Lebanese درسdaras means “study”: the learner is its subject, and a subject, text, case, or plan can be its direct object. Its imperfect is بيدرسbyidros, with a rounded vowel that the unvocalized citation form does not reveal.
Do not confuse it with doubled Form II درّسdarras “teach.” In ordinary unvocalized writing, forms such as بدرس can represent “I study” or “I teach”; pronunciation, context, and the doubled consonant distinguish them. This contrast changes participant roles, not merely intensity.
Perfect paradigm
The strong perfect keeps the root consonants stable and adds regular endings. A short linking vowel appears before consonantal suffixes in the Beirut baseline.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | درست | daraset |
| إنت | درست | daraset |
| إنتي | درستي | daraste |
| هو | درس | daras |
| هي | درست | darasit |
| نحنا | درسنا | darasna |
| إنتو | درستوا | darasto |
| هني | درسوا | daraso |
درست محاسبة تلات سنين قبل ما غير اختصاصي.
daraset moḥēsabe tlēt snīn ʾabel ma ghayyer ikhtiṣāṣe.
I studied accounting for three years before changing my major. (informal; 1sg perfect and direct subject matter)
درسوا العقد منيح وطلبوا تعديل بندين.
daraso l-ʿaʾd mnīḥ w-ṭalabo taʿdīl bandēn.
They studied the contract carefully and requested changes to two clauses. (professional; examine/analyze sense)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect has o in the stem: بيدرسbyidros. That vowel is lexical; neither the root d-r-s nor perfect daras predicts it safely.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بدرس badros | ادرس odros |
| إنت | بتدرس btidros | تدرس tidros |
| إنتي | بتدرسي btidrose | تدرسي tidrose |
| هو | بيدرس byidros | يدرس yidros |
| هي | بتدرس btidros | تدرس tidros |
| نحنا | مندرس mnidros | ندرس nidros |
| إنتو | بتدرسوا btidroso | تدرسوا tidroso |
| هني | بيدرسوا byidroso | يدرسوا yidroso |
بدرس بالمكتبة لأن بالبيت في ضجة كتير.
badros bil-maktabe laʾann bil-bēt fī ḍazhzhe ktīr.
I study at the library because there's too much noise at home. (informal habitual; study location)
رح تدرسوا الاحتمالين قبل ما تاخدوا القرار.
raḥ tidroso l-iḥtimālēn ʾabel ma tākhdo l-ʾarār.
You'll study both possibilities before making the decision. (professional; bare 2pl after رح)
Current activity uses Beirut عم + b-imperfect: عم بدرس “I am studying.” A degree program can be an extended ongoing situation, so هالسنة عم بدرس هندسة remains natural even though it lasts months.
Imperative and object clitics
The command uses a supporting initial vowel: ادرس to one man, ادرسي to one woman, and ادرسوا to a group. Negative commands use ما + bare imperfect.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| one man | ادرس odros | ما تدرس ma tidros |
| one woman | ادرسي odrose | ما تدرسي ma tidrose |
| a group | ادرسوا odroso | ما تدرسوا ma tidroso |
ادرسي هالفصل منيح وما تدرسي التفاصيل يلي مش داخلة بالامتحان.
odrose hal-faṣel mnīḥ w-ma tidrose t-tafāṣīl yalle mish dēkhle bil-imtiḥēn.
Study this chapter well, and don't study the details that aren't on the exam. (informal instruction to one woman)
Topics can be pronominalized directly: درسته “I studied it,” بدرسها “I study it,” ادرسوهن “study them.” The suffix refers to the material or issue examined, not to a learner.
هاد الملف طويل، بس درسته كله قبل المقابلة.
hād el-malaf ṭwīl, bass darasto killo ʾabel el-moʾēbale.
This file is long, but I studied all of it before the interview. (neutral; beginner هاد and direct-object clitic)
Subject matter and institution
A field or language normally follows directly: درس طب، درس عربي، درس موسيقى. The institution or physical setting takes بـ: درس بالجامعة اللبنانية، بمدرسة هون. English study at therefore does not license a single preposition for both field and place.
هي بتدرس علوم سياسية بالجامعة اللبنانية.
hiyye btidros ʿolūm siyēsiyye bil-zhēmʿa l-libnēniyye.
She studies political science at the Lebanese University. (neutral; direct field plus institution with بـ)
To name a teacher one studies with, use مع: بدرس مع أستاذة. To name a source text or resource, natural choices depend on the relationship: درس من الكتاب can mean learned/studied from the book, while درس بالكتاب locates the material in the book. Store the intended frame, not an English preposition.
