Levantine Arabic (Arabic: اللهجة الشامية)
is also known as Shāmī (Arabic: شامي) or Eastern Arabic and is an Arabic variety spoken in the Levant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey. With over 54 million speakers, Levantine is, alongside Egyptian, one of the two prestige varieties of spoken Arabic comprehensible all over the Arab world.
Below is a list of resources for learning Levantine Arabic, tailored to include both beginner and intermediate-level materials, with a balance across language skills.
Textbooks & Grammar Guides
- Colloquial Levantine Arabic
- Colloquial Palestinian Arabic: An Introduction to the Spoken Dialect
- Living Arabic: A Comprehensive Introductory Course
- Colloquial Arabic (Levantine): The Complete Course for Beginners
- Levantine Arabic: Shwayy ‘An Haali: Listening, Reading, and Expressing Yourself in Lebanese and Syrian Arabic
- The 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic: Jordan & Palestine
- Hakini Arabi: Palestinian and Jordanian Colloquial for Beginners
- Levantine Colloquial Arabic Vocabulary
- Palestinian Colloquial Arabic Vocabulary
- Lingualism: Levantine Arabic Readers
- Diwan Baladna: Spoken Arabic Dictionary (Jordanian)
- Peace Corps Arabic (Jordanian)
- Speaking Arabic: A Course in Conversational Eastern Arabic (Palestinian)
- Colloquial Palestinian Arabic: An Introduction to the Spoken Dialect
- Syrian Colloquial Arabic, a Functional Course
- Shou fi ma fi?: Intermediate Levantine Arabic (Lebanese)
Apps
- Pimsleur – Eastern Arabic (NB: Monthly subscription through the app is cheaper)
- Mango Languages – iPhone | Android
YouTube Channels
- Learn Arabic with Maha (Palestinian)
- Nassra Arabic Method (Syrian)
- Lebanese Arabic with Hiba (Lebanese)
- CGE Jordan Institute for Arabic Studies (Jordanian)
- Spoken Arabic Simplified (Palestinian)
- SpeakShamiArabic
- PalWeb TV (Learn Palestinian Arabic)
- Roya TV (Jordanian)
Websites
- TalkInArabic.com – Levantine
- School of Yalla
- Qasid Arabic Institute
- Learning Arabic in Lebanon – a database
- Live Lingua: FSI Levantine Arabic Course
- TheLevanTongue
- Lingualism.com: Levantine Arabic Diaries
- Mo3jam – Online Jordanian Arabic Dictionary
- Mo3jam – Online Lebanese Arabic Dictionary
- Mo3jam – Online Palestinian Arabic Dictionary
- Mo3jam – Online Syrian Arabic Dictionary
- Study Levantine Arabic – Intensive Arabic Programs and Online Courses
- r/learn_arabic – A list of Levantine Arabic learning resources