Egyptian Arabic phrasebook

Egyptian Arabic (maSri مصري) is the modern Egyptian vernacular and the most widely spoken and understood colloquial variety of Arabic. It is spoken by more than 90 million people, mainly in Egypt. It is used in everyday speech, comics, advertising, song lyrics, teen magazines, plays, and TV shows, but rarely in novels, newspapers, and never in news reporting, which use Modern Standard Arabic instead. Pronunciation Vowels Egyptian Arabic has many more vowels (Hàràkât حركات) than the three of Classical Arabic, and it differentiates between short and long vowels. Long vowels are shown in this phrasebook with a macron above the vowel. The stress falls on the long vowels. Long vowels can be shortened when not stressed. Main Egyptian vowels Arabic Vowel-letters may act as semi-vowels. Acting as vowels at the middle & end of words, they are pronounced as: alef; ا: /æ, ɑ/ ("a" as in cat or father) wâw; و: /o, u/ ye; ي: /e, i/ Acting as semi-vowels, mainly pronounced as: wâw; و: /w/ ye; ي: /j/ ("y" as in the English word yes) a  like ā but shorter. (IPA: [æ]) ā  as in "hand" (long). (IPA: [æː]) à  like â but shorter. (IPA: [ɑ]) â  as in "bar". (IPA: [ɑː]) o ~ o  similar to "put" (short). Tends to be merged into short /o/, or in between /u/ & /o/ (IPA: /ɵ/) ō  similar to "float". (IPA: /oː/) ū  as in "shoe" (long). (IPA: /uː/) e ~ ı  as in "fig" (short). Tends to be merged into short /e/, or in between /i/ & /e/ (IPA: /ɪ/) ē  similar to "fate" (long). (IPA: /eː/) ī  as in "sheet" (long). (IPA: /iː/) Consonants Most Arabic consonants (Sàwâ’et صوائت) are not too difficult: You should notice, also, that in Egyptian Arabic, consonants can be long (doubled). b ب (be) as in English f ف (fe) as in English t ت (te) as in English, pronounced more forward in the mouth d د (dāl) as in English, pronounced more forward in the mouth g ج (gīm) as in English, not "j" (IPA: /dʒ/) as in Modern Standard Arabic k ك (kāf) as in English r ر (re) as in English, pronounced trilled (as in Spanish) l ل (lām) as in English, pronounced more forward in the mouth h هـ (he) as in English, but occurs in unfamiliar positions m م (mīm) as in English n ن (nūn) as in English s س (sīn) as in English s ث (se) as in English, not "th" (IPA: [θ]) as in Modern Standard Arabic z ز (zēn) as in English z ذ (zāl) as in English, not (IPA: [ð]) as in Modern Standard Arabic w و (wâw) as in English y ي (ye) as in English š ش (šīn) as "sh" in the English word "she". (IPA: [ʃ]) j چ   as "s" in the English word "pleasure" (only found in loanwords). (IPA: [ʒ]). Its counterpart ج may be used instead, in transliterations. p پ   as in English (only found in loanwords). Its counterpart ب may be used instead, in transliterations. v ڤ   as in English (only found in loanwords). Its counterpart ف may be used instead, in transliterations. The following are a little more unusual: S ص (Sâd) emphatic s pronounced with the tongue raised and mouth tensed. (IPA: /sˤ/) T ط (Tà) emphatic t pronounced with the tongue raised and mouth tensed. (IPA: /tˤ/) D ض (Dâd) emphatic d pronounced with the tongue raised and mouth tensed. (IPA: /dˤ/) Z ظ (Zà) emphatic z pronounced with the tongue raised and mouth tensed. (IPA: /zˤ/) q ق (qâf) a hard k pronounced in the back of the mouth (IPA: /q/), not the glottal stop of Modern Standard Arabic x خ (xà) a harsh sound found in some English words like bach and loch. (IPA: [x]) ğ غ (ğēn) a voiced x like a French "r". (IPA: [ɣ]) H ح (Hà) a hard h made in the pharynx. (IPA: [ħ]) And the last two are very hard indeed for non-native speakers to get right, so try to get a native speaker to demonstrate. That said, most beginners tend to opt for the simple approach of ignoring those pesky apostrophes entirely, but