Lebanese غيّرghayyar means “change, alter, replace, switch.” It is a Form II verb whose middle glide is visible in the spelling and whose doubled y remains audible throughout the paradigm. Its most important frame is transitive: a person changes something—غيّر الموعد “changed the appointment,” غيّر رأيه “changed his mind,” غيّر تيابه “changed his clothes.”
English also lets change be intransitive: “the plan changed.” Lebanese normally makes the contrast overt. غيّر الخطة has an external changer; Form V تغيّرت الخطة presents the plan itself as undergoing change. This participant contrast is more useful than memorizing “Form II is causative” as an abstract slogan.
Perfect paradigm
The perfect keeps ghayyar- before the endings. In fast speech a helping vowel may appear around a difficult cluster, but the doubled middle consonant never disappears.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | غيرت | ghayyart |
| إنت | غيرت | ghayyart |
| إنتي | غيرتي | ghayyarte |
| هو | غير | ghayyar |
| هي | غيرت | ghayyarit |
| نحنا | غيرنا | ghayyarna |
| إنتو | غيرتوا | ghayyarto |
| هني | غيروا | ghayyaro |
غيرت كلمة السر لأن الحساب بعتلي إنذار.
ghayyart kilmet es-sirr laʾann el-ḥsēb baʿatle inzār.
I changed the password because the account sent me a warning. (neutral; first-person perfect)
غيرت نور تيابها بسرعة قبل ما تطلع.
ghayyarit Nūr tyēba bi-sorʿa ʾabl ma tiṭlaʿ.
Nour changed her clothes quickly before going out. (informal; feminine perfect and possessed clothes)
غيروا ترتيب الكراسي ليصير في مطرح أكتر.
ghayyaro tartīb el-karēse la-yṣīr fī maṭraḥ aktar.
They changed the arrangement of the chairs to make more room. (neutral; plural perfect)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The b-imperfect is بيغيّرbyghayyer. Use it for habits, regular procedures, and independently asserted changes. The bare series follows رح، بدّي، لازم، فيني and purpose لـ.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بغير bghayyer | غير ghayyer |
| إنت | بتغير btghayyer | تغير tghayyer |
| إنتي | بتغيري btghayyre | تغيري tghayyre |
| هو | بيغير byghayyer | يغير yghayyer |
| هي | بتغير btghayyer | تغير tghayyer |
| نحنا | منغير mnghayyer | نغير nghayyer |
| إنتو | بتغيروا btghayyro | تغيروا tghayyro |
| هني | بيغيروا byghayyro | يغيروا yghayyro |
هو بيغير طريقه لما بيكون الأوتوستراد واقف.
huwwe byghayyer ṭarīʾo lamma byikūn el-otostrād wāʾef.
He changes his route when the highway is backed up. (informal; habitual b-imperfect)
فينا نغير الطاولة إذا الضو عم يضايقك.
fīna nghayyer eṭ-ṭāwle iza ḍ-ḍaww ʿam yḍāyeʾak.
We can change tables if the light is bothering you. (informal; bare form after فينا)
رح يغيروا وقت العرض ويبعتوا رسالة للكل.
raḥ yghayyro waʾt el-ʿareḍ w-yibʿato risēle lil-kill.
They'll change the show time and send everyone a message. (neutral; plural bare form after رح)
Direct objects, clothes, and transport
The changed item is normally a direct object. No preposition is needed in غيّر الخطة، غيّر الرقم، غيّر رأيه. Clothes behave the same way: Lebanese says غيّر تيابه, literally “changed his clothes,” rather than copying English got changed or using a reflexive pronoun.
إذا بردت، غير القميص والبس كنزة.
iza bridet, ghayyer el-ʾamīṣ wilbas kinze.
If you get cold, change the shirt and put on a sweater. (informal; masculine instruction)
With public transport, غيّر باص / خط means switch buses or routes. The vehicle or line is the direct object; the point of transfer can be added with بـ or عند. English change at therefore maps to a verb plus an independently expressed location, not to a special preposition after غيّر.
غيرنا باص ببرج حمود لأن الخط الأول ما بيكمل عالدورة.
ghayyarna bāṣ b-Borzh Ḥammūd laʾann el-khaṭṭ el-awwal ma byikammel ʿad-Dawra.
