“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.
| * What an excuse! | šū hal3izir! |
شو هالعِذِر! |
| * What a crock! | šū hattufnīSaŧ! |
شو هالتُّفْنيصة! |
| * What a pleasant surprise! | šū halmufējaĀaŧ lHilweŧ! |
شو هالمُفاجَأَة الحِلْوِة! |
| * What a terrible crime! | šū hattihmeŧ rrahībeŧ! |
شو هالتِّهْمة الرَّهيبة! |
| * What is this talk, Mom! | šū halHaké, ya Āimmī! |
شو هالحَكي، يا إمّي! |
| * $125? Yeah, what a rip-off! | miyyeŧ wЌamsaŧ w3išrīn dōlār? | مِيِّة وخَمْسَة وعِشْرين دولار؟ |
| Āé, šū hassirĀaŧ! |
إي، شو هالسِّرقة! |
|
| * Look how nice it is! | lék šū Hilwīn! | ليك شو حِلْوين! |
| You think so? | Āawlik? |
قَوْلِك؟ |
| * How I love this music! | sū bHibb halmūsīĀā! |
شو بْحِبّ هالموسيقى! |
| * How you’ve put on weight, Adel! | šū naSHān wlō 3ādil! | شو نَصْحان وْلو عادِل! |
| Really you’ve put on weight! | wallaħ naSHān! |
والله نَصْحان! |
| * For shame! What is this talk! | yā 3ayb ššūm! šū halHaké! |
يا عَيْب الشّوم! شو هالحَكي! |
| * Oh, we really had a good time! | yī, šū nbasaTnā! |
يي، شو نْبَسَطْنا! |