across finite عاش, current-state عايش, residence-focused ساكن, and noun phrases with عيشة/معيشة. The narrower address contrast is developed on the ساكن reference page.
Perfect paradigm
The long vowel appears in third-person forms, while consonant-initial suffixes select short i. The root's middle ي reappears as long ī in the nonpast.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | عشت | ʿisht |
| إنت | عشت | ʿisht |
| إنتي | عشتي | ʿishte |
| هو | عاش | ʿāsh |
| هي | عاشت | ʿāshit |
| نحنا | عشنا | ʿishna |
| إنتو | عشتوا | ʿishto |
| هني | عاشوا | ʿāsho |
عشت ببيروت خمس سنين قبل ما انقل عطرابلس.
ʿisht b-Bērūt khames snīn ʾabl ma inʾol ʿa-Ṭrāblos.
I lived in Beirut for five years before moving to Tripoli. (neutral; completed residence period)
عاشت ستي لحالها سنين طويلة وبقيت مستقلة.
ʿāshit sitte laḥāla snīn ṭwīle w-biʾyit mistaʾille.
My grandmother lived alone for many years and remained independent. (informal; feminine perfect)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The b-imperfect expresses general conditions, recurring ways of living, and broad truths. The bare form follows رح، بدّه، لازم، فينا and occurs in wishes and commands.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بعيش bʿīsh | اعيش ʿīsh |
| إنت | بتعيش btʿīsh | تعيش tʿīsh |
| إنتي | بتعيشي btʿīshe | تعيشي tʿīshe |
| هو | بيعيش byʿīsh | يعيش yʿīsh |
| هي | بتعيش btʿīsh | تعيش tʿīsh |
| نحنا | منعيش mnʿīsh | نعيش nʿīsh |
| إنتو | بتعيشوا btʿīsho | تعيشوا tʿīsho |
| هني | بيعيشوا byʿīsho | يعيشوا yʿīsho |
في ناس بيعيشوا عالبحر وما بيتعلموا يسبحوا.
fī nēs byʿīsho ʿal-baḥer w-ma byitʿallamo yisbaḥo.
Some people live by the sea and never learn to swim. (informal; general residence)
بدنا نعيش ببلد نقدر نمشي فيه بلا سيارة.
baddna nʿīsh b-balad niʾdar nimshe fī bla sayyāra.
We want to live in a country where we can get around without a car. (neutral; bare form after بدنا)
For someone currently alive or currently residing somewhere, عايش is often more idiomatic than an isolated finite present. جدي بعده عايش means “my grandfather is still alive”; جدي بيعيش more readily describes how or on what he lives.
عايش for life and residence; ساكن for address
Active participle عايش، عايشة، عايشين presents an ongoing life or residence state. ساكن focuses more narrowly on where somebody resides. Both can take بـ for a place, but they answer different questions.
هي عايشة ببيروت من زمان، بس ساكنة بمار مخايل من سنة.
hiyye ʿāyshe b-Bērūt min zamēn, bass sēkne b-Mār Mkhāyel min sane.
She's lived in Beirut for a long time, but has lived in Mar Mikhael for one year. (informal; broad life base versus current address)
جده بعده عايش وبيمشي كل يوم عالسوق.
zhiddo baʿdo ʿāyesh w-byimshe kill yōm ʿas-sūʾ.
His grandfather is still alive and walks to the market every day. (informal; alive-state participle)
For duration up to now, صارلي + participle is direct and natural: صارلي عشر سنين عايش هون. A completed period uses the perfect plus a bare duration.
صارلنا سبع سنين عايشين بهالبناية وما منعرف كل الجيران.
ṣārlna sabeʿ snīn ʿāyshīn b-hal-binēye w-ma mnaʿref kill el-zhīrān.
We've lived in this building for seven years and still don't know all the neighbors. (informal; ongoing duration)
Living a life or experience: direct objects and clitics
عاش can take a cognate or experiential object: عاش حياة هادية “lived a quiet life,” عاش التجربة “lived through the experience.” With a known period or experience, a direct-object suffix is natural: عاشها “he lived it/went through it.” It does not normally take a person as its object.
