You'll say it in your first hour in Cairo. At the bakery, at the juice stand, at the ticket window. Egyptian has no plain verb for want in daily speech. It has (عَايِز), and once you know how it bends, you can ask for almost anything.
3aayez describes the person who wants
Grammar books call 3aayez an active participle. In practice it behaves like an adjective. "I'm wanting" is close to how it feels. And like any Egyptian adjective, it agrees.
| Who wants | Egyptian | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| a man | عَايِز | |
| a woman | عَايْزَة | |
| a group | 3ayzeen | عَايْزِين |
When you're talking about yourself, the ending is yours. A man buying bread says (I'd like some bread.) A woman says 3ayza.
Ask someone else and the ending switches to them. Here the question goes to Mona, so it's the feminine form:
- Do you want some cheese, Mona?
Notice that the question is the statement with a rising voice. No extra word needed.
With a noun: ordering anything
The plain pattern is 3aayez plus whatever you want. You can drop 'ana (I), because the ending already says who's talking.
- I'd like juice and water. (said by a man)
- I'd like a bottle of oil. (said by a woman)
- I'd like a box of tissues. (said by a man)
- I'd like a lemon juice with ice. (said by a man)
- I'd like a plain sandwich and chips. (said by a woman)
English speakers often worry that "I want" sounds pushy. In Cairo it doesn't. At a counter, 3aayez plus a noun is how people order, and nobody hears it as demanding.
With a verb: wanting to do something
Put a verb after 3aayez and you get "want to". The verb comes without the bi- it carries in the plain present. Its own prefix shows who'll do it: 'a- for I, te- for you, ne- for we.
- I want to visit my family. (said by a man)
- I want to buy a new dress. (said by a woman)
- I'd like to buy a ticket to Aswan. (said by a man)
- We want to go on an outing on Friday.
Turn it round and you're making an offer or a plan:
- Do you want to see a detective film? (to a man)
- Do you want to visit Mona? (to a group)
A host will use the same shape with drinks: 3aayez teshrab 'eeh? is what would you like to drink? That bare verb after 3aayez is the same one hosts use on its own, as in teshrab shaay?
Saying no: mish 3aayez
Since 3aayez is a describing word, it goes negative the way adjectives do. Put in front. Verbs use the ma...sh wrap instead, so this is one place where the participle's nature shows.
- I don't want cheese, thanks. (said by a woman)
You can also put the thing you don't want after mish and keep the 3aayez for what you do want:
- I want toast, not local bread. (said by a man)
- No, I want a romantic film. (said by a woman)
Softer: momken and law sama7t
When you'd rather ask than state, swap in (مُمْكِن). On its own it means possible. In front of a noun it's could I have.
- Could I have the menu, please? (to a man)
- Could I have the key, please? (to a man)
is please or excuse me, said to a man. To a woman it's . It takes the ending of the person you're asking. It fits after a bare order too, with no 3aayez at all:
- One bag of sugar, please. (to a man)
- Regular tea, please. (to a woman)
Use it up front to get someone's attention:
- Excuse me, is there any change? (to a man)
One shop visit, start to finish
Here's a woman buying breakfast at a corner shop. Listen for 3ayza in the second line.
- Hello, madam. Go ahead.
- I'd like toast and a box of cheese.
- Here's the cheese. But there's no toast today.
- Never mind. Is there local bread?
- Yes, there is. Anything else?
- No, thanks. How much is the bill?
Six lines and she's done. Want, check, settle for something else, pay. That's most shopping in Cairo.
Common questions
How do you say I want in Egyptian Arabic? A man says 3aayez and a woman says 3ayza. A group says 3ayzeen. Put the thing you want straight after it: 3aayez 3eesh, I'd like some bread.
Is 3aayez a verb? It works like a describing word. It's an active participle, so it matches the person who wants, the way kwayyis and kwayyisa do, and it's made negative with mish.
How do you say I don't want in Egyptian Arabic? Put mish in front: mish 3aayez for a man, mish 3ayza for a woman. 'ana mish 3ayza gibna, shukran is I don't want cheese, thanks.
Is 3aayez rude when ordering? No. 3aayez plus a noun is the ordinary way to order in a shop or café. If you want it softer, use momken, could I have, and add law sama7t to a man or law sama7ti to a woman.