Lebanese طبخṭabakh means “cook.” It is a strong Form I verb whose nonpast has a rounded vowel: طبخ / بيطبخṭabakh / byiṭbokh. Since ordinary spelling does not show that o, learn the principal pair rather than guessing from the perfect.
The verb can take food or a meal as its direct object—طبخ رز، طبخ غدا—or occur without an expressed object when “cooking” itself is the activity. It normally implies preparation with heat. English make covers drinks, salads, sandwiches, and meals more broadly, so not every English kitchen sentence should use طبخ.
This page focuses on the lexical behavior of طبخ. See Form I for the larger verb class and transitivity for when an understood object can remain unspoken.
Complete perfect paradigm
The root consonants remain present across the perfect. Short vowels adjust around suffixes in speech; they are not additional root material.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | طبخت | ṭabakhet |
| إنت | طبخت | ṭabakhet |
| إنتي | طبختي | ṭabakhte |
| هو | طبخ | ṭabakh |
| هي | طبخت | ṭabakhit |
| نحنا | طبخنا | ṭabakhna |
| إنتو | طبختوا | ṭabakhto |
| هني | طبخوا | ṭabakho |
طبخت عدس لأنو الجو كان بارد.
ṭabakhet ʿadas laʾanno l-zhaww kēn bāred.
I cooked lentils because the weather was cold. (informal; first-person perfect and direct food object)
طبخت نادين غدا لكل العيلة.
ṭabakhit Nādīn ghada la-kill el-ʿēle.
Nadine cooked lunch for the whole family. (informal; feminine perfect, meal object, and beneficiary)
Complete b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The b-imperfect expresses a cooking habit, ability in an ordinary context, or an independent nonpast event. The bare imperfect follows رح, بدّي, لازم, بعرف “know how,” and other licensors.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بطبخ baṭbokh | اطبخ oṭbokh |
| إنت | بتطبخ btiṭbokh | تطبخ tiṭbokh |
| إنتي | بتطبخي btiṭbokhe | تطبخي tiṭbokhe |
| هو | بيطبخ byiṭbokh | يطبخ yiṭbokh |
| هي | بتطبخ btiṭbokh | تطبخ tiṭbokh |
| نحنا | منطبخ mniṭbokh | نطبخ niṭbokh |
| إنتو | بتطبخوا btiṭbokho | تطبخوا tiṭbokho |
| هني | بيطبخوا byiṭbokho | يطبخوا yiṭbokho |
بيطبخ بالبيت تلات مرات بالأسبوع.
byiṭbokh bil-bēt tlēt marrāt bil-osbūʿ.
He cooks at home three times a week. (informal; agentive activity with no expressed food object)
بعرف اطبخ سمك، بس ما بعرف نظفه.
baʿref oṭbokh samak, bass ma baʿref naḍḍefo.
I know how to cook fish, but I don't know how to clean it. (informal; bare verbs after بعرف)
بكرا رح نطبخ سوا بدل ما نطلب أكل.
bokra raḥ niṭbokh sawa badal ma niṭlob akel.
Tomorrow we'll cook together instead of ordering food. (informal; bare 1pl after رح)
Current activity uses course-baseline عم + b-imperfect. The missing object can remain understood when the point is who is doing the kitchen work rather than what is being made.
أنا عم بطبخ، فيك ترتب الطاولة؟
ana ʿam baṭbokh, fīk tratteb eṭ-ṭāwle?
I'm cooking; can you set the table? (informal; ongoing objectless activity)
Imperative
The masculine singular positive command is اطبخoṭbokh. Feminine and plural commands add their normal endings. A negative command uses ما + the corresponding bare imperfect.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| one man | اطبخ oṭbokh | ما تطبخ ma tiṭbokh |
| one woman | اطبخي oṭbokhe | ما تطبخي ma tiṭbokhe |
| a group | اطبخوا oṭbokho | ما تطبخوا ma tiṭbokho |
اطبخي الرز عمهلك وما تكتري مي.
oṭbokhe r-rozz ʿa-mahlik w-ma tkattre mayy.
Cook the rice slowly, and don't add too much water. (informal; command to one woman)
The initial vowel supports pronunciation; it is not a separately meaningful prefix. For the larger pattern, including clitic commands, see imperative formation.
Transitive and objectless cooking
With a stated dish, ingredient, or meal, طبخ is transitive: طبخ رز، طبخ فاصوليا، طبخ الغدا. Without one, the subject is still the cook and the understood object is simply omitted: هو بيطبخ منيح “he cooks well.” This objectless use is not an affected-subject passive.
خيي بيطبخ منيح، خصوصي الأكل اللبناني.
khayye byiṭbokh mnīḥ, khoṣūṣe l-akel el-libnēne.
My brother cooks well, especially Lebanese food. (informal; objectless ability followed by a food domain)
طبخنا ملوخية للضيوف وخبينا صحن لبكرا.
