تعلّم taʿallam: learn | Arabic (Levantine) Grammar

Lebanese تعلّمtaʿallam means “learn”: the learner is the subject, and the acquired content or skill may be a direct object or a following bare verb. Its Form V morphology relates it to علّم “teach,” but تعلّم is not merely a passive. A learner can act intentionally, learn alone, or learn from experience without any named teacher.

English often uses learn about, learn from, and learn to. Lebanese distinguishes these relations through direct objects, من source phrases, and bare verbal complements. The verb's valency matters more than the general label “Form V.”

Perfect paradigm

The citation form begins with the Beirut cluster tʿ-. Person endings attach to a stable tʿallam- stem; the doubled ll remains audible.

Person	Form	Reading
أنا	تعلمت	tʿallamet
إنت	تعلمت	tʿallamet
إنتي	تعلمتي	tʿallamte
هو	تعلم	tʿallam
هي	تعلمت	tʿallamit
نحنا	تعلمنا	tʿallamna
إنتو	تعلمتوا	tʿallamto
هني	تعلموا	tʿallamo

تعلمت الخياطة من ستي وصرت صلح تيابي لحالي.

tʿallamet el-khiyāṭa min sitte w-ṣiret ṣalleḥ tyēbe la-ḥāle.

I learned sewing from my grandmother and started mending my own clothes. (informal; 1sg, skill and source)

تعلموا النظام الجديد بسرعة لأن الشرح كان واضح.

tʿallamo n-niẓām el-zhdīd b-sorʿa laʾann esh-sharḥ kēn wāḍeḥ.

They learned the new system quickly because the explanation was clear. (professional; 3pl direct content)

💡

Keep the roles fixed: تعلّم makes the learner the subject; علّم makes the teacher the subject and the learner an object. Shared root letters do not preserve the same argument structure.

b-imperfect and bare imperfect

The b-imperfect stacks its person marker outside the Form V material. The first-person بتعلّم differs from second/third feminine بتتعلّم, which has an additional person t-. First-person bare اتعلّم needs a supporting vowel; the citation perfect تعلّم does not.

Person	b-imperfect	Bare imperfect
أنا	بتعلم btaʿallam	اتعلم itʿallam
إنت	بتتعلم btitʿallam	تتعلم titʿallam
إنتي	بتتعلمي btitʿallame	تتعلمي titʿallame
هو	بيتعلم byitʿallam	يتعلم yitʿallam
هي	بتتعلم btitʿallam	تتعلم titʿallam
نحنا	منتعلم mnitʿallam	نتعلم nitʿallam
إنتو	بتتعلموا btitʿallamo	تتعلموا titʿallamo
هني	بيتعلموا byitʿallamo	يتعلموا yitʿallamo

الولد بيتعلم كلمات جديدة من القصص قبل النوم.

el-walad byitʿallam kilmāt zhdīde min el-ʾiṣaṣ ʾabel en-nōm.

The child learns new words from bedtime stories. (informal habitual; content and source)

بدي اتعلم هالبرنامج قبل ما يبلش المشروع.

badde itʿallam hal-barnēmezh ʾabel ma yballesh el-mashrūʿ.

I want to learn this program before the project starts. (professional; bare 1sg after بدّي)

The current progressive uses Beirut عم + b-imperfect: عم بيتعلّم. Do not remove b- after عم in this baseline. The first-person form عم بتعلّم and second-person عم بتتعلّم differ by an audible extra t.

Imperative and content clitics

The positive imperative uses the citation-shaped stem: تعلّم to one man, تعلّمي to one woman, and تعلّموا to a group. It is natural in advice and encouragement, though a bare command “learn!” can sound demanding without supportive context.

Addressee	Positive	Negative
one man	تعلم tʿallam	ما تتعلم ma titʿallam
one woman	تعلمي tʿallame	ما تتعلمي ma titʿallame
a group	تعلموا tʿallamo	ما تتعلموا ma titʿallamo

تعلمي الأساسيات أول وما تتعلمي كل شي حفظ.

tʿallame l-asēsiyyāt awwal w-ma titʿallame kill she ḥifeẓ.

Learn the basics first; don't learn everything by rote. (neutral advice to one woman)

A noun naming content can become a direct-object suffix: تعلّمته “I learned it,” بيتعلمها “he learns it,” تعلّموهن “learn them.” A person is not the ordinary direct object of تعلّم; the person is a source introduced by من or a teacher studied عند / مع.

هاي الطريقة صعبة، بس تعلمتها من أول أسبوع بالشغل.

hāy eṭ-ṭarīʾa ṣaʿbe, bass tʿallamta min awwal osbūʿ bish-shoghl.

