egyptian arabic grammar

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ContentsSection I

IntroductionEssentials

Section II - Grammar

NounsPronounsAdjectivesVerbsAdverbsPrepositionsConjunctions

Section III - Usage

CourtesiesQuestionsNegationOwnershipNumbersQuantitiesWhich one?

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Which one?Time

Section IV - How to say...

This section will be coming soon...

Appendices

Arabic writing and pronunciationMore about verbs than you will ever want to knowIrregular verbsAbout this documentCopyright

IntroductionThis document is a concise reference to grammar for people who are learning the spoken arabic ofEgypt. It is intended to be used alongside other study aids available free of charge atwww.lisaanmasry.com.

If you want to see a wider range of examples of Egyptian Arabic, check out the Lonely Planetpublication "Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook" by Siona Jenkins. It is a very useful pocket guide.

Getting started

This document is made up of three main sections:

essentials - an introduction to grammatical terms and to Egyptian arabic, pointing out the

http://www.lisaanmasry.com/



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similarities and differences between Egyptian and Englishgrammar - a description of how to build sentences using the standard language elementsusage - commonly used words, phrases and expressions

A word about arabic writing

It is not difficult to learn to read and write in arabic, but it is an additional barrier to learning.Realistically, you are unlikely ever to see Egyptian Arabic in print: notices, packaging, adverts, websites etc are written in Modern Standard Arabic. And if you want to read Arabic handwriting, that's adifferent ballgame altogether. An understanding of the Arabic alphabet can sometimes be useful,but it is by no means essential.

The examples in this document are therefore written in both arabic and roman letters. There are twoways of writing arabic using roman letters: the transliterated form tells you exactly how it would bewritten in arabic, and the pronounced form gives you an indication of how to pronounce it ineuropean letters. For the pronounced form, I have chosen to write things how and english personwould. My apologies to people whose first language is not english.

The pronunciation rules, the arabic alphabet and the transliterated and pronounced spelling areexplained in the section on arabic writing and pronunciation

The examples in the PDF version are this document are written in arabic and in pronounced form.

The essentials- Same same but differentIn many cases, Egyptian uses the same structure as English: let's first look at some simpleexamples where the structure is similar, then move on to the differences.



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Nouns and verbs

Here is a simple sentence in both english and Egyptian:

Ahmed loves sarahaacHmad biyiHibb saarao

Element English Egyptian

subject noun Ahmed 'ahmadأحمـد

verb loves biyihibbبـیـحـب

object noun Sarah saaraسا ر ة

In both the English and Egyptian examples, there are three words: two words are nouns (people,things or ideas) and the middle word is a verb, which explains what is happening. In both cases, thenoun before the verb (Ahmed) is the subject (the person or thing that is doing something) and thenoun after the verb (Sarah) is the object- is the person or thing that is having something done to it.

We can change the meaning by turning the words around, like this:

Sarah loves Ahmedsaarao bitHibb aacHmad



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subject noun Sarah saaraسا ر ة

verb loves bitihibbبـتـحـب

object noun Ahmed 'ahmadأحمـد

The nouns do not change, they have just moved: we know from the order of the words that Sarah isnow the subject- the one who is loving, and Ahmed is now the object, the one who is loved. Inenglish, the verb does not change at all, but in Egyptian it changes a little because the subject isnow female, not male. We will look in more detail at how exactly verbs change to match the subjectlater, in the section on verbs.

Subject and Object

The subject and object can be a name, for example Sarah and Ahmed, but there are some otherpossiblities as well. Here are some examples:


name Sarah saaraسا ر ة

irraagil



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noun (specific) the man irraagilا لرا جـل

the woman issittا لسـت

the cat il'uttaا لقـطـة

the idea ilfikraا لفـكر ة

noun(general) a man raagilرا جـل

a woman sittسـت

a cat 'uttaقـطـة

an idea fikraفـكر ة

noun(quantity) some men shwyit rigalaeشویـة ر جا لا ة

five men chamas rigalaخـمـس ر جا لا



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any man 'ay raagilأي را جـل

pronoun(subject) he huwwaهـو

she hiyaهـي

pronoun(object) him -uhــه

her -haـها

The word il- ا لـ is corresponds to 'the' in english, but there is no equivalent to 'a'. The noun justappears on its own.

Note that adding il- ا لـ to a word affects the pronunciation if it begins with a sun letter.

Pronouns

Pronouns are the short words like I and they that often replace nouns in spoken English andEgyptian, to make our speech clearer and more concise. Here is a simple example:

I love heraacnaa baHibbahaa



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subject pronoun I 'anaأنا

verb love bahibbبـحـب

object pronoun her -ahaــها

We can see that the subject is still at the start of the sentence and the object is still at the end of thesentence, but in Egyptian the object pronoun is attached to the end of the verb. Let's turn that roundand see what happens:

she loves mehiya bitiHibb-ny


subject pronoun she hiyaهـي

verb loves bitihibbبـتـحـب

object pronoun me -nyـني



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Woa, what happened there? Everything changed, in both English and Egyptian! The reason is that,in both languages, there are different forms of the pronoun for subject and object. There is a thirdform of the pronoun that indicates ownership (my/his/your/their/its) but we will save that until wecover pronouns in more detail. For now, let's just look at the subject and object pronouns.Remember that object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb.

Subject Object

English Egyptian English Egyptian

I 'anaأنا me -ny

ـني

we 'ihnaإحنا us -na

ـنا

you(m) 'intaإنت you(m) -ak

ــك

you(f) 'intiإنت you(f) -ik

ــك

you(pl) 'intuإنتوا you(pl) -ukw

ــكو

he/it(m) huwwaهـو him/it(m) -uh

ــهhiya -ha



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she/it(f) hiyaهـي her/it(f) -ha

ـها

they hummaهـم them -uhum

ــهـم

Here are a few more examples:

English Egyptian

I know him 'ana Aaarifuhأنا عا ر فـه

Ahmed knows him 'ahmad Aaarifuhأحمـد عا ر فـه

Sarah knows him saara Aaarifahسا ر ة عا ر فـه

I smoke cigarettes 'ana bashrab sagaeyarأنا با شر ب سـجا یـر

I write books 'ana baktib kutubأنا با كتـب كـتوب

Ahmed writes books 'ahmad biyiktib kutubأحمـد بـیـكتـب كـتوب

he writes books huwwa biyiktib kutub



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he writes books هـو بـیـكتـب كـتوب

Note that the subject pronoun can be omitted if the meaning is still clear

There is no 'is'

The word is/am/are is one of the most commonly use verbs in english.... but, if you are talking aboutsomething now (not the past or future), there is no word in Egyptian for 'is'. That's quite a bigdifference, but it's not too difficult. Let's take a look at some examples:

English Egyptian

I am tired 'ana taAbaenأنا تـعبا ن

Ahmed is Egyptian 'ahmad masryأحمـد مـصري

the cats are in the garden il'utat fy ilginynaا لقـطـط في ا لجـنینـة

Sarah is available saara mawgudaسا ر ة مـوجود ة

today is friday innahaarda ilgumAaا لنـها رد ة ا لجـمعـة

dy miraaty



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this is my wife dy miraatyدي مـرا تي

my husband is at home guzy fy ilbiytجوزي في ا لبـیت

When you are talking about a past or future situation, then the Egyptian words kaen كا ن - was andhaykun هـیكون - will be are used. This will be covered in more detail later under verbs. Here aresome simple examples:

English Egyptian

I am tired 'ana taAbaenأنا تـعبا ن

Ahmed is tired 'ahmad taAbaenأحمـد تـعبا ن

I was tired 'ana kunt taAbaenأنا كـنت تـعبا ن

Ahmed was tired 'ahmad kaen taAbaenأحمـد كا ن تـعبا ن

I will be tired 'ana hakun taAbaenأنا هـكون تـعبا ن

Ahmed will be tired 'ahmad hayikun taAbaen



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Ahmed will be tired أحمـد هـیـكون تـعبا ن

There is no 'have'

The verb have is widely used in English, but there is no equivalent verb in Egyptian. Have is usedin many ways in English, and in Egyptian a different word is used for each meaning.

Meaning English Egyptian

have with me I have matches maAaya kabrytمـعـیا كـبریت

own I have a house Aandy biytعـندي بـیت

must I have to go laezim 'aruwhلا ز م أر وح

eat, etc I will have dinner(I will dine)

hatAashshaهـتعـشا

take I will have a nap(I will take a nap)

haechuz taAsylaها خـذ تـعسیلـة

Masculine, feminine, plural

Like many european languages, all Egyptian nouns are either masculine or feminine. Here are



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some examples:

Gender English Arabic

masculine book kitaebكـتا ب

masculine dog kalbكـلب

masculine man raagilرا جـل

masculine biyt biytبـیت

masculine milk labanلـبـن

masculine peace salaemسـلا م

masculine teacher mudarrisمـد ر س

feminine teacher mudarrisaمـد ر سـة

fikra



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feminine idea fikraفـكر ة

feminine tabletarabyza

تـرا بیزة

feminine workshop warshaو رشـة

feminine woman sittسـت

feminine daughtergirl

bintبـنت

feminine fire naarنا ر

feminine head raasرا س

As you can see, the majority of feminine nouns end in -a ــة. There are a few exceptions though:some are obvious, like woman and daughter, but others, you just need to learn them. We will coverthis in more detail in the section on nouns.

In both english and Egyptian, there are two forms of a noun: singular and plural. Here are someexamples of plurals:



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English Arabic

Singular Plural Singular Plural

book books kitaebكـتا ب

kutubكـتـب

dog dogs kalbكـلب

kilaebكـلا ب

man men raagilرا جـل

riggalaر جا لا

child children tiflطـفل

'atfaelأطفا ل

house house biytبـیت

buyutبـیوت

milk labanلـبـن

peace salaemسـلا م

teacher(m) teachers mudarrisمـد ر س

mudarrisynمـد ر سین

teacher(f) teachers mudarrisa mudarrisaet



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teacher(f) teachers مـد ر سـة مـد ر سا ت

idea ideas fikraفـكر ة

'afkaarأفكا ر

table tablestarabyza

تـرا بیزة

tarabyzaetتـرا بیزا ت

workshop workshops warshaو رشـة

wirashو ر ش

woman women sittسـت

sattaetسـتا ت

daughtergirl

daughtersgirls

bintبـنت

banaetبـنا ت

fire fires naarنا ر

nyraanنیرا ن

head heads raasرا س

ru'wusوس ر

In english, the majority of plural nouns are the same as the singular, with a suffix of -s for examplebook/books, but there are a small number of words with unusual plurals, for example man/men andchild/children. In Egyptian, feminine nouns that end in -a ــة have a very straightforward plural- or -atplurals of masculine nouns vary quite a lot- the vowels move about a bit but the consonants :ـا ت



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remain the same. You will need to learn them.

Note that, both in english and Egyptian, some words do not have a plural- for example milk andpeace.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe something- for example, good or small. In english, adjectives donot change, but in Egyptian there are different forms of an adjective for masculine, feminine andplural. Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

he is tired huwwa taAbaenهـو تـعبا ن

she is tired hiya taAbaenaهـي تـعبا نـة

they are tired humma taAbanynهـم تـعبا نین

he is good huwwa kuwayisهـو كـو یـس

she is good hiya kuwayisaهـي كـو یـسـة



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they are good humma kuwayisynهـم كـو یـسین

The good news is that the majority of adjectives require just a different ending for feminine- -a ــةand plural -yn ـین forms. We will cover this in more detail in the section on adjectives

Adverbs

Just as adjectives describe a noun, adverbs say something about a verb - where, when, how often,how much etc. They can also be used to describe the extent of an adjective (very good) or evenanother adverb (very slowly). Many English adverbs end with -ly. Usage of adverbs is very similarin English and Egyptian: here are some examples

describing English Egyptian

verb I will come back soon 'ana hargaA baAd shuwayaأنا هـرجـع بـعد شـو یـة

verb Ahmed walks quickly 'ahmad biyimshy bisuraAaأحمـد بـیـمشي بـسـر عـة

adjective Ahmed is extremely clever 'ahmad shaatir giddaenأحمـد شا طـر جـدا

adverb Ahmed drives reasonably fast 'ahmad biyisu' bisuraAa maA'ulaأحمـد بـیـسوق بـسـر عـة مـعقولـة



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Prepositions

In English, prepositions link to a noun. This is possible in Egyptian, but prepositions are alsocommonly used in place of verbs.

In Egyptian, prepositions are widely used in place of verbs, for example have is usually expressedusing the prepositions Aand عـند (own) and maAa مـع (have with you): see ownership for moreinformation. Here are some examples of prepositions:


after baAdبـعد she came after dinner hiya gaet baAd ilAashaa'

هـي جا ت بـعد ا لعـشا ء

behind waraو را the garden is behind the house ilginyna wara ilbiyt

ا لجـنینـة و را ا لبـیت

have Aandعـند I have a house in Cairo Aandy biyt fy il'aehira

عـندي بـیت في ا لقا هـر ة

there is fyفي there is water fy mayae

في مـیا ة

Conjunctions

A conjunction joins two clauses to make a much more complex sentence. Here is an example:

I want to make bread but I don't have enough flour



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Aaayiz aacAamil Aiysh lakin maAandysh diqyq kifaayao

Part English Egyptian

Main clause I want to make bread Aaeyiz 'aAamil Aiyshعا یـز أعـمـل عـیش

Conjunction but lakinلـكـن

Second clause I don't have enough flour maAandysh di'y' kifaeyaمـعـندیش د قیق كـفا یـة

In English, the same word is often used for a preposition and a conjunction, but in Egyptian it maybe different. Sometimes it is only necessary to add the word ma ما to convert a preposition to aconjunction.


preposition(dinner is a noun) wash your hands before dinner 'iGsil iydyk 'abl ilAashaa'

إغسـل ا یدیك قـبل ا لعـشا ءconjunction(you eat is a clause-it contains a verb)

wash your hands before you eat'iGsil iydyk 'abl ma taekulإغسـل ا یدیك قـبل ما تا كـل

Nouns



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A noun represents a person, thing or concept. Here are some examples:

Type English Arabic

person Ahmed 'ahmadأحمـد

person man raagilرا جـل

person player laeAibلا عـب

thing leather gildجـلد

concept wisdom hikmaحـكمـة

concept appointment myAaedمیعا د

Masculine and feminine

In arabic, nouns can be masculine or feminine. This does not necessarily mean that they belong tomale and female persons. Most words that end with -a ــة are feminine. In addition, there are a smallnumber of words that do not end in -a ــة that are also feminine. Some of these words are obvious:others less so. Here are some examples of feminine nouns:



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English Arabic

idea fikraفـكر ة

woman sittسـت

daughter bintبـنت

fire naarنا ر

head raasرا س

Plurals

If there is more than one of something, the noun becomes a plural. For many nouns, only the endingchanges.

Gender Ending Singular Plural

masculine -ynـین

muhaesibمـحا سـب

muhaesibynمـحا سـبین



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feminine -atـا ت

muhasbaمـحا سبـة

muhaesibatمـحا سـبا ت

Occupations

Generally speaking, the plural for trades ends with either -yn ـین or -aya ــيـة, but for professionsthere are different endings for men -yn ـین and women -at ـا ت.

English Singular Plural

carpenter naggaarنـجا ر

naggaarynنـجا رین

greengrocer chudaryخـضـري

chudariyyaخـضـر ییـة

male teacher mudarrisمـد ر س

mudarrisynمـد ر سین

female teacher mudarrisaمـد ر سـة

mudarrisatمـد ر سا ت

Collective nouns

In english, fish can mean pieces of fish or one fish or several: the former is described as acollective noun. In Egyptian, many foods- and some other things- have a collective noun. You can



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talk about one item, for example one fish, by adding -a ــة ending

English Collective one

eggs biydبـیض

biydaبـیضـة

fish samakسـمـك

samakaسـمـكـة

flies dibbaenد با ن

dibbaenaد با نـة

Many materials- things that can be used to make something from, like leather or cloth, are treated inthe same way: you add -a ــة to give the meaning a piece of...

English Collective a piece

wood chashabخـشـب

chashabaخـشـبـة

soap sabunصا بون

sabunaصا بونـة



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Pairs

The egyptian word for shoes (gazma جـزمـة) relates to a pair. For a single shoe, it is necessary tosay fardit gazma فـرد ة جـزمـة.

English Egyptian

shoes gazmaجـزمـة

socks sharaabشـرا ب

gloves guwantyجـوا نتي

Duals

If you want to talk about two people, or specify a quantity of two, see the section on two in numbers.

If you want to talk about two things (not people or quantities), you should use the dual suffix -yn ـین.This is equivalent to a couple which can mean exactly two, or approximately two. There are slightlydifferent forms for feminine nouns and words ending in -y ـي. Here are some examples:



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English Egyptian Suffix English Egyptian

book (m) kitaebكـتا ب

-ynـین two books kitaabyn

chair(ends with y)

kursyكـرسي

-tynـتین two chairs kursiyyin

minute (f) di'y'aد قیقـة

-iyyinــييـن a couple of minutes diqiqtyn

Ownership

One way to express belonging is to add a posessive pronoun to the end of a noun. See ownershipfor information about other methods. Here are some examples:

English on its own with pronoun

his book kitaebكـتا ب

kitaebuhكـتا بـه

my wife does not exist on its own miraatyمـرا تي

your(m) idea fikraفـكر ة

fikritakفـكر تـك



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Compound nouns

You can describe a noun using another noun, for example to say what material it is made from. Thequalifying noun is always singular. If the main noun is preceded by il- ا لـ the qualifying noun is alsopreceded by il- ا لـ . Note that adding il- ا لـ to a word affects the pronunciation if it begins with a sunletter.

English Arabic

a plastic bag kys blastikكیس بلا ستـك

the plastic bag ilkys ilblastikا لكیس ا لبلا ستـك

plastic bags 'akyaes blastikأكیا س بلا ستـك

the plastic bags il'akyaes ilblastikا لأكیا س ا لبلا ستـك

PronounsPronouns are short words that are used to replace nouns in spoken English and Arabic, to makeour speech clearer and more concise. In this example, Ahmed is the noun and He is the pronoun:



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Ahmed has a dog. He walks with it every dayaacHmad Aand-uh kalb wa huwwa biyitmashshY maAa-uh kul ywm

There are four main groups of pronoun:

personal pronouns - I, you, he, etcdemonstrative pronouns - this, thatindefinite pronouns - somebody, anywhererelative pronouns - who, which, that

Personal pronouns

In English, there are four versions of the personal pronoun (he, him, his, himself): in Egyptian, thereis an additional version (to him).

English Egyptian Form

he huwwaهـو subject

him -uhــه object

to him -luhـلـه indirect object

-uh



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his -uhــه posessive

himself nafsuhنـفسـه reflexive

In Egyptian, there are separate forms of you for masculine, feminine and plural, but there is noneuter (it): instead, it is necessary to use the he or she form, depending on the gender of the noun

Subject pronouns

A subject is the noun that appears before the verb- the person or thing that is doing something.

I like to readaacnaa baaHib aacktib

The subject pronouns are:

English Egyptian

I 'anaأنا

we 'ihnaإحنا

you(m) 'intaإنت



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you(f) 'intiإنت

you(pl) 'intuإنتوا

he/it(m) huwwaهـو

she/it(f) hiyaهـي

they hummaهـم

Personal pronouns are not needed with verbs, as it is clear from the verb, but it is common to usethem, especially for emphasis. They are often used with participles.

