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Egyptian Arabic forms of address

Introduction

List of forms of address

Introduction

Egyptian Arabic has many different ways to address people, varying according to age, gender, and

social class of the person being addressed.

Note: If you are directly calling or addressing someone, you must use the vocative particle — the

word ٠ (ya) — before their name or title. This is like how the word "o" used to be used in English

("O Hamlet, speak no more!"): a word that came directly before the name/title of the person you

were talking to. But while "o" is no longer used in English, "ya" is used all the time in Arabic. It is

not optional; you need to use it when talking to people.

ؾ ٠ ٠زع؟ (izzayyak ya Ahmed?)

How are you, Ahmed?

١؟ ٠ ١ ر (inti fein ya Leila?)

Where are you, Leila?

ع ٠ ؽ ذسد (ana taHt amrak ya fendim)

I'm at your service, sir/ma'am.

Also note that if you use a title with someone's name, you should use their first name, not their

last.

ؽ٠؟ ٠ ١ آكح (awaSSilik fein ya aanesa Maryam?)

Where shall I take you, Miss Maryam?

ط١ؽ ٠قرغج ء ث (SabaaH il-xeir ya ustaaza Safaa')

Good morning, Professor Safaa.

Keep in mind that in Arabic, titles in reference to one's profession are very commonly used, more so

than in English. A doctor (either medical or someone with a PhD) would be addressed

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as ظورؼ doktoor; a general in the army, even if retired, would be addressed as lewa; an

engineer would be addressed as ع mohandis or عهت bašmohandis; and so forth.

List of forms of address

I've tried to arrange this list roughly according to class, starting with the words used to address the

upper-class and moving on to the words used to address those lower on the social ladder.

ع (efendim), sir/ma'am The best general Arabic equivalent to the English "sir/ma'am." From the Turkish "efendim."

ذؽز (HaDritak [masc.] - HaDritik [fem.]) The formal/respectful equivalent of inta/inti, similar to the French "vous." This would be used not

only with someone older than you, but also with people like your boss, a judge, university

professor, police officer, etc. You wouldn't use it with "ya"; you'd simply plug it into a sentence

where you'd ordinarily say enta/enti. Like ؾ زؽذ؟ (izzayy HaDritak?), How are you?

Or it can take the place of an object pronoun, like ذؽز يؤق ىقئي؟ (mumkin as'al HaDritak su'aal?), Can I ask you a question?

ذعق (sa3adtak - sa3adtik), Your Honor Similar to HaDritak but more formal/respectful, and less commonly used, especially among the

middle class.

قرغ-قرغ (ustaaz - ustaaza), lit. "professor" Commonly used to address white-collar/educated men or women.

١ت (beih) and نت (baaša) Both of these are used to address people respectfully. (They are from the Turkish "bey" and"pasha.") However, a middle-class Egyptian probably wouldn't use either too much except with —

for example — a government official they were trying to butter up. Servants, on the other hand,

might use نت ٠ or ١ت ٠ to address their employer.

ث١ثز-رث١ثز (Habiibi - Habibti), my dear Commonly used to address family members (parents, siblings, etc.), children, and friends, including

friends of the same sex. It's worth noting that the masculine form, Habiibi, is often used to address

women.



ظ (madaam), Mrs. From the French "madame," this word can be used to respectfully address a married woman,

usually from the middle/upper class.

٠ؾع (madamwazeil) or آكح (aanesa), Miss Used to respectfully address a young unmarried woman. The former is from the French

"mademoiselle."

(TanT), aunt From the French "tante," this word can be used to respectfully address an older woman.

(3amm), paternal uncle Can be used to address someone like a family friend, or someone who may be older and from a

lower social class (like a doorman or a man selling food at a market). Or it can be used very

casually to address a friend (this is usually between young men).

رتو (kaptin), lit. "captain" Used to politely address a young man.

ت زؽج (HaDrit iZ-ZaabiT), officer Used to politely addres police officers.

ز-ز (Hagg - Hagga), lit. someone who has gone on the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) Used to address old, usually working-class, men or women. It's best to be sparing in your use of this, especially if you don't know if the person you're addressing is Christian or not, and also since it

will make people feel old.

ؼ٠ف (rayyis), lit. "president" Can be used to address working-class men. And taxi drivers use it a lot when they ask strangers on

the street for directions — "Ya rayyis! Fein šaari3 (whatever)?"

ق (osTa) Used to address working-class people who are trained in a skiled trade, like car mechanics orcarpenters. Commonly used to address taxi drivers. From the Turkish "usta."

