خلص khiliṣ and خلّص khallaṣ

Ordinary unvocalized خلص hides two very frequent Lebanese verbs. Form I خِلِص khiliṣ means “be finished, end, run out”: the thing reaching its endpoint is the subject. Form II خَلَّص khallaṣ means “finish something, get something done,” and in service settings “pay/settle”: an agent acts on an object.

This is not merely a subtle pronunciation difference. The doubled l changes the participant structure: الاجتماع خِلِص “the meeting ended,” but رنا خَلَّصِت الاجتماع “Rana finished the meeting.” Since everyday spelling usually omits the shadda, syntax and context help readers recover the intended verb.

The valency change follows the productive logic introduced under Form II, but the payment sense and the two sets of principal parts must still be learned with this verb.

Form I: khiliṣ “be done, end, run out”

The principal parts are خِلِص khiliṣ, بِيِخْلَص byikhlaṣ, and bare يِخْلَص yikhlaṣ. The perfect’s i-i vowels do not remain unchanged in the imperfect, so guessing byikhliṣ from the citation form is unreliable.

People can also be “done”: أنا خلصت is possible when no object follows and the task is recoverable. خلصت من الشغل explicitly presents the work as something one is free of. The preposition من belongs to that source/separation framing; it is not how Form II marks its direct object.

The masculine command اخلص ikhlaṣ, feminine اخلصي ikhlaṣe, plural اخلصوا ikhlaṣo can mean “be done / get it over with,” but it can sound impatient. (informal) A finite statement is normally kinder in service interaction.

Form II: khallaṣ “finish something, settle or pay”

Form II has stable perfect khallaṣ- and imperfect -khalliṣ-. It licenses a direct affected object, including a task, a portion of work, food, paperwork, or a bill.

After an activity noun or a bare verbal idea, speakers often use Form II: خلّص أكل “finish eating,” خلّص شغل “finish working.” That does not turn the following word into an English-style infinitive; it is a Lebanese complement frame learned with the verb.

Paying, service expressions, and discourse خلص

In a restaurant or shop, خلّص الحساب means “settle/pay the bill.” The object is the account being closed, which explains how the payment meaning grows from “finish.” For the general verb “pay [money/a person],” دفع remains essential; خلّص is especially natural for settling an account or transaction.

The second خلص in that exchange is the fixed discourse item khalaṣ: “okay, enough, that's it.” (informal) It is not a fully inflected Form I or Form II verb in that use. Its meaning can close an action, accept a decision, or stop further discussion. Tone can make it reassuring or abrupt.

Commands, clitics, and participles

Form II commands are خلّص khalliṣ, feminine خلّصي khallṣe, plural خلّصوا khallṣo. Direct-object suffixes are خلّصني khallaṣne, خلّصك khallaṣak, خلّصه khallaṣo, خلّصها khallaṣa, خلّصنا khallaṣna, خلّصكن khallaṣkon, خلّصهن khallaṣon. The suffix can denote a task being finished or, in another lexical extension, a person being rescued/freed; context must disambiguate.

The productive Form II active participle is مخلّص mkhalliṣ, feminine مخلّصة mkhallṣe, plural مخلّصين mkhallṣīn. It describes someone who has finished, with a current result. مخلّص من الشغل emphasizes being free of work; مخلّص التقرير presents the report as completed by that person. Form I خالص khāleṣ exists in lexical and broader regional uses, but ordinary Beirut production usually prefers finite خلص or resultative مخلّص for “done.”

Common Mistakes

Making Form I transitive

Giving Form II an inanimate endpoint subject

Using من with the direct-object verb

Keeping b- after رح

Key Takeaways

Form I khiliṣ–byikhlaṣ makes the ending thing its subject. Form II khallaṣ–bykhalliṣ adds an agent and usually a direct affected object. Use من when someone becomes free of a task, direct Form II for completing that task, and recognize discourse khalaṣ “that's it” as a fixed conversational item.