التصليح كلف كتير.

A common Levantine pronunciation is:

it-taSliiH kallaf ktiir

A rough breakdown:

• التصليح → it-taSliiH
  • The ال becomes it- here because the ت is pronounced strongly and the l sound assimilates.
• كلف → kallaf
• كتير → ktiir

Notes:

• ص is a heavier, darker s sound.
• ح is a breathy sound from the throat, stronger than English h.
• كتير often sounds like ktiir, with no vowel between k and t.

In Levantine, التصليح literally means the repair / the fixing.

Arabic often uses the in places where English would not, especially when referring to a specific situation already understood from context. So:

• التصليح كلف كتير = The repair cost a lot
• In natural English, that may simply become The repair was expensive or Fixing it cost a lot

So the الـ is completely normal here.

التصليح is a verbal noun, meaning something like:

• repair
• fixing
• the act/process of repairing

It comes from the verb صلّح = to repair / to fix.

So التصليح is not the person doing the repair, and not the repaired object itself. It is the repair work.

Because the subject is التصليح, and that noun is treated as masculine singular.

So the verb matches it:

• التصليح كلف كتير
• literally: The repair cost a lot

If the subject were feminine, you would usually use a feminine verb form in the past tense.

Arabic often does not need a separate word like it when the subject is already stated.

In English, you might say:

• The repair cost a lot
• It cost a lot

In Arabic, if you already say التصليح, that is the subject, so no extra it is needed.

كلف means cost in the sense of required money / came to a certain price.

So:

• كلف كتير = cost a lot

This verb is commonly used for expenses:

• كلفني كتير = It cost me a lot
• كلف ألف ليرة = It cost a thousand lira

Because this is Levantine Arabic, not formal Modern Standard Arabic.

In MSA, you might see:

• كلّف كثيرًا

In Levantine, people normally say:

• كلف كتير

So كتير is the everyday spoken form meaning:

• a lot
• very much
• many / much, depending on context

Here it works like an adverbial expression, meaning a lot.

So:

• كلف كتير = cost a lot

It is not describing التصليح directly. It is modifying the idea of costing.

Compare:

• التصليح غالي = The repair is expensive
• التصليح كلف كتير = The repair cost a lot

These are close in meaning, but not structured the same way.

Yes, and it is similar, but not exactly identical.

• التصليح كلف كتير = The repair cost a lot
  • focuses on the amount paid
• التصليح غالي = The repair is expensive
  • focuses on the repair being pricey

Both are natural. The first one sounds a bit more tied to the actual money spent.

Yes. That is very common.

• التصليح كلف كتير = The repair cost a lot
• التصليح كلفني كتير = The repair cost me a lot

The ـني means me.

So if you want to make it personal and mention who paid or suffered the cost, كلفني is a great choice.

It is very natural in Levantine, but it would also be widely understood in other Arabic-speaking regions.

What makes it feel colloquial/Levantine is especially:

• كتير instead of MSA كثيرًا
• the overall spoken-style structure

A more formal version would be something like:

• كلّف التصليح كثيرًا
• or كان التصليح مكلفًا

But for everyday speech in the Levant, التصليح كلف كتير is very normal.

In Arabic, both verb-first and subject-first orders exist, but in spoken Levantine, subject first is very common.

So:

• التصليح كلف كتير = very natural in conversation

A verb-first version is less likely in casual Levantine for this kind of sentence.

Starting with التصليح helps set the topic first: as for the repair, it cost a lot.

Usually, yes.

Because كلف is in the past tense, it normally suggests that the cost has already been incurred or learned.

So the speaker is typically talking about a completed situation:

• the repair happened
• the price became known
• it turned out to be expensive

If you wanted to talk more generally or about the future, you would use a different form.