ṭabakhna mlūkhiyye liḍ-ḍyūf w-khabbēna ṣaḥen la-bokra.
We cooked molokhia for the guests and saved a plate for tomorrow. (informal; dish object and beneficiary)
When the food itself is the topic, use a clear event or state strategy. الأكل عم ينطبخ presents it as undergoing cooking; الأكل مطبوخ says it is cooked. English the rice is cooking should not automatically become an agentive Form I clause.
Active and passive participles
The active participle is طابخṭēbikh, feminine طابخةṭēbkha, plural طابخينṭēbkhīn. With a human subject, it can mean that the person has cooked something relevant now. The passive/result participle مطبوخmaṭbūkh agrees with the food and describes its cooked state.
ما تطلب شي؛ أمي طابخة غدا لإلنا.
ma tiṭlob shi; imme ṭēbkha ghada la-ilna.
Don't order anything; my mother has cooked lunch for us. (informal; feminine active participle with current relevance)
الدجاج مطبوخ منيح، بس البطاطا بعدها قاسية.
ed-dzhēzh maṭbūkh mnīḥ, bass el-baṭāṭa baʿda ʾēsye.
The chicken is cooked well, but the potatoes are still hard. (informal; cooked result state)
Meal objects, preparation, and English “make”
طبخ naturally combines with dishes and meal names that involve cooking: طبخ شوربة، طبخ رز، طبخ غدا. For coffee, a salad, a cold sandwich, or general preparation, عمل or حضّر is usually more idiomatic. The border is lexical and practical, not a claim that every dish has one scientifically exact category.
حضرت السلطة أنا، ومايا طبخت الشوربة.
ḥaḍḍaret es-salaṭa ana, w-Māya ṭabakhit esh-shōrba.
I prepared the salad, and Maya cooked the soup. (informal; preparation versus cooking with heat)
عملت قهوة للكل بعد الغدا.
ʿmilt ʾahwe lil-kill baʿd el-ghada.
I made coffee for everyone after lunch. (informal; natural عمل rather than طبخ)
Object and beneficiary clitics
Direct-object suffixes refer to the food: طبختهṭabakhto “I cooked it.m,” طبختهاṭabakhta “I cooked it.f,” بطبخهbaṭbokho “I cook it.m,” اطبخهاoṭbokha “cook it.f!” A beneficiary attaches through لـ: طبختلنا “she cooked for us.”
هالوصفة طويلة، بس إذا بتحب بطبخلك ياها الأحد.
hal-waṣfe ṭwīle, bass iza btiḥibb baṭbokhlak yēha l-aḥad.
This recipe takes a while, but if you like, I'll cook it for you on Sunday. (informal; beneficiary suffix and independent feminine theme)
The recipient suffix is not the thing cooked. Keeping the theme as ياها makes both roles audible when both matter.
Common Mistakes
Guessing the imperfect vowel from the perfect
❌ هو بيطبخ كل يوم.
howwe byiṭbakh kill yōm
Incorrect pronunciation — the Beirut imperfect has o: byiṭbokh.
✅ هو بيطبخ كل يوم.
howwe byiṭbokh kill yōm.
He cooks every day.
Using the b-form after بعرف for know-how
❌ بعرف بطبخ رز.
Incorrect — know-how بعرف selects a bare lower verb.
✅ بعرف اطبخ رز بلا ما يلزق.
baʿref oṭbokh rozz bla ma yilzaʾ.
I know how to cook rice without it sticking.
Translating every English “make” as طبخ
❌ طبخت قهوة للضيوف.
Unnatural ordinary collocation — coffee is made with عمل or حضّر, not normally طبخ.
✅ عملت قهوة للضيوف أول ما وصلوا.
ʿmilt ʾahwe liḍ-ḍyūf awwal ma wiṣlo.
I made coffee for the guests as soon as they arrived.
Marking the food with a preposition
❌ طبخت عن الرز نص ساعة.
Incorrect — the food itself is a direct object; عن does not mark it.
✅ طبخت الرز عنار واطية نص ساعة.
ṭabakhet er-rozz ʿa-nār wāṭye noṣṣ sēʿa.
I cooked the rice over low heat for half an hour.
Confusing activity and result
❌ الدجاج بيطبخ يعني صار جاهز.
Incorrect inference — an ongoing cooking event does not guarantee a completed cooked state.
✅ الدجاج مطبوخ وصار جاهز للتقديم.
ed-dzhēzh maṭbūkh w-ṣār zhēhez lit-taʾdīm.
The chicken is cooked and ready to serve.
Key Takeaways
Learn طبخ / بيطبخ as ṭabakh / byiṭbokh. State a dish or meal directly, or omit the object when cooking is the relevant activity. Use طبخ mainly for preparation with heat, not every English make. Separate ongoing عم بطبخ, agent-oriented طابخ, and food-state مطبوخ.
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