الكل بيعرف القانون.

Breakdown of الكل بيعرف القانون.

عرف
to know
الكلel-koll
everyone
قانونqânûn
law

Questions & Answers about الكل بيعرف القانون.

What does الكل mean here?

Here الكل means everyone / everybody. Literally, it is something like the all, but in natural Levantine it is a very common way to say everyone.

A close alternative is كل الناس, also meaning everyone / all the people.

Why is the verb بيعرف singular and not plural?

Because الكل is usually treated as a singular collective in everyday Levantine. So speakers normally say الكل بيعرف rather than الكل بيعرفوا.

In other words, the meaning is plural, but the grammar is usually singular.

What does the بـ in بيعرف do?

In Levantine Arabic, بـ usually marks the ordinary present or habitual form. So بيعرف means he knows or he generally knows, depending on context.

This is one of the clearest signs that the sentence is colloquial. In Standard Arabic, you would normally have يعرف without بـ.

Why is there no separate word for he or they?

Arabic verbs already contain information about the subject. The form بيعرف by itself points to third-person masculine singular.

Since the subject الكل is already stated, there is no need to add a separate pronoun.

Is this sentence Levantine Arabic or Standard Arabic?

It is clearly colloquial Levantine because of بيعرف.

A Standard Arabic version would be something like الكل يعرف القانون or more formally الجميع يعرف القانون. The vocabulary is close, but the verb form gives the dialect away.

How is الكل بيعرف القانون pronounced?

A common Levantine-style pronunciation is roughly:

il-kell byaʿref il-ʔānūn
or
el-kell byaʿref il-qānūn

A few notes:

  • الكل is often il-kell or el-kell
  • بيعرف is often byaʿref
  • القانون may begin with q or with a glottal stop ʔ, depending on the speaker and region
Why does القانون have الـ if English often just says law?

Arabic often uses the definite article الـ with general or abstract nouns more than English does. So القانون can mean the law in a broad, general sense, not only one specific law.

That is completely normal Arabic usage.

What is the word order in this sentence?

The sentence is:

  • الكل = subject
  • بيعرف = verb
  • القانون = object

So the order is subject–verb–object. That is very common and natural in spoken Levantine.

Could I also say كل الناس بيعرفوا القانون?

Yes. كل الناس بيعرفوا القانون is also natural and means basically the same thing.

The difference is grammatical:

  • with الكل, singular agreement is usual: الكل بيعرف
  • with كل الناس, plural agreement is natural: كل الناس بيعرفوا
What is the sound ع in بيعرف, and do I need to pronounce it perfectly?

The letter ع is a consonant that does not exist in English. It is made deep in the throat, and it is often shown in transliteration as ʿ, so بيعرف becomes byaʿref.

You do not need to master it immediately, but you should try to pronounce it as a real consonant rather than skipping it completely. Even an approximate ع is better than leaving it out.

How would I say Not everyone knows the law?

The safest and most natural way is:

مو الكل بيعرف القانون

This means not everyone knows the law. Be careful not to confuse it with a sentence that sounds like everyone does not know the law, which is a different idea.

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