A collection of useful phrases in Egyptian Arabic, the variety of colloquial Arabic spoken in Egypt.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
Key to abbreviations: m = said by men, f = said by women, >m = said to men, >f = said to women, pl = said to more than one person.
| English | (Egyptian Arabic) اللغه المصريه الحديثه |
|---|---|
| Welcome | (ahlan wa sahlan) أهلاً و سهلاً |
| Hello (General greeting) | (is salām 'alaykum) ألسّلام عليكم rsp - (wa 'alaykum is salām) وعليكم السّلام (ahlan wa sahlan) أهلاً و سهلاً rsp - (ahlan beek) أهلاً بيك inf - (ahlan) أهلاً |
| How are you? | m - (izayyak) إزّيّك؟ f - (izayyik) إزّيّك؟ pl - (izayyuku) إزّيّك؟ m - ('aamil ey?) عامل إيه؟ f - ('amla ey?) عامل إيه؟ pl - ('amleen ey?) عامل إيه؟ |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | كويّس، الحمد لله. وأنت؟ m - (kwayyis, al hamdulillah. wa inta) كويّس، الحمد لله. وأنت؟ f - (kwayyisa, al hamdulillah. wa inti) |
| Long time no see | |
| What's your name? | m - (Ismak ey?) إسمك إيه؟ f - (Ismik ey?) إسمك إيه؟ |
| My name is ... | (ismee ...) اسمي... |
| Where are you from? | m - (Inta minayn?) إنت منين؟ f - (Inti minayn?) إنت منين؟ |
| I'm from ... | (ana min ...) أنا من ... |
| Pleased to meet you | (fursa sa'ida) فرصة سعيدة response - (ana al'asad) أنا الأسعد |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
(ṣabā il kẖayr) صباح الخير response - (ṣabā in noor) صباح النّور |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
(misa' il khayr)
مساء الخير response - (misa' in noor) مساء النّور |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
(misa' il khayr)
مساء الخير response - (misa' in noor) مساء النّور |
| Good night | (tiṣbaḥ 'ala khayr)
تصبح على خير response - (winta min ahla) وأنت من أهله |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
(ma'is salāma) مع السّلامة (bai) باي |
| Good luck! | (hazz sa'eed) حظ سعيد! |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
good health - (fee saḥitkum) في صحتكم! |
| Have a nice day | (youm sa'eed) يوم سعيد |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
بالهنا و الشفاء! (bil hana wish shifa'!) الله يهنّيك rsp m - (allah yihanneek) الله يهنّيك rsp mf - (allah yihanneeki) |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
تروح و تيجي بالسّلامة! (tirooh wa tigi bis salaama!) الله يسلّمك rsp m - (allah yisallimak) الله يسلّمك rsp f - (allah yisallimik) |
| I understand | m - (ana faahim) أنا فاهم f - (ana fahma) أنا فاهمة |
| I don't understand | لا أفهم (lā afaham) أنا مش فاهم m - (ana miš faahim) أنا مش فاهمة f - (ana miš fahma) |
| I don't know | (ma'arafsh) معرفش |
| Please speak more slowly | ممكن تتكلّم بالرّاحة (mumkin titkallim bilrrāha) |
| Please say that again | ممكن تقول ثاني؟ m - (mumkin ti'ool taani?) ممكن تقولي ثاني؟ f - (mumkin ti'oolee taani?) |
| Please write it down | ممكن تكتبه؟ m - (mumkin tiktibuh?) ممكن تكتبيه؟ f - (mumkin tiktibeeh?) |
| Do you speak Arabic? | بتتكلّم عربي m - (bititkallim 'arabi?) بتتكلّمي عربي f - (bititkallimee 'arabi?) |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
|
| How do you say ... in Arabic? | (izzay a' ool ...?) إزّاي أقول ...؟ |
| Excuse me | m - ('an iznak) عن إذنك! f - ('an iznik) عن إزنك! pl - ('an izniku) عن إزنك! |
| How much is this? | (bikam da?) بكم ده؟ |
| Sorry | m - (aasif) آسف! f - (aasifa) آسف! |
| Please | (low samaht) لو سمحت |
| Thank you | (shukrān) ﺷﻜﺮﺍﹰ (mut shakkrān) متشكّرين (shukrān gazēlan) ﺷﻜﺮﺍﹰ جزيلاً |
| Reply to thank you | ('afwan) عفواً |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | (el-ḥammām fain?) الحمام فين؟ |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | الرجل المحترم هايدفع كل حاجة (el-ragel el-mohtaram haidfa'a koll haga) |
| This lady will pay for everything | المرأة المحترم هايدفع كل حاجة (el-amar'a hatedfaa koll haga) |
| Would you like to dance with me? | تحب ترقص معايا ؟ m - (teheb tor'oos ma'aya?) تحبي ترقصي معايا ؟ f - (tehebbi ter'osi ma'aya ?) |
| I love you | >m - (ana baħibbak) ٲنَا بحِبَّك >f - (ana baħibbik) ٲنَا بَحِبِّك |
| Leave me alone! | (sebnie lwahdie!) سيبني لوحدي! |
| Help! | (ilHaʿni!) الحقني! |
| Fire! | (Hareeʿ!) حريق! |
| Stop! | (uʿaf!) أقف! |
| Call the police! | إتّصل بالبوليس! (itaṣṣal bil bulees) |
| Birthday greetings | كل سنة و إنت طيّب >m (kull sana wa inta tayyib) كل سنة و إنت طيّب >f (kull sana wa inti tayyiba) و إنت طيّب rsp >m - (wa inta tayyib) و إنت طيّب rsp >f (wa inti tayyiba) |
| My hovercraft is full of eels | |
| One language is never enough | لغة وحدة بس ماتكفيش ابداً (lo3'a wa7da bass matkafeesh abdan) |
Some phrases provided by Martin Abraham
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Download all the audio files (Zip format, 825K)
Hear some Egyptian Arabic phrases
Information about Egyptian Arabic | Phrases | Numbers | Egyptian Arabic courses on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
Other collections of Egyptian Arabic phrases (some with audio)
http://touregypt.net/translat.htm
http://wikitravel.org/en/Egyptian_Arabic_phrasebook
http://arabic.desert-sky.net/greetings.html
Amharic, Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Lebanese), Arabic (Modern Standard), Arabic (Moroccan), Aramaic, Assyrian, Hausa, Hebrew, Maltese
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