Object pronoun suffixes

You can attach an object pronoun (for example me or him) as a suffix to an imperative, verb orparticiple. to refer to the object.

give me the knife

iicddyny iil-sikkynao



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The object suffixes are similar to posessive suffixes on nouns:

English Suffix

me -niـن

us -naـن

You(m) -akــك

You(f) -ikــك

You(pl) -kumـكـم

Him/it(m) -uـ

Her/if(f) -haـه

Them -humـهـم



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ـهـم

If there is an I before the last consonant and the suffix starts with a vowel, the -i- is dropped, so...

possessive pronoun suffix

Things that would be expressed using a posessive pronoun (my, your... etc) in English can behandled using a possessive suffix attached to the noun, or using bitaA بـتـع. The latter is used formost imported words.

what (is) your name?

iicsm-ak iicyh?

The posessive pronouns themselves are pretty easy to learn, but when the pronouns are attachedto nouns, the vowels do a little dance to make sure that you don't get three consonants in a row.Here are examples for nouns that end with one or two consonants:

Nouns ending in two consonants

English after -C after -CC

saahibصا حـب

kalbكـلب

my -yـي

saahibyصا حـبي

-yـي

kalbyكـلبي



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our -naـنا

saahibnaصا حـبنا

-inaــنا

kalbinaكـلبـنا

your(m) -akــك

saahibakصا حـبـك

-akــك

kalbakكـلبـك

your(f) -ikــك

saahibikصا حـبـك

-ikــك

kalbikكـلبـك

your(pl) -kumـكـم

saahibkumصا حـبكـم

-ukumــكـم

kalbukumكـلبـكـم

his/its(m) -uhــه

saahibuhصا حـبـه

-uhــه

kalbuhكـلبـه

her/its(f) -haـها

saahibhaصا حـبها

-ahaــها

kalbahaكـلبـها

their -humـهـم

saahibhumصا حـبهـم

-uhumــهـم

kalbuhumكـلبـهـم

For nouns ending in -a ــة, the -a ــة is replaced by -t ـت or -it ــت and then the ending is added.

Nouns ending in -a ــة

English after -C after -CC

kura shanta



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كور ة شـنطـة

my -tyـتي

kurtyكورتي

-ityــتي

shantityشـنطـتي

our -itnaــتنا

kuritnaكور تنا

-itnaــتنا

shantitnaشـنطـتنا

your(m) -takـتـك

kurtakكورتـك

-itakــتـك

shantitakشـنطـتـك

your(f) -tikـتـك

kurtikكورتـك

-itikــتـك

shantitikشـنطـتـك

your(pl) -itkumــتكـم

kuritkumكور تكـم

-itkumــتكـم

shantitkumشـنطـتكـم

his/its(m) -tuhـتـه

kurtuhكورتـه

-ituhــتـه

shantituhشـنطـتـه

her/its(f) -ithaــتها

kurithaكور تها

-ithaــتها

shantithaشـنطـتها

their -ithumــتهـم

kurithumكور تهـم

-ithumــتهـم

shantithumشـنطـتهـم

Nouns that end in alif -a ـا are treated almost like feminine nouns, ie the alif is replaced by -it ـا تand then the ending is added.



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Nouns ending in -y ـي or -w ـو are listed below.

Note that for most words ending in -w ـو, for example baltw بـلتو, one would normally use bitaA بـتـعrather than a posessive suffix.

Nouns ending in a vowel

English -aـا

-yـي

-wـو

vylaڤیلا

kursyكورسي

Aadwعـدو

my -yaـي

vylityڤیلا تي

kursyaكورسیا

Aadwyعـدوي

our -naـنا

vylitnaڤیلا تنا

kursynaكورسینا

Aadwnaعـدونا

your(m) -kـك

vylitakڤیلا تـك

kursykكورسیك

Aadwkعـدوك

your(f) -kiـك

vylitikڤیلا تـك

kursykyكورسیكي

Aadwikعـدو ك

your(pl) -kumـكـم

vylitkumڤیلا تكـم

kursykumكورسیكـم

Aadwkumعـدوكـم

-h vylituh kursyh Aadwh



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his/its(m) -hـه

vylituhڤیلا تـه

kursyhكورسیه

Aadwhعـدوه

her/its(f) -haـها

vylithaڤیلا تها

kursyhaكورسیها

Aadwhaعـدوها

their -humـهـم

vylithumڤیلا تهـم

kursyhumكورسیهـم

Aadwhumعـدوهـم

Father and brother 'abb أب and brother 'achch أخ become 'abw- أبوـ and brother 'achw- أخوـ when apossessive pronoun is added.

English fatheraacbb

brotheraacKK

my 'abwyaأبویا

'achwyaأخویا

our 'abunaأبونا

'achunaأخونا

your(m) 'abukأبوك

'achukأخوك

your(f) 'abukyأبوكي

'achukyأخوكي

your(pl) 'abukum 'achukum



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your(pl) أبوكـم أخوكـم

his/its(m) 'abuhأبوه

'achuhأخوه

her/its(f) 'abuhaأبوها

'achuhaأخوها

their 'abuhumأبوهـم

'achuhumأخوهـم

reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself)

Reflexive pronouns can be used after a noun or a verb.

English Egyptian

I can look after myself haechud baly min nafsyها خـد با لي مـن نـفسي

The man himself irraagil nafsuhا لرا جـل نـفسـه

He did it by himself huwwa Aaemalha binafsuhهـو عا مـله بـنـفسـه

Demonstrative pronouns



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These are the words that you use when you want to point at something.

English Egyptian

this (man) dahد ه

this (woman, thing) dyدي

those (men) dulدول

those (women,things) dyhدیه

If you want to use one of these with a noun, to indicate which one, (for example, this book), youshould use a Demonstrative adjective. Fortunately, in both English an Egyptian, the demonstrativepronouns are the same as the demonstrative adjectives. Note that, when using demonstrativeadjectives in Egyptian, the noun retains its il- ا لـ prefix.

demonstrative English Egyptian

pronoun how much is this bikaem dahبـكا م د ه

pronoun how much is this book bikaem ilkitaeb dahبـكا م ا لكـتا ب د ه



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بـكا م ا لكـتا ب د ه

Indefinite pronouns

These are words like anybody, something etc. In Egyptian, these are made up of two words, butthey are used in exactly the same way as in English.

English Egyptian

somebody haddحـد

anybody 'ay haddأي حـد

nobody wala haddو لا حـد

something haegaحا جـة

anything 'ay haegaأي حا جـة

nothing wala haegaو لا حا جـة

somewhere makaenمـكا ن



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anywhere 'ay makaenأي مـكا ن

nowhere wala makaenو لا مـكا ن

Relative pronoun

The relative pronoun illy ا لي is used to represent that, who and which

the left turn that is coming (ie the next left)iil-yimyn iilly gayy

the man who lives hereiil-raagil iilly saakin hinaa

AdjectivesAdjectives can be used in two ways: to describe something, or to specify which one of several youare talking about.

English Egyptian

describe a cherry is red kiryza hamraكـریز ة حـمرا

describe the ball is red ilkura hamraا لكور ة حـمرا



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describe I want a red ball Aaeyiz kura hamraعا یـز كور ة حـمرا

specify I want the red ball Aaeyiz ilkura ilhamraعا یـز ا لكور ة ا لحـمر ة

describe the book is big ilkitaeb kibyrا لكـتا ب كـبیر

describe I have read a big book 'araa't kitaeb kibyrقـرا ءت كـتا ب كـبیر

specify I have read the big book'araa't ilkitaeb ilkibyr

قـرا ءت ا لكـتا ب الكـبير

describe the man is blind irraagil 'aAmaا لرا جـل أعمى

describe a blind man is outside raagil 'aAma barraرا جـل أعمى بـرا

specify the blind man is outside irraagil il'aAma barraا لرا جـل ا لأعمى بـرا

In English, when you use an adjective to specify which one of several you are talking about, you putthe word the in front of the adjective. It is almost the same in Egyptian, but you put il- ا لـ beforeboth the adjective and the noun: the il- ا لـ before the adjective is the one that means that the



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adjective is specifying which one you mean. Note that adding il- ا لـ to a word affects thepronunciation if it begins with a sun letter.

Masculine, feminine, plural

In english, there is only one form of an adjective, but in Egyptian, most adjectives must agree ingender and number with the noun that they relate to. Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

the man is clever irraagil shaatirا لرا جـل شا طـر

the woman is clever issitt shaatrahا لسـت شا طر ه

the children are cleveril'atfael shaatiryn

ا لأطفا ل شاطـرين

The following table shows some typical feminine and plural forms:

English Egyptian

masculine feminine plural

-ah -yn



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ــه ـین

big kibyrكـبیر

kibyrahكـبیر ه

kubaarكـبا ر

good kuwayisكـو یـس

kuwayisahكـو یـسـه

kuwayisynكـو یـسین

red 'ahmarأحمـر

hamrahحـمر ه

humrحـمر

easy sahlسـهل

sahlahسـهلـه

sahlynسـهلین

nice latyfلـطیف

latyfahلـطیفـه

lutaafلـطا ف

free faadyفا ضي

faadyahفا ضیـه

faadyyinفا ضییـن

brown bunnyبـني

bunnyبـني

bunnyبـني

The feminine form of most adjectives is made by adding the suffix -ah ــه, and the plural is formed byadding the suffix -yn ـین. Note that adding a suffix may affect the pronunciation.

We will look at some of the common exceptions later. Note that some words, for example brownbunny بـني are invariable- you use the same form for masculine, feminine and plural.



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Countries

A country name is usually converted to an adjective by adding -y ـي. This can be used to refer to aperson, a language or something from a country.

English Country m f pl

-yـي

-iyaــيـة

iyyinییـن

Egypt masrمـصر

masryمـصري

masriyaمـصر یـة

masriyyinمـصر ییـن

Greece ilyunaenا لیونا ن

yunanyیونا ني

yunaeniyaیونا نـیـة

yunaeniyyinیونا نـییـن

Italy 'iytalyaإیطا لیا

'iytalyإیطا لي

'iytalyaإیطا لیـة

'iytalyyinإیطا لییـن

Sweden issiwydا لسـوید

siwydyسـویدي

siwydyaسـویدیـة

siwydyyinسـویدییـن

the North ishshimaelا لشـما ل

shimalyشـما لي

shimaeliyaشـما لـیـة

shimaeliyyinشـما لـییـن

Europe'uurubba

أ ور با'uurubby

أ وروبي'uurubbiyaأ وروبـیـة

'uurubbiyyinأ ور

بـييـن



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Irregular ones...

India ilhindا لهـند

hindyهـندي

hindyaهـندیـة

hunudهـنود

America 'amrykaأمریكا

'amryky أمریكي(people)'amrikany أمر كا ني (things)

amrikiyaا مر كـیـة

amrykaenا مریكا ن

For some countries eg England, the adjective is made from the collective noun. Here are someexamples:

English Country m f collective noun

-yـي

-iyaــيـة

England 'ingiltiraإنجـلتـرا

'ingilyzyإنجـلیزي

'ingilyziyahإنجـلیز یـه

'ingilyzإنجـلیز

Arabia Aarabyعـر بي

Aarabyعـر بي

Aarabiyahعـر بـیـه

Aarabعـر ب

Russia rusyaروسیا

rusyروسي

rusyahروسیـه

rusروس

Germany 'almanyaألما نیا

'almanyألما ني

'almanyahألما نیـه

'almaenألما ن



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Spain 'asbanyaأسبا نیا

'asbanyأسبا ني

'asbanyahأسبا نیـه

'asbaenأسبا ن

For countries ending in two consonants and alif, the ending is -awy ـا وي.

English Country m f pl

-awyـا وي

-awiyaـا و یـة

-awiyyinـا و ییا ن

Austria innimsaا لنـمسا

nimsaewyنـمسا وي

nimsawiyyahنـمسـو ییـه

nimsawiyyinنـمسـو ییـن

France faransaفـر نسا

faransaewyفـر نسا وي

faransawiyahفـر نسـو یـه

faransawiyyinفـر نسـو ییـن

One common usage of the country adjective is to talk about a person from that country. Here aresome examples:

English Egyptian

an Egyptian man waehid masryوا حـد مـصري

an Egyptian woman wahda masryaوا حد ة مـصریـة

waehid 'ingilizy



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an englishman waehid 'ingilizyوا حـد إنجـلـزي

an englishwoman wahda 'ingilyzyaوا حد ة إنجـلیزیـة

a frenchman waehid faransawyوا حـد فـر نسـوي

a frenchwoman wahda faransawiyaوا حد ة فـر نسـو یـة

The feminine and plural are used only for people. For inanimate objects, the masculine form only isused. Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

a greek boat markib yunanyمـركـب یونا ني

French cheese gibna faransaewyجـبنـة فـر نسا وي

american carsilAarabiyaet 'amrikany

ا لعـر بـیا ت أمر كاني

Colours



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The main colours follow a pattern. Here are some examples:

English m f pl

C=consonant aCCaC CaCCah CuCC

white 'abyadأبیـض

biydaبـیضا

biydبـیض

black 'iswidإسو د

sudaسودا

suwdسـود

yellow 'asfarأصفـر

safraصـفرا

sufrصـفر

blue 'azra'أزر ق

zar'ahز رقـه

zur'ز رق

green 'achdarأخضـر

chadraخـضرا

chudrخـضر

red 'ahmarأحمـر

hamraحـمرا

humrحـمر

Colours derived from a material or thing just have a -y ـي added. They are invariable: the feminineand plural form is the same as the masculine form.



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English m/f/pl

browncoffee

bunnyبـني

golden zahabyذ هـبي

silver faddyفـضي

copper nahasyنـحا سي

light grey rumadyر ما دي

dark greylead

rusaasyر صا صي

dark greenolive

zytyزیتي

dark blue kuhlyكـحلي

pale blue labanyلـبـني

nibyty



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dark redwine

nibytyنـبیتي

chestnut kastanae'yyكـستـنا ئي

light brownhoney

Aasalyعـسـلي

purpleviolet

banafsigyبـنـفسـجي

orange burtu'alyبـرتـقا لي

deep purpleaubergine

bitanganyبـتـنجا ني

Personal attributes

Personal attributes or disabilities follow the same pattern as the basic colours:

English m f pl

C=consonant aCCaC CaCCah CuCC

foolish 'ahbalأهبـل

hablaهـبلـة

hublهـبل



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squinting 'ahwalأحو ل

hulaa'حولا ء

huwlحـول

bald 'a'raAأقر ع

'arAaقـرعـة

'urAقـرع

bald 'aslaAأصلـع

salAaa'صـلعا ء

sulAصـلع

fair skinblonde

'ash'arأشقـر

sha'araشـقـر ة

shu'rشـقر

dark skinbrunette

'asmarأسمـر

samraسـمر ة

sumrسـمر

frizzy haired 'akratأكر ت

kartaكـرتـة

kurtكـرت

left handed 'ashwalأشو ل

shulaشولـة

shulشول

right handed 'aymanأیمـن

yimnaیـمنـة

yumnیـمن

lame 'aAragأعر ج

Aargaعـرجـة

Aurgعـرج

blind 'aAmaأعمى

Aamyaعـمیـة

Aumyعـمي



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deaf 'atrashأطر ش

turshaa'طـرشا ء

turshطـرش

deaf 'asamأصـم

samaa'صـما ء

summصـم

mute 'achrasأخر س

charsaخـرسـة

chursخـرس

Slightly, Very... Extremely...

The following adverbs can be placed after the adjective:

English Egyptian

slightly shwayaشو یـة

moderately bi'iAtidaelبـإعتـدا ل

very 'awyقـوي

extremely chaalisخا لـص

giddaen



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giddaenجـدا

Aail'achirعـا لأخـر

too 'awyقـوي

Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

the car is slightly damaged ilAarabiya 'itdarrarit shwayaا لعـر بـیـة إتضـر ر ت شو یـة

the carpet was very expensiveissigaeda kaenit Galya 'awy

ا لسـجا د ة كا نـت غا لیـةقـوي

he is extremely rich huwwa Gany giddaenهـو غـني جـدا

this house is too big ilbiyt dih kibyr 'awyا لبـیت د ه كـبیر قـوي

You may have noticed that the word qawy has two meanings: very and too. This sometimescauses confusion when Egyptians speak english: they say, for example, too much when they



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mean very much.

Comparatives

In english we take an adjective like big and add suffixes -er to make comparative bigger and -estto make the superlative biggest. In Egyptian there is one word, a comparative, that is used for both.The context indicates the meaning.

We can compare two things using min مـن:

English Egyptian

Ahmad is taller than me 'ahmad 'atwal minnyأحمـد أطو ل مـني

he is more stupid than I thought huwwa 'aGba min makunt faekirهـو أغبى مـن مـكـنت فا كـر

We can also make comparison without specifying the second thing like this:

English Egyptian

Ahmad is a lot taller 'ahmad 'atwal bikityrأحمـد أطو ل بـكـتیر

the weather will be a little better tomorrow ilgaww haykun 'ahsan shuwaya bukraا لجـو حـیكون أحسـن شـو یـة بـكر ة



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For the superlative (best, biggest) the comparative is used immediately before a noun:

English Egyptian

mohammed is the tallest student muhammad 'atwal taalibمـحـمـد أطو ل طا لـب

he is the youngest boy huwwa 'asGar waladهـو أصغـر و لـد

the tallest student is 1m90ittaalib il'atwal tuluh mitr 1 wa 90 santy

ا لطا لـب ا لأطو ل طولوه مـتر ١ و ٩٠سـنتي

the most expensive drink is 20 pounds ilmashrub il'aGla 20 ginyhا لمـشروب ا لأغلى ٢٠ جـنیه

this is the prettiest dress in the shop dih 'ahla fustaen fy ilmahalد ه أحلى فـستا ن في ا لمـحـل

it was the best day in my life kaen 'ahsan yum fy hayatyكا ن أحسـن یوم في حـیا تي

Making comparatives

As you may have noticed from the previous examples, the comparative is often derived from theadjective as follows:



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English adjective comparative

big kibyrكـبیر

'akbarأكبـر

easy sahlسـهل

'ashalأسهـل

tall tawylطـویل

'atwalأطو ل

classy raqyرا قي

'arqaأرقى

exceptions

good kuwayyisكـو ییـس

'ahsanأحسـن

For adjectives with two consonants and ending in -y ـي or -w ـو, the final letter changes to alif-layena-a ـى.


pretty hilwحـلو

'ahlaأحلى

expensive Galy 'aGla



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expensive غا لي أغلى

loud/high Aalyعا لي

'aAlaأعلى

rich Ganyغـني

'aGnaأغنى

healthy sahyصـحي no comp

stupid Gabyغـبي

'aGbaأغبى

clever zakyذ كي

'azkaأذكى

For adjectives with three consonants where the last two consonants are the same, the middle vowelis replaced with a fatha -a ـ.


serious gaddجـد no comp

new gidydجـدید

'agdadأجد د



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important muhimmمـهـم

'ahammأهـم

numerous Aadydعـدید no comp

lucky mahzuzمـحظوظ no comp

popular mahbubمـحبوب

'ahabbأحـب

light chafyfخـفیف

'achaffأخـف

delicious lazyzلـذیذ

'alazzألـذ

few 'alayilقـلـیـل

'a'aelأقا ل

In English, it is not possible to make a comparative in the usual way from some adjectives, forexample interesting: instead, we say more interesting. The same is true in Egyptian: the words'aktar أكتـر - more and 'a'ael أقا ل - less are used with the adjective. Here are examples of adjectivesthat are handled this way

Group English Egyptian



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participlesbeginning with m-مـ

the contract is more acceptable likethis

ilAa'd ma'bul 'aktar kidahا لعـقد مـقبول أكتـر كـد ه

participlesbeginning with ta-تـ

I am less traditional than you'ana ta'lidy 'a'ael minnak

أنا تـقلـدي أقا ل مـنـك

adjectivesbeginning with 'a- أـ he gets more selfish every day

huwwa biyib'a 'anany 'aktar kulyum

هـو بـیـبقا أنا ني أكتـر كـل یومadjectivesending with -an ـا Sarah is more tired than Ahmed saara taAbaena 'aktar min 'ahmad

سا ر ة تـعبا نـة أكتـر مـن أحمـد

VerbsA verb tells you what is happening- for example, reading, walking etc. In Egyptian, the generalmeaning of a word is defined by the consonants, and several related words may contain this set ofletters. For example, the letters ktb are used to make the words write, type, book, writer, written,writing, office and desk. The exact meaning is affected by the vowels, prefixes and suffixes (extrabits at the beginning and the end). Here are some of the ways the exact meaning can change forverbs:

tense - when something happens (past, present, future)case - who is doing it (I, you, he, etc)mode - must, could etc



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pronouns - who is doing it, who is having it done to themnegation - say something is NOT happening

The examples that follow use the verb katab كـتـب, which means write: about 30% of verbs followthis pattern, and there are probably about three or four other patterns.

