Arabic · Levantine / Damascus

Levantine Dialect Arabic

You're sitting in a cafe in Damascus. Someone asks you a question and you understand every word individually, but the sentence doesn't mean what you think it means. That's Levantine Arabic. The grammar is straightforward but the culture is woven into every phrase.

Levantine Arabic isn't one dialect. It's four countries that share a grammar but disagree on the details. "How are you?" in Damascus is different from Beirut. The word for "now" changes when you cross the Jordanian border. This deck teaches Damascus Syrian as the base, the most widely understood Levantine variety. Where Lebanese, Jordanian, or Palestinian Arabic diverges, variant notes flag the difference so you recognize it when you hear it.

42 themes organized around real scenes, not word lists. Cultural notes explain the things no vocabulary PDF can teach you, like why you should refuse the first offer of coffee, how "inshallah" can be a polite way of saying no, and how to read the difference between a real invitation and a polite one. 199 verbs with full conjugation tables come in a separate sub-deck.

Sample cards

This is exactly what every card looks like. The free sample has 150 of these.

EIDETIC
يسلمو
yisalmu
"thanks" (may your hands be safe)
يسلمو، الأكل كان كتير طيب.
"Thanks, the food was really delicious."
A1 · Levantine · Casual
EIDETIC
حمّص
ḥummuṣ
"hummus" (a source of fierce national pride)
ما بيكمل الأكل بدون صحن حمص.
"The meal isn't complete without a plate of hummus."
A1 · Levantine · Cultural

What's included

5,100+ cards across 42 themes
1,500+ vocabulary cards + 199 verbs with conjugation tables
Audio pronunciation on every card
Example sentences on every card
ALA-LC transliteration on every card
Cultural notes on ~30% of cards
Cross-Levantine dialect variant notes (Lebanese, Jordanian, Palestinian)
4 internal sub-decks by CEFR level (A1 to B2)
Quick Start PDF guide
Lifetime free updates

Themes

First Conversations
Numbers, Money & Prices
At the Restaurant & Cafe
Getting Around
At the Market
Time & Days
Basic Descriptions
Feelings & Reactions
Asking for Help
At the Pharmacy
Phone, WiFi & Internet
At Home
At Work
Family & Relationships
Health & the Doctor
Levantine Hospitality
Levantine Kitchen & Food
Opinions & Preferences
Weather & Seasons
Religion & Coexistence
Travel Across the Levant
Sports & Football
Levantine Expressions & Slang
Emergencies
Celebrations & Weddings
Levantine Music & Culture
Proverbs & Wisdom
$24.99
5,100+ Cards42 Themes199 VerbsA1 to B2 Levels
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