انا بعرف عربي شوي، بس ما بعرف انجليزي منيح.

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Breakdown of انا بعرف عربي شوي، بس ما بعرف انجليزي منيح.

• ما: not
• بس: but
• شوي: a little

Questions & Answers about انا بعرف عربي شوي، بس ما بعرف انجليزي منيح.

Why is أنا included here? Can it be dropped?

Yes, it can often be dropped.

In Levantine Arabic, the verb already tells you who the subject is. بعرف means I know / I know how / I can speak in this context, so أنا is not strictly necessary.

So all of these are possible:

• أنا بعرف عربي شوي
• بعرف عربي شوي

Including أنا can make the sentence:

• clearer
• slightly more emphatic
• more natural in some contexts, especially for beginners

So أنا is optional here, not required.

What does the بـ in بعرف mean?

The بـ prefix is very common in Levantine Arabic. It usually marks the present / habitual verb.

So:

• بعرف = I know
• literally, this is the Levantine present form of the verb

In many Levantine dialects, the b- prefix is used for ordinary present-tense statements:

• بعرف = I know
• بفهم = I understand
• بكتب = I write

This is different from Modern Standard Arabic, where you would say أعرف instead of بعرف.

Why is بعرف used for both Arabic and English? Does it really mean know, not speak?