The web site www.lisaanmasry.com and the windows and Android apps that you can downloadfrom the web site all provides full details for the majority of verbs.

Pronouns

There are three main types of pronouns that can be used with verbs:

subject - I, we, you, he, she, it, theyobject - me, us, you, him, her, it, themindirect object - to me, to us, to you, to him, to her, to it, to them

In Egyptian, the subject pronoun is a separate word before the verb: the object and indirect objectpronouns are attached to the end of the verb. Here are a some examples:

Pronoun English Arabic

Subject I know Ahmed 'ana Aaarif 'ahmadأنا عا ر ف أحمـد

Subject, object I know him 'ana Aaarifuhأنا عا ر فـه




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Object Ahmed saw her yesterday 'ahmad shaefha 'imbaarihأحمـد شا فها إمبا ر ح

Object Sarah knows him saara Aaarifahسا ر ة عا ر فـه

Object, Indirect give it to me! iddyhwlyا دیهولي

Subject pronoun

The subject pronoun appears before the verb or participle.

English Arabic

I 'anaأنا

we 'ihnaإحنا

you(m) 'intaإنت

you(f) 'intiإنت

you(pl) 'intu



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you(pl) إنتوا

he/it(m) huwwaهـو

she/it(f) hiyaهـي

they hummaهـم

Object pronoun

You can attach an object pronoun (for example me or him) to the end of an imperative, verb orparticiple. See pronouns for more information.

Ahmed envies me

aacHmad biyiHsad-ny

English Suffix

me -nyـني

us -naـنا



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you(m) -akــك

you(f) -ikــك

you(pl) -kumـكـم

him/it(m) -uhــه

her/it(f) -haـها

them -humـهـم

If there is an -i- ــ before the last consonant and the suffix starts with a vowel, the -i- ــ is dropped. Ifthe verb requires a preposition (to, from etc) the object goes on the preposition.


English Egyptian

show me! warrynyو ریني



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nobody helped us mahaddish saeAidnaمـحـد ش سا عـدنا

I saw you(m) 'ana shuftakأنا شـفتـك

I love you(f) 'ana bahibbikأنا بـحـبـك

I know him 'ana Aaarifuhأنا عا ر فـه

I told them 'ana 'ultilhumأنا قـلتـلهـم

Indirect object

Some verbs require two objects- for example:

give it(f) to me

iiddy-haa-ly

It is the direct object and to me is the indirect object. The indirect object suffixes are as follows:

English Suffix



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to me -lyـلي

to us -linaـلـنا

to you(m) -lakـلـك

to you(f) -likـلـك

to you(pl) -lukuـلـك

to him/it(m) -luـل

to her/it(f) -lahaـلـها

to them -luhumـلـهـم

Tenses

In both english and Egyptian, a verb has different tenses to indicate when something happens- inthe past, now or in the future. The usage of each tense will be explained in more details later. Here



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are some examples using katab كـتـب:

Form Example Meaning No ofcases

perfect katabكـتـب he wrote 8 (i/we/you, etc)

simple imperfect yiktibیـكتـب

used with modals - eg he must writeand kaen كا ن - he used to write 8 (i/we/you, etc)

bi-imperfectbiyiktib

بـیـكتـبhe is writinghe writeshe knows how to write used with kaen كا ن

8 (i/we/you, etc)

ha-imperfect hayiktibهـیـكتـب

he will writeused with kaen كا ن 8 (i/we/you, etc)

active participle kaetabكا تـب (he is) writing 3 (m/f/pl)

passive participle maktubمـكتوب (it is) written 3 (m/f/pl)

imperative iktibا كتـب write! 3 (m/f/pl)

verbal noun kitaebaكـتا بـة (the box is covered with) writing 2 (s/pl)



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place maktabمـكتـب writing place (desk or office) 2 (s/pl)

Case

The two main tenses of a verb are the perfect and the simple imperfect: the bi-and ha- imperfectjust have prefixes added to the simple imperfect. The usage of these tenses will be explained inmore detail the section on time. Here is the he case of each tense:

Tense English Egyptian

perfect he wrote huwwa katabهـو كـتـب

simple imperfect he must write huwwa laezim yiktibهـو لا ز م یـكتـب

bi-imperfect he writes huwwa biyiktibهـو بـیـكتـب

ha-imperfect he will write huwwa hayiktibهـو هـیـكتـب

There are eight possible cases for each tense, corresponding to the eight pronoun forms(I/we/you/he, etc). Remember that the three imperfect forms are very similar.

Perfect



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Perfect

Here is an example of the perfect, which is used for things that occurred in the past.

Perfect

English Pronoun Verb

I wrote 'anaأنا

katabtكـتـبت

we wrote 'ihnaإحنا

katabnaكـتـبنا

you(m) wrote 'intaإنت

katabtكـتـبت

you(f) wrote 'intiإنت

katabtyكـتـبتي

you(pl) wrote 'intuإنتوا

katabtuكـتـبتوا

he/it(m) wrote huwwaهـو

katabكـتـب

she/it(f) wrote hiyaهـي

katabitكـتـبـت

they wrote humma katabu



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they wrote هـما كـتـبوا

Simple imperfect

The imperfect has no meaning on its own: it is used in four ways:

with kaen كا ن for things that happened in the pastwith modals like must, could, should etc.with bi-prefix for things happening nowwith ha-prefix for things that will happen

Here is an example with laazim, which means must.

Simple Imperfect

English Pronoun modal Verb

I must write 'anaأنا

laezimلا ز م

'aktibأكتـب

we must write 'ihnaإحنا

laezimلا ز م

niktibنـكتـب

you(m) must write 'intaإنت

laezimلا ز م

tiktibتـكتـب

you(f) must write 'intiإنت

laezimلا ز م

tiktibyتـكتـبي



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you(pl)must write 'intuإنتوا

laezimلا ز م

tiktibuتـكتـبوا

he/it(m)must write huwwaهـو

laezimلا ز م

yiktibیـكتـب

she/it(f)must write hiyaهـي

laezimلا ز م

tiktibتـكتـب

they must write hummaهـما

laezimلا ز م

yiktibuیـكتـبوا

The english word must is a proper modal, it is the same for all cases. The Egyptian word

laezim لا ز م is a proper modal. Later on, you will learn how to use participles and verbs as modals,and you will see how they will change to match the case.

bi-imperfect

For the majority of verbs, the bi-imperfect is used to describe things happening now, and forhabitual actions. See active participles for the exceptions

It is the same as the simple imperfect, with a bi- بـ in front. Note that there are some small changesto the beginning of the imperfect when the prefix is added.

bi-imperfect

English Pronoun verb



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I write 'anaأنا

baktibبـكتـب

we write 'ihnaإحنا

biniktibبـنـكتـب

you(m) write 'intaإنت

bitiktibبـتـكتـب

you(f) write 'intiإنت

bitiktibyبـتـكتـبي

you(pl) write 'intuإنتوا

bitiktibuبـتـكتـبوا

he/it(m) writes huwwaهـو

biyiktibبـیـكتـب

she/it(f) writes hiyaهـي

bitiktibبـتـكتـب

they write hummaهـما

biyiktibuبـیـكتـبوا

ha-imperfect

The ha-imperfect is used for things that will happen at some time in the future.



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It is the same as the simple imperfect, with ha- هـ in front. Note that there are some small changes tothe beginning of the imperfect when the prefix is added.

ha-imperfect


I will write 'anaأنا

haktibهـكتـب

we will write 'ihnaإحنا

haniktibهـنـكتـب

you(m) will write 'intaإنت

hatiktibهـتـكتـب

you(f) will write 'intiإنت

hatiktibyهـتـكتـبي

you(pl) will write 'intuإنتوا

hatiktibuهـتـكتـبوا

he/it(m) will write huwwaهـو

hayiktibهـیـكتـب

she/it(f) will write hiyaهـي

hatiktibهـتـكتـب

humma hayiktibu



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they will write hummaهـما

hayiktibuهـیـكتـبوا

is/was/will be

As mentioned earlier, there is no word for is in Egyptian. There are, however, words for was - kaen.هـیكون and will be - haykun كا ن

kaan

kaen كا ن can be used on its own to talk about some situation in the past, or it can be used with theimperfect and bi-imperfect to move the meaning of the verb into the past, and with the ha-imperfectto indicate something that almost or nearly happened.

kaan


I was anaا نا

kuntكـنت

we were ihnaا حنا

kunnaكـنا

you(m) were 'intaإنت

kuntكـنت

you(f) were 'inti kunty



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you(f) were إنت كـنتي

you(pl) were 'intuإنتوا

kuntuكـنتوا

he/it(m) was huwaهـو

kaenكا ن

she/it(f) was hiyaهـي

kaenitكا نـت

they were hummaهـما

kanuكا نوا


English Egyptian

he was here kaen hinaكا ن هـنا

I was too tired kunt taAbaen 'awyكـنت تـعبا ن قـوي

the party was goodilhafla kaenit kuwayisa

ا لحـفلـة كا نـت كـويـسـة



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preposition there was water, but it's finished kaen fy mayaeh wa chilsitكا ن في مـیا ه و خـلصـت

preposition we had a house kaen Aandina biytكا ن عـند نا بـیت

bi-imperfect he was smoking a cigarette kaen biyishrab sygaaraكا ن بـیـشر ب سیجا ر ة

bi-imperfect he used to smoke cigarettes kaen biyishrab sigaeyarكا ن بـیـشر ب سـجا یـر

ha-imperfect I almost ran him over kunt hadusuhكـنت هـدوسـه

Note that, for prepositional sentences, kaen كا ن does not change with the subject of the sentence -it is always kaen كا ن - it was.

haykwn

haykun هـیكون simply means will be. Here are some examples:

haykwn

English Pronoun verb

I will be anaا نا

hakunهـكون



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we will be ihnaا حنا

hankunهـنكون

you(m) will be 'intaإنت

hatkunهـتكون

you(f) will be 'intiإنت

hatkunyهـتكوني

you(pl) will be 'intuإنتوا

hatkunuهـتكونوا

he/it(m) will be huwaهـو

haykunهـیكون

she/it will be(f) hiyaهـي

hatkunهـتكون

they will be hummaهـما

haykunuهـیكونوا


English Egyptian

the party will be good ilhafla hatkun kuwayisaا لحـفلـة هـتكون كـو یـسـة



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there will be a lot of wind tomorrow haykun fy hawaa' kityr bukraهـیكون في هـوا ء كـتیر بـكر ة

I will be free at five 'ana hakun faady issaeAa chamsaأنا هـكون فا ضي ا لسا عـة خـمسـة

Note that, for prepositional sentences, haykun هـیكون does not change with the subject of thesentence - it is always haykun هـیكون - it will be.

Time

Here is a summary of ways to express when something happens:

Construction Example Meaning

perfect katabكـتـب he wrote

kaen كا ن + imperfect kaen yiktibكا ن یـكتـب he was writing

he used to writekaen كا ن + bi-imperfect kaen biyiktib

كا ن بـیـكتـب

bi-imperfectbiyiktib

بـیـكتـبhe is writinghe writeshe can write



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ha-imperfect hayiktibهـیـكتـب he will write

kaen كا ن + ha-imperfect

kaen hayiktibكا ن هـیـكتـب he intended to write

kaen haymutكا ن هـیموت he almost died

raayih را یـح + imperfect raayih yiktibرا یـح یـكتـب

he is going to writehayruh حـیروح + imperfect hayruh yiktib

هـیروح یـكتـب

Participles

In both English and Egyptian, a participle is derived from a verb, but is used like an adjective. Thereare two types of participle- active and passive. As they are adjectives, in Egyptian, there are threeforms- masculine, feminine and plural.

Participle English Masculine Feminine Plural

-aــة

-ynـین

Active wanting Aaeyizعا یـز

Aaeyizaعا یـز ة

Aaeyizynعا یـزین



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Active knowing Aaarifعا ر ف

Aaarifaعا ر فـة

Aaarifynعا ر فین

Active understanding faehimفا هـم

faehimaفا هـمـة

faehimynفا هـمین

Active boiling Galayaenغـلـیا ن

Galayaenغـلـیا ن

Galayaenغـلـیا ن

Active daydreaming sarhaenسـرحا ن

sarhaenaسـرحا نـة

sarhanynسـرحا نین

Passive bound mitgalidمـتجـلـد

mitgalidaمـتجـلـد ة

mitgalidynمـتجـلـدین

Passive blessed mubaarakمـبا ر ك

mubaarakaمـبا ر كـة

mubaarakynمـبا ر كین

Passive born mawludمـولود

mawludaمـولود ة

mawludynمـولودین

Passive understood mafhumمـفهوم

mafhumaمـفهومـة

mafhumynمـفهومین

Active Participles

In English, we can describe something happening now by using the present tense or the activeparticiple:



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present I look a single event or habitual action

present I am looking a continuous action

In Egyptian, for some verbs, the active participle is the normal way of expressing what somebody isdoing right now. For other verbs, the bi-imperfect is used. Generally, participles are used for verbsthat relate to a state or continuous actions, but there is no flexibility: you have to use a participle fora particular verb whether the action is continuous or not. The four groups of verbs where theparticiple is used are:

movement: going, coming etcsenses: seeing, hearingstates of mind: knowing, understanding, angrystates of body: sleeping

English Verb ActiveParticiple

put hattحـط

haatytحا طیت

travel saefirسا فـر

misaefirمـسا فـر

know Airifعـر ف

Aaarifعا ر ف



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understand fihimفـهـم

faehimفا هـم

sleep naemنا م

naeyimنا یـم

angry ziAilز عـل

zaAlaenز علا ن

Active participles are like adjectives, and have masculine, feminine and plural forms. Here are someexamples showing how the participle agrees with the subject

English Verb

I(m) know Ahmed 'ana Aaarif 'ahmadأنا عا ر ف أحمـد

I(f) know Ahmed 'ana Aaarifa 'ahmadأنا عا ر فـة أحمـد

we know Ahmed ihna Aaarifyn 'ahmadا حنا عا ر فین أحمـد

you(m) know Ahmed 'inta Aaarif 'ahmadإنت عا ر ف أحمـد

you(f) know Ahmed 'inti Aaarifa 'ahmadإنت عا ر فـة أحمـد



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you(pl) know Ahmed 'intu Aaarifyn 'ahmadإنتو ا عا ر فین أحمـد

he knows Ahmed huwwa Aaarif 'ahmadهـو عا ر ف أحمـد

she knows Ahmed hiya Aaarifa 'ahmadهـي عا ر فـة أحمـد

they know Ahmed humma Aaarifyn 'ahmadهـما عا ر فین أحمـد

The participle is also used for an action that took place in the past but whose effect is still in force,for example reserving a room:

Element English Arabic

perfect tabacht ilAashaطـبـخت ا لعـشا I cooked dinner (a long time ago)

participle 'ana taabach Aashaأنا طا بـخ عـشا I cooked dinner (it is reaady now)

Passive Participles

A passive participle describes something that has had something done to it. In English it often endswith -ed, and in Egyptian, it often begins with ma- مـ. Passive participles are like adjectives, and



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have masculine, feminine and plural forms.

English Arabic Verb

the food is cooked il'akl matbuchا لأكل مـطبوخ

tabachطـبـخ

the bowl is broken issultaniya maksuraا لسـلطـنـیـة مـكسور ة

kasarكـسـر

the floors are washed il'ardiyaet maGsulynا لأرضـیا ت مـغسولین

Gasalغـسـل

I was married kunt mitgawwizكـنت مـتجـو ز

'itgawwizإتجـو ز

smoked salami salamy mudachanسـلا مي مـد خـن

dachchanد خـن

modals: possibility, preference etc

You can use a modal together with the simple imperfect to indicate whether something must, may,could happen. Most proper modals are invariable- there is no I/you/he form. Here are someexamples:

Modal Example Meaning

laezim laezim yiktib



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laezimلا ز م

laezim yiktibلا ز م یـكتـب he must write

mumkinمـمكـن

mumkin yiktibمـمكـن یـكتـب he could write

mihtaegمـحتا ج

mihtaeg yiktibمـحتا ج یـكتـب he needs to write

yimkinیـمكـن

yimkin yiktibیـمكـن یـكتـب he might write

ilmafrudا لمـفروض

ilmafrud yiktibا لمـفروض یـكتـب he should> write

daruryضـروري

darury yiktibضـروري یـكتـب it is essential that he should write

Aalashaenعـلـشا ن

pronounced Aashaenعـشا ن

Aalashaen yiktibعـلـشا ن یـكتـب in order to write

There are also some verbs or participles that can be used as modals. Here are some examples:

Type Modal Example Meaning

Aaewiz Aaewiz yiktib



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participle Aaewizعا و ز

Aaewiz yiktibعا و ز یـكتـب he wants to write

participle naewyنا وي

naewy yiktibنا وي یـكتـب he intends to write

noun nifsنـفس

nifsuh yiktibنـفسـه یـكتـب he wishes he could write

verb 'idir, yi'darقـد ر، یـقد ر

yi'dar yiktibیـقد ر یـكتـب he is able to write

verb Airif, yiArafعـر ف، یـعر ف

yiAraf yiktibیـعر ف یـكتـب he knows how to write

verb habb, yihibbحـب، یـحـب

yihibb yiktibیـحـب یـكتـب he likes to write

verb lihi', yihla'لـحـق، یـحلـق

lihi' yiktibلـحـق یـكتـب he managed to write

verb raah, yiruhرا ح، یـروح

raah yiktibرا ح یـكتـب he went to write

verb nisy, yinsaنـسي، یـنسى

nisi yiktibنـس یـكتـب he forgot to write

Participles must agree with the gender and number, and verbs must be the appropriate case. Truemodals like laezim لا ز م do not change. Here are some examples.