(mi3allim) May generally be used to address a lower/working-class man, particularly those in professions like

butchers or bakers. Or may be more specifically used to address a working-class man in a position

of authority, like a business owner, foreman or gang leader.



Greetings and polite expressions in Egyptian Arabic

I tried to include as many useful greetings and courteous expressions as I could on this page,

focusing on the expressions used in Egypt (so when I say "Colloquially people say such-and-such,"

I'm referring to Egypt). In some cases, I gave a standard variant and then detailed the colloquial

usage below. Also, I gave everything in the masculine form, just because it's easier than including

the feminine and plural forms for everything.

Do make sure to memorize the proper responses to each expression; it can be quite awkward if

someone tells you something nice and you don't know what to say back! If you don't know the right

response, no one will crucify you or anything, but if you do know what to say, it can make a really

nice impression. Conveniently, usually the main verb in the response comes from the same root as

the main word used in the first expression — for example, "ma3a s-salāma," "salāmtak," "Humdillāh

3as-salāma" and "sallimli 3a...," which all have words from the s-l-m root. They all have the same

response, "allāh ysallimak," with another s-l-m root word. So if you keep that in mind, it helps in

remembering the right response.

Welcome; hello: ق أ (ahlan wa sahlan)

Response: ١ت أ (ahlan bīk)

You can say ق أ when welcoming someone (ex. to your country or home). And you

can also say to mean just "hello."

Welcome; hello: ثزؽ(marHaban)

Response: ١ت ثزؽ (marHaban bīk)

ثزؽ can be used in much the same way as ق أ, and it has a more colloquial

pronunciation of "marHaba." One colloquial response is ١رثزؽ (marHabtein - lit. two

welcomes). ثزؽ is not really used in Egypt outside of tourist signs and so forth, but in other

places like the Gulf and Levant, it's used frequently to say hello.

Hello: ى١ ك (as-salāmu 3aleikum) - lit. Peace be upon you

Response: ك ى١ (w3aleikum as-salām)

A common greeting used by Muslims. You can also add ذوؽت حزؼ (waraHmatu

llāhi wabarakātu - and God's mercy and blessings) to the end.



Good morning: ط١ؽ ث (SabāH al-xeir)

Response: ث (SabāH an-nūr)

There are more colloquial variants on ؼ ط١ؽ/ ث that you can use, like ث

هح (SabāH il-'išTa - lit. morning of cream),

ث (SabāH il-full - lit. morning of

jasmine), and ؼظ ث (SabāH il-ward - lit. morning of rose). They're a little "baladi" (i.e.

used more by the rural and lower classes), but you can still use them to add some color to your

speech.

Good evening: ط١ؽ كء (masā' al-xeir)

Response: ؼ كء (masā' an-nūr)

You can also say هح كء , ك ء , and ؼظ كء here too.

How are you?: ز؟ ١و (keif Hālak)

Response: سع ل تط١ؽ (bexeir al-Humdulillāh) - Fine, thank God

ز ١و can be said in a colloquial context too, but in Egypt it's much more common to

hear

٠ؾ(izzayyak). You can also say,

زي؟ ؾ(izzayy il-aHwaal?), "How are

things?" or سح؟ ؾ (izzayy iS-SiHHa), "How's [your] health?" A common colloquial

response would be سع ل و٠ف (kwayyis al-Humdulillāh), "Good, thank God," or just "al-

Humdulillāh" on its own.

How are things going?: (axbārakأضثؼ٠ ؟ ; ٠ (eih axbār)أضثؼ؟

eih);

/ج ٠؟(3amil/3amla eih)

These expressions are kind of like "What's up?" as it's used in the U.S.; you don't really proceed to

explain what's going on in your life — and don't say ١م أضثؼ , mafīš axbār, "No news,"

like I did once; people will laugh at you! If you want to say "Nothing new," you can say و٠ف la gedīd. People usually just say something like "al-Humdulillāh" orع٠ع (kwayyis,



"Good") or وذ (kullu tamām, "Everything's fine").

Nice to meet you: (furSa sa3īda)ؽح ق١عج - lit. Happy chance

Response: أ قع (ana l-as3ad) - lit. I am happier

Good night: ض١ؽ ثذ (tiSbaH 3ala xeir) - lit. Wake up healthy

Response: أ د (winta min ahlo)

Goodbye: كح (ma3a s-salāma) - said to the person leaving; lit. Go in peace

Response: ك٠ (allāh ysallimak) - said by the person leaving; lit. May God protect you

Often when people are leaving they just say "salām" or "as-salāmu 3aleikum" and those remainingsay "ma3a s-salāma."

