How to use بكون (bikūn) in Levantine Arabic

Over her years of coaching Levantine Arabic language learners, Jenn has noticed a tendency for many people to drop the verb بكون (bikūn). However, knowing when and how to use بكون will make Arabic learners more confident in their speaking ability and sound more natural to native Arabic speakers.

In this episode, Jenn addresses 5 ways بكون (bikūn) is used by native Levantine Arabic speakers. These include:

1. Place and time.
2. When used with descriptives ("When I am...") As well as after لَمَّا (connected to a cause and effect).
3. When in conjunction with the notions of usually, typically, always, everyday, most of the time.
4. When talking about people (relationship to one another, job, etc).
5. When referring to something someone has (using بكون with عندي or معي).

Example sentences with native Levantine Arabic speakers are included in the episode.

For a transcript of this episode (including examples written in Arabic), visit the podcast episode page on our website here.

If you are interested in learning more about Shababeek's approach to Levantine Arabic acquisition, visit our website here: shababeekcenter.com.