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Type English Arabic

modal I must write 'ana laezim 'aktibأنا لا ز م أكتـب

modal you(m) must write 'inta laezim tiktibإنت لا ز م تـكتـب

modal he must write huwwa laezim yiktibهـو لا ز م یـكتـب

modal they must write humma laezim tiktibuهـم لا ز م تـكتـبوا

participle I want to write 'ana Aaeyiz 'aktibأنا عا یـز أكتـب

participle she wants to write hiya Aaeyiza tiktibهـي عا یـز ة تـكتـب

participle they want to write humma Aaeyizyn yiktibuهـم عا یـزین یـكتـبوا

verb I like to write ana baehibb 'aktibا نا با حـب أكتـب

verb he likes to write huwwa biyihibb yiktibهـو بـیـحـب یـكتـب



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verb she likes to write hiya bitihibb tiktibهـي بـتـحـب تـكتـب

verb they like to write humma biyihibbu yiktibuهـم بـیـحـبو ا یـكتـبوا

If the subject of the verb is not the same as the subject of the modal

I want to go (same)I want him to go (different)

in both english and egpytian you add an object pronoun to the modal: in Egyptian it is attached tothe modal, or to any preposition associated with it.

English Arabic

she wants me to write hiya Aaeyizany 'aktibهـي عا یـز ني أكتـب

she wants to write hiya Aaeyiza tiktibهـي عا یـز ة تـكتـب

she wants him to write hiya Aaeyizah yiktibهـي عا یـز ه یـكتـب

he wants her to write huwwa Aaeyizha tiktibهـو عا یـزها تـكتـب



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she likes him to write bitihibbuh yiktibبـتـحـبـه یـكتـب

he likes her to write biyihibbha tiktibبـیـحـبها تـكتـب

I let him write chalitw yiktibخـلـتو یـكتـب

I asked him to write talabt minnuh yiktibطـلـبت مـنـه یـكتـب

Imperatives

When you want to tell somebody to do something, you use an imperative. In Egyptian, there arethree forms- masculine, feminine and plural. Here are some examples.

English Verb Masculine Feminine Plural

Imperfect -yـي

-uـوا

look! yibussیـبـص

bussبـص

bussyبـصي

bussuبـصوا

go! yiruhیـروح

ruwhر وح

ruwhyر وحي

ruwhuر وحوا



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come!

yiygyیـیجي

irregular

taAaelaتـعا ل

taAalyتـعا لي

taAaluتـعا لوا

eat! yaekulیا كـل

kulكـل

kulyكـلي

kuluكـلوا

shut up! yuskutیـسكـت

'iskutإسكـت

'iskutyإسكـتي

'iskutuإسكـتوا

calm down! yihdaیـهدى

'ihdaإهدى

'ihdyإهدي

'ihduإهدوا

walk!(go away)

yimshyیـمشي

'imshyإمشي

'imshyإمشي

'imshuإمشوا

verbal nouns

It is sometimes useful to make a noun from a verb. Here are some examples:

English Arabic Verb

wash your hands before eating iGsil iydyk 'abl il'aklا غسـل ا یدیك قـبل ا لأكل

kalكـل

I have a reservation Aandy hagzعـندي حـجز

haegizحا جـز



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This game is for four playersilliaAba dih li'arbAa laAyba

ا لــعبـة د ه لـأربع لاعيبا

liAibلـعـب

Negation of verbs

You can say that something is not happening using the word mish مـش. It can appear before a verb,or wrapped around it. Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

he is not here huwwa mish hinaهـو مـش هـنا

he was not here huwwa makansh hinaهـو مـكا نش هـنا

I have not travelled outside egypt masafirtish barra masrمـسـفـرتـش بـرا مـصر

I do not know 'ana mish Aaarifأنا مـش عا ر ف

he was not able to come ma'dirsh yigyمـقد رش یـجي

he will not come mish hayigy



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he will not come مـش هـیـجي

don't go! matimshyshمـتـمشیش

See Negation for more details.

AdverbsA verb explains what is being done: adverbs can be used to specify how, when, where and in whatmanner it is being done. There can be more than one adverb- they are placed after the verb. Hereare some examples.

English Egyptian

direction Ahmed is going up (stairs) 'ahmad taalaA fu'أحمـد طا لـع فوق

position Ahmed is coming here 'ahmad gayy hinaأحمـد جـیي هـنا

time Ahmed will come tomorrow evening 'ahmad hayigy bukra biillylأحمـد حـیـجي بـكر ة بـا لیل

frequency Ahmed always walks 'ahmad biyimshy daymaenأحمـد بـیـمشي د یما

quality Ahmed walks quickly 'ahmad biyimshy bisuraAa



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quality Ahmed walks quickly أحمـد بـیـمشي بـسـر عـة

extent Ahmed walks extremely quickly 'ahmad biyimshy bisuraAa giddaenأحمـد بـیـمشي بـسـر عـة جـدا

Ahmed always walks slowly upstairs inthe evening

'ahmad biyitaalaA issalaelim daymaenbishwysh fy illyl

أحمـد بـیـطا لـع ا لسـلا لـم د یما بـشویش فيا لیل

direction

Direction adverbs can be used with verbs like go

English Egyptian English example Egyptian example

up fu'فوق I am going upstairs 'ana taalaA fu'

أنا طا لـع فوق

down tahtتـحت he dived down Gitis taht

غـطـس تـحت

left shamaelشـما ل turn left! chushsh shamael

خـش شـما ل

right yimynیـمین look right! buss yimyn

بـص یـمین



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straight aheadAala tul

عـلىطول

go(walk) straight ahead'imshy Aala tul

إمشي عـلى طول

location

Location adverbs can be used with verbs like go


here hinaهـنا come here! taAala hina

تـعا لى هـنا

there hinaekهـنا ك I have to go there tomorrow laezim 'aruwh hinaek bukrah

لا ز م أر وح هـنا ك بـكر ه

time

Time adverbs are used to specify when you do something: they can be used with almost any verb.Here are some examples:


immediately halaenحا لا I will open it immediately haftahuh halaen

هـفتـحـه حا لاdilwa'ty 'ihna gaehizyn dilwa'ty



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now dilwa'tyد لو قتي we are ready now 'ihna gaehizyn dilwa'ty

إحنا جا هـزین د لو قتي

already noequivalent he (is) already here huwwa mawgwd

todayinnahaarda

ا لنـها رد ة the party is this eveningilhafla innahaarda biillyl

ا لحـفلـة ا لنـها رد ة بـاليل

tomorrow bukrahبـكر ه I will go to Alexandria tomorrow

haruwh il'iskandiraayabukrah

هـر وح ا لإسكـند را یـةبـكر ه

the day aftertomorrow

baAd bukrahبـعد بـكر ه

I will come back the day aftertomorrow

'ana hargaA baAd bukrahأنا هـرجـع بـعد بـكر ه

yesterday 'imbaarihإمبا ر ح she arrived yesterday wasalt 'imbaarih

و صـلت إمبا ر ح

day beforeyesterday

'awil'imbaarihأو ل إمبا ر ح

I bought it the day before yesterday'ashtarytuh 'awil 'imbaarih

أشتـریتـه أو ل إمبا ر ح

next week

il'usbwaAilligaey

ا لأ سبو ع we will go home next week

hanrawwah il'usbwaAilligaey

هـنر و ح ا لأ سبو ع ا لـجا



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ا لـجا ي ي

this weekil'usbwaA dih

ا لأ سبو عد ه

we are on holiday this week

ihna fy 'agaeza il'usbwaAdih

ا حنا في أجا ز ة ا لأ سبوع د ه

last week

il'usbwaA 'illyfaet

ا لأ سبو عإلي فا ت

I saw her last weekshuftaha il'usbwaA 'illyfaetشـفتـها ا لأ سبو ع إلي فا ت

early badryبـدري we must get up early tomorrow laezim ni'um badry bukrah

لا ز م نـقوم بـدري بـكر ه

evening biillylبـا لیل there is a party this evening fy hafla biillyl

في حـفلـة بـا لیل

later baAdynبـعدین see you later hashufak baAdyn

حـشوفـك بـعدین

againkamaenmarrah

كـما ن مـر هplay that song again

Ganny il'aGniya dihkamaen marrah

غـني ا لأغنـیـة د ه كـما نمـر ه

afterwards baAd kida we will eat and afterwards we willhanaekul wa baAd kidahani'Aad fyilginyna



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afterwards baAd kidaبـعد كـد ة

we will eat and afterwards we willsit in the garden هـنا كـل و بـعد كـد ة هـنـقعـد

فیا لجـنینـة

ago minمـن

I have lived here for a long time (lit.since a long time ago

sikint hina min zamaenسـكـنت هـنا مـن ز ما ن

frequency

This group of adverbs specifies how frequently you do something. Here are some examples:


usuallyAaedataen

عا د تا I usually take a nap after lunchbaechud Aadataen taAsylla baAdilGadaa'

با خـد عـد تا تـعسیلـة بـعد ا لغـدا ء

always daymaenد یما his office is always neat maktabuh mitsattif daymaen

مـكتـبـه مـتسـتـف د یما

rarely naediraanنا د را I rarely see Ahmed 'ana bashuf ahmad naediraan

أنا با شوف ا حمـد نا د را

regularly bi'intizaemبـإنتـظا م I go to the gym regularly baruh ilgym bi'intizaem

بـروح ا لجیم بـإنتـظا م

recentlymin 'urayib

مـن قـر یـبsomebody asked me about thatrecently

hadd s'aalny Aanuh dih min'urayib



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recently مـن قـر یـب recently حـد سأ لني عـنـه د ه مـن قـر یـب

at all 'abadaenأبـدا I don't know him at all mish Aaarifuh 'abadaen

مـش عا ر فـه أبـدا

again thanyثا ني I would like to go there again Aaeyiz 'aruh hinaek thany

عا یـز أروح هـنا ك ثا ني

often Galibaenغـلـبا she is often tired hiya taAbaena Galibaen

هـي تـعبا نـة غـلـبا

forever lil'abadلـلأبـد nobody lives for ever mahaddish biyiAish lil'abad

مـحـد ش بـیـعـش لـلأبـد

all day tul ilyumطول ا لیوم it rained all day mattar tul ilyum

مـطـر طول ا لیومall(my/his/her)life

tul ilAumrطول ا لعـمر

he smoked cigarettes all hislife

kaen biyishrib sagaeyar tulAumruhكا ن بـیـشر ب سـجا یـر طول عـمر ه

firstly 'awilaenأو لا

finally 'achyraanأخیرا he finally visited london zaar lundun 'achyraan

زا ر لـند ن أخیراmin wa'tlilthany baruh ilginyna min wa't lilthany



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occasionallylilthany

مـن و قتلـلثا ني

I go to the park occasionally بـروح ا لجـنینـة مـن و قت لـلثاني

hourly biissaeAaبـا لسا عـة you must check hourly laezim titammim biissaeAa

لا ز م تـتـمـم بـا لسا عـة

sometimes'ahyanaen

أحیا ناwe sometimes see sharkshere

binishuf samak 'irsh 'ahyanaenhina

بـنـشوف سـمـك قـرش أحیا نا هـنا

sometimes'aw'aet

أوقا ت it sometimes rains in Egypt

'aw'aet bitmattar fy masrأوقا ت بـتمـطـر في مـصر

Note: always goes at beginning ofsentence

Extent

The following adverbs can be placed after an adjective or another adverb to indicate the extent:

English Egyptian

slightly shwayaشو یـة

reasonably maA'ulaمـعقولـة



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very 'awyقـوي

extremely chaalisخا لـص

giddaenجـدا

Aail'achirعـا لأخـر

too 'awyقـوي

Derived adverbs

Most adjectives in english can be converted to an adverb by adding the letters -ly, for example nicebecomes nicely. In Egyptian, the adjective can be converted to an adverb by adding the ending -anـا

English adjective adverb

officially rasmyر سمي

rasmyaenر سمیا

theoretically nazary nazariyaen



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theoretically نـظـري نـظـر یا

naturally tabyAyطـبیعي

tabyAyaenطـبیعیا

literally harfyحـرفي

harfyaenحـرفیا

generally Aumumyعـمومي

Aumumaenعـموما

normally Aadyعا دي

Aadataenعـد تا

slightly 'ulayilقـلـیـل

'alayalaenقـلـیـلا

Similarly, a noun can be converted to an adverbal phrase by adding the word with, for examplewith care. In Egyptian, the same can be achieved by adding bi- بـ at the start of the word.


with care bihazarبـحـذ ر he opened the box carefully fatah ilAalba bihazar

فـتـح ا لعـلبـة بـحـذ ر

with speed bisurAaبـسـرعـة Ahmed drives very fast 'ahmad biyisu' bisurAa 'awy

أحمـد بـیـسوق بـسـرعـة قـويbiirraaha 'ilaAbu biirraaha



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with calm biirraahaبـا لرا حـة play (pl) quietly! 'ilaAbu biirraaha

إلـعبو ا بـا لرا حـة

with precisionbiizzabtبـا لظـبط

the meeting took exactly onehour

il'igtimaeA 'achad saeAabiizzabtا لإجتـما ع أخـد سا عـة بـا لظـبط

withmoderation

bi'iAatidaelبـإعـتـدا ل eat moderately 'akul bi'iAatidael

أكـل بـإعـتـدا ل

in the evening biillylبـا لیل there is a party this evening fy hafla biillyl

في حـفلـة بـا لیل

Miscellaneous


together(people)

sawaسـوا we will travel together 'ihna misaefiryn sawa

إحنا مـسا فـرین سـواtogether(people andthings)

maAa baAdمـع بـعض we will travel together

'ihna misaefiryn maAa baAdإحنا مـسا فـرین مـع بـعض

separatelykul wahidliwahduhكـل و حـد لـو حد ه

we will travelseparately

'ihna misaefiryn kul wahidliwahduhإحنا مـسا فـرین كـل و حـد لـو حد ه

well kuwayis he sings very well huwwa biyiGanny kuwayis 'awy



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well كـو یـس he sings very well هـو بـیـغـني كـو یـس قـوي

PrepositionsPrepositions define a relationship (in time, space,etc) between a noun and something else. In bothenglish and Egyptian, the preposition goes before the noun that it defines the relationship to. Hereare some examples:

Domain English Egyptian English Egyptian

time after baAdبـعد she came after dinner hiya gaet baAd ilAashaa'

هـي جا ت بـعد ا لعـشا ء

space behind waraو را

the garden is behind thehouse

ilginyna wara ilbiytا لجـنینـة و را ا لبـیت

quality like zayyز یي

I need another pen likethis

mihtaeg 'alam thany zayy dahمـحتا ج قـلـم ثا ني ز یي د ه

reference accordingto

hasabحـسـب

according to the police,the riot started at 2am

hasab kalaem ilbulys, ishshaGab'ibtada issaeAa ithnyn

حـسـب كـلا م ا لبولیس، الشـغـب إبتـدى ا لسا عـة ا ثنين

ownership have Aandعـند I have a house in Cairo Aandy biyt fy il'aehira

عـندي بـیت في ا لقا هـر ة



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The noun can be one of the following:

Element Preposition English Egyptian

name Ahmed she is with Ahmed hiya maAa 'ahmadهـي مـع أحمـد

simple noun the house the cat is inside the house il'utta guwwa ilbiytا لقـطـة جـوا ا لبـیت

complexnoun

the manwho...

I arrived after the man whodelivered the carpet

wasalt baAd irraagil illy wasalissigaeda

و صـلت بـعد ا لرا جـل ا لي وصـل ا لسـجا د ة

objectpronoun her I arrived after her wasalt baAdaha

و صـلت بـعد هqualifyingpronoun this I need another pen like this mihtaeg 'alam thany zayy dah

مـحتا ج قـلـم ثا ني ز یي د ه

Be careful! If it's not a noun, but a complete clause (ie it has a verb), you have to use aconjunction. In english, it's confusing because the preposition and conjunction are often the sameword: in Egyptian it is necessary to insert the word maa to convert a preposition ot a conjunction.See more about this below.

Prepositions of time



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after baAdبـعد we will start after the feast hanibtidy baAd ilAiyd

هـنـبتـدي بـعد ا لعـید

before 'ablقـبل

I must paint the house beforesummer

laezim 'adhin ilbiyt 'abl issyfلا ز م أدهـن ا لبـیت قـبل ا لصیف

during athnaa'ا ثنا ء smoking is forbidden during dinner ittadchyn mamnuA 'athnaa' ilAashaa'

ا لتـدخین مـمنوع أثنا ء ا لعـشا ء

till lihaddلـحـد I will be here till dinner 'ana mawgud lihadd ilAashaa'

أنا مـوجود لـحـد ا لعـشا ء

tillliGaeyit

لـغا یـة they are busy until 8pmhumma mawgudyn liGaeyit saeAatamanya

هـم مـوجودین لـغا یـة سا عـة تـما نیـة

Prepositions of space


from minمـن he is from Cairo huwwa min ilqaahira

هـو مـن ا لقا هـر ة

away from Aanعـن the dog ran away from me ilkalb garry minny

ا لكـلب جـري مـني



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at/toward Aalaعـلى that man is looking at us irraagil dah bass Aalyna

ا لرا جـل د ه بـص عـلینا

at fyفي my husband is at home guzy fy ilbiyt

جوزي في ا لبـیت

above fu'فوق my apartment is above the laundry sha''aty fu' ilmaGsala

شـقـتي فوق ا لمـغسـلـة

below tahtتـحت

there are many many fish under thewater

fy samak kityr taht ilmayaehفي سـمـك كـتیر تـحت ا لمـیا ه

opposite 'usaadقـصا د

the restaurant is opposite the railwaystation

ilmataAm 'usaad mahattitil'ataar

ا لمـطـعم قـصا د مـحـطـة ا لقـطار

opposite 'ubaelقـبا ل

facingfywishshفي و ش

the house is facing the desertilbiyt fy wishsh issaharaa'

ا لبـیت في و ش ا لصـحـرا ء

atAand

عـند the customs office is at the airportmaktab ilgamaarik Aandilmataarمـكتـب ا لجـما ر ك عـند ا لمـطا ر



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atAand

عـند turn right at the pharmacychushsh yimyn Aandissayidaliya

خـش یـمین عـند ا لصـیـد لـیـة

behind waraو را the cat is behind you (f) il'utta waraaky

ا لقـطـة و را كي

beside gambجـمب

there was an accident beside themosque

kaen fy hadtha ganb ilgamAaكا ن في حا دثـة جـنب ا لجا مع

in fyفي the dog is in the garden ilkalb fy ilginyna

ا لكـلب في ا لجـنینـة

inside guwaجـوا we must stay inside the house laezim ni'Aud guwa ilbiyt

لا ز م نـقعـد جـوا ا لبـیت

outside baraبـرا do you want anything from outside? Aaeyiz haga min baraa?

عا یـز حـجـة مـن بـرا ؟

on Aalaعـلى the bread is on the table ilAysh Aala ittarabyza

ا لعیش عـلى ا لتـر بیز ة

between bynبین

Hurghada is between the desert andthe sea

ilGarda'a byn issaharaa' wailbahr

ا لغـرد قـة بین ا لصـحـرا ء و البـحر

biittulfy Aawamyd nur biittulishshaariA



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along biittulبـا لطول there are lamp posts all along the street

ishshaariAفي عـوا مید نور بـا لطول ا لشا

ر ع

surrounding hawalynحـو لین

The view surrounding the house isvery beautiful

ilmanzar hawalyn ilbiyt gamyl'awy

ا لمـنظـر حـو لین ا لبـیتجـمیل قـوي

Note that you don't need a prepositional to after words like raah را ح - go.

I am going to Cairoaacnaa raayiH iil-Qaahirao

Miscellaneous Prepositions


concerning

'amae...fa...

