Egyptian Arabic grammar for beginners

Talking to a man, talking to a woman

You can hear in Egyptian Arabic whether someone's speaking to a man or to a woman.

No word for "is"

In the present, Egyptian Arabic has no word for "is" or "are".

I, you, he, she

'ana (I), 'enta (you, to a man), 'enti (you, to a woman), howwa (he), heyya (she), 'e7na (we), 'entu (you, more than one person), homma (they).

My, your, his: endings on the noun

Possessives are endings glued onto the noun.

Question words go at the end

Egyptian likes its question words last.

mish: not

mish cancels anything that isn't a verb: a noun, an adjective, a place or a participle.

Egyptian, American, Indian

To say where someone's from, add -i to the place: maSr gives maSri, el-hind gives hindi.

da, di, dool: this and these

da means this or that for a masculine thing, di for a feminine one, and dool for more than one.

el-: the

el- means "the" and is written joined to its noun: kitaab is "a book", el-kitaab is "the book".

Masculine, feminine, and where the adjective goes

Every noun is masculine or feminine, and most feminine nouns end in -a: saa3a (watch), shanTa (bag), Taraabeeza (table).

Counting to ten

waa7ed, etneen, talaata, 'arba3a, khamsa, setta, sab3a, tamanya, tes3a, 3ashara.

Two nouns: "a box of tissues"

Put two nouns side by side and the first belongs to the second: nimrit tilifoon (a phone number), 3ilbit manaadeel (a box of tissues).

What time is it?

es-saa3a kaam? asks the time.

feeh and mafeesh: there is, there isn't

feeh means "there is" or "there are", and it's how you ask whether something's available: feeh fakka? "is there any change?"

ma3aak: what you've got on you

ma3a (with) plus an ending says what someone has on them right now: ma3aak fakka? "have you got change?" (to a man), ma3ik (to a woman), ma3aaya (I've got, on me), ma3aah (he's got), ma3aaha (she's got).

saaken: I live, he lives

Egyptian often uses a participle, a verb turned into an adjective, where English has a present-tense verb.

Two of something: -een

For two of something, add -een and skip the number: kees (bag) gives keeseen (two bags), kitaab gives kitaabeen.

Plurals change the word's shape

In many Arabic plurals the vowels move around inside the word.

On, under, behind, next to

Place words go before the noun, as in English: foo' eT-Taraabeeza (on top of the table), ta7t el-korsi (under the chair), wara el-baab (behind the door), 'oddaam el-bosTa (in front of the post office), ganb esh-shobbaak (next to the window), gowwa esh-shanTa (inside the bag).

First, second, third

'awwel, taani, taalet.

Directions: go, turn, leave

Directions are mostly commands, and commands mark who you're talking to.

When el- changes sound

Before about half the alphabet, the l of el- disappears and the next consonant doubles.

Does the hotel have a pool?

feeh also means "in it", which gives a neat way to ask what a place has: el-fondo' feeh 7ammaam sibaa7a? "does the hotel have a pool?"

bi-: I do, I'm doing

The everyday present tense is bi- plus the verb, and it covers both "I do" and "I'm doing".

The days of the week

Days take el-, and most are counted from Sunday: el-7ad (Sunday, "the first"), el-etneen (Monday, "the second"), et-talaat (Tuesday), el-arba3 (Wednesday), el-khamees (Thursday).

ma...sh: I don't

Verbs are negated by wrapping them: ma- in front, -sh at the end.

teshrab shaay? Offers without bi-

After words like 3aayez (want) and momken (can), and in offers, the verb drops its bi-: teshrab shaay? "would you like some tea?"; 3aayez teshrab 'eeh? "what would you like to drink?"; momken 'ashoof? "can I see?".

le-: for someone

le- means "for" or "to" and joins onto the person: 'ashteri le-mona 'eeh? "what should I buy for Mona?"

Asking for things politely

3aayez or 3ayza plus a noun is the plain way to ask for something: 3aayez 3aSeer lamoon, "I'd like a lemon juice".