In the aftermath of the First World War, and as part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations officially placed Lebanon under the French mandate in 1920. This lasted until 1943, and it was a time in which Beirut prospered as center of trade in the region. Most utilities and functions improved – and the country was on the rise. French troops left the area officially in 1946; however, their influence remained and is felt to this day in modern day Lebanon. This is felt most notably in the way the Lebanese have adopted numerous French words and have gotten accustomed to using them in their language and daily life. So, we tried to compile a list of those French words that are commonly used in Lebanon today:
Bonjour – Bonsoir
Ask a Lebanese how to say Hello in Arabic, and the odds are he will tell you to just use the Bonjour for daytime and the Bonsoir for nightitme. Of course, that is French for good day and good evening. The use of the Arabic words of “Marhaba” or “Salam” is uncommon in most areas of Lebanon.
Kifak? Ca va?
While “Kifak?” is Arabic for How are you doing?, in Lebanon, it is often succeeded by “Ca Va?“. The latter is the French equivalent of the first part. Some even ditch the Arabic bit, and just use the French to ask about your well-being.
Merci (Beaucoup/Kteer)
While expressing thanks and gratitude, “Shukran” is the Arabic word to use; however, in Lebanon, its French equivalent of “Merci” is the one used most. And to express greater gratitude, the Lebanese say “Merci Beaucoup“, that is: Many Thanks. Of course, some also are accustomed to joining the languages creatively and saying “Merci Kteer”, where “Kteer” is Arabic for Many.
Wein El-Toilette?
If you need to ask about the whereabouts of the restroom, then don’t go looking for the Arabic word of “Hammam” or “Merhad”, because the Lebanese just call it by its French name of “Toilette”. So, for that, you would just ask “Wein El Toilette?” and you’ll be understood and directed in the right direction.
Coiffeur
Hairdressers are extremely common in Lebanon, but none of them are referred to by their Arabic name. They are known as the “Coiffeur”. Of course, that is the French word for it.
Chauffeur
On a similar note to coiffeur, many Lebanese have personal drivers. Again, these drivers are referred to by their French name of Chauffer instead of Sa’ek. You want to know what they call Taxi Drivers in Lebanon? Chauffer Taxi.
Fiche
An odd one you’d think, but it is almost impossible to find people in Lebanon who don’t call Electric plugs by their French name of “Fiche”.
Garrab – Grippe
It is very common in the cold winters of Lebanon for people to catch the flu. What do they call the flu in Lebanon though? Again, it is called by its French name of Grippe. Not only that, the Lebanese have adopted this one in a more creative way that they also conjugate it as a verb. Garrab is the verb they use, which is just a self-made Arabic version of the French noun.
Regime
When a friend spots you after you have lost some weight, they will ask you if you have done a Regime. That is French for diet, and that is the word that the Lebanese use commonly to refer to food diets.
Piscine
And on hot summer nights, you will see the Lebanese headed for the beaches and pools. These pools are referred to as Piscine in Lebanon which is nothing but the French word for it.
That concludes it for our list of French words that are commonly used in Lebanon instead of their Arabic equivalents. We are sure we missed a lot of them, so why not comment below and let us know what we missed? And if you liked this article, then click here for more Lebanon articles on our blog!
This is a fun post and I do appreciate learning thing like this, they say you learn something new everyday!
This is so cool! What a great way to learn more about the 2 culture through the language and words similar spoken between them. Thanks for this post!
These dives into stories and cultures are an anthropological aspect that I love to discover, which is why I enjoyed reading you so much.
Very interesting post enjoyed reading it.
Thats so interesting something learn really new. I know the word arabic Kifak but didn’t know that from French.
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing, I had no idea of this history and always love learning something new!