شفنا السفينة بالبحر.

شفنا means we saw.

It breaks down like this:

• شف = the past-tense stem here
• -نا = we

A useful thing to know is that the verb is related to شاف / يشوف (to see). In the past tense, forms like شفت، شفنا are very common in Levantine, so the long vowel you see in شاف does not stay the same in every form.

So:

• شاف = he saw
• شفنا = we saw

Because Arabic verbs usually already include the subject.

In شفنا, the ending -نا already tells you the subject is we, so you do not need a separate word like we.

If you want extra emphasis, you could add نحنا:

• نحنا شفنا السفينة بالبحر

That would be more like we saw the ship in the sea, with extra stress on we.

السفينة means the ship.

• سفينة = ship
• الـ = the

So السفينة is literally the ship.

This is how Arabic usually marks definiteness: instead of a separate word like English the, Arabic adds الـ to the beginning of the noun.

Although it is written السفينة, the ل in الـ is not fully pronounced here, because س is a sun letter.

So it is pronounced roughly like:

• is-safiine
• or es-safiine

not al-safiine in normal speech.

In some Levantine speech, the vowels may be reduced, so you may also hear something closer to s-sfiine. But for a learner, is-safiine / es-safiine is a good starting point.

Here بـ means something like in, at, or by, depending on context.

So:

• البحر = the sea
• بالبحر = in the sea / at sea

Also, بـ + الـ combines into بالـ in writing:

• ب + البحر → بالبحر

In Levantine, بـ is used very often for location, much more than an English speaker might expect.

This is because Arabic letters are divided into sun letters and moon letters for pronunciation of الـ.

• س in السفينة is a sun letter, so the ل of الـ assimilates:
  • السفينة → is-safiine
• ب in البحر is a moon letter, so the ل is still pronounced:
  • البحر → il-baḥer / el-baḥer
  • بالبحر → bil-baḥer

So the spelling stays the same, but the pronunciation changes depending on the first letter of the noun.

البحر in Levantine is commonly pronounced something like:

• il-baḥer
• and with the preposition: bil-baḥer

The important sound here is ح. It is not like English h. It is a stronger, breathier sound made deeper in the throat.

So baḥer is not exactly baher in English pronunciation. The ḥ should sound more emphatic and throaty.

Yes. شفنا السفينة بالبحر is a very natural word order.

It is:

• verb
  • object
    • location

So:

• شفنا = we saw
• السفينة = the ship
• بالبحر = in the sea / at sea

Arabic often allows flexible word order, but this order is completely normal in Levantine.

You could also say:

• نحنا شفنا السفينة بالبحر

That is also correct, but it adds the subject more explicitly.

Yes. Depending on context, بالبحر could be translated naturally as:

• in the sea
• at sea
• sometimes even by the sea, if the context supports that meaning

In this sentence, the most likely idea is that the ship was in the sea / at sea.

As often happens, Arabic and English prepositions do not match one-to-one, so the best English translation depends on the situation.

The ending ـة is called tāʾ marbūṭa. It often marks feminine nouns.

So سفينة is a feminine noun.

In Levantine pronunciation, this ending is usually pronounced as -e in pause, which is why learners often hear something like safiine rather than a full -a sound.

In this sentence, the noun’s gender does not really change anything obvious, because there is no adjective agreeing with it and the verb is not agreeing with it as subject. But it is still useful to notice that سفينة is feminine.

This is clearly colloquial Levantine-style Arabic.

A Standard Arabic version would more likely be something like:

• رأينا السفينة في البحر
• or شاهدنا السفينة في البحر

The Levantine flavor comes especially from things like:

• شفنا for we saw
• frequent use of بـ in expressions like بالبحر

So if you are learning Levantine, this sentence is very natural and useful.