Used when s.o. leaves on a trip:

Bon voyage: ؼزح ق١عج (reHla sa3īda)

تكح ث١٠ تؼ (rabbina ygībak bis-salāma) - lit. May God bring you safely

تكح ٠ تؼ (rabbina yiwaSSalak bis-salāma) - lit. May God deliver you safely

تكح ١ذ ؽذ (tirūH witīgī bis-salāma) - lit. Go and come safely

Response: ك٠ (allāh ysallimak)

Used to welcome s.o. arriving from a trip or greet s.o. who has just recovered from an

illness:

كح زع ل (Humdilla 3as-salāma) - lit. Thank God for (your) safety


Welcome to Egypt: ؽ ؼخ (nawwart maSr) - lit. You have lit up Egypt

Response: ظ٠و ؼ (da nūrak kifāya), lit. Your light is enough - or ؽ١ت جؼ (maSr menawwara bīk), lit. Egypt is lit up by you - or ؼجؤت (menawwara bi-ahlaha), lit. It is lit up by its people



You can also say "Menawwara" on its own to welcome someone anywhere.

You honor us with your visit: ضج ؿ٠ؿج (xaTwa 3azīza) - lit. dear step

Response: ؽىن (šukran) or ١ط٠ (allāh yxallīk)

Get well soon: رق (salāmtak) or ١ه٠ (allāh yišfīk) - lit. "May God heal you"

Response: ك٠ (allāh ysallimak) - this is the response to رق . However, ١ه٠ has no set response; you can just say ؽىن(šukran)

Please: (min faDlak)

Please:

قسد(law samaHt) - can also be used to get ex. a waiter's attention

Please, go ahead: ذ (itfaDDal) - an invitation to sit, enter a room, take something, etc.

Thank you: ؽىن (šukran) or a stronger variant,

A thousand thanks: أ نىؽ (alf šukr)

Another way to say "Thank you" is رهىؽ (mutašakkir), which also has a feminine

variant ىؽره (mutašakkira) and plural

variant٠ؽىهر (mutašakkrīn). قؽ (mersi) is another colloquial alternative. To say

"Thank you very much," you can say ٠ؿ ؽىن (šukran gazīlan) or رهىؽ (mutašakkir 'awi).

Also, when someone compliments you or something you did, you can tell them,

ؽىن\قؽ\١ط٠ (šukran/mersi/allāh yxallīk), followed by غ ظ (da min zoo'ak), lit.

"That's from your taste." This is used much like the English "Thank you, you're too kind."

Thank you: ؽ١ض ؽرو (kattar xeirak) - lit. May God increase your good fortune

Response: تق ؽ١ض (xeirak saabi') - lit. Your goodness preceded mine



Thank you: ع٠ كذ (teslam iidak) - lit. (May God) bless your hand

Response: ع٠ (wa-iidak) - lit. And your hand

Used to thank a cook for a great meal, or more generally to thank someone for a present.

You're welcome: (3afwan)

Other ways to say "You're welcome": (il-3afw) or ٠ (il-3afw 3ala eih, "It

was nothing").

Sorry: قآ (āsif)

Another way to say "Sorry" is قر (mut'asif), which follows the same pattern of variants

as رهىؽ.

Pardon me: ئآضػج (la mo'axza)

Excuse me: غ عت or غ (ba3d iznak or 3an iznak)

Used to express admiration: ءن (ma ša' allāh) - lit. God has willed it.

Used to refer to events taking place in the future: ءن ا (in ša' allāh) - lit. if God

wills

This is used a lot, anytime you talk about something taking place in the future. "See you tonight in

ša' allāh." "I'll do it tomorrow in ša' allāh." "Can you finish the report by Thursday?" "In ša' allāh."

And so on.

Used when you see s.o. with a new haircut: ١ (na3īman)

Response:

١ ٠ (allāh yin3am 3aleik)

Greeting to a Muslim who has just finished praying: ؽز (Haraman)

Response: (gama3an)

Bon appetit: ه ت (bil-hana wiš-šifa) - lit. with pleasure and health



Response: ١٠ (allāh yihannīk)

Said by a guest to the host at the end of a meal: ٠ظ or ؽ ٠ظ (dayman or

dayman 3āmir) - lit. May you always prosper

Response:

ذ١ز دظ (dāmit Hayātak) - lit. May your life last long

When someone sneezes:

The sneezer says: سع ل (il-Hamdu lillāh) - lit. Praise to God

Someone else: ىزؽ٠ (yarHamkum llāh) - lit. May God have mercy on you (pl.)