أما ٫٫٫فـ٫٫٫

like zayyز یي do you have something like this? Aandak haega zayy dih?

عـند ك حا جـة ز یي د ه؟

there is fy there is a stain on this shirt fy bu'Aa Aala il'amys dih



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there is في there is a stain on this shirt في بـقعـة عـلى ا لقـمیص د ه

about Aanعـن

I am reading a book about therevolution

ba'ra kitaeb Aan iththuraبـقرا كـتا ب عـن ا لثور ة

accordingto

hasabحـسـب

according to Ahmed, it will bewindy tomorrow

hasab kalaem 'ahmad, haykun fyhawaa' kityr bukrah

حـسـب كـلا م أحمـد، حـیكون في هـوا ءكـتیر بـكر ه

contrary Aaksعـكس my opinion is contrary to yours r'ayy Aaks r'ayak

رأیي عـكس رأیـك

except 'ilaإلا

there is no food except thisbread

mafish akl 'ila ilAayshsh dahمـفـش ا كل إلا ا لعـیش د ه

except maAadaمـعـدا

instead of baddalبـد ل give us chicken instead of beef 'idyna firaach baddal illahma

إدینا فـرا خ بـد ل ا لـحمـة

despite

biirraGmminبـا لر غم

مـنhe succeeded despite his injuries nigih biirraGm min ziraaAuh ilmaksur

نـجـح بـا لر غم مـن ذ را عـه ا لمـكسور

fy Aashara duyuf zae'yid 'ithnyn



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plus zae'yidزا ئـد

there are ten guests plus twostaff

muwazafynفي عـشـر ة ضـیوف زا ئـد إثنین مـو

ظـفين

Prepositions of ownership

This important group is discussed in more detail in the section on ownership.


own Aandعـند I own a car Aandy Aarabiya

عـندي عـر بـیـة

have with you maAaمـع I have a cigarette lighter maAayah walaeAa

مـعـیـه و لا عـة

have got lyلي I have two legs ly riglyn

لي ر جلین

for Aalashaenعـلـشا ن there was a phone call for you kaen fy mukalma Aalashaenak

كا ن في مـكـلمـة عـلـشا نـك

Subordinate clauses: maa

A preposition connects a noun to a sentence. If you want to connect a clause (something with averb) to a sentence, you need to use a conjunction.



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In English, many conjunctions are the same as prepositions: In Egyptian, some prepositions can beconverted to a conjunction by adding the word ma ما. Here are some examples:


preposition wash your hands before dinner 'iGsil iydyk 'abl ilAashaa'إغسـل ا یدیك قـبل ا لعـشا ء

conjunction wash your hands before you eat 'iGsil iydyk 'abl ma taekulإغسـل ا یدیك قـبل ما تا كـل

preposition she arrived after the bus hiya wasalit baAd ilmasarahiyaهـي و صـلـت بـعد ا لمـسـر حـیـة

conjunction she arrived after the bus had gone hiya wasalit baAd ma ilmasrahiya 'ibtaditهـي و صـلـت بـعد ما ا لمـسر حـیـة إبتـد ت

preposition he acts like the owner biyitsarraf zayy ilmaelikبـیـتصـر ف ز یي ا لما لـك

conjunction he acts as if he owns the place biyitsarraf zayy ma yikun ilmakaen bitaeAuhبـیـتصـر ف ز یي ما یـكون ا لمـكا ن بـتا عـه

yikun یـكون is added in the last example because it is something that is unlikely to happen. See kaanfor more details.

Conjunctions



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Conjunctions are the useful little words that join clauses together to make more complex sentences.

I want to make bread but I don't have enough flourAaayiz aacAamil Aiysh lakin maAandysh diqyq kifaayao

Part English Egyptian

Main clause I want to make bread Aaeyiz 'aAamil Aiyshعا یـز أعـمـل عـیش

Conjunction but lakinلـكـن

Second clause I don't have enough flour maAandysh di'y' kifaeyaمـعـندیش د قیق كـفا یـة

If you just want to attach a noun, you should use a preposition, but if you want to attach a clause(ie, there is a verb on both sides), then a conjunction is required. In English, the same word is oftenused for both preposition and conjunction, but there are differences in Egyptian: see prepositionsand conjunctions for more details.

If there is a subject pronoun in the second clause, it becomes an object pronoun attached to theconjunction. For example:

I feared that she was lostaanaa Kuft iinnahaa tikwn taahit

The following table lists most of the common conjunctions, and gives examples how they can be



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used.

English Egyptian English Example Egyptian Example

that 'innإن I feared that she was lost ana chuft 'innaha tikun taehit

ا نا خـفت إنـها تـكون تا هـت

as longas

tul maطول ما

as long as you water the garden,the plants will grow

tul ma bitis'y ilginyna, izzaraAhayikbar

طول ما بـتـسقي ا لجـنینـة، ا لز رع حـيـكبـر

because

Aalashaenعـلـشا ن

pronouncedAashaen

I don't have a car because there isnot enough money

maAndysh Aarabiya Aalashaenmafiysh filus kifaeya

مـعندیش عـر بـیـة عـلـشا ن مـفـیشفـلوس كـفا یـة

in orderto

Aalashaenعـلـشا ن I need money in order to buy food

mihtaeg filus Aalashaen 'ashtiry'akl

مـحتا ج فـلوس عـلـشا ن أشتـري أكل

after baAd maبـعد ما

we will leave after the movie hasfinished

hanimshy bAad ma ilfylm yichlasحـنـمشي بعـد ما ا لفیلم یـخلـص

and wiو

I went to the bank and it wasclosed

raht ilbank wi kaen ma'fulر حت ا لبـنك و كا ن مـقفول



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as if Aala 'innعـلى إن

as if kae'innكا إن he spends money as if he is rich biyusrif filus kae'innuh Gany

بـیـصر ف فـلوس كا إنـه غـني

as ifzayy ma

ز یي ما he spends money as if he is richbiyusrif filus zayy ma yikun Gany

بـیـصر ف فـلوس ز یي ما یـكونغـني

before 'abl maقـبل ما

but bassبـس

I would like to go but I don't havetime

nifsy aaruh bass maAandysh wa'tنـفسي ا روح بـس مـعـندیش و قت

but lakinلـكـن ditto

if 'inإن If you go, you will get into a fight 'inn ruht hinaek, haetit chaani'

إن روحت هـنا ك، حا تـت خا نـق

if 'izaإذا

if you have some money, lend mefifty pounds

'iza kaen maAaek filus, salifnychamsyn ginya

إذا كا ن مـعا ك فـلوس، سـلـفنيخـمسین جـنیـة

instead badal ma instead of going, call them badal ma matruh, kalimhum



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insteadof بـد ل ما instead of going, call them بـد ل ما مـتروح، كـلـمهـم

likezay ma

ز ي ماas you did for him, he will do foryou

zayy ma Aamalt fyh hayitAamilfyk

ز یي ما عـمـلت فیه هـیـتعـمـل فیك

neither..nor..

lae...walaeh..لا ٫٫٫ و لا ه٫٫

neither this is working nor is thisworking

la dah naefaA walaeh dahbiyinfaA

لا د ه نا فـع و لا ه د ه بـیـنفـع

or 'awأو we can eat fish or chicken mumkin naekul samak 'aw firaach

مـمكـن نا كـل سـمـك أو فـرا خ

or (inquestion)

walaو لا would you like fish or chicken?

Aaewiz taekul samak walafiraach?

عا و ز تا كـل سـمـك و لا فـرا خ؟ratherthan

'ahsanأحسـن

I would prefer to eat fish ratherthan chicken

'akul issamak 'ahsan min ilfiraachأكـل ا لسـمـك أحسـن مـن ا لفـرا خ

otherwise wa 'illaو إلا shut up otherwise we go home! 'ichrassy wa 'illa haarawahik

إخر سي و إلا ها ر و حـك

unless 'ila 'izaإلا إذا

don't give him any money unless Iallow you to

matidyhush filus 'ila 'iza 'anasamahtylak

مـتـدیهوش فـلوس إلا إذا أنا سـمـحتیلـك



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conditional clauses (if.. then...)There are two words meaning if: they are 'iza إذا and law لـو. 'iza إذا can be used under allcircumstances: law لـو cannot be used with the imperfect form of a verb or a preposition.

In English, the word then is occasionally used to complement if In Egyptian, there is no equivalentword.

If I were rich...

If an event or situation is improbable or impossible, in English we use modals like 'would' and 'were'.In Egyptian, the word kaen كا ن is used after law لـو. Compare these two sentences:

if I have time, I will read the bookiicdhaa Aandy waqt, haaqraac iil-kitaab

if I had time, I would read the booklaw kaan Aandy waqt, kunt qaryt iil-kitaab

When conditional clause

past 'iza kaen إذا كا ن + perfect

present 'iza kaen إذا كا ن + imperfect

future 'iza kaen إذا كا ن + imperfect



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CourtesiesThis section summarises the expressions that are used daily to greet and say goodbye to people,ask for things and thank people on a day to day basis.

Religion

Religion is very important in Egypt. There are several phrases that you will hear regularly in anyconversation.

Egyptian English

ilhamdu lillahا لحـمد لـلـه thanks to Allah

'allah yisalaemakألـه یـسـلا مـك may god protect you m

'allah yisalaemikألـه یـسـلا مـك may god protect you f

'inn shaa' 'allahإن شا ء ألـه god willing

ya rabیا ر ب Oh god!

rabbina



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rabbinaر بـنا our god!

greeting issalaem Aalykumا لسـلا م عـلیكـم

peace be with you m/fresponse Aalykum issalaem

عـلیكـم ا لسـلا م

Addressing somebody

ya یا is often used before somebody's name or title as a greeting

Egyptian English

ya 'ahmadیا أحمـد hey, Ahmad!

ya rayisیا ر یـس hey, boss!

ya 'ustahیا أ سطـه driver!

ya 'ustaezیا أ ستا ذ

hey mister(teacher)!to a respectable person

ya 'ustaezaیا أ ستا ذ



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یا أ ستا ذة

hey madam!

bashaبا شا pasha m/f

In addition to the standard pronouns for you, there are some more formal versions:

Egyptian English

informal

'intaإنت you m

'intiإنت you f

'intuإنتوا you pl

formal

hadritakحـضر

تـكsir

hadritikحـضر

تـكmadam

siyadtak



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siyadtakسـیـدتـك sir

siyadtikسـیـدتـك madam

'afandimأفـند م Sir/Madam

Greetings

To welcome somebody, you can use one of these phrases...

Egyptian English

greeting 'ahlaen wa sahlaenأهلا و سـهلا welcome and ease

response 'ahlaen wa sahlaenأهلا و سـهلا welcome and ease

response 'ahlaen bykأهلا بیك welcome to you m

response 'ahlaen bykyأهلا بیكي welcome to you f

greeting hamd illah Aala salamtak thank god for protecting you m



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greeting حـمد لـه عـلى سـلا متـك thank god for protecting you m

greeting hamd illah Aala salamtikحـمد لـه عـلى سـلا متـك thank god for protecting you f

Whenever you meet somebody that you already know, you should shake hands (very gently) anduse one of the following greetings.

Before sunset, the following informal greetings are used:

Egyptian English

greeting sabaeh ilchyrصـبا ح ا لخیر a day of wellbeing

response sabaeh innurصـبا ح ا لنور a day of light

response sabaeh il'ishtaصـبا ح ا لقـشطـة a day of cream

response sabaeh ilfulصـبا ح ا لفـل a day of daisies

After sunset, the following informal greetings may be used: I have heard them very rarely, though.

Egyptian English



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greeting misaa' ilchyrمـسا ء ا لخیر an evening of wellbeing

response misaa' ilchyrمـسا ء ا لخیر an evening of wellbeing

response misaa' ilfulمـسا ء ا لفـل an evening of daisies

Next, you should ask how they are:

Egyptian English

question Aaemil 'iyh?عا مـل إیه؟ what are you m doing?

question Aaemila 'iyh?عا مـلـة إیه؟ what are you f doing?

question 'izayak?إز یـك؟ how are you m

question 'izayik?إز یـك؟ how are you f

question il'achbaar 'iyh?ا لأخبا ر إیه؟ what's new?



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response kuluh tamaem, ilhamdu lillahكـلـه تـما م، ا لحـمد لـلـه all ok, thank god

response miya miya, ilhamdu lillahمـیـة مـیـة، ا لحـمد لـلـه 100% thank god

response kuwayis, ilhamdu lillahكـو یـس، ا لحـمد لـلـه I m am good, thank god

response kuwayisa, ilhamdu lillahكـو یـسـة، ا لحـمد لـلـه I fgood, thank god

response nus nusنـص نـص half and half

response mish battaalمـش بـطا ل not bad

question wa 'inta?و إنت ؟ and you m?

question wa 'inti?و إنت ؟ and you f?

If you know them well, you should ask how their wives, children, etc...

Introductions



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Egyptian English

'ismak 'iyh?إسمـك إیه؟ what is your m name?

'ismik 'iyh?إسمـك إیه؟ what is your f name?

'ismy ...إسمي ٫٫٫ my name is ...

tisharrafnaتـشـر فنا pleased to meet you

Making you comfortable

Egyptian English

'istirayahإستـر یـح make yourself m comfortable

'istirayahyإستـر یـحي make yourself f comfortable

tishrab 'iyh?تـشر ب إیه؟ what will you m drink?

tishraby 'iyh? what will you f drink?



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تـشر بي إیه؟ what will you f drink?

Meal time

Egyptians normally have two big meals a day, plus a snack before bedtime.

English Time Types of food Egyptian

breakfast 11-12am bread with salads, dips, luncheon meats, omelette withbastirma, tamiyya

fitaarفـطا ر

breakfast(Ramadan) sunset cooked meat, rice and vegetables, juice, sweet things 'iftaar

إفطا ر

lunch 5-8pm cooked meat or fish, rice and vegetables Gadaغـدا

dinner beforesleeping yogurt, fruit Aasha

عـشا

Here are some expressions that are often used around meal times

Egyptian When to say it

remark biilhanna wa ishshiffaبـا لهـنا و ا لشـفا before or after eating



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remarksufrah daeymaen

سـفر ه دا یماsay to hostbefore leaving tablelike "thanks for the meal"

response biilhanna wa ishshiffaبـا لهـنا و ا لشـفا

Please

Egyptian English

to m Aan 'iznakعـن إذنـك excuse me

to get past someoneto f Aan 'iznik

عـن إذنـك

to m law samahtلـو سـمـحت

pleaseto f law samahty

لـو سـمـحتي

to m min fadlakمـن فـضلـك

pleaseto f min fadlik

مـن فـضلـك



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request mumkin...مـمكـن٫٫٫ Please could you/I.....

response mumkinمـمكـن Yes (it's possible)

Thank you

Egyptian English

remark shukraanشـكرا

remark 'alf shukrألف شـكر

remark mutshakir a'wyي مـتشـكـر ا

reply Aafwaenعـفوا

don't mention ityou are welcome

reply ilAafwا لعـفو you are welcome

Goodbyes



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Egyptian English

remark maAa issalaemaمـع ا لسـلا مـة with safety

reply maAa issalaemaمـع ا لسـلا مـة with safety

hashufak 'imtae?هـشوفـك إمتا ؟ When will I see you f?

hashufik 'imtae?هـشوفـك إمتا ؟ When will I see you f?

hashufak baAdynهـشوفـك بـعدین See you m later

hashufik baAdynهـشوفـك بـعدین See you f later

Achievement

Egyptian English

hazz saAydحـظ سـعید good luck!

remark mabruk congratulations



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remark مـبروك congratulations

response 'allah yibaarak fykألـه یـبا ر ك فیك god bless you m

response 'allah yibaarik fykyألـه یـبا ر ك فیكي god bless you f

Occasions

Egyptian English

kul sana wa 'inta tayibكـل سـنـة و إنت طـیـب

every year and you are happybirthdays, new year, feasts

remark ramadaan karymر مـضا ن كـریم during ramadan

response 'allah 'akramألـه أكر م during ramadan

Opinions

Egyptian English

question 'iyh r'ayak?إیه رأیـك؟ what do you m think?



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question 'iyh r'ayik?إیه رأیـك؟ what do you f think?

question tamaem?تـما م؟ OK?

question tamaem kidah?تـما م كـد ه؟ Ok like this?

response 'aywaأیوا yes

response mashyما شي

It goesok

response tamaemتـما م good

response tayibطـیـب fine

response haadirحا ضـر right away

response mayinfaAshمـیـنفـعش it's no use

response mish mumkinمـش مـمكـن not possible



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response laa'لا ء no

response laa' 'abadaenلا ء أبـدا never!

response 'ahaأحا offensive way of disagreeing

response Aafwaen?عـفوا؟

Pardon?if you didn't hear

response 'ana mish 'akydأنا مـش أكید I m/f am not sure

response 'ana mish Aaarifأنا مـش عا ر ف I m don't know

response 'ana mish Aaarifaأنا مـش عا ر فـة I f don't know

response 'ana mish faehimأنا مـش فا هـم I m don't understand

response 'ana mish faehimaأنا مـش فا هـمـة I f don't understand

Hassle



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'imshyإمشي go away!

chalaas kidahخـلا ص كـد ه stop this

haraam Aalykحـرا م عـلیك shame on you m!

haraam Aalykyحـرا م عـلیكي shame on you f!

chalyk muhtaramخـلیك مـحتـر م be respectful!

if a man getsover-friendly to a woman'ihtirim nafsak

إحتـر م نـفسـك

Insults

remark humaarحـما ر

donkeyoffensive

remark 'ibn marahإبن مـر ه

your father is a womanvery offensive

remark 'ibn sharmutaإبن شـرموطـة

son of a whore/bitch



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remark إبن شـرموطـة very offensive

response 'ifandim???إفـند م؟؟؟ pardon????

NegationThe word mish مـش is used to negate a phrase. It is either placed in front of the verb or preposition,or wrapped around it.

Structure English Arabic

Preposition

I have cigarettes Aandy sagaeyarعـندي سـجا یـر

I don't have any cigarettes maAandysh sagaeyarمـعـندیش سـجا یـر

There is water fy mayaehفي مـیا ه

There is no water mafysh mayaehمـفیش مـیا ه

kaanI was there 'ana kunt hinaek

أنا كـنت هـنا ك'ana makuntish hinaek



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I was not there 'ana makuntish hinaekأنا مـكـنتـش هـنا ك

perfectI saw Ahmed 'ana shuft 'ahmad

أنا شـفت أحمـد

I did not see Ahmed 'ana mashuftish 'ahmadأنا مـشـفتـش أحمـد

participle

I know 'ana Aaarifأنا عا ر ف

I do not know

'ana mish Aaarifأنا مـش عا ر ف

aacnaa maAaarifsh

imperfect

He wants to eat Aaeyiz yaekulعا یـز یا كـل

He does not want to eat mish Aaeyiz yaekulمـش عا یـز یا كـل

he must not eat mayaekulshمـیا كـلش

I like this book bahibb ilkitaeb dahبـحـب ا لكـتا ب د ه



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bi-imperfectI do not like this book

mabahibbsh ilkitaeb dahمـبـحـبش ا لكـتا ب د ه

less common...mish bahibb ilkitaeb dah

مـش بـحـب ا لكـتا ب د ه]

Ha-imperfectI will buy the book hashtiry ilkitaeb

ها شتـري ا لكـتا ب

I will not buy the book mish hashtiry ilkitaebمـش ها شتـري ا لكـتا ب

imperative

go away! iimshy!

don't go!use mish+you-imperfectmatimshysh

مـتـمشیش

Sometimes ma- is used on it own- the -sh does not appear after the word. There are no rules aboutwhen this can happen.

