Key Egyptian Arabic Phrases You Must Know

You are starting to learn Arabic and want to speak this amazing language? You are not alone. There are millions out there just like you. In this blog post, I present ten important phrases in Egyptian Arabic, phrases that you will definitely need to hit the ground running with Egyptian Arabic.

But why the Egyptian dialect? What is so special about this dialect that makes it so easy to understand among all Arabic dialects? Please continue reading.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EGYPTIAN DIALECT

Yup. Egyptian dialect is realkt an asset. I am not saying this because I am Egyptian! Throughout the 20th century, the Egyptian media was so powerful with an enormous influence. Nearly the whole Arab world is familiar with hundreds of Egyptian movies, series, shows, and so on. Therefore, the Egyptian dialect became so familiar to almost all Arab countries. If you speak today in Egyptian, you probably be understood in many regions across the Arab world.

EGYPTIAN DIALECT VERSUS MODERN STANDARD ARABIC

Both MSA and the Egyptian are very releated, that you will find many words in the dialect that are adopted from Standard Arabic. Here comes a question: If I am starting to learn Arabic, should I start with Modern Standard Arabic or Egyptian? I discussed this topic in a video and a blog post. Make sure to check both and tell me your thoughts.

10 MOST COMMON PHRASE IN EGYPTIAN ARABIC

Now let’s dive into the world of Egyptian Arabic Phrases. In this post, let us know together the ten most common phrases.

1) Hello: Salamoalaykom, ahlan wasahlan سلاموعليكم ، أهلا وسهلا

This greeting is very common in Egyptian daily life. I am sure that you will hear it 1000 times a day. ‘Salamoalaykom’ is a bit religious (Islamic greeting), but you will hear it frequently from Muslims and Christians. Both greetings came from MSA; only the pronunciation in Egyptian dialect differs from MSA.

2) Good morning: Sabah’ el-kheer صباح الخير

3) Good afternoon: Masaa’ el-kheer مساء الخير

4) Good evening: Masaa’ el-kheer مساء الخير

These greetings are very common as well. It is also essential to know that Egyptians use different versions of the same greeting. For example, We say Sabah’ el-ward (Morning of roses), Sabah’ el gamaal (Morning of beauty), Sabah’ el fol (Morning of jasmin), and so on. We do the same with the corresponding (Masaa’) greetings.

5) Yes: Aywa أيوة

6) No: Laa’a لأه

It is interesting here to notice that the word for ‘yes’ in Egyptian Arabic is different from MSA. The words for ‘No,’ however, are very similar in both. Sometimes, Egyptian say ‘Aaah’ for ‘yes’ instead of ‘Aywa’.

7) Where do you come from?

Enta mneen, genseyyetak eih (m) أنت منين

Enti mneen, genseyyetik eih (f) جنسيتك إيه

Here both expressions have almost the same meaning. However, ‘enta/enti mneen’ is more common among Egyptians.

8) What is your name?

Esmak eih (m) إسمك إيه

Esmik eih (f) إسمك إيه

‘Esamk/Esmik eih’ is the usual way to ask about the name. The answer is usually ‘esmi …..’ or ‘ ana ….’, where you simply put your name.

9) Please: Men fadlak (m)من فضلك, men fadlik من فضلك (f)

Egyptians also say ‘law samah’t’ (literally means: If you pardon me.’ So, both are Egyptian and MSA synonyms for ‘please.’.

10) Thank you: Shokran شكرا

‘Shokran’ is a widespread word in Egyptian Arabic. You can also hear similar words like ‘ashkorak’ (I thank you), ‘alf-shokr’ (1000 thanks).

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Now you have 10 Key Phrases in Egyptian Arabic. It is time to sharpen your knowledge further by watching my YT video, where I discuss this topic.

All the best with learning Arabic

Salam,

Hamid

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