Lebanese اشترىishtara “buy” combines Form VIII morphology with a final-weak stem. Its major principal parts are اشترى، اشتريت، بيشتري، اشتري، مشتري. The final -a of the citation form becomes -ē- before several perfect endings and -e/-i in the imperfect and command.
Buying also organizes a transaction from the buyer's viewpoint. The goods are a direct object, the seller or source takes من, the price normally takes بـ, and a beneficiary takes لـ. English word order cannot replace those Lebanese relations.
Perfect paradigm
The unsuffixed masculine form ends in -a, first- and second-person forms have long ē, feminine 3sg has short e, and plural 3rd person ends in -o.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | اشتريت | ishtarēt |
| إنت | اشتريت | ishtarēt |
| إنتي | اشتريتي | ishtarēte |
| هو | اشترى | ishtara |
| هي | اشترت | ishtaret |
| نحنا | اشترينا | ishtarēna |
| إنتو | اشتريتوا | ishtarēto |
| هني | اشتروا | ishtaro |
اشتريت طاولة مستعملة من جارنا بخمسين دولار.
ishtarēt ṭāwle mistaʿmale min zhērna b-khamsīn dōlār.
I bought a used table from our neighbor for fifty dollars. (informal; goods, seller, and price)
اشترت مي وقهوة للضيوف، وهني اشتروا الحلو.
ishtaret mayy w-ʾahwe liḍ-ḍyūf, w-hinne ishtaro l-ḥilo.
She bought water and coffee for the guests, and they bought the dessert. (informal; 3sg.f and 3pl)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect uses a final -e, written ي in the singular. Plural -o replaces it. Because Form VIII and the weak edge interact, بيشتري must be learned rather than generated from a fully regular template.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بشتري bishtre | اشتري ishtre |
| إنت | بتشتري btishtre | تشتري tishtre |
| إنتي | بتشتري btishtre | تشتري tishtre |
| هو | بيشتري byishtre | يشتري yishtre |
| هي | بتشتري btishtre | تشتري tishtre |
| نحنا | منشتري mnishtre | نشتري nishtre |
| إنتو | بتشتروا btishtro | تشتروا tishtro |
| هني | بيشتروا byishtro | يشتروا yishtro |
عادة منشتري الخبز من الفرن يلي تحت البيت.
ʿāde mnishtre l-khobez min el-foron yalle taḥt el-bēt.
We usually buy bread from the bakery below our building. (informal habit; source with من)
رح يشتري الجهاز إذا عطوه كفالة سنتين.
raḥ yishtre l-zhihēz iza ʿaṭū kafēle santēn.
He'll buy the device if they give him a two-year warranty. (commercial context; bare 3sg.m after رح)
Current activity takes Beirut عم + b-imperfect: عم بشتري “I am buying.” The b-form alone describes a habit or recurrent purchasing pattern; it does not automatically mean an action happening this second.
Imperative and weak-edge clitics
The singular positive command is اشتريishtre for either one man or one woman in this urban baseline; plural is اشترواishtro. Negative commands use ما + bare imperfect.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| one man | اشتري ishtre | ما تشتري ma tishtre |
| one woman | اشتري ishtre | ما تشتري ma tishtre |
| a group | اشتروا ishtro | ما تشتروا ma tishtro |
اشتري النوع الزغير وما تشتري الكبير قبل ما تقيس المساحة.
ishtre n-nawʿ ez-zghīr w-ma tishtre l-kbīr ʾabel ma tʾīs el-masēḥa.
Buy the small kind, and don't buy the large one before measuring the space. (informal instruction to one person)
Before an object clitic, the weak vowel lengthens: بيشتريهاbyishtirīha, اشتريتهishtarēto. With the 3sg.m perfect, اشترى + ها becomes اشتراهاishtarāha. These are stem allomorphs, not freely inserted long vowels.
The same vowel-and-suffix interaction is compared across verb classes on Weak Verb Clitics.
| Base | With clitic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| اشترى ishtara | اشتراها ishtarāha | he bought it (f.) |
| اشتريت ishtarēt | اشتريته ishtarēto | I bought it (m.) |
| بيشتري byishtre | بيشتريها byishtirīha | he buys it (f.) |
| اشتري ishtre | اشتريلي ishtrīle | buy me / for me |
الكنزة عجبتها بس ما اشترتها لأن لونها بيفقد.
el-kinze ʿazhbeta bass ma ishtareta laʾann lawna byifʾad.
She liked the sweater but didn't buy it because its color fades. (informal; feminine object clitic on 3sg.f)
Goods, source, and price
The purchased goods are direct: اشترى كتاب، اشترى السيارة، اشتراها. A seller, shop, website, market, or other source normally takes من. The amount paid takes بـ; currency and bargaining context may make the phrase approximate rather than a formal invoice price.
اشتريت هاد الكرسي من موقع مستعمل بمية وخمسين دولار.
ishtarēt hād el-kirse min mawʾeʿ mistaʿmal b-miyye w-khamsīn dōlār.