NumbersArabic digits are not the same as Roman digits:



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Digit English Egyptian

0٠ zero sifr

صـفر1

١ one waehidوا حـد

2٢ two 'itnyn

إتنین3

٣ three talaetaتـلا تـة

4٤ four 'arbaAa

أربـعـة5

٥ five chamsaخـمسـة

6٦ six sitta

سـتـة7

٧ seven sabAaسـبعـة

8٨ eight tamanya

تـما نیـة



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9٩ nine tisAa

تـسعـة10

١٠ ten Aasharaعـشـر ة

Cardinals and Ordinals

In both English and egyptian, there are two forms of number- cardinals and ordinals. Cardinals areused to count things (one, two, three), Ordinals are used to describe sequence (first, second, etc).

Example Function

Cardinal five used to count things

Ordinal fifth used to describe the order, or position in sequence, of something

Cardinals

Cardinals are used for counting and specifying how many of something. Usage of the first fewnumbers is complicated, but it gets easier after that :-). There are special rules for:

People of a particular nationality (eg one englishman)Quantities- weight, money, and when you are ordering something (eg teas)People in general (men, women etc)Things - everything else



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The following table gives an overview of the situation:

Number Form NationalsEgyptians

Quantitiesweightmoneytea

Peoplemenwomen

Thingsbookschairsminutes

zero

sifrصـفر

mafyshمـفیش

+pluralnoun


waznو زن

filusفـلوس

shaeyشا ي

rigalaر جا لا

sittaetسـتا ت

kutubكـتوب

karasyكـرا سي

da'aeyi'د قا یـق

waehidوا حـد

+singnoun

masryمـصري

kylwكیلو

ginyhجـنیه

shaey



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one

شا يwahda

وا حد ة

+singnoun

masriyaمـصر یـة

nson its own

raagilرا جـل

sittسـت

kitaebكـتا ب

kursyكـرسي

di'y'aد قیقـة

'itnynإتنین

+pluralnoun


rigalaر جا لا

sittaetسـتا ت

'itnynإتنین

kylwكیلو

gynyh



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two+singnoun

جینیه

shaeyشا ي

noun-yn

kitabynكـتا بین

kursiyyinكـرسـییـن

di'i'tynد

قـقتين

three

talaetaتـلا تـة

+singnoun

masryمـصري

masryaمـصریـة

kylwكیلو

gynyhجینیه

shaeyشا ي

talat rigala

kutubكـتوب



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talatتـلـت

+pluralnoun

rigalaر جا لا

sittaetسـتا ت

karasyكـرا سي


four thru nine, same as 3

Zero

For zero, there is no equivalent of no as in no books. Instead, the verb or preposition is negatedwith mish مـش. As in english, the noun is a plural. Alternatively, you can use or without- min Gyr مـن.غیر

English Egyptian

zero sifrصـفر

no egyptians (m/f) mafysh masriyyinمـفیش مـصر ییـن

no weight waznو زن

no money filus



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no money فـلوس

no tea shaeyشا ي

no men ragalaرا جا لا

no women sittaetسـتا ت

no books kutubكـتوب

no chairs karasyكـرا سي

no seconds da'aeyi'د قا یـق

One

The number one has a masculine and feminine form. Both forms are used for people of a particularnationality eg an englishman.

For weights, money and when ordering things, the masculine form only is used.

In English, we would usually say a book rather than one book: the same is true in Egyptian, but



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there is no word for a - the noun is simply used on its own.

English Egyptian

one waehidوا حـد

one egyptian (m) waehid masryوا حـد مـصري

one egyptian (f) waHdao maSriyao

a kilo waaHid kylw

a guinea waaHid ginyh

one tea waaHid shaay

a man raagil

a woman sitt

a book kitaab

a chair kursy

a minute diqyqao

Two

For people of a particular nationality, eg two englishmen or two egyptians, use the number 'itnyn إتنین



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followed by a plural noun.

For weights, money and orders, use the number 'itnyn إتنین followed by a singular noun.

For things, you should use the suffix -yn ـین for masculine nouns and -tyn ـتین for feminine nouns.Nouns ending in -y ـي take the ending -iyyin ــييـن. This is equivalent to a couple which can meanexactly two, or approximately two.

English Egyptian

two 'itnynإتنین

two egyptians (m/f) 'itnyn masryyinإتنین مـصرییـن

two kilos iictnyn kylw

two guineas iictnyn ginyh

two teas iictnyn shaay

two men iictnyn ragaalaa

two women iictnyn sittaat

two books kitaabyn

two chair kursiyyin

two minutes diqiqtyn



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Three to Ten

For People of nationalities, use the number followed by a plural noun.

For weights, money and when ordering things, use the number followed by a singular noun.

For people and things, use the short form listed below followed by a plural noun:

Digit English Egyptian English Egyptian

3٣ three talaeta

تـلا تـة three books talat kutubتـلـت كـتـب

4٤ four 'arbaAa

أربـعـة four books 'arbaAa kutubأربـع كـتـب

5٥ five chamsa

خـمسـة five books chamas kutubخـمـس كـتـب

6٦ six sitta

سـتـة six books sitt kutubسـت كـتـب

7٧ seven sabAa

سـبعـة seven books sabaA kutubسـبـع كـتـب

8٨ eight tamanya

تـما نیـة eight books taman kutubتـمـن كـتـب



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9٩ nine tisAa

تـسعـة nine books tisAa kutubتـسع كـتـب

10١٠ ten Aashara

عـشـر ة ten books Aashara kutubعـشـر ة كـتـب

Eleven to Ninety Nine

From 11 onwards, if the number is followed by a noun, the noun must be singular:


eleven hidaesharحـدا شـر eleven books hidaeshar kitaeb

حـدا شـر كـتا ب

twelve 'itnaesharإتنا شـر twelve books 'itnaeshar kitaeb

إتنا شـر كـتا ب

thirteen talatsharتـلا تشـر thirteen books talatshar kitaeb

تـلا تشـر كـتا ب

fourteen 'arbaAtasharأربـعتـشـر fourteen books 'arbatAshar kitaeb

أربـتعشـر كـتا ب

fifteen chamastasharخـمـستـشـر fifteen books chamastashar kitaeb

خـمـستـشـر كـتا ب

sixteen sittashar sixteen books sittashar kitaeb



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sixteen سـتـشـر sixteen books سـتـشـر كـتا ب

seventeen sabaAtasharسـبـعتـشـر seventeen books sabaAtashar kitaeb

سـبـعتـشـر كـتا ب

eighteen tamantasharتـمـنتـشـر eighteen books tamantashar kitaeb

تـمـنتـشـر كـتا ب

nineteen tisAatasharتـسعـتـشـر nineteen books tisAatashar kitaeb

تـسعـتـشـر كـتا ب

The digits in Egyptian numbers are written in the same order as in European numbers. Whenexpressed as words, however, the two digits are stated as units and tens, as in german not english,with wa و in between:

35٣٥

thirty fiveKamsao wa talatyn

Here are the numbers from 20 to 90:

English Egyptian

twenty Aasharynعـشـرین

talatyn



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thirty talatynتـلـتین

forty 'arbaAynأربـعین

fifty chamsynخـمسین

sixty sittynسـتین

seventy sabaAynسـبـعین

eighty tamanynتـمـنین

ninety tisAynتـسعین

Hundreds

Here are the numbers from one to nine hundred. Note that the short form myt میت is used whenhundreds are followed by a noun (which must be singular):

English Egyptian short form+ singular noun



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one hundred miyaمـیـة

myt kitaebمیت كـتا ب

two hundred mitynمـتین

mityn kitaebمـتین كـتا ب

three hundred tultumiyaتـلتـمـیـة

tultumyt kitaebتـلتـمیت كـتا ب

four hundred rubAumiyaر بعـمـیـة

rubAumyt kitaebر بعـمیت كـتا ب

five hundred chamsumiyaخـمسـمـیـة

chamsamyt kitaebخـمسـمیت كـتا ب

six hundred suttumiyaسـتـمـیـة

suttumyt kitaebسـتـمیت كـتا ب

seven hundred subuAmiyaسـبـعمـیـة

subuAamyt kitaebسـبـعـمیت كـتا ب

eight hundred tumunumiyaتـمـنـمـیـة

tumunumyt kitaebتـمـنـمیت كـتا ب

nine hundred tusAumiyaتـسعـمـیـة

tusAumyt kitaebتـسعـمیت كـتا ب

Thousands



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Here are the numbers from one to nine thousand. Five thousand should really be chamsaet 'alf خـمسا.but it is pronounced as below ,ت ألف

English Egyptian

one thousand alfا لف

two thousand alfynا لفین

three thousand talat talaefتـلـت تـلا ف

four thousand 'arbaA talaefأربـع تـلا ف

five thousand chamas talaefخـمـس تـلا ف

six thousand sit talaefسـت تـلا ف

seven thousand sabaA talaefسـبـع تـلا ف

eight thousand taman talaefتـمـن تـلا ف



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nine thousand tisaA talaefتـسـع تـلا ف

ten thousand Aashar talaefعـشـر تـلا ف

Ordinals

To explain the sequence of things (first, second, third), you use the ordinal. It can be either as anadjective or as a noun in the genitive form: As an adjective, the ordinal be preceded by il ا ل and, for1 to 9, must agree with the gender of the noun. From 11 onwards, the cardinal numbers are thesame as ordinals, and are used as adjectives only.

English Egyptian

the third day ilyum ittaelitا لیوم ا لتا لـت

third day taelit yumتا لـت یوم

the third time ilmarra ittaltaا لمـر ة ا لتا لتـة

third time taelit marraتا لـت مـر ة

the tenth day ilyum ilAaeshir



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the tenth day ا لیوم ا لعا شـر

tenth day Aaeshir yumعا شـر یوم

the tenth time ilmarra ilAaeshiraا لمـر ة ا لعا شـر ة

tenth time Aaeshir marraعا شـر مـر ة

the eleventh day ilyum ilhidaesharا لیوم ا لحـدا شـر

eleventh time ilmarra ilhidaesharا لمـر ة ا لحـدا شـر

the twentieth day ilyum ilAasharynا لیوم ا لعـشـرین

twentieh time ilmarra ilAasharynا لمـر ة ا لعـشـرین

Here are the first ten ordinals:


first awwil the first book ilkitaeb il'awwil



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first ا و ل the first book ا لكـتا ب ا لأو ل'uula

أ ولا the first cat il'utta il'uulaا لقـطـة ا لأ ولا

second tanyتا ني the second book ilkitaeb ittany

ا لكـتا ب ا لتا نيtanya

تا نیـة the second cat il'utta ittanyaا لقـطـة ا لتا نیـة

third taelitتا لـت the third book ilkitaeb ittaelit

ا لكـتا ب ا لتا لـتtalta

تا لتـة the third cat il'utta ittaltaا لقـطـة ا لتا لتـة

fourth rabAaرا بع the fourth book ilkitaeb irrabAa

ا لكـتا ب ا لرا بعrabAa

ر بعـة the fourth cat il'utta irrabAaا لقـطـة ا لر بعـة

fifth chamsخا مس the fifth book ilkitaeb ilchaamis

ا لكـتا ب ا لخا مـسchamsa

خـمسـة the fifth cat il'utta ilchamsaا لقـطـة ا لخـمسـة



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sixth saedisسا د س the sixth book ilkitaeb issaedis

ا لكـتا ب ا لسا د سsaetit

سا تـة the sixth cat il'utta issaetitا لقـطـة ا لسا تـة

seventh saebiAسا بـع the seventh book ilkitaeb issaebiA

ا لكـتا ب ا لسا بـع

seventh saebiAaسا بـعـة the seventh cat il'utta issaebiAa

ا لقـطـة ا لسا بـعـة

eighth taeminتا مـن the eighth book ilkitaeb ittaemin

ا لكـتا ب ا لتا مـن

eighth tamnaتـمنـة the eighth cat il'utta ittamna

ا لقـطـة ا لتـمنـة

ninthtaesiA

تا سـع the ninth bookilkitaeb ittaesiA

ا لكـتا ب ا لتاسـع

ninth tasAaتا سعـة the ninth cat il'utta ittaesiAa

ا لقـطـة ا لتا سـعـة

tenth Aaeshirعا شـر the tenth book ilkitaeb ilAaeshir

ا لكـتا ب ا لعا شـر

tenth Aaeshira the tenth cat il'utta ilAaeshira



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tenth عا شـر ة the tenth cat ا لقـطـة ا لعا شـر ة

From the eleventh onwards, the cardinal and ordinal are the same. Here are some examples:

Number Ordinal English Egyptian

eleven hidaesharحـدا شـر the eleventh book ilkitaeb ilhidaeshar

ا لكـتا ب ا لحـدا شـر

twelve 'itnaesharإتنا شـر the twelfth book ilkitaeb il'itnashar

ا لكـتا ب ا لإتنـشـر

thirteen talaetasharتـلا تـشـر the thirteenth book ilkitaeb ittalaetashar

ا لكـتا ب ا لتـلا تـشـر

twenty Aasharynعـشـرین the twentieth book ilkitaeb ilAasharyn

ا لكـتا ب ا لعـشـرین

thirty thalatynثـلـتین the thirtieth book ilkitaeb ittalatyn

ا لكـتا ب ا لتـلـتین

forty 'arbaAynأربـعین the fortieth book ilkitaeb il'arbaAyn

ا لكـتا ب ا لأربـعین

one hundred miyaمـیـة the hundredth book ilkitaeb ilmiya

ا لكـتا ب ا لمـیـة

two hundred mityn the two hundredth book ilkitaeb ilmityn



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two hundred مـتین the two hundredth book ا لكـتا ب ا لمـتین

three hundred tultumiyaتـلتـمـیـة the three hundredth book ilkitaeb ittultumiya

ا لكـتا ب ا لتـلتـمـیـة

one thousand 'alfألف the thousandth book ilkitaeb il'alf

ا لكـتا ب ا لألف

Fractions

The following fractions are widely used:

English Egyptian

half nusنوص

a third tiltتـلت

a quarter rubaAر بـع

three quarters talaet 'arbaAaتـلا ت أربـع

Questions



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To ask how many people or things, you should use kam كـم before the noun. To ask for asequence or reference number (what or which, you put the kam كـم after the noun. In all of thesecases, the noun is singular.

Type English Egyptian

count How many children do you have? Aandak kam walad?عـند ك كـم و لـد؟

count How many days will you stay? kam yum hatinizil?كـم یوم هـتـنـز ل؟

count How many guests tomorrow? kam zibun bukrah?كـم ز بون بـكر ه؟

what What is your telephone number? nimritak kaem?نـمر تـك كا م؟

what What time is it? issaeAa kaem?ا لسا عـة كا م؟

what What time is the meeting? il'igtimaeA issaeAa kaem?ا لإجتـما ع ا لسا عـة كا م؟

what What is your apartment number? sha''ytak raqam kaem?شـقیتـك ر قـم كا م؟

which Which floor do you want? Aaeyiz dur kaem?



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which Which floor do you want? عا یـز دور كا م؟

OwnershipThere are several different ways to indicate ownership and belonging. These are:

Egyptian Meaning Egyptian English

possessivepronoun my/your/his 'ismuh

إسمـه his name

simplegenitive of ism ilwalad

ا سم ا لو لـد the name of the boy

bitaeAبـتا ع belonging

ilbasbur bitaeAyا لبـسبور بـتا

عيmy passport

Aandعـند ownership Aandy biyt

عـندي بـیت I have a house

maAaمـع have with you maAaek kabryt?

مـعا ك كـبریت؟ Do you have matches (on you)?

lyلي

having for a purposeintended forattached

fy busta lykفي بوسطـة لیك there is some post for you



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milkمـلك (my/your/his) property ilbiyt dah milkuh

ا لبـیت د ه مـلكـه that house is his property

possessive pronoun

In both english and arabic, the most common way of expressing ownership is with a posessivepronoun (my, your... etc). In egyptian, this is a suffix attached to the noun. Here are some examples:

English Arabic

my name 'ismyإسمي

your(m) name 'ismakإسمـك

your(f) name 'ismikإسمـك

my house biytyبـیتي

his house biytuhبـیتـه

my father 'abwyaأبویا



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your(f) father 'abuhaأبوها

his father 'abuhأبوه

our god rabbinaر بـنا

The posessive pronouns themselves are pretty easy to learn, but when the pronouns are attachedto nouns, the vowels do a little dance to make sure that you don't get three consonants in a row.See pronouns for more information.

simple genitive

In english, the simple genitive can take two forms: both are expressed in the same way in arabic.

English Egyptian

the man's name'ism irraagil

إسم ا لراجـل

the name of the man'ism irraagil

إسم ا لراجـل



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il- ا لـ can be attached to the second noun if required, but must never be attached to the first noun. Ifthe first noun is feminine, the -a ــة ending changes to -it ــت. Nothing must be placed between thetwo nouns. Adjectives go after the second noun, but must agree in gender and number with the firstnoun. If a possessive suffix is required, it must go on the second word (or use bitaeA بـتا ع). Here aresome examples:

English Egyptian

the boy's name is strange 'ism ilwalad Garybإسم ا لو لـد غـریب

I have her telephone number Aandy nimrit tilyfunhaعـندي نـمر ة تـلیفونها

Where is the railway station? mahatit il'atr fyn?مـحـطـة ا لقـطر فین؟

Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) 'inta Aaarif 'ibn Aammy?إنت عا ر ف إبن عـمي؟

Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) tiAarif 'ibn Aammy?تـعـر ف إبن عـمي؟

Have you seen the boss's new car? 'inta shuft Aarabiyit ilmudyr ilgidyda?إنت شوفت عـر بـیـة ا لمـدیر ا لجـدید ة؟

Have you seen the new boss's car?'inta shuft ilAarabiya 'illy maAa ilmudyr ilgidyd?

إنت شوفت ا لعـر بـیـة إلي مـع ا لمـدیر ا



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لجـديد؟

I want a bottle of water Aaeyiz 'izzaezit mayaehعا یـز إزا ز ة مـیا ه

give me this bottle of wateriddyny 'izzaezit ilmayaeh

ا دیني إزا ز ة ا لمـیا هdyh

Belonging- bitaA بـتـع

bitaA بـتـع is used in several ways:

noun + bitaA + possessive suffix, to indicate ownershipnoun + bitaA + possessive suffix, as an alternative to a genitivebitaA + product (milk, onions, tyres etc), to indicate somebody who sells the productbitaA + possessive suffix, to refer to a man's or woman's private parts

bitaA بـتـع is always used for ownership when the noun ends in -yn ـین and for imported words (myvilla). It is not used for parts of the body (my leg).

English Egyptian

I have lost my passport 'ana daayAt ilbasbur bitaAyأنا ضا یعت ا لبـسبور بـتا عي

Aandak kam 'uuda fy ilvyla bitaAtak?



