šū / شو - Lebanese Arabic Institute (2024)

“šū / شو” is a question word which is commonly used in Lebanese Arabic, not only on its own but also in various idioms and phrases. Although it is usually translated as “what?”, “šū / شو” has a bit more nuance than its English counterpart.

Here are some of the ways “šū / شو” can be used:

• Like “what”, “šū? / شو؟” is a common response to something that has just been said. It can be an expression of surprise or outrage, or simply a request for someone to repeat something that was not heard or understood. A more polite formulation is “na3am? / نَعَم؟”.

• “šū… / …شو” is often said during a conversation lull or before moving to a new topic, much like “so…” or “well…”. The speaker might say “šū… / …شو” with the intention of prompting the other person to say something, or might follow up with his/her own statement or question.

• Somewhat related to the previous point, “šū? / شو؟” can be used to solicit someone’s opinion. In this sense, it can serve as shorthand for the question “šū raĀyak? / شو رَأْيَك؟” (said to a male) or “šū raĀyik? / شو رَأْيِك؟” (said to a female), i.e. “What is your opinion?”

• “šū fī? / شو في؟” means “What is it?” or “What’s going on?”

• “šū haydā? / شو هَيْدا؟” (or the alternate form “šū hāy? / شو هاي؟”) means “What is this?”

• “šū / شو” is used as an exclamation (“What a ___!”, “How ___!”, etc.) when followed by a demonstrative pronoun + defined noun, or by an adjective. It can also be used in an exclamatory sense when followed by a verb or verbal phrase. Examples in the following video are transcribed and translated below.