This method is difficult, but I learned it in my first week at work. (professional context; beginner هاي and content clitic)

Content, skill, and source

Languages, skills, procedures, and facts can follow directly: تعلّم عربي، تعلّم السواقة، تعلّم الطريقة. عن shifts toward “learn about,” acquiring information concerning a topic rather than mastering the topic itself.

تعلمنا عن تاريخ الحي من سكانه الكبار بالعمر.

tʿallamna ʿan tērīkh el-ḥayy min sokkēno l-kbār bil-ʿomor.

We learned about the neighborhood's history from its older residents. (neutral; topic with عن and human source with من)

Use من for the source, model, experience, or person from whom knowledge comes: تعلّمت من أمي، من غلطتي، من الفيديو. Use عند or مع to describe studying under/with a teacher. These frames can coexist because source and instructional setting are not identical.

بتتعلم عند مدربة، بس عم بتتعلم من غلطاتها كمان.

btitʿallam ʿind modarrbe, bass ʿam btitʿallam min ghalaṭāta kamēn.

She studies with a coach, but she's also learning from her mistakes. (informal; instructional setting versus source)

Learning to do something

For an acquired action, تعلّم takes a same-subject bare imperfect directly: تعلّم يسوق “he learned to drive.” Lebanese has no infinitive and does not insert a general equivalent of English to. The lower verb agrees with the learner.

The wider complement pattern is mapped on Bare Verb Complements.

تعلمت اطبخ رز منيح بعد كم محاولة فاشلة.

tʿallamet oṭbokh rozz mnīḥ baʿd kam moḥāwale fēshle.

I learned to cook rice properly after a few failed attempts. (informal; first-person bare complement)

هني عم بيتعلموا يحكوا مع الزباين بهدوء.

hinne ʿam byitʿallamo yiḥko maʿ ez-zabēyen bi-hodūʾ.

They're learning to speak calmly with customers. (professional training; plural bare complement)

If the person doing the lower action differs, تعلّم is usually not the right matrix verb. “I learned that he left” expresses discovery or finding out and commonly uses عرفت إنو فلّ, not a mechanically extended تعلّمت.

💡

Use تعلّم + bare verb for acquiring an ability by the same learner. Use عرف إنو for learning a fact in the English sense of “finding out.”

Active participle متعلّم

متعلّمmtaʿallem, feminine متعلّمةmtaʿallme, plural متعلّمينmtaʿallmīn, usually describes an educated, trained, or knowledgeable person. It does not ordinarily mean “currently in the process of learning”; use عم بيتعلّم for that.

هي متعلمة ومختصة، بس بعدها بتسأل لما ما تكون متأكدة.

hiyye mtaʿallme w-mokhtaṣṣe, bass baʿda btisʾal lamma ma tkūn mtaʾakkde.

She's educated and specialized, but she still asks when she isn't sure. (neutral; feminine participial state)

The noun-like sense “learner” exists in educational discussion (formal/academic), but everyday conversation often names the person through a clause: حدا عم بيتعلّم.

Common Mistakes

Giving تعلّم a learner object

❌ تعلمته عربي من الصفر.

Incorrect for ‘I taught him Arabic’ — تعلّم makes the learner the subject.

✅ علمته عربي من الصفر خلال سنة.

ʿallamto ʿarabe min eṣ-ṣifer khilēl sane.

I taught him Arabic from scratch over a year.

Keeping b- after بدّي

❌ بدي بتعلم السواقة قبل الصيف.

Incorrect — بدّي selects bare first-person اتعلم.

✅ بدي اتعلم السواقة قبل الصيف.

badde itʿallam es-sawāʾa ʾabel eṣ-ṣēf.

I want to learn to drive before summer.

Copying English to with لـ

❌ تعلمت لإعمل خبز بالبيت.

Incorrect — learning an ability takes a bare same-subject verb, not purpose لـ.

✅ تعلمت اعمل خبز بالبيت من فيديو واضح.

tʿallamet aʿmel khobez bil-bēt min vīdyo wāḍeḥ.

I learned to make bread at home from a clear video.

Translating “learned that” literally

❌ تعلمت إنو الموعد تغير.

Unnatural for ordinary ‘I found out that’ — use عرفت in this information-discovery sense.

✅ عرفت إنو الموعد تغير لما وصلني الإيميل.

ʿirift inno l-mawʿed tghayyar lamma wiṣilne l-īmēl.

I learned that the appointment had changed when the email reached me.

Key Takeaways

Learn تعلّم–بيتعلّم–اتعلّم–تعلّم with doubled ll and the correct stacked person prefixes. Put acquired content directly after the verb, mark a source with من, and use a same-subject bare verb for “learn to do.” Content can take a direct suffix, but a teacher or source does not become a learner object. متعلّم describes education or training, not an unfolding lesson.

Now practice Arabic

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Arabic →