عاش حياة بسيطة وما كان مهتم بالمظاهر.
ʿāsh ḥayēt basīṭa w-ma kēn mohtamm bil-maẓāhir.
He lived a simple life and wasn't concerned with appearances. (neutral; cognate object)
كانت سنة صعبة، بس عشناها وتعلمنا منها كتير.
kēnit sane ṣaʿbe, bass ʿishnāha w-tʿallamna minha ktīr.
It was a hard year, but we lived through it and learned a lot from it. (informal; experiential object clitic)
English live on can mean survive financially or eat mainly something. Lebanese specifies the relation: عايش على راتبه “living on his salary,” بيعيش عالخبز والجبنة “subsists on bread and cheese.” This على belongs to the support/source frame, not to residence.
Imperative, wishes, and slogans
The positive commands are عيش، عيشي، عيشوا. In everyday advice they mean “live/enjoy/experience,” not merely “remain biologically alive.” Negative ما تعيش can be hostile or occur inside a more specific warning.
عيش حياتك وما تقارن حالك بكل الناس.
ʿīsh ḥayētak w-ma tʾāren ḥālak b-kill en-nēs.
Live your life and don't compare yourself with everyone. (informal advice to one man)
Bare يعيش also forms wishes and slogans: يعيش لبنان “Long live Lebanon.” This is a conventional optative use, not an ordinary present statement missing b-. With people, تعيش can mean “may you live long” (warm/traditional), often as part of a formula.
يعيش لبنان ويعيشوا كل الناس بكرامة.
yʿīsh Libnēn w-yʿīsho kill en-nēs b-karāme.
Long live Lebanon, and may all people live with dignity. (public slogan/wish)
Masdar-family nouns عيشة and معيشة
عيشةʿēshe means a way or quality of life in everyday speech: عيشة مرتاحة “a comfortable life.” معيشةmaʿīshe often refers to living conditions or cost of living and leans (neutral/professional) in economic discussion.
كلفة المعيشة غليت، وصارت العيشة أصعب عكتير ناس.
kilfet el-maʿīshe ghilyit, w-ṣārit el-ʿēshe aṣʿab ʿa-ktīr nēs.
The cost of living rose, and life became harder for many people. (professional topic in spoken Lebanese)
Common Mistakes
Keeping the long vowel before -t
❌ أنا عاشت ببيروت سنتين.
Incorrect first-person perfect — use the short stem عشت.
✅ أنا عشت ببيروت سنتين وقت كنت بالجامعة.
ana ʿisht b-Bērūt santēn waʾt kint bil-zhēmʿa.
I lived in Beirut for two years when I was at university.
Using ساكن for being alive
❌ خالتي بعدها ساكنة، إذا المقصود إنها على قيد الحياة.
Incorrect meaning — ساكنة describes residence, not survival.
✅ جدي بعده عايش وساكن ببيت لحاله.
zhidde baʿdo ʿāyesh w-sēken b-bēt laḥālo.
My grandfather is still alive and lives in a house by himself.
Copying English “live at” with على
❌ عايشة على بيروت من زمان.
Incorrect residence frame — use بـ for a city or place.
✅ عايشة ببيروت من زمان ومرتاحة هون.
ʿāyshe b-Bērūt min zamēn w-mirtēḥa hōn.
She's lived in Beirut for a long time and is comfortable here.
Adding b- to a wish
❌ بيعيش لبنان، إذا المقصود شعار أو تمنية.
Incorrect for the optative slogan — wishes use bare يعيش.
✅ يعيش لبنان ويضل بلد لكل أهله.
yʿīsh Libnēn w-yḍall balad la-kill ahlo.
Long live Lebanon, and may it remain a country for all its people.
Key Takeaways
Learn عاش–عشت–بيعيش–عيش–عايش as one hollow set. Use عايش for current life or broad residence, ساكن for a specific residence, and perfect عاش for a completed period or life experience. Direct experiential objects allow forms such as عشناها. Bare يعيش expresses wishes and slogans, while عيشة/معيشة name ways and conditions of living.
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