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how many rooms does your villa have? عـند ك كـم أ وضـة في ا لڤیلا بـتاعتـك؟

Where are your teachers? fyn ilmudarrisyn bitwaAak?فین ا لمـد ر سین بـتو عـك؟

He is a vegetable seller huwwa bitaeA chudaarهـو بـتا ع خـضا ر

He is a milk sellermeans he's a ladies' man

huwwa bitaeA labanهـو بـتا ع لـبـن

Stop scratching yourself! battal tuhrush fy bitaeAakبـطـل تـهر ش في بـتا عـك

bitaeA بـتا ع is like a participle, so it has to agree in gender and number with the noun. Here are all ofthe possible endings:

English m f pl

the book the bag the books

ilkitaeb bitaeA-ا لكـتا ب بـتا عـ

ishshanta bitaAt-ا لشـنطـة بـتا عتـ

ilkutub bituA-ا لكـتوب بـتوعـ

belonging to me bitaAyبـتا عي

bitaAtyبـتا عتي

bituAyبـتوعي

bitaAna bitaeAitna bituAna



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belonging to us bitaAnaبـتا عنا

bitaeAitnaبـتا عـتنا

bituAnaبـتوعنا

belonging to you(m) bitaeAakبـتا عـك

bitaAtakبـتا عتـك

bituAakبـتوعـك

belonging to you(f) bitaeAikبـتا عـك

bitaAtikبـتا عتـك

bituAikبـتوعـك

belonging to you(pl) bitaAkumبـتا عكـم

bitaeAitkumبـتا عـتكـم

bituAkumبـتوعكـم

belonging to him bitaeAuhبـتا عـه

bitaAtuhبـتا عتـه

bituAuhبـتوعـه

belonging to her bitaAhaبـتا عها

bitaeAithaبـتا عـتها

bituAhaبـتوعها

belonging to them bitaAhumبـتا عهـم

bitaeAithumبـتا عـتهـم

bituAhumبـتوعهـم

Ownership - Aand عـند

Aand عـند means that you own something but don't necessarily have with you. It can also be usedabout members of your family. An object pronoun can be added to indicate who owns something.Here are some examples:

English Egyptian



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I have a car Aandy Aarabiyaعـندي عـر بـیـة

he has two children Aanduh waladynعـند ه و لـدین

do you have any books? Aandak kutub?عـند ك كـتـب؟

Here are all of the possible forms.

English Arabic

I have Aandyعـندي

we have Aandinaعـند نا

you(m) have Aandakعـند ك

you(f) have Aandikعـند ك

you(pl) have Aandukumعـند كـم

Aanduh



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he has Aanduhعـند ه

she has Aandahaعـند ها

they have Aanduhumعـند هـم

Having with you maAa مـع

maAa means that you have something or somebody with you. It takes an object suffix to say who itis with.

English Egyptian

Do you have the keys? maAak ilmafatyh?مـعـك ا لمـفا تیح؟

I will go with you 'ana haaruh maAaakأنا ها روح مـعــك

Do you have any change? maAak fakka?مـعـك فـكـة؟

Here are all of the possible forms:

English Egyptian



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I have maAaeyaمـعا یا

we have maAanaمـعا نا

you(m) have maAaekمـعا ك

you(f) have maAakyمـعا كي

you(pl) have maAaekumمـعا كـم

he has maAaehمـعا ه

she has maAahaمـعا ها

they have maAaehumمـعا هـم

intended for - ly- لیـ

ly لي can be used for parts of the body, members of your family, for something that is attached, and



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for something that is intended for somebody or something. It is also used when an inanimate objecthas something. Here are some examples:

English Egyptian

he has only one leg lyh rigl wahda basلیه ر جل وا حد ة بـس

she has two children lyha waladynلیها و لـدین

there is mail for you (f) fy busta lykyفي بوسطـة لیكي

I owe you five poundsLit: I have five founds for you(m)

Aandy chamsa giny lykعـندي خـمسـة جـنیة لیك

this present is for (all of) you(pl) ilhidaya dy lykumا لهـد یـة دي لیكـم

I want a garden seatA seat intended for the garden

Aaeyiz kursy lilginiynaعا یـز كـرسي لـلجـنـینـة

the flat has a garage ishsha''a lyha garaajا لشـقـة لیها جـرا چ

the flat has two bedroomsuse fy في because rooms are inside

ishsha''a fyhae'uudtynا لشـقـة فیها أ وضتین



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Here are all of the possible forms:

English m

I have liyaلـي

we have lynaلینا

you(m) have lykلیك

you(f) have lykyلیكي

you(pl) have lykumلیكـم

he has lyhلیه

she has lyhaلیها

they have lyhumلیهـم



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Possession property milk مـلك

Ownership of real estate - houses, land etc, can be expressed with milk- مـلكـ plus a suffix.

English Egyptian

He has his own house Aanduh biyt milkuhعـند ه بـیت مـلكـه

I own land in HurghadaAandy 'ard milk fy ilGarda'a

عـندي أرض مـلك في ا لغـردقـة

QuantitiesYou can specify a quantity in several ways:

measures - metres, kilos etcnumberscontainers - packs, bottles etcapproximate amounts - a little, a lot etc

Measures

For weights, lengths and other measurements, you use a number followed by a singular noun.

'ahmad tuluh mitr 1 wa 90 santy



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Ahmed is 1m90 tall 'ahmad tuluh mitr 1 wa 90 santyأحمـد طولوه مـتر ١ و ٩٠ سـنتي

this bag is 20 pounds ishshanta dih bi Aishryn ginyhا لشـنطـة د ه ب عـشرین جـنیه

2 kilos of potatoes, please 'itnyn kylw bataatis, law samahtإتنین كیلو بـطا طـس، لـو سـمـحت

I want a hundred grams of salami Aaeyiz myt garam salamyعا یـز میت جـر م سـلا مي

I need a quarter kilo of butter mihtaeg rubaA kylw zibdaمـحتا ج ر بـع كیلو ز بد ة

the truck brought eight tonnes of waterilAarabiya gaebit tamanya tun mayae

ا لعـر بـیـة جا بـت تـما نیـة طـن مـیاة

Numbers

See the section in numbers for more information about this.

Containers

If you want something in a container of some sort: carton, bottle, etc, you use the genitive of thecontainer. The main effect of this is that words ending in tee-marbuta -a ــة are pronounced -it ــت.Here are some examples:



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you must take one spoonful of medicine laezim tachuz maAla'it dawaa'لا ز م تـخـذ مـعلـقـة د وا ء

I want a pack of cigarettes Aaeyiz Aalbit sagaeyarعا یـز عـلبـة سـجا یـر

a bottle of water, please 'izzaezit maeya, law samahtإزا ز ة ما یـة، لـو سـمـحت

Approximate measures

tea without sugar shaey myn Gyr sukkarشا ي مین غیر سـكـر

normal tea(with three sugar)

shaey mazbutشا ي مـزبوط

weak tea shaey chafyfشا ي خـفیف

strong tea shaey ti'ylشا ي تـقیل

a little milk shuwayit labanشـو یـة لـبـن

I don't have enough money maAandysh filus kifaeya



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I don't have enough money مـعـندیش فـلوس كـفا یـة

he has a lot of money Aanduh filus kityrعـند ه فـلوس كـتیر

you have a lot of friendsinformal

Aandak 'ashaeb yamaعـند ك أصحا ب یا ما

QuestionsThere are four main groups of questions.

Direct- what, when, whyIndirect- courteous question and whetherConfirmation - isn't it so?Rhetorical- you are making a point and don't expect an answer

English quirks

In english, it is possible to ask a question in many different ways. some of these translate easily intoEgyptian: others require a little thought. The ones you need to watch out for are:

sentences with 'do' where you are not doing anythingsentences with 'got' where you are not getting anythingsentences with how followed by an adverb or adjective (see adverbal question)

For all english verbs except is and have, you can turn a statement into a question by putting do in



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front of it.

you know Johndo you know John?

.

In egyptian, you can either add huwwa هـو at the start of the sentence or use inflection you knowjohn?

The word have is somewhat overused in english, and English speakers often reduce the risk ofconfusion by saying have you got rather than the older form, still used by most americans, do youhave...?. There is no equivalent in egyptian, so inflection is used

Direct questions

It is possible to frame a direct question in several ways:

using a query word at the end of the sentencepreceding a sentence with huwwa هـوby inflection

Query words

In english, a query word normally start the sentence: in egyptian it is normally at the end of thesentence. For example

where are you going?raayiH fyn?



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The following query words can be used:

English Egyptian

what 'iyhإیه

when 'imtaإمتى

where fynفین

where from minynمـنین

how 'izzayإز ي

which 'anhwأنهو

how many

kaemكا م

followed by singular noun

kaem



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what (number) kaemكا م

how much (of something) 'add iyhقـد ا یه

how much (money) bikaemبـكا م

why lyhلیه

The simple imperfect ('aAamil, tiAuz, yiruh أعـمـل، تـعوز، یـروه is often used in questions. Here are someexamples:

English Egyptian

how are you? 'izzayak?إز یـك؟

how are you?lit. what are you doing?

'aAamil 'iyh?أعـمـل إیه؟

what are you doing? bitaAamil 'iyh?بـتـعـمـل إیه؟

'ashufak 'imta?



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when will I see you? 'ashufak 'imta?أشوفـك إمتى؟

where is the station? ilmahatta fyn?ا لمـحـطـة فین؟

where can I buy flowers from? mumkin 'ashtiry ward min fyn?مـمكـن أشتـري و رد مـن فین؟

where can I buy flowers from? minyn mumkin 'ashtiry ward?مـنین مـمكـن أشتـري و رد؟

where are you from? 'inta minyn?إنت مـنین؟

how do I charge this phone? 'ashhan ittilyfun dah 'izzay?أشحـن ا لتـلیفون د ه إز ي؟

which book (m) do you(m) want? Aaewiz ilkitaeb 'anhw?عا و ز ا لكـتا ب أنهو؟

which glass (f) is yours(m)? 'anhw ilkubaeya bitaAitak?أنهو ا لكـبا یـة بـتـعـتـك؟

how much milk would you like? Aaewiz laban 'add iyh?عا و ز لـبـن قـد ا یه؟

how much is this bag? ishshanta dy bikaem?ا لشـنطـة دي بـكا م؟



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why is he going? huwwa raayih lyh?هـو را یـح لیه؟

Here are some common answers to questions

English Egyptian

How much? This much 'add iyh? 'add kidahقـد ا یه؟ قـد كـد ه

Why? Because. lyh? Aalashaenلیه؟ عـلـشا ن

Why? It's like that lyh? kidahلیه؟ كـد ه

Why? Better like this lyh? 'ahsan kidahلیه؟ أحسـن كـد ه

Why? Why not? lyh? lyh laa'?لیه؟ لیه لا ء؟

To ask how many people or things, you should use kaem كا م before the noun. To ask for asequence or reference number (what or which, you put the kaem كا م after the noun. In all of these



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cases, the noun is singular.

English Egyptian

How many children do you have? Aandak kaem walad?عـند ك كا م و لـد؟

How many days will you stay? hatinizil kaem yum?هـتـنـز ل كا م یوم؟

How many guests tomorrow? kaem zibun bukrah?كا م ز بون بـكر ه؟

What is your telephone number? nimritak kaem?نـمر تـك كا م؟

What time is it? issaeAa kaem?ا لسا عـة كا م؟

What time is the meeting? il'igtimaeA issaeAa kaem?ا لإجتـما ع ا لسا عـة كا م؟

What is your apartment number? sha''itak ra'am kaem?شـقـتـك ر قـم كا م؟

Which is your apartment? sha''itak 'anhw?شـقـتـك أنهو؟

Aaeyiz dur kaem?



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Which floor do you want? Aaeyiz dur kaem?عا یـز دور كا م؟

Pronoun questions

In english, it is possible to make a question by swapping the subject and verb. For example,

he is englishis he english?

The equivalent in Egyptian arabic is to put the query pronoun huwwa هـو at the start of thesentence. You should think of this as "Is it so that..."

huwwa iicnta gaay maAa-naa?Is it so that you are coming with us?

Inflection

In english, you can make a statement by saying she is coming. or turn it into a question, she iscoming? just by the tone of your voice: the pitch rises a little at the end of the sentence to indicatea question. You can do exactly the same thing in Arabic. hiya gayya هـي جـییـة is a statement nd hiyagayya? هـي جـییـة؟ is a question.

Indirect questions (whether)

An indirect question is made up of two clauses: the first clause is often a courtesy clause "Couldyou possibly..." and the second clause is the real question. Here are some examples of direct andindirect questions.



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Direct Indirect

where is the station? Can you tell me where the station is?

what is the time? Do you know what the time is?

is he coming? Do you know whether he is coming?

The query-word whether is used only in indirect questions: in egyptian, 'iza إذا is used for this.

English Egyptian

Can you tell me where the station is? mumkin ti'uly fyn ilmahatta?مـمكـن تـقـلي فین ا لمـحـطـة؟

Do you know what the time is? 'inta Aaarif issaeAa kaem?إنت عا ر ف ا لسا عـة كا م؟

Do you know whether he is coming? 'inta Aaarif 'iza huwwa gayy?إنت عا ر ف إذا هـو جـیي؟

Confirmation questions

If you are pretty sure about something but want to check, you can use one of the following methods:



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English Arabic

he's coming, isn't he? huwwa mish gaey?هـو مـش جا ي؟

he's coming, isn't that so? huwwa gaey, mish kidah?هـو جا ي، مـش كـد ه؟

he's coming, right? huwwa gaey, sahh?هـو جا ي، صـح؟

Rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is used to make a point: you don't expect an answer. Any of the abovemethods can be used to ask rhetorical questions.

English Arabic

wouldn't it be better if you(m) shut up? mish tiskut 'ahsan?مـش تـسكـت أحسـن؟

you(m) must be kidding! bithazzar, mish kidah?بـتهـز ر، مـش كـد ه؟

you(m) are an idiot, right? 'inta 'ahbal, sahh?إنت أهبـل، صـح؟



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Adverbal and adjectival questions

In english, it is possible to ask a question using how followed by an adjective or adverb. There isno similar construction in Egyptian, so it is necessary to re-phrase the question, usually so that youare asking for a number. Here are some examples:

English re-phrased Egyptian

How fast were you driving? how many kilometers anhour..

kaem kylumitr fy issaeAaكا م كیلومـتر في ا لسا عـة

How often do you go to thegym? how many times a week... kaem marra fy il'usbwaA...

كا م مـر ة في ا لأ سبو ع٫٫٫

How hot is the oven? what is the temperature? ilharraara kaemا لحـرا ر ة كا م

How difficult was the exam? was the exam difficulthuwwa il'imtihaen kaensaAb?

هـو ا لإمتـحا ن كا ن صـعب؟

TimeTime can be expressed in several different ways:

units of time - days, weeks etcparts of the day - morning/afternoon



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time of day - 6.30relative time (before/after) - today/yesterday etcdays of the weekdates

Units of time

English Egyptian Plural

moment lahzaلـحظـة

lahzaetلـحظا ت

second thanyaثا نیـة

thawanyثـوا ني

minute di'y'aد قیقـة


hour saeAaسا عـة

saAaetسا عا ت

day yumیوم

'ayaemأیا م

week 'usbuAأ سبوع

'asaebiyAأسا بـیع

month shahr shuhur



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month شـهر شـهور

year sanaسـنـة

sinynسـنین

lifetime Aumrعـمر

'aAmaarأعما ر

Parts of the day

The main events in the day are sunrise and sunset. Midnight, noon and the six prayer times canalso be used to specify an approximate time.

English Arabic

last prayers till dawn illylا لیل

dawn until sunset issubhا لصـبح

after sunset masaa'مـسا ء

dawn fagrفـجر

idduhr



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noon idduhrا لضـهر

after noon baAd idduhrبـعد ا لضـهر

sunset ilmaGribا لمـغر ب

midnight nus illylنـص ا لیل

Time of day

In English, it is normal to use half and quarter hours to describe time. In addition, in Egyptian, thirdsare used. Here is a list of the words that can be used:

English Arabic

half nusنـص

a third tiltتـلت

a quarter rubAر بع



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and waو

less 'ilaإلا

Here are all the times at five minute intervals:

English Arabic

seven o'clock sabAaسـبعـة

five past seven past sabAa wa chamsaسـبعـة و خـمسـة

ten past seven sabAa wa Aasharaسـبعـة و عـشـر ة

quarter past seven sabAa wa rubAسـبعـة و ر بع

twenty past seven sabAa wa tiltسـبعـة و تـلت

twenty five past seven sabAa wa nus 'ila chamsaسـبعـة و نـص إلا خـمسـة



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half past seven sabAa wa nusسـبعـة و نـص

twenty-five to eight sabAa wa nus wa chamsaسـبعـة و نـص و خـمسـة

twenty to eight tamanya 'ila tiltتـما نیـة إلا تـلت

quarter to eight tamaanyao iiclaa rubaA

ten to eight tamanya 'ila Aasharaتـما نیـة إلا عـشـر ة

five to eight tamanya 'ila chamsaتـما نیـة إلا خـمسـة

Relative time

English Arabic

the day before yesterday 'awil 'imbaarihأو ل إمبا ر ح

yesterday 'imbaarihإمبا ر ح

today innahaarda



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today ا لنـها رد ة

tomorrow bukrahبـكر ه

the day after tomorrow baAd bukrahبـعد بـكر ه

English Arabic

last week iluusbwaA 'ily faetا لا سبو ع إلي فا ت

this week iluusbwaA dihا لا سبو ع د ه

next week iluusbwaA 'ily gaeyا لا سبو ع إلي جا ي

English Arabic

now dilwa'tyد لو قتي

soon baAd shuwayao

later baAdynبـعدین



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not yet lissahلـسـه

early badryبـدري

late (at night) wachryو خري

Days of week

English Arabic

Sunday yum ilaahadیوم ا لا حـد

Monday yum il'ithnynیوم ا لإثنین

Tuesday yum ittalaetیوم ا لتـلا ت

Wednesday yum il'arbaAaیوم ا لأربـع

Thursday yum ilchamysیوم ا لخـمیس



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Friday yum ilgumaAaیوم ا لجـمـعـة

Saturday yum issabtیوم ا لسـبت

Dates

Which one?This section explains how to specify which of several things we are interested in, or talking about.

Definite article

To talk about a particular man, we say 'the man' in english. In arabic, we attach il- ا لـ to the front ofthe noun.

the man is reading his bookiil-raagil biyiqraac kitaab-uh

Note that adding il- ا لـ to a word affects the pronunciation if it begins with a sun letter.

Indefinite article

If we don't want to refer to any man in particular, we say 'a man' in english. There is no equivalent of



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a in arabic, you just use the noun on its own.

I want a dogaacnaa Aaayiz kalb

If you want to make it clear that you are talking about just one, you can use the word waaHid- one.When used for emphasis like this, you place it after the noun.

I want (just) one dog

aacnaa Aaayiz kalb waaHid

You also use it with nationalities to indicate that you are talking about a person, rather than (forexample) the language.

an English man (or woman)waaHid iingilyzy

waaHdao iingilyziyao

Adjectives

In both English an Egyptian, you can use an adjective to specify which one you are interested in:you simply put the - il- ا لـ in front of the adjective. Note that, in Egyptian, the noun still retains its il-ا لـ prefix.