The sneezer: ى ٠ؽ ىزؽ٠ زؽ٠ (yarHamna wa-yarHamkum (wa-

yaġfir lana wa-lakum)) - lit. May He have mercy on us and you (and forgive us and you)

This is what Muslims in Egypt say when someone sneeezes. The

ى ٠ؽ part is an

optional addition that some people say.

"Very gladly" responses to requests:

قؽؼ ىت (bikull sirūr) - lit. with all pleasure

ؽ ١ (3ala l-3ein wir-rās) - lit. on the eye and head

ظ ١ ظ ١ (min 3eini di w3eini di) - lit. from this eye and this eye

The last two are pretty "baladi," but still good to know.

Say hello to (s.o.) for me; give them my regards: ـ ق (sallimli 3a...)


Good luck: ٠ تؼ (rabbena ywaffa'ak) - lit. May God make you succeed

ءن ا ١رت(bit-tawfī' in ša' allāh)

The standard way to say "Good luck" is . (HaZZ sa3īd)ز ق١ع

Happy birthday: ١ظ ق١ع ١ (3īd mīlād sa3īd)ع

This is how you would say "Happy birthday" literally, but people actually just use their local variant

of ؽ١طت رأ و (see below).



Used for birthdays and all kinds of holidays: د ١ة و قح (kulle sana winta

Tayyib) - lit. May you (and your family) be well every year.

Response: د ١ة (winta Tayyib)

This is the Egyptian variant of the standard أر تط١ؽ و (kull 3ām wa-antum

bexeir).

Happy Ramadan: ٠ؽو ؼ (ramaDān karīm)

Response: ؽوأ (allāhu akram)

This is the greeting used for Ramadan in Egypt, but ؼث ؼ (ramaDān mubārak) is

often used in other areas.

Happy Eid: ؼث ١ع (3īd mubārak)

Response: ١ ؼث٠ (allāh yibārik fīk)

This is the greeting used for the Muslim Eids (holidays/festivals): Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan,

and Eid al-Adha.

Congratulations: ؽث (mabrūk) or a stronger variant,

A thousand congratulations: ؽث أ (alf mabrūk)

Response: ١ ؼث٠ (allāh yibārik fīk)

I wish the same for you: ث (3o'bālak)

Response: no set response, but you could say ١ط٠ (allāh yxallīk) - God keep you.

Can be used when someone congratulates you on any happy occassion (a wedding, new baby,

promotion, etc.) to wish them the same good fortune. However, you would want to be tactful when

using it; for example, if you'd just had a baby and a friend who couldn't have children congratulated

you, it would be better not to say "3o'bālik" to her.

Be strong: ١ز (šidd Hailak)نع

Response: هعج (iš-šidda 3ala-llah)

This expression can be used as a condolence, or for encouragement anytime someone is about to

face a challenging event, like a test or job interview.



May his/her spirit/memory remain in your life: ذ١ز ث١ح (il-ba'iyya fi Hayātak)

Response: ث١ح ذ١ز (Hayātak il-ba'iya)

Another condolence. Some people may view this as sacrilegious — see here, for example — so you

may want to stick with ١ز نع if you want to be really safe.

Only God is eternal: ثء ل (al-baqā' lillāh)

Response: تل (wa-ne3ma billāh)

A condolence that's standard Arabic but also sometimes used in Egypt by Muslims. It's simply a

reminder that everyone dies.

Asking questions in standard and Egyptian Arabic

Asking informational questions o What/which

o Where

o Why/when

o Who

o How/how much

Asking yes/no questions

Asking "alternative" questions

Additional notes on questions in Egyptian Arabic

Asking informational questions

What/which

First, note that in standard Arabic, question words generally come at the beginning of a question,

while in colloquial Arabic, these words usually (but not necessarily always) come at the end.

Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

what | غ (maa/maada)

٠ (eih)

which أ (ayya) -- (anhu

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[masc.] - anhi [fem.] - anhum

[pl.])

and غ are used in different types of questions; the former is used in questions that do not

have verbs, while the latter is used in questions that do have verbs. Frequently is followed by

the pronoun corresponding to the noun being asked about. ٠, on the other hand, is fairly

straightforward, and is used anytime you would say "what" in English. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

What's your

name? ق؟ (ma ismuka?)

