الوادي بعيد.

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Breakdown of الوادي بعيد.

• وادي: the valley

Questions & Answers about الوادي بعيد.

How do I pronounce الوادي بعيد in Levantine Arabic?

A natural Levantine pronunciation is il-wādi bʕīd.

• الـ is usually pronounced il- in Levantine
• وادي sounds like wā-di
• بعيد sounds like bʕīd

The hardest sound for English speakers is ع in بعيد. It is a deep throat sound that English does not have. If you are a beginner, you may hear or approximate bʕīd as something like be-eed, but it is good to start noticing the ع early.

What does الـ in الوادي mean?

الـ is the definite article, so it means the.

So:

• وادي = valley
• الوادي = the valley

In Levantine, this article is often pronounced il- rather than al-.

Why is the ل in الـ pronounced clearly here?

Because و is a moon letter, not a sun letter.

That means the ل in the article stays pronounced:

• الوادي → il-wādi

If the next letter were a sun letter, the ل would assimilate and you would not hear it clearly.