Unit 1 · Hello and who are you?

Question words go at the end

Capitals mark the emphatic letters, 3 is ع and 7 is ح, and ' is the glottal stop that Cairo uses for q.

Egyptian likes its question words last. 'enta esmak 'eeh? is "what's your name?", word for word "you your-name what?". 'enta menein? is "where are you from?" and el-kitaab bikaam? is "how much is the book?". feen and meen are more relaxed and can go at either end: feen el-bosTa? and el-bosTa feen? are both normal. Yes/no questions need no question word at all. Say the statement and let your voice go up: 'enti maSreyya? "are you Egyptian?"