Study, learn, and teach
درس focuses organized study or examination. تعلّم focuses successful or developing acquisition: someone may study for months without fully learning the skill. درّس and علّم make a teacher the subject; علّم is especially common for teaching a person a skill or showing them how to act.
درست فرنسي بالمدرسة، بس تعلمت الحكي من رفقاتي.
daraset faranse bil-madrase, bass tʿallamet el-ḥake min rifʾāte.
I studied French at school, but I learned to speak it from my friends. (informal; organized study versus acquisition)
الأستاذ درسنا القواعد، وبعدين خلانا نطبقها بالحكي.
el-ostēz darrasna l-ʾwēʿed, w-baʿdēn khallāna nṭabbiʾa bil-ḥake.
The teacher taught us the rules, then had us apply them in conversation. (neutral; Form II teach with learner clitic)
The Forms I and II contrast is audible even when ordinary spelling omits the shadda. English speakers should not rely on the bare letters alone.
Active participle دارس
دارسdāres, feminine دارسةdērse, plural دارسينdārsīn, can mean “having studied, well-versed, educated in.” It presents acquired preparation or knowledge as a current state. For the activity in progress, use عم بيدرس instead.
المحامية دارسة الملف منيح وجاهزة تجاوب عالأسئلة.
el-moḥēmye dērse l-malaf mnīḥ w-zhēhze tzhēweb ʿal-asʾile.
The lawyer has studied the file carefully and is ready to answer the questions. (professional; result-relevant feminine participle)
Negate this state with مش دارس. ما درست denies a study event; مش دارس الموضوع says the person currently lacks preparation on the topic.
Common Mistakes
Guessing the imperfect from the perfect
❌ هو بيدرس الدرس كل ليلة.
huwwe byidras ed-dars kill lēle
Incorrect pronunciation — the Form I imperfect is byidros, with o.
✅ هو بيدرس الدرس عمهله كل ليلة.
huwwe byidros ed-dars ʿa-mahlo kill lēle.
He studies the lesson at his own pace every night.
Confusing study with teach
❌ أنا بدرس الطلاب عربي.
ana badros eṭ-ṭollēb ʿarabe
Incorrect for ‘I teach the students’ — with a learner object, the verb is doubled bdarres.
✅ أنا بدرس الطلاب عربي بالمركز.
ana bdarres eṭ-ṭollēb ʿarabe bil-markaz.
I teach the students Arabic at the center.
Copying English at before the subject
❌ بدرس بالهندسة بالجامعة.
Incorrect for the intended field — engineering is a direct subject matter; the university takes بـ.
✅ بدرس هندسة بجامعة قريبة من البيت.
badros handase b-zhēmʿa ʾarībe min el-bēt.
I study engineering at a university near home.
Translating study up on literally
❌ درست فوق عالقانون الجديد.
Incorrect phrasal calque — Lebanese simply studies or reads about the topic.
✅ درست القانون الجديد قبل الاجتماع مع الزبون.
daraset el-ʾānūn el-zhdīd ʾabel el-izhtimēʿ maʿ ez-zabūn.
I studied the new law before the meeting with the client.
Key Takeaways
Learn درس–بيدرس–ادرس as a strong Form I set with lexical imperfect o. Put subject matter directly after the verb, use بـ for an institution or study location, and attach object suffixes only to the material examined. Keep single-r درس “study” distinct from doubled درّس “teach,” and use تعلّم when acquisition rather than organized study is central.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Form I as a Lexical BaseB1 — Learn Form I through perfect–nonpast principal parts, lexical vowel classes, real complement frames, and the contrast between events and states.
- Form II faʿʿalB1 — Recognize the doubled middle radical of Form II and learn its causative, intensive, denominal, and fully lexical Lebanese verbs through principal parts and frames.
- Form I Stem-Vowel ClassesB1 — Learn Lebanese Form I verbs as perfect–nonpast principal-part pairs, with realistic limits on predicting their internal vowels.
- Learning a Verb through Principal PartsA2 — Learn the small set of forms that reveals a Lebanese verb's stems, irregularities, commands, and complement pattern.
- تعلّم taʿallam: learnA2 — Conjugate تعلّم and express learning content, acquiring skills, learning from a source, and learner result states.
- علّم ʿallam: teach and markA2 — Conjugate علّم and use its learner, content, teach-to-do, marking, clitic, and participial frames accurately.