it's worth it to make the effort. ’   a glottal stop (IPA: ʔ), or the constriction of the throat as between the syllables uh-oh, but in Arabic this is often found in strange places such as the beginning of a word. Known in Arabic as hamza ء `   a voiced H (IPA: ʕ), famously equated to the sound of someone being strangled. Known in Arabic as `ayn ع or `ēn. Phrase list lestet el `ebàrât ليستة العبارات Basics asaseyyāt أساسيات Many Arabic expressions are different for men and women, depending both on the gender of the person talking (you) and the person being addressed. Hello  ’es-salāmu-`alēku السلام عليكو Hello (informal)  ’ahlan أهلاً Good morning.  SàbâH el-xēr صباح الخير Good evening.  masā’ el-xēr مساء الخير Good night (to sleep)  teSbàH `ala xēr تصبح على خير (to a male) teSbàHi `ala xēr تصبحي على خير (to a female) teSbàHu `ala xēr تصبحو على خير (to a group) How are you?  ’ezzayyak? إزيك (to a male) ’ezzayyek? إزيك (to a female) ’ezzayyoku? إزيكو (to a group) Fine, thank you.  kowayyes šokràn كويس شكرا (male) kowayyesa šokràn كويسة شكرا (female) kowayyısīn šokràn كويسين شكراً (group) A far more common response to the question "how are you" is simply to thank God - el-hamdu lillah الحمد لله What is your name?  ’esmak ’ēh? إسمك ايه؟ (to a male) ’esmik ’ēh? إسمك ايه؟ (to a female) My name is ______ .  ’ana ’esmi ______ أنا إسمي Please.  men fàDlàk من فضلك (to a male) men fàDlek من فضلك (to a female) men fàDloku من فضلكو (to a group) Thank you.  šokràn شكراً You're welcome.  el `afw العفو Yes.  ’aywa أيوا No.  la’  لأ Excuse me. (getting attention)  law samaHt لو سمحت (to a male) law samaHti لو سمحتي (to a female) law samaHtu لو سمحتو (to a group) Excuse me. (avoiding offence)  ba`de  ’eznak بعد إذنك (to a male) ba`de  ’eznek بعد إذنك (to a female) ba`de  ’eznoku بعد إذنكو (to a group) Excuse me. (begging pardon)  la mu’axza لا مؤاخذة I'm sorry  ’ana ’āsef أنا آسف (male) ’ana ’asfa أنا آسفة (female) Goodbye  ma`as-salāma مع السلامة Goodbye (informal)  salām سلام I can't speak Arabic well.  mabatkallemš `arabi kwayyes ما بتكلمش عربي كويس Do you speak English?  betekkallem ’ıngılīzi? بتتكلم إنجليزي؟ (male) betekkallemi ’ıngılīzi? بتتكلمي إنجليزي؟ (female) Is there someone here who speaks English?  fī Hadde  hena beyekkallem ’ıngılīzi? فيه حد هنا بيتكلم إنجليزي؟ Help!  ’elHa’ūni! إلحقوني Look out!  Hāseb حاسب (to a male) Hasbi حاسبي (to a female) Hasbu حاسبو (to a group) I don't understand.  ’ana meš fāhem أنا مش فاهم (male) ’ana meš fahma أنا مش فاهمة (female) Where is the toilet?  fēn ’el-Hammām? فين الحمام؟ Problems mašākel مشاكل Leave me alone.  sıbni! سيبني (to a male), sıbīni! سيبيني ( to a female) sıbūni! سيبوني (to a group) Go away!  ’emši! إمشي (to a male or a female) ’emšu! إمشو (to a group) Don't touch me!  matelmesnīš! ما تلمسنيش (to a male) matelmısınīš! ما تلمسينيش (to a female) I'll call the police.  ’ana hakallem ’el-bulīs أنا هكلم البوليس Police!  bulīs! بوليس Thief!  Hàrâmi! حرامي I need help.  ’ana meHtāg mosa`da أنا محتاج مساعدة (male speaking) ’ana meHtāga mosa`da أنا محتاجة مساعدة (female) It's an emergency.  Hāla Târ’à حالة طارئة I'm lost.  ’ana tāyeh أنا تايه (male speaking) ’ana tayha أنا تايهة (female) I lost my purse/handbag.  ’ana Dàyyà`te  šànTeti أنا ضيعت شنطيتي I lost my wallet.  ’ana Dàyyà`te  màHfàZti أنا ضيعت محفظتي I'm sick.  ’ana `ayyān أنا عيان (male speaking) ’ana `ayyāna أنا عيانة (female) I'm injured.  ’ana met`àwwàr أنا متعور (male speaking) ’ana met`àwwàra أنا متعورة (female) I need a doctor.  ’ana meHtāg doktōr أنا محتاج دكتور (male speaking) ’ana meHtāga doktōr أنا محتاجة دكتور (female) Can I use your phone?  momken ’asta`mel telefōnak? ممكن أستعمل تيلفونك؟ (to a male) momken ’asta`mel telefōnek? ممكن أستعمل تيلفونك؟ (to a female) mumken ’asta`mel telefonku? ممكن أستعمل تيلفونكو؟ (to a group) Can I use your cell phone?  momken ’asta`mel mobàylàk? ممكن أستعمل موبايلك؟ (to a male) momken ’asta`mel mobàylek? ممكن أستعمل موبايلك؟ (to a female) momken ’asta`mel mobàyloku? ممكن أستعمل موبايلكو؟ (to a group) Numbers `àrqâm أرقام It is not uncommon to see what is formally called "Eastern Arabic Numerals", in Arabic known as "Indian numbers" (أرقام هندية arqām hendeyyah). Be careful in that zero is represented as a dot (٠) while five (٥) looks like the zero with which we're familiar. Furthermore, numbers are read left-to-right and not right-to-left as is text. 0 (٠) Sefr صفر 1 (١) wāHed واحد 2 (٢) ’etnēn إتنين 3 (٣) talāta تلاتة 4 (٤) ’àrbà`à أربعة 5 (٥) xamsa خمسة 6 (٦) setta ستة 7 (٧) sab`a سبعة 8 (٨) tamanya تمانية 9 (٩) tes`a تسعة 10 (١٠) `àšàrà عشرة 11 (١١) Hedâšàr حداشر 12 (١٢) ’etnâšàr إتناشر 13 (١٣) tàlàttâšàr تلاتاشر 14 (١٤) ’àrbà`tâšàr أربعتاشر 15 (١٥) xàmàstâšàr خمستاشر 16 (١٦) settâšàr ستاشر 17 (١٧) sàbà`tâšàr سبعتاشر 18 (١٨) tàmàntâšàr تمنتاشر 19 (١٩) tesà`tâšàr تسعتاشر 20 (٢٠) `ešrīn عشرين 21 (٢١) wāHed we-`ıšrīn واحد و عشرين 22 (٢٢) ’etnēn we-`ıšrīn إتنين و عشرين 23 (٢٣) talāta we-`ıšrīn تلاتة و عشرين 30 (٣٠) talatīn تلاتين 40 (٤٠) ’àrbı`īn أربعين 50 (٥٠) xamsīn خمسين 60 (٦٠) sıttīn ستين 70 (٧٠) sab`īn سبعين 80 (٨٠) tamanīn تمانين 90 (٩٠) tıs`īn تسعين 100 (١٠٠) meyya مية 200 (٢٠٠) metēn متين 300 (٣٠٠) toltomeyya تلتمية 400 (٤٠٠) rob`omeyya ربعميه 1000 (١٬٠٠٠ ) ’alf ألف 2000 (٢٬٠٠٠) ’alfēn ألفين 1,000,000 (١٬٠٠٠٬٠٠٠) melyōn مليون number  nemra نمرة or ràqàm رقم half  noSS نص less  ’a’all أقل more  ’àktàr أكتر Time wa’t وقت now  delwa’ti دلوقتي later  ba`dēn بعدين before  ’abl قبل after  ba`d بعد morning  SàbâH صباح in the morning  ’eS-SobH الصبح afternoon  ba`de  ’ed-dohr بعد الضهر in the afternoon  ’ed-dohr الضهر evening  mesa مسا or masā’ مساء in the evening  `</bigel mesa ع المسا night  lēla ليلة in the night  bel-lēl بلليل Clock time wa’t el sā`a وقت الساعة what time is it?  ’es-sā`a kām? الساعة كام؟ it is ___   ’es-sā`a ___ الساعة...‏ it is 3 o'clock  ’es-sā`a talāta (beZZàbT) الساعة تلاتة (بالظبط)‏ quarter past  we rob` و ربع quarter to  ’ella rob` إلا ربع half past  we noSS و نص it is half past 3  ’es-sā`a talāta w-noSS الساعة تلاتة و نص Duration el modda المدة Days el ’ayyām الأيام Monday  yōm ’el-etnēn يوم الإتنين Tuesday  yōm ’el-talāt يوم التلات Wednesday  yōm ’el-’arba` يوم الأربع Thursday  yōm ’el-xamīs يوم الخميس Friday  yōm ’el-gom`a يوم الجمعة Saturday  yōm ’es-sabt يوم السبت Sunday  yōm ’el-Hadd يوم الحد Months eš-šohūr الشهور January  yanāyer يناير February  febrâyer فبراير March  māres مارس April  ebrīl ابريل May  māyu مايو June  yonya يونيه July  yolya يوليه August  ağosTos اغسطس September  sebtamber سبتمبر October  oktōbàr اُكتوبر November  nofamber نوفمبر December  dısamber ديسمبر Writing time and date ketabet el wa’t wet-tarīx كتابة الوقت و التاريخ Colors alwān ألوان white  àbyàD أبيض black  eswed إسود red  àHmàr أحمر green  àxDàr أخضر blue  azra’ أزرق yellow  àSfàr أصفر orange  borto’âni برتقاني pink  bambi بمبي purple  banafsegi بنفسجي Transportation el mowaSlât المواصلات Bus and train el otobīs wel-’àTr الاوتوبيس و القطر Can I buy a ticket?  momken Ašteri tàzkàrà? ممكن أشتري تذكرة I will step down in (Heliopolis)  Ana nāzel fe (màSr el-gıdīda) أنا نازل في (مصر الجديدة)‏ (male speaking) Ana nazla fe (màSr el-gıdīda) أنا نازلة في (مصر الجديدة)‏ (female) Directions: ettegahāt إتجاهات front  oddām قدام back  wàrà ورا right  yemīn يمين left  šemāl شمال up  fō’ فوق down  taHt تحت Taxi taksi تاكسي Can you drive me to (the hospital)?  momken tewaSSàlni (elmostašfa)? ممكن توصلني (المستشفى)؟ This article is an outline and needs more content. 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