My first 2 years studying Arabic, I searched for a comprehensive Levantine Arabic textbook or course curriculum in vain. I found a few books that were decent but none that were excellent. Eventually, a friend recommended I try The 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic by Fridrik E. Tiedemann Jr. I scoured all the bookstores in Amman but 101 Most Used Verbs was continually sold out. When I finally landed a long-coveted copy, this book became my go-to dialect resource and one I’ve referenced in all my Arabic courses since.

101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic is mostly lists of verbs with numerous definitions, example sentences, and related phrases for each verb. To illustrate, here are the definitions for خفف found on p. 50 of the 3rd edition (2015):

خفف

Definition #1: relieved, eased, alleviated, lessened, decreased [the pain or pressure]

هدا الدوا كتير منيح! خفف الوجع كتير

This medicine is really good! It relieved the pain a lot.

Definition #2: made lose [his enthusiasm, his excitement, his motivation]

بتمنى انه عطلة الصيف ما خففت حماسكم للدراسة

I hope that the summer break has not caused you to lose your excitement for learning.

Definition #3: lightened up, watered down [the coffee, the tea, the juice, etc.], diluted

الشاي غامق كتير. شكله بده تخفيف شوي

The tea is really dark. It looks like it needs to be watered down some.

Definition #4: Lowered, brought down, turn down

عم منحاول نكمل بحثنا، فممكن تخففوا اصواتكم؟

We are trying to finish our report, so can you guys bring down your voices?

Definition #5: Cut down on, minimized

يا ريتنا جبنا خبير حتى يركب الشبكة. كان خفف علينا كتير مشاكل عانينا منها

I wish we had hired a professional to set up the network. That would have cut down on the amount of problems we have had with it.

In addition, the book has definitions and examples for other phrases with خفف for example:

خفف دمه

خفف شهيته

خفف الضربة

خفف المزح

خفف من

 خفف وزنه

In addition to the stellar verb lists, the book includes troves of vocabulary lists of adjectives, items, broken plurals, nationalities, and more. The latest version even comes with recordings of the book.

Put simply, this is one of the most detailed and accurate resources for Levantine Arabic. Copies are available for purchase on Amazon and at many Middle Eastern bookstores.

Tiedemann, the author of The 101 Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic is also the founder of the Consortium for Global Education (CGE) Jordan. CGE Jordan offers Modern Standard and spoken Arabic programs for adult learners and for students looking to study abroad in Amman. Visit their website to learn more.