ق٠ ؟ (ismak

eih?)

What's the

difference

between us andthem?

١ت ؽ ) (

ت١؟ (ma [huwwa] l-

farq beinna wa-beinhum?)

ؽ ٠١ت

ت١؟ (eih il-far'

beinna wa-beinhum?)

What do you

want?غ ذؽ٠ع؟ (maada

turiid?)

د ٠ؿ ٠؟ (inta

3aayiz eih?)

What shall I tell

you?؟ أي غ (maada

aquul lak?)

ي ٠؟ (a'ollak eih?)

In standard Arabic, can be used with a pronoun suffix to mean "which of..." In Egyptian Arabic,

you can put before a noun to ask "which [noun]..." Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Which one of

them do you

prefer?

٠أذ؟ (ayyahum

tufaDDil?)

زع رت؟ (bitfaDDal ayya

waaHid minhom?)

Which team

do you

support?

هذ (tušajja3 ayyaؽ٠؟

fariiq?)

هرت (bitšagga3 ayyaؽ٠؟

farii'?)



Egyptian Arabic also has an alternative way to say "which": \\ . This can be a

little tricky, since it can come either before or after the noun being referred to. The formulation is

either: 1. [ánhu/ánhi/ánhum - stress falling on the first syllable] + [indefinite noun]

2. [definite noun] + [anhú/anhí/anhúm - stress falling on the second syllable]

Note that you would usually go with the second option only when the "which" question is on its own

-- simply asking "Which book? Which girl?" as opposed to "Which book do you like? Which girl do

you know?" in which case you'd probably go with the first option. نح؟ وق د (inta saakin fi ánhi ša''a?)

Which apartment do you live in?

ظؼ؟ (ánhu door?) -or-

؟ عؼ (id-door anhú?)

Which floor?

Where


where ٠أ (ayna) ١ (fein)

to where ٠أ (ila ayna) ١ ) ( ([3ala] fein)

from where ٠أ (min ayna) ١ (minein)

The usage of "where" in Arabic is fairly straightforward. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Where is the

museum?رس؟ ٠أ (ayna l-

matHaf?)

رس١ ؟ (il-

matHaf fein?)

Where are you

going? أ ٠غثح؟ (ila

ayna daahiba?)

ؼ٠سح ١؟ (rayHa 3ala fein?)



Where are you

from? أ ٠د؟ (min ayna

anta?)

١؟ د (inta

minein?)

Why/when

Standard

Arabic Egyptian Arabic

why غ (li-

maada)١ (leih)

what

for

غ (li-

maada)

٠ ه | ٠ ه (3ašaan

eih/3alašaan eih)

when ر (mata) ر (imta)

Examples of usage: Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Why did yougo to Egypt?

غ غثد

ؽ؟ (li-maada dahabti

ila miSr?)ؽ رزؼ؟١ (roHti maSr leih?)

Why do you

hate him?غ ذىؽ؟ (li-maada

takrahu?)

١؟ ؽىرت (bitikrahu

leih?)

Why did he

pick her?غ ضرؼ؟ (li-maada

ixtaarha?)

ه ؼرض٠ (ixtaarha 3ašaan؟

eih?)

When will

Hasan return?

ق١ظ رزك؟ (mata saya3uud

Hasan?)

ؽ١ كزر؟ (Hasan hayirga3

imta?)

When is your

birthday?١ظ؟ ر١ ع (mata

3iid miilaadak?)

ظ١ ١ع ر؟ (3iid milaadak



imta?)

Who

Standard

Arabic Egyptian Arabic

who (man) ١ (miin)

whose (li-man)١ | ١ رت (bitaa3 miin/li-

miin)

or ١ is used in any questions that would use "who" or "whom" in English. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Who are

you? أد؟ (man anta?) ١؟ د (inta miin?)

Whose book

is this?ىرب؟ ػ (li-

man haada l-kitaab?)

١؟ رت ظ برى (il-

kitaab da bitaa3 miin?) -or-

١ظ ورب (da kitaab

miin?)

Whom did

you meet?تد؟ (man

qaabalt?)١تد ('aabilt miin?)

How/how much


how ١و (kayfa) ؾ (izzaayy)

how many و (kam) و (kam)

how much و (kam) ٠ ع ('adde eih)



how much

(price) ىت (bi-kam) ىت (bi-kam)

how long

(time) ر ػ (mundu

mata)

ر (min

imta)

The use of ١و is fairly simple, but note that in Arabic (both standard and colloquial) و must

be followed by a singular noun (unlike English, in which "how many" is followed by a plural noun).

