Lebanese فتحfataḥ means “open,” but it does more than translate a single English verb. It can be transitive—someone opens a door, file, or business—or intransitive—a door opens, a shop opens for the day. Participles then describe an open state: especially مفتوح for objects and فاتح for businesses and agents.
The verb is morphologically strong, yet its syntax is flexible. That flexibility is not a passive ending: word order and the presence or absence of a direct object determine who causes the change and what undergoes it.
Perfect paradigm
The perfect keeps the strong فتحـ stem and adds the ordinary person endings. The feminine 3sg commonly has a short linking vowel in speech.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | فتحت | fataḥt |
| إنت | فتحت | fataḥt |
| إنتي | فتحتي | fataḥte |
| هو | فتح | fataḥ |
| هي | فتحت | fataḥit |
| نحنا | فتحنا | fataḥna |
| إنتو | فتحتوا | fataḥto |
| هني | فتحوا | fataḥo |
فتحت الظرف بالمكتب لأن فيه مستند سري.
fataḥt eẓ-ẓaref bil-maktab laʾann fī mostanad serre.
I opened the envelope at the office because it contained a confidential document. (professional context; 1sg transitive perfect)
فتحت البوابة لحالها لما رجعت الكهربا.
fataḥit el-bawwēbe la-ḥāla lamma rizhʿit el-kahraba.
The gate opened by itself when the electricity came back. (informal; intransitive 3sg.f perfect)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect principal part is بيفتحbyiftaḥ. Store it with the perfect: Form I vowel patterns are lexical, even when the root consonants remain stable.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بفتح baftaḥ | افتح iftaḥ |
| إنت | بتفتح btiftaḥ | تفتح tiftaḥ |
| إنتي | بتفتحي btiftaḥe | تفتحي tiftaḥe |
| هو | بيفتح byiftaḥ | يفتح yiftaḥ |
| هي | بتفتح btiftaḥ | تفتح tiftaḥ |
| نحنا | منفتح mniftaḥ | نفتح niftaḥ |
| إنتو | بتفتحوا btiftaḥo | تفتحوا tiftaḥo |
| هني | بيفتحوا byiftaḥo | يفتحوا yiftaḥo |
المختبر بيفتح عالثمانية بس استقبال العينات بيبلش عالتسعة.
el-mokhtabar byiftaḥ ʿat-tamēnye bass istiʾbēl el-ʿayyināt byballesh ʿat-tisʿa.
The laboratory opens at eight, but sample intake starts at nine. (neutral schedule; intransitive b-imperfect)
رح نفتح فرع زغير بطرابلس آخر السنة.
raḥ niftaḥ farʿ zghīr b-Ṭrāblos ākhir es-sane.
We'll open a small branch in Tripoli at the end of the year. (professional; transitive bare 1pl after رح)
For current unfolding action, Beirut uses عم + b-imperfect: عم بفتح الملف “I am opening the file.” A scheduled opening can use the b-form with a future time phrase, whereas رح يفتح presents a prediction or intention; aspect and discourse, not English tense labels, make the choice.
Imperative and object clitics
The positive command begins with a supporting vowel: افتح، افتحي، افتحوا. This initial vowel has no romanized hamza in the course convention because it is predictable support. Negative commands use the bare imperfect after ما.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| one man | افتح iftaḥ | ما تفتح ma tiftaḥ |
| one woman | افتحي iftaḥe | ما تفتحي ma tiftaḥe |
| a group | افتحوا iftaḥo | ما تفتحوا ma tiftaḥo |
افتحي الرابط من اللابتوب وما تفتحيه من الرسالة القديمة.
iftaḥe r-rābeṭ min el-lābtōb w-ma tiftaḥī min er-risēle l-ʾadīme.
Open the link on the laptop, and don't open it from the old message. (neutral instruction to one woman; attached object)
Object clitics attach directly: فتحتهfataḥto “I opened it,” بيفتحهاbyiftaḥa “he opens it,” افتحوهنiftaḥūhon “open them.” The host may gain a linking vowel or length before a suffix, but the object remains the entity opened.
Transitive, intransitive, and Form VII
With an agent or physical cause as subject, use transitive فتح شي. With the affected entity as subject, Form I can itself be intransitive: الشباك فتح. Lebanese also has انفتح, which highlights the opening event and suppresses a deliberate opener. These choices overlap, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.
