Lebanese حسّḥass means “feel, sense, notice.” It can describe a bodily sensation, an emotion, or an intuition that something is true. The most productive frame is حسّ بـ “feel/sense,” while حسّ إنو introduces a judgment and حاسس حالي describes how the speaker finds themself.
This is a geminate verb: the last two root consonants are both s. They merge in حسّ but separate around the long vowel in forms such as حسّيت. The spelling and pronunciation must preserve that contrast; compare the wider geminate paradigm.
Perfect paradigm
The unsuffixed form is compact ḥass. Before most person endings, Lebanese uses an expanded stem ḥassē-; feminine third-person حسّت has a short ending.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | حسيت | ḥassēt |
| إنت | حسيت | ḥassēt |
| إنتي | حسيتي | ḥassēte |
| هو | حس | ḥass |
| هي | حست | ḥasset |
| نحنا | حسينا | ḥassēna |
| إنتو | حسيتوا | ḥassēto |
| هني | حسوا | ḥasso |
حسيت بوجع خفيف بكتفي بعد التمرين.
ḥassēt b-wazhaʿ khafīf b-ketfe baʿd et-tamrīn.
I felt a slight pain in my shoulder after the workout. (informal; bodily sensation with بـ)
حست إنو الجو تغير قبل ما يبلش الهوا.
ḥasset enno l-zhaww tghayyar ʾabl ma yballesh el-hawa.
She sensed that the weather had changed before the wind started. (informal; intuition with إنو)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect principal part is بيحسّbyiḥess. The doubled consonant remains long. Bare forms occur after رح، بدّي، لازم and in prohibitives.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بحس baḥess | احس aḥess |
| إنت | بتحس btḥess | تحس tḥess |
| إنتي | بتحسي btḥesse | تحسي tḥesse |
| هو | بيحس byiḥess | يحس yḥess |
| هي | بتحس btḥess | تحس tḥess |
| نحنا | منحس mnḥess | نحس nḥess |
| إنتو | بتحسوا btḥesso | تحسوا tḥesso |
| هني | بيحسوا byiḥesso | يحسوا yḥesso |
بحس بالبرد أكتر لما كون تعبان.
baḥess bil-bared aktar lamma kūn taʿbēn.
I feel the cold more when I'm tired. (male speaker; recurring physical response)
رح تحس بفرق كبير بس تغير المخدة.
raḥ tḥess b-fareʾ kbīr bass tghayyer el-mkhaḍḍe.
You'll feel a big difference once you change the pillow. (informal; bare form after رح)
Sensations with بـ and direct objects
بـ packages the sensation, emotion, or signal as what enters awareness: حسّ بحرارة، حسّ بخطر، حسّ براحة. Its suffixes are useful: حسّ فيه/فيها “noticed/felt it.” A definite sensation can also be direct—حسّيت الوجع—especially when already identified. For learners, حسّ بـ is the safest productive frame.
أول ما فات حسينا بريحة غاز وفتحنا الشبابيك.
awwal ma fēt ḥassēna b-rīḥet ghēz w-fataḥna sh-shabēbīk.
As soon as he came in, we smelled gas and opened the windows. (informal; sensory detection)
ما حسيت فيه لما قعد حدي بهدوء.
ma ḥassēt fī lamma ʾaʿad ḥadde b-hodūʾ.
I didn't notice him when he sat quietly beside me. (informal; بـ with pronoun suffix)
English feel also means “touch to test.” Lebanese often chooses لمس “touch” or جسّ “feel/examine” for that physical action. حسّ foregrounds perception, not necessarily deliberate hand contact.
Clauses, self-state, and intuition
Use إنو for a proposition: بحس إنو في مشكلة “I feel that there's a problem.” This can report intuition or soften an opinion. It does not guarantee evidence, so in professional speech it appropriately marks the judgment as the speaker's.
بحس إنو هالحل رح يعمل مشكلة أكبر بعدين.
baḥess enno hal-ḥall raḥ yiʿmel mishkle akbar baʿdēn.
I feel this solution will create a bigger problem later. (professional discussion; softened judgment)
حاسس حالي + adjective literally presents “myself” as the experienced state. The adjective agrees with the experiencer: حاسس حالي تعبان for a man, حاسّة حالي تعبانة for a woman.
حاسسة حالي أهدى بعد ما حكينا بصراحة.
ḥāsse ḥāle ahda baʿd ma ḥkīna b-ṣarāḥa.
I feel calmer after we talked honestly. (female speaker; self-state construction)
Imperative, participle, and Form II contrast
The commands are حسّḥess, حسّيḥesse, حسّواḥesso. They are possible when directing attention—“feel the difference”—but شوف or انتبه may be more natural for “notice.” Negative commands use ما تحسّ and are uncommon as literal orders because sensations are not fully voluntary.
حس بالفرق بين القماشتين قبل ما تختار.
ḥess bil-fareʾ bēn el-ʾomēshtēn ʾabl ma tikhtār.
Feel the difference between the two fabrics before choosing. (instruction to one man)
Active participle حاسس، حاسسة، حاسين describes a current experienced state. Form II حسّس is causative: حسّسني بالذنب “made me feel guilty.” The experiencer becomes its object, so the two verbs do not share a frame.
طريقته بالحكي حسستني إني مش مرحب فيي.
ṭarīʾto bil-ḥake ḥassasitne inne mish mraḥḥab fiyye.
The way he spoke made me feel unwelcome. (informal; causative Form II plus experiencer object)
Common Mistakes
Regularizing the geminate perfect
❌ أنا حست بوجع.
Incorrect — first-person perfect is حسيت, not the 3fs-looking حست.
✅ أنا حسيت بوجع مفاجئ ورحت عند الحكيم.
ana ḥassēt b-wazhaʿ mfēzheʾ w-riḥet ʿind el-ḥakīm.
I felt a sudden pain and went to the doctor.
Omitting بـ from a new sensation
❌ حسيت خطر بالموقف.
Awkward as a new indefinite sensation — the productive frame uses بـ.
✅ حسيت بخطر بالموقف فطلعت بسرعة.
ḥassēt b-khaṭar bil-mawʾef f-ṭiliʿet b-sorʿa.
I sensed danger in the situation, so I left quickly.
Copying English “feel like” word for word
❌ بحس متل آكل شي حلو.
Incorrect calque for desire — use بدي or عبالي.
✅ عبالي آكل شي حلو بعد الغدا.
ʿabāle ēkol shī ḥilo baʿd el-ghada.
I feel like eating something sweet after lunch.
Confusing sensing with causing a feeling
❌ كلامه حسني بالذنب.
Incorrect causative form — use Form II حسسني.
✅ كلامه حسسني بالذنب مع إني ما غلطت.
kalēmo ḥassasne biz-zanb maʿ inne ma ghliṭet.
His words made me feel guilty even though I hadn't done anything wrong.
Key Takeaways
Learn حسّ–حسّيت–بيحسّ–حسّ–حاسس as a geminate set. Use بـ for sensations and signals, إنو for an intuition or opinion, and حاسس حالي for a self-state. Form II حسّس changes the participant structure to “make someone feel.”
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