And in standard Arabic, this singular noun must be in the accusative case — and remember that

since the noun is singular, it must be nunated. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

How are you? ز؟ ١و (kayfa

Haaluka?)ؾ٠؟ (izzayyak?)

How did you

know?و ١ؽد؟ (kayfa

3arafta?)ؾ؟ ؽد (3ereft

izzaayy?)

What time is it? كح؟ و (kam as-

saa3a?)

و؟ كح (is-saa3a

kam?)

Lit. How much is the hour?

How old are

you?و ؽ؟ (kam

3umruki?)

ع و قح؟ (3andik

kam sana?)

Lit. How much is your

age?

Lit. How many years do

you have?

How many

students are in

the university?

ث وح؟ (kam

Taaliban fil-jaami3a?)

ة وح؟ (kam Taalib

fig-gam3a?)

Asking "how much money" is pretty simple; you use ىت in standard Arabic and ىت in the

Egyptian dialect. For the other meanings of "how much" (to what extent; how much of an

uncountable noun), you use و in standard Arabic and ٠ ع (which is quite flexible and can be

used for "to what extent, how big, how long, how much" questions) in Egyptian. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

How much is this

book?ىرب؟ ػ ىت (bi-

kam haada l-kitaab?)

تى؟ ظ برى (il-

kitaab da bi-kam?)



How much do

you love Egypt?

و ذسةؽ؟ (kam tuHibb

miSr?)

ؽ ع ترسة ٠؟ (bitHebbe maSr

'adde eih?)

How much

money do youhave (with you?)

و

ي؟ (kam ma3ak

min al-maal?)

ع

٠؟ (ma3aak filuus

'adde eih?)

"How long" can be a bit tricky to express in Arabic. But before I get into that, an explanation

on سي . Note: يس is the use of the connecting participle to introduce a clause clarifying the

circumstances under which the main action took place. Basically, it's used in a sentence that talks

about two things: the main event, and what was going on in the background at the time. سي helps describe the background events. Here are some examples of usage:

١ ؽج. ى٠ؽأ ١ظ قؽخ (saafarat Daalia ila amriika wa-hiyya Saġiira)

Dalia traveled to the US when she was small. — lit. "and she is small"

.٠ؽ تأ قؽخ (saafarat wa-abuuha muriiD)

She traveled while her father was sick. — lit. "and her father is sick"

.ؽثى رضأ د (waSalat wa-ma3aha uxtuha l-kubra)She arrived with her older sister. — lit. "and with her, her older sister"

.ؼروع ز ع ؽ ظخ (3aadat ila miSr wa-qad HaSalat 3ala d-dukturaah)

She returned to Egypt having received her PhD. — lit. "and she had received her PhD"

.٠ع جع سذ خظ (3aadat taHmil lina 3iddat hadaaya)

She returned carrying a number of gifts for us. — lit. "carries for us a number of gifts"

All that said, in standard Arabic, the expression

ر ػ (literally "since when") can be

combined with سي to ask "How long has something been happening?" The Egyptian Arabic equivalent of ر ػ is ر , which can be combined with

an active participle to ask how long something's been happening.


How long

have youأد ذ١م ر ػ م٠ د

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html




been living

here?؟ (mundu mata wa-anta

ta3iiš huna?)

ر؟ (inta 3aayiš hina

min imta?)

In colloquial Arabic, there are multiple ways to ask a "how long" question. The

expression تي (ba'aal + a pronoun suffix) means "for [a specified period of time]" if you're

talking about an action that began in the past and is still continuing. Like "X amount of time has

elapsed since I began doing this." كر١ح وعج ت قح (ba'aali saa3a mistanniyya kida)

I've been waiting like this for an hour.

١ق خذ ؽ ت (ba'alha fi maSr talat siniin)

She's been (living) in Egypt for three years.

So you can ask ...و ت (ba'aalak kam...) to ask "How many [singular unit of time] have you

been..." or ...٠ت ع (ba'aalak 'adde eih...) to ask more generally "How long have you been..."

While و must be followed by a specific, singular unit of time (an hour, a day, a year), ع٠ means a more general "how long."


How long did the

operation last? ١ح؟ ظد و (kamdaamit al-3amaliyya?)

١ح تد ع

٠؟ (il-3amaliyya ba'it

'adde eih?)

How many hours

did the

operation last?

ظد و قح ١ح؟ (kam saa3a

daamit al-3amaliyya?)