ضغطت عالزر، بس الدرج ما فتح إلا من تاني محاولة.
ḍaghaṭt ʿaz-zerr, bass ed-dorzh ma fataḥ illa min tēne moḥāwale.
I pressed the button, but the drawer didn't open until the second try. (informal; intransitive Form I)
انفتح غطا العلبة بالنقلة وانكب نص الصوص.
nfataḥ ghaṭa l-ʿolbe bin-naʾle w-inkabb noṣṣ eṣ-ṣōṣ.
The container lid came open during transport, and half the sauce spilled. (informal; Form VII event without an opener)
If the opener matters, prefer an active clause rather than forcing an English passive: الموظف فتح الخزنة “the employee opened the safe.” The middle-voice page maps these alternatives in detail.
Businesses, access, and devices
A shop or institution can be the intransitive subject: المحل فتح “the shop opened.” A person can open a business transitively: فتحت مطعم “she opened a restaurant.” The b-imperfect naturally expresses regular hours.
القهوة الجديدة فتحت من أسبوع وعم بتضل فاتحة للمسا.
el-ʾahwe l-zhdīde fataḥit min osbūʿ w-ʿam btiḍall fētḥa lil-masa.
The new café opened a week ago and is staying open into the evening. (informal; event then operating state)
In digital contexts, فتح ملف / رابط / تطبيق means “open a file/link/app.” It profiles access, not powering the device on. For “turn on the computer,” شغّل الكمبيوتر is normally clearer than a literal use of فتح.
فتحت التطبيق بس الصفحة الرئيسية ما حملت.
fataḥt et-taṭbīʾ bass eṣ-ṣafḥa r-raʾīsiyye ma ḥammalit.
I opened the app, but the home page didn't load. (informal digital context)
فاتح and مفتوح
مفتوحmaftūḥ is the ordinary passive/result adjective “open”: الباب مفتوح. فاتحfēteḥ is active and especially common for a business operating, a person having something open, or a subject maintaining access: المحل فاتح.
المحل فاتح، بس باب المستودع مش مفتوح للزباين.
el-maḥall fēteḥ, bass bēb el-mostawdaʿ mish maftūḥ liz-zabēyen.
The shop is open, but the storeroom door isn't open to customers. (neutral; operating state versus result/access state)
Finite فتح reports an event; participial مفتوح describes the resulting state. English is open nearly always calls for a participle, not a present finite verb.
Common Mistakes
Using an event form for a present state
❌ الباب فتح هلق.
Wrong for ‘the door is open now’ — this says the door opened now.
✅ الباب مفتوح هلق، فيك تفوت.
el-bēb maftūḥ hallaʾ, fīk tfūt.
The door is open now; you can go in.
Making every affected subject passive
❌ الشباك تم فتح بالهوا.
Unnatural everyday calque — a physical opening event is expressed with فتح or انفتح, not formal تم.
✅ الشباك انفتح من الهوا القوي.
esh-shobbēk nfataḥ min el-hawa l-ʾawe.
The window opened because of the strong wind.
Using فتح for powering on any device
❌ افتح الكمبيوتر وشوف إذا في تحديث.
Non-idiomatic for ‘turn on the computer’ — use شغّل for powering a device.
✅ شغل الكمبيوتر وافتح برنامج الحسابات.
shaghghel el-kompyūtar w-iftaḥ barnēmezh el-ḥisēbāt.
Turn on the computer and open the accounting program.
Keeping b- after رح
❌ رح بيفتحوا المدخل الجديد بكرا.
Incorrect — رح selects bare يفتحوا.
✅ رح يفتحوا المدخل الجديد بعد التفتيش.
raḥ yiftaḥo l-madkhal el-zhdīd baʿd et-taftīsh.
They'll open the new entrance after the inspection.
Confusing a shop with its door
❌ باب المحل فاتح من الصبح.
Marked for the intended door state — an object such as a door is normally مفتوح.
✅ باب المحل مفتوح من الصبح.
bēb el-maḥall maftūḥ min eṣ-ṣobeḥ.
The shop door has been open since morning.
Key Takeaways
فتح–بيفتح–افتح is a strong Form I set with flexible transitivity. The opener is subject in فتحت الباب; the affected entity is subject in الباب فتح / انفتح. Use the finite verb for events and schedules, مفتوح for an object's open state, and فاتح especially for an operating business or active subject.
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