Arabic · Dialect course
Levantine arabic lessons online, from Damascus to Amman
Levantine is the Arabic of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine — widely understood, and the practical choice for aid work, journalism and family in the eastern Mediterranean.
- Around 40 million speakers
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Palestine
Who this is for
Is this the right course for you?
Aid and development workers, journalists, researchers, and people with Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian or Palestinian family connections.
What you cover
What the lessons cover
- Levantine pronunciation, and how Damascus differs from Beirut and Amman
- Everyday conversation: hospitality, food, family, travel, work
- The present-tense b- prefix and the ideas it carries
- Vocabulary that differs sharply from Egyptian and Gulf Arabic
- Understanding Levantine drama and music without subtitles
- The Arabic script, from scratch if you need it
Levantine Arabic — shami — covers Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. It is the second most widely understood spoken dialect after Egyptian, helped along by Syrian and Lebanese television drama, and it has a reputation among learners for sounding gentler than its neighbours.
Who tends to learn it
A large share of Levantine learners are working rather than travelling: humanitarian staff, journalists, researchers, and people connected to the Syrian and Palestinian diaspora. That shapes the course. Vocabulary leans towards work, documentation, health and daily logistics sooner than a general conversation course would take it.
Regional variation, handled honestly
There is no single Levantine standard, and any tutor who tells you otherwise is simplifying. Damascus, Beirut, Amman and Jerusalem each have their own accent and some of their own words. Your tutor teaches their own variety properly and points out the differences as they arise, which is more useful than an averaged dialect nobody actually speaks.
Levantine Arabic questions, answered properly
Is Syrian Arabic the same as Palestinian or Lebanese?
They are varieties of the same dialect group and speakers understand each other with no difficulty. The differences are in accent, a handful of everyday words, and some vowel shifts — roughly the distance between Glasgow and Dublin English. We match you with a tutor from the country your connection is to, and you will be understood across the region.
Why choose Levantine over Egyptian Arabic?
Because of where you are going. Egyptian has wider passive reach thanks to film and television, but if you are working in Amman, reporting from Beirut or speaking to Syrian family, Levantine is what people around you actually use. Levantine speakers understand Egyptian easily, so this is a question of fit rather than of coverage.
Is Levantine useful for reading?
Only partly. Like every Arabic dialect it is primarily spoken, and formal writing across the Levant uses Modern Standard Arabic. Levantine appears in text messages, social media, subtitles and song lyrics, which is a great deal of real material. If you also need newspapers or official documents, add Modern Standard alongside it.
Related courses
Other Arabic courses
Modern Standard Arabic
People who need Arabic on the page rather than in the street — students, researchers, journalists, and anyone preparing for formal study or professional work in the region.
Egyptian Arabic
Learners who want a spoken dialect that will be understood from Morocco to the Gulf, and anyone living in, working in or connected to Egypt.
Gulf Arabic
Professionals relocating to or already living in the Gulf, and anyone whose work, in-laws or clients are on the Arabian Peninsula.
Moroccan Darija
People moving to or working in Morocco, those with Moroccan family, and learners who have tried a general Arabic course and found it did not match what they heard on the ground.
online arabic tutor — every level and every course we teach in Arabic.
Start with a free Arabic trial lesson
You meet the tutor, they work out where you actually are, and you both decide whether to carry on. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.