و ١ح تد قح؟ (il-3amaliyya

ba'it kam saa3a?)

Some additional examples of colloquial questions: ت و قح؟ (bitišrab sagaayir ba'aalak kam sana?)ترهؽب ق٠١ؽ

How many years have you been smoking cigarettes?

ت ع ٠ ٠م ؟ (ba'aalak 'adde eih 3aayiš hina?)

How long have you been living here?



ظ ع ٠؟ هح (iš-šanTa di 'adde eih?)

How big is this bag?

ر؟ د (wiSilt min imta?)

How long ago did you arrive?

Asking yes-or-no questions

In Arabic, if you ask a question with a yes-or-no answer, the question takes the exact same form as

the corresponding statement; the only difference is intonation, and the optional addition

of (hal) at the beginning of the question. is standard Arabic, but is also used in colloquial

Arabic by educated speakers. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Statement:

You're Egyptian. ؽ د (anta miSri)ؽ د (inta

maSri)

Question: Are

you Egyptian?ؽ؟ د (hal

anta miSri?)

دؽ؟ (hal inta

maSri?)

Statement: This

university is

famous.

ح ػهؼج (haadihi l-

aami3a mašhuura)

ظ ح هؼج (ig-gam3a

di mašhuura)

Question: Is this

university

famous?

ح ػهؼج؟ (haadihi l-

aami3a mašhuura?)

ظ ح هؼج؟ (ig-gam3a

di mašhuura?)

An alternative to is . Likeأ , it goes at the beginning of the question. Unlike , it's used

in standard Arabic only, and cannot be used in front of a definite noun or a word beginning

with . It's also much more uncommon thanأ . Examples: وػ؟ أ١ف (a-laysa kadaalika?)

Isn't that so?



أ؟ عأ (a-ġadan alqaak?)

Will I see you tomorrow? (This is the title of a famous Umm Kalthoum song.)

Asking "alternative" questions

Standard

Arabic

Egyptian

Arabic

or (used in between two

choices) أ (am) (walla)

or (used in between three or

more choices) أ(aw)

(walla)

An "alternative" question presents two or more choices to pick from. In standard Arabic, أ (am) is

used to separate a single pair of choices. ج؟ أ ه :ذ غ (maada tufaDDil, aš-šaay am al-qahwa?)

What do you prefer, tea or coffee?

However, if you are presenting more than two choices to pick from, you must use

أ(aw) in

between each choice. تك١ح؟ أ تؼ أ تؽج أ تكثؼج كؽ ذ (tufaDDil as-

safar bis-sayyaara aw biT-Taa'ira aw bil-qiTaar aw bis-safiina?)

Do you prefer to travel by car, plane, train, or ship?

That's all for standard Arabic. In Egyptian Arabic, you simply use (walla), "or," in between

each choice you're presenting. ٠ ؿ-جظ٠ؾ تؿ ؽ٠سح قظج (mazaagak eih -

saada walla 3ar-riiHa walla mazbuuT walla ziyaada?)

What do you feel like - black, a little sugar, sweet, or very sweet? (in reference to coffee/tea)

؟ ١ذ (hina walla take away?)

For here or to go?



كح؟ ه١د (mešeit walla lissa?)

Have you left yet? (lit. Did you leave or not yet?)

Additional notes on asking questions in colloquial Egyptian Arabic

Note that in Egyptian Arabic, to politely ask if someone would like to do something, you can use an

imperfect-form verb: ن؟ (tišrab šaay?)ذهؽب

Would you like tea?

ذهؽب ٠؟ (tišrab eih?)

What would you like to drink?

؟ ١ذ (tiigi ma3aana?)

Would you like to come with us?

Among some useful colloquial "question" words to know are: ن (išme3na), "why (in

particular)" and أي ('ummaal), "So [if that's the case, then]..." ن ؟ (išme3na ana?)

Why me?

٠؟ ٠ عج ١ع ن يأ ('ummaal ana šme3na d-donia

mi3anda ma3aaya?)

So how come nothing's going my way? (lit. the world is against me) - with a sort of "why me?"

emphasis

رس؟؟ ظ و ةرى ؾ ١ ز ظورؼ ٠ ة:ؾ؟ ىك أي ث١ثز ٠ قرغ: (Taalib: "ya doktoor, howw-eHna leih

laazim niktib kulle da fil-imtiHaan?" il-ustaaz: "ya Habiibi, 'ummaal hansa''atku zzaay?")

Student: "Professor, how come we have to write all of that in the exam?" Professor: "[If you didn't,

then] how could we fail you?"



