Iraqi Arabic vs Levantine Arabic
Moderate. Levantine media is widely watched in Iraq, so Iraqis follow Levantine well; Levantines need some exposure to Iraqi. Iraqi keeps a hard g for ق, says ch for many ك, and has its own words like hassa, shaku maku and hwaaya.
The differences, side by side
| Iraqi Arabic | Levantine Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| The letter ق | Hard g — قلب is galub, قهوة is gahwa | Glottal stop in the cities — قلب is said albe |
| The letter ج | Soft j — جديد is jideed; ك often becomes ch: كلب is chalib | Soft j, as in French "jour" — جميل is jamiil |
| Present tense | Bare form, or da- for right now: اكتب (aktib), دا اكتب (da-aktib) | b- prefix: بكتب (baktob), "I write" |
| Future tense | راح (raa7): راح اكتب | رح (rah) or ha-: رح اكتب |
| Negation | ما before the verb: ما أدري; مو before adjectives | ما before the verb: ما بعرف |
| "What?" | شنو (shinu) / شكو (shaku) | شو (shu) |
| "Now" | هسّة (hassa) | هلّق (halla2) |
| "I want" | أريد (areed) | بدي (baddi) |
| "Good" | زين (zein) | منيح (mnee7) |
The same phrases in both
| English | Iraqi Arabic | Levantine Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| hello | هلا hala | مرحبا mar7aba |
| how are you? | شلونك؟ shloonak? | كيفك؟ kifak? |
| thank you | شكرا shukran | شكرا shukran |
| happy birthday | عيد ميلاد سعيد 3eed meelaad sa3eed | كل سنة وإنت سالم kull saneh w inta salem |
| good morning | صباح الخير sabaa7 il-khair | صباح الخير saba7 el khayr |
| good evening | مسا الخير masa il-khair | مسا الخير masa l-kheir |
| goodbye | مع السلامة ma3a is-salaama | مع السلامة ma3 as-salameh |
| please | رجاء rajaa2an | لو سمحت law sama7t |
| excuse me | لو سمحت law sima7it | عفوا 3afwan |
| I'm sorry | آسف aasif | انا اسف ana aasef |
| yes and no | إي ولا ee w-la | إيه ولأ eh w la2 |
| my name is... | إسمي ismi | اسمي ismi |
Which one should you learn?
Iraqi if Iraq is your connection. Levantine if you are heading to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan or Palestine. Their sound systems differ enough that it is better to commit to one first.
Practice Iraqi Arabic phrases
8 questions, half of them spoken out loud. Free, no account needed.