Lebanese فكّرfakkar covers several English uses of think: holding an opinion, thinking about a topic, considering a plan, and making an assumption that may later prove wrong. These meanings share one Form II paradigm but not one complement frame.
The practical contrast is فكّر إنو... “think that...,” فكّر بـ / في... “think about...,” and فكّر + bare verb “consider/plan to do....” English uses think in all three and changes only the following word; Lebanese makes the relation grammatically visible.
Perfect paradigm
The doubled kk remains audible in every form. Person endings attach to fakkar-, with the usual short linking vowels of a strong Form II verb.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | فكرت | fakkaret |
| إنت | فكرت | fakkaret |
| إنتي | فكرتي | fakkarte |
| هو | فكر | fakkar |
| هي | فكرت | fakkarit |
| نحنا | فكرنا | fakkarna |
| إنتو | فكرتوا | fakkarto |
| هني | فكروا | fakkaro |
فكرت إنو المحل بيسكر عالسبعة، بس طلع بيسكر عالتسعة.
fakkaret inno l-maḥall byiskar ʿas-sabʿa, bass ṭileʿ byiskar ʿat-tisʿa.
I thought the shop closed at seven, but it turns out it closes at nine. (informal; mistaken assumption)
فكرت نادين بالعرض يومين قبل ما تجاوب.
fakkarit Nadīn bil-ʿarḍ yōmēn ʾabel ma tzhēweb.
Nadine thought about the offer for two days before answering. (neutral; feminine perfect with بـ)
فكروا ينقلوا المكتب، وبعدين غيروا رأيهن.
fakkaro yinʾolo l-maktab, w-baʿdēn ghayyaro raʾyhon.
They considered moving the office and then changed their minds. (professional; plural perfect plus bare complement)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect principal part is بيفكّرbyifakker. Its final vowel shifts from perfect -ar to imperfect -er. Independent thinking uses the b-series; constructions such as رح and بدّي select the bare series.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بفكر bfakker | فكر fakker |
| إنت | بتفكر btfakker | تفكر tfakker |
| إنتي | بتفكري btfakkre | تفكري tfakkre |
| هو | بيفكر byifakker | يفكر yifakker |
| هي | بتفكر btfakker | تفكر tfakker |
| نحنا | منفكر mnfakker | نفكر nfakker |
| إنتو | بتفكروا btfakkro | تفكروا tfakkro |
| هني | بيفكروا byifakkro | يفكروا yifakkro |
كل ما بمرق من هون بفكر بأول يوم بالشغل.
kill ma bamroʾ min hōn bfakker b-awwal yōm bish-shoghl.
Whenever I pass here, I think about my first day at work. (informal; recurring thought)
رح نفكر بالاقتراح ونرد عليكن بكرا.
raḥ nfakker bil-iʾtirāḥ w-nrodd ʿalēkon bokra.
We'll consider the proposal and get back to you tomorrow. (professional; bare plural after رح)
هلق عم بفكر كيف بدي رتب كل هالشغل.
hallaʾ ʿam bfakker kīf badde ratteb kill hash-shoghl.
Right now I'm thinking about how to organize all this work. (informal; ongoing mental activity)
Unlike stative بفهم, فكّر readily describes an active mental process, so عم بفكّر is very common. Plain بفكّر can instead report a habit, an opinion, or a current conclusion whose process is not foregrounded.
Opinions and assumptions with إنو
Use إنو before a full proposition. In careful English, I think that... can omit that; Lebanese normally keeps إنو when an overt finite proposition follows.
بفكر إنو هاد الحل أوضح للزبون.
bfakker inno hād el-ḥall awḍaḥ laz-zabūn.
I think this solution is clearer for the customer. (neutral opinion; beginner هاد)
كنا مفكرين إنو القهوة هون، بس نقلت عالشارع التاني.
kinna mfakkirīn inno l-ʾahwe hōn, bass naʾalit ʿash-shēreʿ et-tēne.
We thought the café was here, but it moved to the other street. (informal; prior assumption with كان plus participle)
The active participle is مفكّرmfakker, feminine مفكّرةmfakkra, plural مفكّرينmfakkirīn. With كان, it often packages an assumption already held at a reference point. Without كان, إذا مفكّر... can challenge someone's belief and may sound confrontational.
