If you learned the numbers first, the Egyptian week will feel half familiar. Five of the seven days are counted, starting from Sunday. The other two have names of their own, and they happen to be the weekend.
The seven days
| Day | Egyptian | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | الحد | |
| Monday | الاتنين | |
| Tuesday | التلات | |
| Wednesday | الأربع | |
| Thursday | الخميس | |
| Friday | الجمعة | |
| Saturday | السبت |
Every day carries el-, the. You don't drop it, even in a list. Two of them show the sun-letter rule: et-talaat and es-sabt start with t and s, so the l of el- disappears and the first letter doubles.
Counted from Sunday
el-7ad is "the first", el-etneen "the second". Put Monday next to , two, and you can hear it's the same word with el- in front. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday follow on from three, four and five. Compare et-talaat with and el-arba3 with . The day names are shorter, without the final -a.
Then the counting stops. el-gom3a means the day of gathering. es-sabt is Saturday.
That's a handy memory trick in a week where Sunday is a work day. If you can count to five, you can work out which day el-arba3 is.
The weekend is Friday and Saturday
In Egypt the working week runs Sunday to Thursday. The days off are Friday and Saturday, and the word for a day off or a holiday is .
- Friday and Saturday are days off.
- Thursday is the last day of the week.
- The weekend is nice.
is week. 'agaazet 'aakher el-'asboo3 is the long way of saying weekend, literally the holiday at the end of the week. And a complaint you'll get plenty of use out of: This week is hard!
On Monday, with no word for on
English needs "on". Egyptian doesn't. You put the day straight into the sentence.
- I'm busy on Monday. (A woman says mashghoola.)
- I go to the institute on Sunday and Tuesday.
- On Wednesday I don't get up early.
- On Friday she stays at home.
The day can open the sentence or close it. Both are normal.
You'll also hear , day, in front of the name. It doesn't change the meaning much. It just spells out that you mean the day.
- She meets her friends on Thursday.
- On Saturday I don't get up early.
- The trip to the seaside is on Thursday.
Every day is kull yoom: I get up early every day.
Today and tomorrow
Today is en-naharda. Our course doesn't have it as a separate clip yet, but it turns up in plenty of sentences, and you can hear it in these two.
- Today is Sunday.
- The manager isn't here today.
Tomorrow is bokra. You probably know it from saying goodbye, , see you tomorrow. Here it is in a plan: I'm not free, I'm travelling tomorrow.
The goodbye trick works with any day. Swap bokra for a day name and you've made a plan: Great, see you on Sunday.
Asking which day
asks when. To offer a choice, put walla, or, between two days.
- When's your holiday? (to a man)
- Monday or Tuesday?
Pair those with the numbers and es-saa3a and you can set a time and a day for anything.
Common questions
What are the days of the week in Egyptian Arabic? el-7ad (Sunday), el-etneen (Monday), et-talaat (Tuesday), el-arba3 (Wednesday), el-khamees (Thursday), el-gom3a (Friday) and es-sabt (Saturday). Each one takes el-, the word for the.
How do you say on Monday in Egyptian Arabic? Just say the day. 'ana mashghool el-etneen is "I'm busy on Monday", with nothing for on. You'll also hear yoom in front, as in yoom el-khamees, on Thursday.
What is the weekend in Egypt? Friday and Saturday. el-gom3a we-s-sabt 'agaaza means Friday and Saturday are days off, and el-khamees is the last day of the working week.
How do you say today and tomorrow in Egyptian Arabic? en-naharda is today and bokra is tomorrow. en-naharda el-7ad means today is Sunday, and 'ashoofak bokra is see you tomorrow.