Say to the man at the kiosk on your corner and he'll say it back. That's the easy part. The next line is a question, and the question has a man's version and a woman's version. Egyptian greetings run in pairs: one person says something, and the reply is fixed. Learn the pairs and you'll handle the first thirty seconds of any conversation in Cairo.
Hello and welcome
is hi. It works with friends, shopkeepers and the doorman. Add a name with ya in front and it sounds friendlier still:
is longer and warmer. You'll hear it when someone's glad you came, a host at the door or a new colleague showing you round. A guest arriving at someone's home also gets if he's a man, if she's a woman. It means you honour us.
'ezzayyak, 'ezzayyik: how are you?
Here's the split. To ask a man how he is, you say . To ask a woman, . The difference is one vowel at the end.
- How are you, Karim?
- Hi Nour, how are you?
That -ak for a man and -ik for a woman shows up all over Egyptian. It's on "you" itself ( and ), on "your name" and on "see you tomorrow" further down. Text messages usually leave the vowel out, so 'ezzayyak and 'ezzayyik look the same on a phone screen. Out loud, they don't. People hear it straight away.
There's a second how-are-you you'll hear between people who know each other: to a man, to a woman. Roughly, how are you doing?
kwayyis, el-7amdu lillah
The answer is short. means good or fine, and means thank God. Most people put them together.
Now the twist. This time the ending follows your gender, because kwayyis describes you. A woman says kwayyisa.
- Said by a man.
- Said by a woman.
So a man asking a woman uses 'ezzayyik, and she answers kwayyisa. Two different rules, both landing on the same person.
Good morning, good evening
The time-of-day greetings each come with a set reply. You don't answer good morning with good morning. You swap the second word.
| Greeting | Reply | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| good morning | ||
| good evening |
kheer goes in, noor comes back. noor is light, so the reply hands back a morning of light for a morning of good. Listen to the "the" in each one. el-kheer keeps its l. In en-noor the l disappears and the n doubles. That's the sun-letter rule, and n is one of the letters that does it.
In practice:
Names and nice to meet you
is my name is. Put your name after it and you've got a full sentence: There's no word for "is" anywhere in it.
To ask someone's name, the question word goes at the end, and the ending changes again:
- to a man
- to a woman
When you've swapped names, say . Word for word it's "we've been honoured", and it does the job of nice to meet you. The polite answer is , the honour is mine.
7aDretak: the polite you
With someone older, a customer, or anyone you'd call sir or madam, swap 'enta for , and 'enti for . Same -ak and -ik. You'll hear shop staff and receptionists use it with you all day.
- Are you Karim?
- Are you Mona?
Saying goodbye
is goodbye. The full sense is peace be with you. It has a fixed reply too, to a man and to a woman, God be with you.
is the quick bye. And if you'll see them again tomorrow, it's to a man and to a woman. The lesson pairs it with , God willing.
The whole thing in one go
Here's a first meeting from Bel Masri's first unit, Nour and Peter. Tap through it.
That last line is the next thing you'll need. Thank you in Egyptian Arabic covers shukran, mutshakker, and what to say back.
Common questions
How do you say hello in Egyptian Arabic? 'ahlan is the everyday hello. 'ahlan wa-sahlan is the fuller version, closer to welcome, and it's what a host says when you walk in.
What's the difference between 'ezzayyak and 'ezzayyik? Who you're talking to. 'ezzayyak asks a man how he is, 'ezzayyik asks a woman. The -ak and -ik endings run through the whole dialect, in 'ashoofak and 'ashoofik bokra too.
How do you answer Sabaa7 el-kheer? With Sabaa7 en-noor. The evening greeting works the same way: masa el-kheer gets masa en-noor back. You swap kheer for noor.
How do you say goodbye in Egyptian Arabic? ma3a s-salaama. The other person answers allah yisallemak to a man or allah yisallemik to a woman. salaam is a shorter bye, and 'ashoofak bokra means see you tomorrow.