I bought this chair from a secondhand website for 150 dollars. (informal; beginner هاد, source and price)
من وين اشتريت هاي القهوة وبقديش الكيس؟
min wēn ishtarēt hāy el-ʾahwe w-b-ʾaddēsh el-kīs?
Where did you buy this coffee, and how much was the bag? (informal; beginner هاي, source question and price)
English buy at a shop focuses location, but Lebanese اشتريت من المحل identifies the source. اشتريت بالمحل can locate the buying event inside the shop; the two phrases answer different questions.
Beneficiaries and two participants
Use لـ for the person benefiting: اشتريت لأمي هدية or attached اشتريتلا هدية “I bought my mother a gift.” This beneficiary is not the seller. With a pronominal item, independent يا can keep both roles visible: اشتريتله ياه “I bought it for him.”
اشتريتلا دفتر رسم لأنها بتحب تلون.
ishtarētla daftar rasem laʾanna btiḥebb tlawwen.
I bought her a sketchbook because she likes coloring. (informal; beneficiary clitic)
طلب مني اشتريله الشاحن، فاشتريتله ياه من المعرض.
ṭalab minne ishtrīlo sh-shāḥen, f-ishtarētlo yēh min el-maʿraḍ.
He asked me to buy him the charger, so I bought it for him at the fair. (informal; beneficiary clitic plus independent theme)
Active participle مشتري
مشتريmishtre, feminine مشتريةmishtrye, plural مشترينmishtryīn, can describe someone as having bought or committed to a purchase. As a definite noun, المشتري “the buyer” is especially common in commercial/legal language (formal/professional). Everyday completed purchases are usually expressed with the perfect.
أنا مشتري البطاقة أونلاين، يعني ما لازم نوقف عالشباك.
ana mishtre l-biṭāʾa ōnlāyn, yaʿne ma lāzem nōʾaf ʿash-shobbēk.
I've bought the ticket online, so we shouldn't need to stand at the window. (informal; result-relevant participle)
Do not use the participle merely because English has a present perfect. Use it when current possession, commitment, or transaction status is foregrounded.
Common Mistakes
Regularizing the imperfect
❌ هي بتشترى خضرة كل سبت.
Incorrect — the feminine b-imperfect is بتشتري, with final ي.
✅ هي بتشتري خضرة طازة كل سبت.
hiyye btishtre khoḍra ṭāza kill sabet.
She buys fresh vegetables every Saturday.
Confusing buy and sell
❌ بعت السيارة من صاحبها.
Incorrect for ‘I bought the car’ — بعت means ‘I sold’; buying is اشتريت.
✅ اشتريت السيارة من صاحبها الأول.
ishtarēt es-sayyāra min ṣāḥba l-awwal.
I bought the car from its first owner.
Using the wrong price preposition
❌ اشتريته على عشرين دولار.
Incorrect neutral price frame — use بـ for the amount paid.
✅ اشتريته بعشرين دولار وقت التنزيلات.
ishtarēto b-ʿishrīn dōlār waʾt et-tanzīlāt.
I bought it for twenty dollars during the sale.
Translating buy into an idea literally
❌ ما اشتريت جوات هالفكرة.
Incorrect English phrasal calque — agreement with an idea uses اقتنع بـ or صدق, depending meaning.
✅ ما اقتنعت بهالفكرة لأن الأرقام ناقصة.
ma iʾtanaʿt b-hal-fikra laʾann el-arʾām nāʾṣa.
I didn't buy into that idea because the figures are incomplete.
Key Takeaways
Learn اشترى–اشتريت–بيشتري–اشتري–مشتري as a final-weak Form VIII set. Goods are direct objects, من marks the seller/source, بـ marks the price, and لـ marks a beneficiary. Weak-edge vowels reshape before suffixes, so store forms such as اشتريته، بيشتريها، اشتريلي rather than attaching clitics mechanically.
Now practice Arabic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Form VIII ftaʿalB2 — Recognize the mobile t of Form VIII, its sound assimilations, weak-root shapes, and lexical middle or reciprocal meanings in Lebanese.
- Final-ā VerbsB1 — Master the changing perfect, imperfect, plural, and imperative stems of common Lebanese verbs whose citation form ends in -a.
- Weak Verbs with Object CliticsB2 — Attach Lebanese object and recipient clitics to hollow and final-weak hosts while preserving the correct subject stem, glide, and linking vowel.
- Weak Roots in Derived FormsB2 — Track Lebanese weak radicals through derived stems, including vowel loss, assimilation, participles, maṣdars, and opaque surface roots.
- Prices, Lebanese Currency, and Large SumsA2 — Read prices in Lebanese lira and US dollars, build currency phrases correctly, and negotiate exact or approximate amounts.
- باع bāʿ: sellA2 — Conjugate Lebanese باع and express the goods sold, the buyer, the price, object clitics, commands, and everyday passive alternatives.