8 Typical Things Lebanese Married Couples Do

Our Lebanese culture has the most peculiar pattern of social relationships, and perhaps the most peculiar, and funny, is the relationship between a Lebanese married couple. Here’s a list of 8 “unique” things these couples do:

1. Watch the same thing on TV… but each in a separate room. And they yell out to each other from one room to another.

Meanwhile the Kids:

2. Refer to the kids as “ebnak/bentak” and “ebnik/bentik” when things go wrong.
“Roo7 shoof ebnak shou 3amel”, “2ooleh la bentik …”

3. Constantly bad mouth each other’s families

Dad: “Hal walad tale3 la 5ayyik”
Mom: “Mesh a7san ma yetla3 la emmak?”

4. Can never take a decision and ask the kids to ask the other person

Son: “Baba feene edhar?”
Dad: “S2al emmak”
Son: “Mama feene edhar?”
Mom: “S2al bayyak”
And repeat.

5. “Allah yer7am eyyem l khotbe”

Someone is always bitter about how things have changed since the engagement period:
“Allah yer7am iyyem ma kinit tghanneele”
“Allah yer7am iyyem ma kinit tdahhirne kil youm”
“Allah yer7am iyyem ma kinit tdalli3ne”

6. Compete with each other all the time

Such as the following examples:
a. Baby is 2 minutes old: “Meen byshbah aktar? Ana wala immo?”
b. “Meen bit7ibbo aktar? Ana walla baba?”

7. Take credit for their kids’ achievements

“Zakeh tale3 la emmo”
“Yo2borne tale3 riyadi metel bayyo”

8. If the wife is the one doing the cooking, the husband always compares it to his mom’s

The husband will say things like: “Akel emmeh atyab/ laykeh, di2eela la emmeh s2aliya kif bta3mel l loubyeh, bit3almik”, and the wife will retort with, “Ana aslan bi bayte ma kenet otbokh, kenet m3azaze mkarame“.