Egyptian Vocabulary

Common Egyptian Vocabulary

Arabic is the official language of Egypt. However, the Arabic spoken on the streets differs greatly from the standard Arabic written in newspapers. Egyptian colloquial Arabic is fun, but difficult to learn. It’s basically a dialect of the standard language. As with most dialects, it’s the everyday language that differs the most from that of Egypt’s other Arabic-speaking neighbors. If you take the time to learn even a handful of words and phrases, you’ll discover and experience much more while traveling through the country. Arabic uses masculine and feminine forms, which are indicated in the guide to follow by (m) and (f) respectively.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation of Arabic can be somewhat tongue-tying for someone unfamiliar with the intonation and combination of sounds. The following guide should help, but it isn’t complete because the rules governing pronunciation and vowel use are too extensive to be covered here.

Other Sounds

Arabic has two sounds that are very tricky for non-Arabs speakers to produce, the ’ayn and the glottal stop. To make the transliterations in this language guide easier to use, we have not distinguished between the glottal stop and the ’ayn, using the closing quotation mark to represent both sounds. You’ll find that Arab speakers will still understand you anyway.

Common Phrases

When you first start taking in the sights and sounds of Egypt, you will likely hear “Inshaa Allah” and “El Hamdulelah” frequently when among Egyptians - the phrases mean “God Willing” and “Thank God” respectively, and are used generously in conversation as “Inshaa Allah” is interchangeable with “Yes” and “El Hamdulelah” is often a response which expresses content - such as answering “El Hamdulelah” when asked “How are you?”.

Basic Transliteration

English	Arabic Transliteration
Hello	Salam ‘alaikom
(response)	Wa ‘aleikom es salãm
Hello/Welcome	Ahlan wa sahlan
(response)	Ahlan beek (to a man) Ahlan beekee (to a woman)
Good morning	SabaH al-khayr
(response	sabaH an-noor
Good evening	Misa’ al khayr
(response)	Misa’ an-noor
Good night	TisbaH ‘ala khayr (to a man) tisbaHee ‘ala khayr (to a woman)
(response)	Wenta bikhayr (to a man) wentee bikhayr (to a woman)
Good Bye	Ma’as salaama
Yes	Aiwa (or na’am- more formal)
No	la’
Please	Min fadlak/ fadlik ( to a woman)
Thank you (very much)	Shukran (gazeelan)
Excuse me	‘an iznak ‘an iznik (to a woman)
That’s fine/you’re welcome	‘afwan (or al-affu)
Sorry (i.e. forgive me)	‘assif
What’s your name?	ismak eh? (to man) ismik eh? (to woman)
My name is...	ismee...
pleased to meet you	Tasharrafna
How are you?	Izzayyak? (to a man) Izzayyik (to a woman)
I’m fine	Kwayyis ilHamdu lillah (to a man) Kwayyisa ilHamdu lillah ( to a woman)
Where are you from?	Enta/ entee minain? (m/f)
I’m from...	ana min...
I like/ don’t like...	ana baHibb/ mabaHibbish
Just a minute	Da’ee’a waHda
Where is?	Fayn?
Go straight ahead	’ala tool
Turn left	Khosh shimal
Turn right	Khosh yimeen
At the (next) corner	’alal nasya (illi gaiya)
Behind	Wara
In front of	’uddaam
Far (from)	Ba’eed (’an)
Near (to)	’uraiib (min)
Here	Hina
There	Hinaak
Beach	Al balagh
My hotel	Il funduq betaa’ee
Sea	BaHr
Street	Ash-shaari’

Language difficulties

English	Arabic
Do you speak English?	Enta bititkallim ingleezee? (to a man) Enti bititkallimee ingleezee? (to a woman)
Does anyone here speak English?	Fee Hadd biyitkallim ingleezee?
How do you say…in Egyptian Arabic?	Izzai a’ool … bil ’arabee?
I understand	Ana fahem/fahma (m/f)
I don’t understand	Ana mish fahem/fahma (m/f)
Can you show me (on the map)?	Mumken tiwarreeni (’alal khareeta)?

Questions

English	Arabic
Who?	Meen?
What?	Eh?
When?	Imta?
Where?	Fayn?
How?	Izzay?
Which?	Anhi?