Thinking about: بـ and في
For a topic, Beirut speech uses بـ before a noun and في when the complement is independent or bears a suffix: فكّرت بالموضوع، فكّرت فيه. This is one prepositional frame with two surface shapes, not a direct-object alternation.
| Complement | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| noun | فكر بالخطة fakkar bil-khiṭṭa | he thought about the plan |
| him/it | فكر فيه fakkar fīh | he thought about him/it |
| her/it | فكر فيها fakkar fīha | he thought about her/it |
| them | فكر فيهن fakkar fīhon | he thought about them |
الفكرة حلوة، بس فكر فيها من ناحية الكلفة كمان.
el-fikra ḥelwe, bass fakker fīha min nāḥyet el-kilfe kamēn.
The idea is good, but think about it in terms of cost too. (neutral; masculine imperative plus prepositional suffix)
A direct object does occur in a different construction: فكرتها سهلة “I thought it was easy,” فكرته أخوها “I took him to be her brother.” Here the suffix is the subject of the small predicate, not the topic of think about.
The direct suffix therefore needs a following predicate to complete this reading. Common forms include فكرني جاهزfakkarne zhēhez “he thought I was ready,” فكرتك مشغولfakkartak mashghūl “I thought you were busy,” فكرتو المديرfakkarto l-mdīr “I thought he was the manager,” فكرتها مسكرةfakkarta msakkra “I thought it was closed,” فكرتكن جاهزينfakkartkon zhēhzīn “I thought you all were ready,” and فكرتن بالبيتfakkarthon bil-bēt “I thought they were home.” These are genuine object-clitic forms, but they do not replace topic فيه / فيها / فيهن.
هاي الطريق فكرتها أقصر، بس أخدت معنا وقت أكتر.
hāy eṭ-ṭarīʾ fakkarta aʾṣar, bass akhadit maʿna waʾet aktar.
I thought this road was shorter, but it took us longer. (informal; direct suffix plus predicate)
Considering or planning an action
فكّر + bare imperfect presents an action as considered or planned, not completed. The lower verb agrees with the thinker.
بفكر اشتري دراجة بدل ما آخد السيارة كل يوم.
bfakker shtire darrēzhe badal ma ākhod es-sayyāra kill yōm.
I'm thinking of buying a bicycle instead of taking the car every day. (informal; first-person bare complement)
فكروا تروحوا عالبحر بكير قبل العجقة.
fakkro trūḥo ʿal-baḥer bkīr ʾabel el-ʿazhʾa.
Think about going to the seaside early, before the traffic. (informal advice to a group)
Lebanese has no infinitive equivalent to English to buy. The bare lower verb supplies person: فكّرت اشتري, فكّرت تشتري, فكّروا يشتروا. See bare complements.
Common Mistakes
Treating the imperfect as a copy of the perfect
❌ هو بيفكر بنفس لفظ فكر.
Incorrect pronunciation — the imperfect is byifakker, with e in the final syllable.
✅ هو بيفكر قبل ما يعطي جواب نهائي.
huwwe byifakker ʾabel ma yiʿṭe zhawēb nihēʾe.
He thinks before giving a final answer. (neutral)
Dropping the preposition with a topic
❌ فكرت المشكلة طول الليل.
Incorrect for ‘thought about the problem’ — a topic takes بـ / في.
✅ فكرت بالمشكلة طول الليل وما لقيت حل.
fakkaret bil-mishkle ṭūl el-lēl w-ma lʾēt ḥall.
I thought about the problem all night and didn't find a solution. (informal)
Copying English “think of” with من
❌ عم بفكر من أختي.
Incorrect literal transfer — ordinary ‘think about my sister’ uses في with a suffix or بـ with a noun.
✅ عم بفكر فيها من وقت ما سافرت.
ʿam bfakker fīha min waʾet ma sāfarit.
I've been thinking about her since she traveled. (informal)
Keeping b- after رح
❌ رح منفكر بالموضوع بعد الاجتماع.
Incorrect — رح selects bare نفكر, not منفكر.
✅ رح نفكر بالموضوع بعد الاجتماع.
raḥ nfakker bil-mawḍūʿ baʿd el-izhtimēʿ.
We'll think about the matter after the meeting. (professional)
Key Takeaways
The principal pair is فكّر / بيفكّر. Use إنو for opinions and assumptions, بـ / في for a topic, and a person-marked bare verb for a contemplated action. مفكّر often presents an established viewpoint, especially with كان. Keep topic suffixes on فيه / فيها / فيهن, and reserve direct suffixes on فكّر for constructions such as “I thought it was....”
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