Locale Ar Lb
Use when working with the Arabic (Lebanon) locale (`ar-LB`) — its endonym العربية (لبنان), Arabic script, right-to-left (RTL) direction, or spoken-population data. Reference data and translation guidance (register, grammar, idiom, typography) for this specific locale; see [[locale]] for general i18n/l10n concepts (BCP 47, plural rules, RTL) that apply across all locales.
Reference data for the Arabic (Lebanon) locale — endonym العربية (لبنان), written in the Arabic script, right-to-left (RTL).
Identifiers
- BCP 47 tag:
ar-LB - ISO 639-1:
ar - ISO 639-3:
ara - Script: Arab (Arabic)
- Region: LB (Lebanon)
- Text direction: rtl — right-to-left (RTL)
Speakers (approximate)
- L1 (native): 5,000,000
- L2 (additional): 300,000
- L1+L2 (total): 5,300,000
Set dir="rtl" for this locale (per Locale's text-direction guidance) rather than assuming left-to-right layout.
Base locale
This is a regional variant of Locale Ar 001 (Arabic), the base/macro locale for this language.
Pluralization
CLDR plural categories for this locale: zero, one, two, few, many, other (6 forms).
- zero —
n = 0(e.g. 0) - one —
n = 1(e.g. 1) - two —
n = 2(e.g. 2) - few —
n % 100 = 3..10(e.g. 3~10, 103~110, 1003, …) - many —
n % 100 = 11..99(e.g. 11~26, 111, 1011, …) - other — everything else (e.g. 100~102, 200~202, 300~302, 400~402, …)
See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.
Translating into this locale
Apply Locale Ar 001 with these Lebanese conventions. Writing is MSA; the spoken dialect is Lebanese (Levantine) Arabic and speakers often code-switch with French and English.
- Currency: Lebanese pound (LBP, ل.ل). The pound has lost much of its value, so check amounts and formats; prices are often quoted in US dollars.
- Month names: Levantine names (كانون الثاني, شباط, آذار, and so on).
- Code-switching: speakers mix French and English in speech ("Bonjour, kifak?"); do not carry this into formal text. In professional text, French and English terms may be given in parentheses on first use.
- Tone: polite and diplomatic; multiple religious communities mean holiday content should be neutral or inclusive.
Common pitfalls
- Writing Lebanese colloquial or Arabizi in formal text.
- Assuming a single religious calendar.
- The general pitfalls in Locale Ar 001 (calques, passive overuse, bidirectional text, and gender agreement) also apply.
Learn more
- Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
- Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
- Microsoft Localization Style Guide, Arabic (https://aka.ms/arabic-styleguide)
- Unicode CLDR locale data for digits, calendars, and currency formats (https://cldr.unicode.org)