We changed buses in Bourj Hammoud because the first route doesn't continue to Dora. (informal; transport switch plus location)
An omitted object is possible when everyone knows what is being switched: إذا ما ناسبك، منغيّر “if it doesn't suit you, we'll change [it].” That is contextual ellipsis, not proof that Form II has become freely intransitive.
The changing subject: Form V تغيّر
Use تغيّرtghayyar, imperfect بيتغيّرbyitghayyar, when the subject itself changes and no external changer is presented. Calling this merely “reflexive” is too narrow: a price, color, neighborhood, or mood can change without acting on itself. The Form V reference explains the wider pattern.
لون الحيط تغير بعد ما نشف الدهان.
lawn el-ḥēṭ tghayyar baʿd ma nishif ed-dhēn.
The wall's color changed after the paint dried. (neutral; intransitive Form V)
أنا غيرت الخطة لأن الوضع تغير.
ana ghayyart el-khoṭṭa laʾann el-waḍʿ tghayyar.
I changed the plan because the situation changed. (neutral; transitive Form II versus intransitive Form V)
Imperative, clitics, and participle
The commands are غيّرghayyer, غيّريghayyre, and غيّرواghayyro. Negative commands use ما تغيّر. Object suffixes attach to the transitive stem: غيّرني، غيّرك، غيّره، غيّرها، غيّرنا، غيّركن، غيّرهن. With an inanimate masculine object, final ـه may be very light after a vowel: غيّرهghayyro.
غيريه إذا ما عاد مناسبك القياس.
ghayyirī iza ma ʿād mnēsebik el-ʾiyēs.
Exchange it if the size no longer suits you. (informal; feminine command with masculine object clitic)
هالقرار غيرنا أكتر ما كنا متوقعين.
hal-ʾarār ghayyarna aktar ma kinna mitwaʾʾʿīn.
This decision changed us more than we expected. (neutral; first-person plural object clitic)
Active مغيّرmghayyer, feminine مغيّرة, plural مغيّرين, can present an agent as having made a current-relevant change: مغيّر رأيه “having changed his mind.” Unpointed مغيّر can also hide a passive reading with different vowels; in ordinary speech, context or a finite clause often avoids ambiguity.
مبين مغير رأيه من وقت آخر اجتماع.
mbayyen mghayyer raʾyo min waʾt ākhir izhtimēʿ.
It looks like he's changed his mind since the last meeting. (neutral; result-relevant active participle)
Common Mistakes
❌ بكرا هو رح بيغير الحجز.
Incorrect — after رح the verb must be bare.
✅ بكرا رح يغير الحجز بعد ما يحكي مع الفندق.
bokra raḥ yghayyer el-ḥazhez baʿd ma yiḥke maʿ el-fondoʾ.
Tomorrow he'll change the reservation after speaking with the hotel.
❌ الخطة غيرت لحالها.
Incorrect for an intransitive change — Form II expects an external changer.
✅ الخطة تغيرت بعد ما وصلتنا الأرقام الجديدة.
el-khoṭṭa tghayyarit baʿd ma wiṣlitna l-arʾām el-zhdīde.
The plan changed after the new figures reached us.
❌ غيرت عن رأيي.
Incorrect English-style preposition — رأيي is the direct object.
✅ غيرت رأيي لما شفت الكلفة الحقيقية.
ghayyart raʾye lamma shift el-kilfe l-ḥaʾīʾiyye.
I changed my mind when I saw the real cost.
❌ غيرت حالي قبل العشا.
Unnatural for ordinary ‘changed clothes’ — name the clothes directly.
✅ غيرت تيابي قبل العشا ورجعت بسرعة.
ghayyart tyēbe ʾabl el-ʿasha w-rizheʿt bi-sorʿa.
I changed my clothes before dinner and came back quickly.
Key Takeaways
Learn ghayyar–byghayyer–ghayyer with a direct object. Plans, minds, clothes, routes, and vehicles are changed directly; a transfer location is added separately. Use Form V تغيّر when the subject itself becomes different. Object omission is possible when context supplies the item, and active مغيّر highlights a change whose result matters now.
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