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English Egyptian

describe I want a red ball Aaeyiz kura hamraعا یـز كور ة حـمر ة

specify I want the red ball Aaeyiz ilkura ilhamraعا یـز ا لكور ة ا لحـمر ة

specify I have read the big book'araa't ilkitab ilkibyr

قـرا ءت ا لكـتـب الكـبير

Demonstrative adjectives

One particular type of adjective is a demonstrative adjective. These are almost the same as thedemonstrative pronouns.

this maniil-raagil dah

The demonstrative adjectives are:

English Arabic

this (man) irraagil dahا لرا جـل د ه

ilkitaeb dah



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this (thing, m) ilkitaeb dahا لكـتا ب د ه

this (thing, f) ilhaga dahا لهـجـة د ه

this (woman) issitt dyا لسـت دي

these (men) irragala dulا لر جا لا دول

these (men) nearer irragala dyا لر جا لا دي

these (women) issittaet dulا لسـتا ت دول

these (things,m) ilkutub dyا لكـتوب دي

these (things,f) ilhagaet dyا لهـجا ت دي

over there (m) 'ahwأهو

over there [f] 'ahyأهي



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over there (pl) 'ahumأهوم

Comparatives

You can use a comparative in the same was as an adjective to specify which one you mean:

English Egyptian

mohammed is the tallest student muhammad 'atwal taalibمـحـمـد أطو ل طا لـب

he is the youngest boy huwwa 'asGar waladهـو أصغـر و لـد

the tallest student is 1m90ittaalib il'atwal tuluh mitr 1 wa 90 santy

ا لطا لـب ا لأطو ل طولوه مـتر ١ و ٩٠سـنتي

the most expensive drink is 20 pounds ilmashrab il'aGla 20 ginyhا لمـشر ب ا لأغلى ٢٠ جـنیه

this is the prettiest dress in the shop dih 'ahla fustaen fy ilmahalد ه أحلى فـستا ن في ا لمـحـل

it was the best day in my life kaen 'ahsan yum fy hayatyكا ن أحسـن یوم في حـیا تي



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Arabic Writing and pronunciationThis chapter describes the arabic alphabet, and how it can be written using roman letters, thengoes on to explain the general pronunciation rules of the language.

Please remember that Egyptian Arabic is an oral language. When people are asked to write it, somewrite in Modern Standard Arabic and then pronounce it the Egyptian way, others write it as anEgyptian would say it. As a result, there may some variation in the way things are spelt.

Arabic script

There are 28 basic letters in Egyptian arabic, and about a dozen modifiers.

Writing goes from right to left, and the majority of arabic letters join onto the following letter and sothere are therefore four forms of each letter: solitary, initial, middle and final. For the six letters thatdo not join, there are just two forms- solitary and final.

position normal letter non-joining letter

solitary ج د

initial جـ

middle ـجـ

final ـج ـد

The three short vowels a , i and u and shadda , which doubles the length of a consonant, are



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collectively called tashkyl تـشكیل or vowellization. Tashkyl is not normally used in written arabic apartfrom in the Quran. If they are used, they are written above a consonant but pronounced after it: forthe convenience of non-arabic readers, I have included the tashkyl, but written it after theconsonant.

Transliterated arabic

The transliterated form is an exact representation of the arabic script in roman letters: this is notalways straightforward, as there are a lot more letters and modifiers in arabic than there are in theroman alphabet.

If you want to be able to say words accurately, you need to be able to read either arabic or thetransliterated form- for example, so that you can see the difference between syn and saad.

Here is a summary of the less obvious features of the system:

Letter Transliterated Pronounced/arabic

short vowel a [e] i u a e i u

long vowel (alif) aa ee ii uu a 'e i uuا آ ا ا

alif with hamza aac iic uuc 'a 'i 'uأ إ أ

y w



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other long vowels y w y wي و

other long vowels with hamza yc wc 'y 'wئ

gluttal stop qaf q 'ق

voiced qaf Q qق

soft consonant d h s t z d h s t zد ه س ت ز

hard consonant D H S T Z d h s t zض ح ص ط ظ

double-letter consonants dh sh th z sh thذ ش ث

t-marbuta o -aــة

alif-layena Y -aـى

It is readable if you ignore hamza ' ء and tee-marbuta - ـة, and read atif-layena a ى as a.



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Pronounced arabic

The pronounced form is supposed to be how an english person would write a word or phrase. Forease of reading, the pronounced arabic in this document does not follow the rules that join wordstogether, for example sun letters and consonant clusters.

the alphabet

This table shows how to read and pronounce the arabic letters, and how they are written in romanletters throughout the dictionary.

name arabic transliterated pronounced examples Notes

alifhamza above

أـــــأ aac 'a

'aywaأیوا

mas'alaمـسألـة

bad'aبـدأ

ae as inaeroplane

'intaegإنتا ج

luGaetلـغا ت

makaenمـكا ن

after soft consonant



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aliffatha

اـــــا aa

مـكا ن

aa as in hard

hamraa'حـمرا ء

faarفا ر

Gataغـطا

after hard consonantbefore r

alifkasra

اـــــا ii i ilwalad

ا لو لـد

alifhamza below إ iic 'i

'ismإسم

'istannaإستـنى

'itfaehimإتفا هـم

alifdamma أ uuc 'u

'ummأ م

'ustaezأ ستا ذ

alif آ ee ee

'esifآسـف

mut'ekilمـتآكـل



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madda ـــــآ ee ee مـتآكـل'echir

آخـر

by

ببــــــــــبــــــــــب

b b

baAdبـعد

kibyrكـبیر

gawaebجـوا ب

ty

تتــــــــــتــــــــــت

t t

tahtتـهت

'aktarأكتـر

kursaetكـرسا ت

thy

ثثــــــــــثــــــــــث

th th

thabbitثـبـت

mathalمـثـل

bahthبـحث

gaeb



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gyn

ججــــــــــجــــــــــج

g g

جا بmagmuAa

مـجموعchurraag

خورا ج

jyn

چچــــــــــچــــــــــچ

j j

jaekitچا كـت

'ajindaأچـندا

byjبیچ

not arabicborrowed from farsi

ha

ححــــــــــحــــــــــح

H h

haedithد ث حــ

'ihnaإحنا

yiruhیـروح

kha

خخــــــــــخــــــــــخ

K chas in loch

chaafخا ف

achazا خـذ

taarychتا ریخ



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dal دـــــد d d

daemدا م

nadyنا دي

zaedزا د

thal ذـــــذ dh z

th as in there

zaekarذا كـر

kizbكـذب

'ustaezأ ستا ذ

ray رـــــر r r

raahرا ح

tary'طـریق

'iftakarإفتـكـر

zyn زـــــز z z

zayyز یي

gazarجـز ر



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gahhizجـهـز

syn

سســــــــــســــــــــس

s s

sittسـت

masaa'مـسا ء

darsد رس

shyn

ششــــــــــشــــــــــش

sh sh

shaefشا ف

rashwaر شو ة

mishمـش

saad

صصــــــــــصــــــــــص

S s

sanfصـنف

'asadقـصـد

chaalisخا لـص

ضضـــــ

dahrضـهر

hadritak



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daad ضــــــــــضــــــــــض

D d hadritakحـضر تـك'abyad

أبیـض

taa

ططــــــــــطــــــــــط

T t

taba'aطـبـقـة

batalبـطـل

Galatغـلـط

zaa

ظظــــــــــظــــــــــظ

Z z

zarfظـرف

yizharیـظهـر

hazzحـظ

ain

ععــــــــــعــــــــــع

A A - nasal a

Aalaعـلى

baAdبـعد

taebiAبـع تــ

Galab



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gin

غغــــــــــغــــــــــغ

G G - gargling noise

غـلـبsuGayar

صـغـیـرbaeliG

با لـغ

fah

ففــــــــــفــــــــــف

f f

fiAlaenفـعلا

mifalisمـفـلـس

nidyfنـضیف

veh

ڤڤــــــــــڤــــــــــڤ

v v

vylaڤیلا

nuvimbirنوڤـمبـر

not arabicborrowed from farsi

qaf

ققــــــــــقـــــ

q'as in cockney bottle(bo'le)

'udaemقـدا م

nu'taنـقطـة

sadda'صـد ق cannot tell from arabic

whether qaf is pronouncedqana



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ـــــقــــــــــق

q ksounds swallowed

qanaقـنا

raqamر قـم

sadyqصـدیق

upper egyptians say g

kef

ككــــــــــكــــــــــك

k k

kaenكا ن

'aktarأكتـر

hadritakحـضر تـك

lem

للــــــــــلــــــــــل

l l

lakinلـكـن

Aalaعـلى

fulفول

mym

ممــــــــــمــــــــــم

m m

mumkinمـمكـن

Aaemilعا مـل

naem



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نا م

nwn

ننــــــــــنــــــــــن

n n

nashaatنـشا ط

'ihnaإحنا

sinynسـنین

hey

ههــــــــــهــــــــــه

h h

hinaهـنا

zaharز هـر

tee-marbutaــــــة _ah a sura

صور ة

ــــــة _it it 'izzaezit zytإزا ز ة زیت

genitivebottle of oil

wow وـــــو w w

wishshو ش

yumیوم

Audwعـدو



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wow-hamza ـــــ wc 'w

s'waelا ل س

mas'wliyaلـیـة مـس

wow-alif واـــــوا oo u 'intu

إنتواunusual pronunciationfor verb endings

yeh

يیــــــــــیــــــــــي

y y

yizharیـظهـر

taarychتا ریخ

zayyز یي

yeh-hamzaئـــــئــــــــــئ

yc 'y

ra'yysر ئیس

daf'yدا فئ

alif-layena ىـــــى Y a

Aalaعـلى

nadaنا دى

used at end of words

alif-layenamadda ـــــى ى Ye e muthannae

مـثـنى



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short vowels

fatha a a

dawlaد ولـة

basalبـصـل

'intaإنت

'arbaAaأربـع

madda e e short e rarely used

kasra i i

minمـن

kibyrكـبیر

'intiإنت

damma u u

sufrahسـفر ه

tulaebطـلا ب

'anhuh



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أنهوهsukun silent means that there is no vowel

other symbols

shadda

sadda'صـد ق

haddحـد

doubles the letterit is above

fathatantanwyn N n daeymaen

دا یماused on alifat end of word

tatwyl ـ used for spacing

hamza

أـئـ

ـ

aacycwc '

as in cockney bottle(bo'le)

'anaأنا

r'yaرئـة

s'waelا ل س

small above alif, yeh, wow

ء C

hawaa'هـوا ء

laa'لا ء

full size, on its own



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©Copyright Mike Green 2010-2012

You can print out this table and keep it handy for reference.

Stress

In most words, the second to last syllable is usually stressed.

'iftakar إفتـكـرkitaeb كـتا ب

mudachan مـد خـن

The stress moves to the last syllable if it contains a long vowel (alif, wow, yeh) or ends with adouble consonant. Remember that the letter AIN is treated as a consonant.

taAbaen تـعبا نmaftuh مـفتوح

yidu'' یـد ق

This means that the stress will move if suffixes are added to a word.

Feminine endings

When a word ends in _aaCiC (where C is any consonant) has a feminine ending attached, the idisappears and the aa is pronounced as an a.

waehid وا حـد -> wahda وا حد ة



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Elision

If a word ends with a vowel and the first vowel of the next word is either an i or a u, the words arerun together (elided) and the i or u omitted.

'inta minyn? إنت مـنین؟ -> 'intamnyn? إنتـمنین؟

This also happens if you attach an object suffix that begins with an i.

consonant clusters

If putting two words next to each other makes more than two consonants in a row, a shwa (whichsounds like a short a) is inserted between the words.

baAd kidah بـعد كـد ه -> baAdakidah بـعد كـد ه

Sun letters

If the definite article, il- ا لـ , is attached to a word that begins with a sun-letter (t t d d l r n s s z z ت ط:the l is dropped and the sun-letter is doubled (د ض ل ر ن س ص ز ظ

il- shams ا لـ شـمس -> ishshams ا شـمس

Pronunciation exceptions



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The pronunciation of some pronoun and verb endings is a little unusual. For the you(pl) 'intu إنتواsubject pronoun and for you(pl) and they in the verb perfect, the ending is written -w a ـو ا butpronounced -uh ــه.

The word because is written Aalashaen عـلـشا ن but pronounced Aashaen عـشا ن.

The word orange is written burtu'ael بـرتـقا ل but pronounced burtu'aen بـرتـقا ن.

Irregular verbsThere are very few irregular verbs in Egyptian: here are all the ones that I know of:

be/was - kaen كا نeat - kul كـلtake - chud خـدcome - gih جـهgive - idda دfall - wi'iA و قـعstop - wi'if و قـف

Be - kaen كا ن

The verb 'to be' does not exist in the present tense. It is used only in the perfect and Ha-imperfectforms.

English Pronoun Perfect Ha-Imperfect



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I 'anaأنا

kuntكـنت

hakunهـكون

we 'ihnaإحنا

kunnaكـن

hankunهـنكون

you (m) 'intaإنت

kuntكـنت

hatkunهـتكون

you (f) 'intiإنت

kuntyكـنتي

hatkunyهـتكوني

you (pl) 'intuإنتوا

kuntuhكـنتـه

hatkunuhهـتكونـه

he huwwaهـو

kaenكا ن

haykunهـیكون

she hiyaهـي

kaenitكا نـت

hatkunهـتكون

they hummaهـما

kanuhكا نوه

haykunuhهـیكونـه

Eat- kul كـل

kul has irregular imperfect froms



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Pronoun Perfect Imperfect Imperative ActiveParticiple

'anaأنا

kaltكـلت

akulا كـل

ihnaا حنا

kalnaكـلنا

naekulنا كـل

'intaإنت

kaltكـلت

taekulتا كـل

kulكـل

'intyإنتي

kaltyكـلتي

taklyتـكلي

kulyكولي

'intuإنتوا

kaltuكـلتوا

kaluكـلوا

kulwكـلو

huwaهـو

kalكـل

yaekulیا كـل

hiyaهـي

kalitكـلـت

taekulتا كـل

hummaهـما

kalwكـلو

yakluhیـكلوه

Take- chud خـد



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Kud has irregular imperfect froms


'anaأنا

chudtخـدت

achudا خـد

ihnaا حنا

chadnaخـدنا

naechudنا خـد

'intaإنت

chudtخـدت

taechudتا خـد

chudخـد

'intyإنتي

chadyخـدي

tachdyتـخدي

chudtyخـدتي

'intuإنتوا

chadtwخـدتو

chadtwخـدتو

chudwخـدو

huwaهـو

achadا خـد

yaechudیا خـد

hiyaهـي

chaditخـد ت

taechudتا خـد

hummaهـما

achaduا خـدوا

yachduhیـخد ه



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Come- gih جـه


'anaأنا

gytجیت

'egyآجي

ihnaا حنا

gynaجینا

nygyنیجي

'intaإنت

gytجیت

tygyتیجي

taAaelaتـعا ل

gaeyجا ي

'intyإنتي

gytyجیتي

tygyتیجي

taAalyتـعا لي

gaeyaجا یا

'intuإنتوا

gytuجیتوا

tyguتیجوا

taAaluتـعا لوا

gayyinجـییـن

huwaهـو

gihجـه

yigyیـجي

hiyaهـي

gaetجا ت

tigyتـجي

hummaهـما

gumجوم

yiguیـجوا



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Give- idda دى


'anaأنا

'idytإدیت

addyا دي

ihnaا حنا

'iddynaإدینا

niddyنـدي

'intaإنت

'iddytإدیت

tiddyتـدي

'iddyإدي

'intyإنتي

'iddytyإدیتي

tiddyتـدي

'idditإد ت

'intuإنتوا

'iddytuإدیتوا

tidduتـدوا

'idduإدوا

huwaهـو

'iddaإدى

yiddyیـدي

hiyaهـي

'iddytإدیت

tiddyتـدي

hummaهـما

'idduإدوا

yidduیـدوا



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fall- wi'iA و قـع


'anaأنا

wi'iAtو قـعت

a'aAا قـع

ihnaا حنا

wi'iAnaو قـعنا

nu'aAنـقـع

'intaإنت

wi'iAtو قـعت

tu'aAتـقـع

wae'iAوا قـع

'intyإنتي

wi'iAtyو قـعتي

tu'aAyتـقـعي

wa'Aitوا قعـت

'intuإنتوا

wi'iAtuو قـعتوا

tu'aAuتـقـعوا

wa'Aynوا قعین

huwaهـو

wi'iAو قـع

yu'aAیـقـع

hiyaهـي

wi'Aitو قعـت

tu'aAتـقـع

humma wi'Au yu'aAu



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هـما و قعوا یـقـعوا

stand- wi'if و قـف


'anaأنا

wi'iftو قـفت

a'afا قـف

ihnaا حنا

wi'ifnaو قـفنا

nu'afنـقـف

'intaإنت

wi'iftو قـفت

tu'afتـقـف

uu'afا قـف

wae'ifوا قـف

'intyإنتي

wi'iftyو

قـفتيtu'afy

تـقـفيuu'afy

ا قـفيwae'ifty

واقـفتي

'intuإنتوا

wi'iftuو

قـفتواtu'afu

تـقـفواuu'afu

ا قـفواwae'ifynوا قـفین

huwaهـو

wi'ifو قـف

yu'afیـقـف

hiya wi'fit tu'af



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هـي و قفـت تـقـفhumma

هـماwi'fu

و قفواyu'afu

یـقـفوا

Verbs: Root and StemA verb is made up of a root (a set of consonants) and a stem (a prefix and the vowels between).There may be more than one verb derived from the same root- for example, starting with fhm, youcan make fihim (to understand) and fahhim (to make somebody understand).

Most roots have three consonants: it is conventional to describe this type of verb using the lettersK, T and B, as in kitab كـتـب, write. For words with four consonants, the letter L is used as well. Asmall number of roots have two or four consonants. There are five main roots, and each of thesecan make three main stem types, as per the following table. Note that, in arabic, AIN is treated aconsonant, so Airif is of the form KiTiB.

A B C D E

1 KVT KvTv KvTT KvTvB KvTBvL

2 KvVVvT KvTTv KvTTvT KvTTvB

3 KaaViT KaaTi KvTT KaaTiB KvTBvL

KTBL=root consonants v=aiu V=wy

From any of these main stems, it is possible to derive more stems by adding prefixes. Here are



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some examples:

Prefix Main stem Derived stem Meaning

iit- KvTvB iitKvTvByitKvTvB

passive (be *-ed)reflexive (* oneself)

iit- KvTTvB iitKaTTaByitKvTTvB

passive (be *-ed)reflexive (* oneself)

iit- KaaTiByiKTvB

iitKaaTiByitKaaTiB each other

iiKt- KvTvB iiKtvTvByiKtvTvB as iit-

iin- KvTvB iinKvTvByinKvTvB as iit-

iista- KvTvB iistaKvTvByistaKvTvB consider or seek

There are also some verbs that are derived from classical arabic- the perfect genarally begins withaa-, and the imperfect with yu-.

About this documentI would like to thank the residents of the White House, Suze Labib and Rana el Hindy for helpingme to make this possible.



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The logo was designed by Khaled Adel of Absolute Studios.

This document is a work in progress. It was developed and revised over several years as a studyaid for my own use: It has been extensively checked, but I am sure that there are still mistakes andomissions.

The dictionary and grammar are supplied 'as is': you are welcome to use them on condition that youdo not hold me responsible for any loss, injury or embarrassment that may result from their use. Seethe copyright notice if you wish to publish any part of this document.

If you notice any errors or omissions or have suggestions for improvements, you can contact meusing the Contact us page.

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CopyrightThis material is Copyright © 2007-2012 Mike Green.

You may distribute the documents and applications free of charge if it is strictly for non-commercialuse, and:

either the material is supplied complete and in its existing form

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or extracts from the material are attributed to www.lisaanmasry.com and carry the originalcopyright details of the document

If you need to access the entire dictionary database for any reason, please ask and maybe I cansupply it in a more convenient form.

Mike Green

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egyptian arabic grammar

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