Shopping & Services

English	Arabic
I need	Ana Aiz
I’d like to buy …	’aiz/’aiza ashtiri … (m/f)
How much is it ?	Bikam da?
I don’t like it	Mish ’agibni
May I look at it?	Mumkin ashoofu?
I’m just looking	Batfarrag bas
It’s cheap	Da rakhees
It’s too expensive	Da ghalee ’owee
No more than	Mish aktar min
I’ll take it.	’akhudha
Can you give?	Mumkin tiddeeni?
a discount	takhfeed
a good price	sa’r kwayyis
Do you accept?	Bitakhud/’ee?(m/f)
credit cards	Kredit kard
traveler cheques	Sheek siyaaHi
More	Aktar
Less	A’all
Smaller	Asghar
Bigger	akbar
I’m looking for …	Ana badawwar ’ala
toilets	twalet
my hotel	fundok
a bank	bank
the bazzar/market	as-sooq
the city centre	wust al-balad
the(…) embassy	as-sifãra (…)
the post office	al-bosta
the telephone centre	central it-telifonaat
the tourist office	maktab as-siyaHa
I want to change … Money	Ana ’aiz/’aiza aghayyar … (m/f) Filoos

Time & Dates

English	Arabic
What time is it?	Saa’a kam?
In the morning	SabaHan
In the afternoon	Ba’d id duhr
In the evening	Bil layl
Today	Innaharda
Tomorrow	Bokra
Yesterday	ImbariH
Day	Yom
Week	Usbu’a
Month Year	Shhr Sana
Early	Badree
Late	Mit’akhar
Daily	Kull yom
Monday	(yom) al-itnain
Tuesday	(yom) at-talaat
Wednesday	(yom) al-arba’a
Thursday	(yom) al-khamees
Friday	(yom) al-gum’a
Saturday	(yom) as-sabt
Sunday	(yom) al-hadd
January	Yanayir
February	Fibrayir
March	Maris
April	Abreel
May	Mayu
June	Yunyu
July	Yulyu
August	Aghustos
September	Sibtember
October	octobar
November	Novamber
December	Desember

Transport

English	Arabic
When does the … leave/arrive?	Imta qiyam/wusuul …?
Boat	Al-markib
Bus	Al-otobees
Ferry Plane	Al-ma’adiya Al-tayyãra
Train	Al-’atr
The first	Il awwil/oola (m/f)
The last	Il aakhir/aakhira (m/f)
The next	Illi gayy
airport	Matãr
Bus station	MaHattat al-otobees
I’d like to hire	’aiz/’aiza a’aggar ...(m/f)
a/an ...	…
car	arabiyya
4WD	’arabiyya Jeep
motorbike	mutusikl
bicycle	’agala
camel	gamal
donkey	Humar
horse	husan
I need a mechanic	MiHtag mekaneeki
The car/ motorbike has broken down (at ...)	Il’arabiyya/mutusikl itaattal
’and ... The car/motorbike won’t start	Il ’arabiyya/mutusikl mish bitdoor
I have a flat tire	Il kawitsh nayim
I’ve run out of petrol	Il benzeen khilis
I’ve had an accident	'amalt hadsa
Please fill it up	Fawwilha, low samaHt
l’d like (30) liters	’aiz/’aiza (talateen) litr (m/f)
Petrol	Benzeen
Where is a service station?	Fayn maHttet benzeen?

Emergencies

English	Arabic
Help!	El-Ha’nee!
There’s been an accident	Kan fee hadsa!
I’m lost	Ana tãyih/tãyha
Go away!	Imshee! (Strong Language)
Call a doctor! Call the police!	Itassel/ee bi-doktoor!(m/f) Itassal/ee bil-bolees! (m/f)
I’ve been robbed	Ana itsaraa’t

{Tab=Health}

English	Arabic
I’m ill	ana ’aiyãn/ a (m/f)
My friend is ill	Sadeeqi ’ayan
It hurts here	Bitewga’ni hina
I’m …	Ana ('andi) …
Asthmatic	Rabw
Diabetic	Is sukkar
Epileptic	Sara’
I’m allergic …	’andi hasasiyya …
to antibiotics	min mudãd hayowi
to aspirin	min aspereen
to pencillin	min biniseleen
to bees	min naHl
to nuts	mukassarãt?
Aspirin	Aspereen
Diarrhea	Is-haal
Fever	Sokhouna
Headache	Sudã’
Hospital	Mustashfa
Medicine	Dawa
Pharmacy	Agzakhana
Pregnant	Haamel
Prescription	Roshetta
Sanitary pads	Fuwat saHiyya
Stomach Ache	Waga’ fil batn
Sunblock cream	Kreem did ish shams

Numbers

English	Arabic
0	Sifr
1	waaHid
2	Itnain
3	Talaata
4	Arba’a
5	Khamsa
6	Sitta
7	Sab’a
8	Tamanya
9	Tis’a
10	’ashara
11	Hid’ãshar
12	Itn’ãshar
13	Talatt’ãshar
14	Araba’t’ãshar
15	Khamast’ãshar
16	Sitt’ãshar
17	Saba’t’ãshar
18	Tamant’ãshar
19	Tisa’t’ãshar
20	’ishreen
21	WaaHid wi ’ishreen
22	Itnayn wi ’ishreen
30	Talateen
40	Arba’een
50	Khamseen
60	Sitteen
70	Sab’een
80	Tamaneen
90	Tis’een
100	Miyya ( meet before a noun)
200	Mitain
1000	‘alf
2000	’alfain
How many?	Kam

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