١؟ أي د م د, د (law inta miš inta, 'ummaal inta miin?)

If you're not you, then who are you?

The expression ـ... (+ noun/pronoun) has several meanings: 1. What's the matter with...? What's wrong with...?

؟ (maalak?)

What's the matter with you?

ي ظ٠؟ (maal Dina?)

What's wrong with Dina?

2. What's that got to do with...?

؟ أ (ana maali?)

What business is it of mine? (implying that I don't see what the topic at hand has to do with me)

؟ (malha wa-maali?)

What's she got to do with me? (implying that I don't want anything to do with her)

؟ (maalik wa-maalu?)

What's he got to do with you? (implying that you should leave him alone and stop interfering with

him)

3. ؟ (we-maalu?) - can mean either "So what?" or "That's ok." There are also quite a few "tags" you can tack onto the end of your question to ask for affirmation:

؟ (walla la?)

or not?

٠ ؟ (walla eih?)

or what?

م وعج؟ (miš kida?)

isn't that so?

؟ (wallana ġalTaan?)



or am I mistaken?

؟ (SaHH?)

right? (correct?)

So you could say ؽ... د (inta maSri...) and add on any of the above expressions to mean

"You're Egyptian, aren't you?" How do you say...? How do you say "Welcome/hello/happy birthday" etc. in Arabic? I have an entire page dedicated to common phrases like this here. But you can use أق ahlan wa sahlan or ثزؽ marHaba for both "Welcome" and "Hello." "Happy birthday"

is ١ظ ق١ع ١ع 3iid miilaad sa3iid, but people usually just use د و قح ١ة kull sana winta Tayyib (in Egypt), or ق د و قح kull sane winte saalim (in

the Levant). The standard phrase is أر تط١ؽ و kull 3aam wa-antum bexeir. If

you're addressing a woman, say د ١ثح و قح kull sana winti Tayyiba or و قحق د kull sane winti saalme. (The standard phrase stays the same.)

How do you say "I love you" in Arabic? What are some Arabic endearments? Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Addressed to a man ثزأ - uHibbukaثست -baHebbak

Addressed to a woman ثزأ - uHibbukiثست -baHebbik

Addressed to two people ىثزأ -uHibbukuma

ىثست -

baHebbuku

Addressed to three or more people, at

least one of whom is a manىثزأ -uHibbukum

ىثست -

baHebbuku

Addressed to three or more women ىثزأ -uHibbukunna

تسثى -baHebbuku

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/greetings.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/greetings.html



You can say أ "ana" beforehand, but it's not really necessary, since it's clear that it's "I" just from

the conjugation. If you want to say you love someone "a lot," you can add ؽ١و katiiran or ثز Hubban jamman in fuSHa, or 'awi in 3ammiyya. Or for an even more enthusiastic

(colloquial) emphasis, you can say ١ع ع 'add id-dunya, which would sound a little corny but

cute.

And here's a list of Arabic endearments. All of these are used in Egyptian Arabic, as well as other

dialects, and will be understood by any Arabic speaker. Note that if you use them to address

someone, they should be preceded by ٠ (ya); ex. "ya Habiibi," "ya ruuHi."

ث١ثز Habiibi (to a man or a

woman); رث١ثز Habibti (to a woman)

my darling (also used between

friends and family, including

people of the same sex)

ث زث١ة Habiib 'albi (to a man); زث١ثحث Habibet 'albi (to a woman)

my heart's darling

ؿ٠ؿ 3aziizi (to a man or a

woman); ذؿ٠ؿ 3azizti (to a woman)

my dear

زؼ ruuHi my soul

١ 3eini my eye

١ 3oyuuni my eyes

٠١ / ١ ؼ (nuur 3eini/3einaya) light of my eye/eyes

ذ١ز Hayaati; ؽ 3omri my life

ġaali (to a man); ح١ ġaliya (to a

woman)precious

ك 3asal honey

ز Helw (to a man); زج Helwa (to a

woman)sweet

How do you say "I miss you" in Arabic?



Standard Arabic

Addressed to a man ١ا هر(ج( أ - ana

muštaaq(at)un ileika

Addressed to a woman١ا هر(ج( أ - ana

muštaaq(at)un ileiki

Addressed to two people ى١ا هر(ج( أ - ana

muštaaq(at)un ileikuma

Addressed to three or more people, at

least one of whom is a manى١ا هر(ج( أ - ana

muštaaq(at)un ileikum

Addressed to three or more women ى١ا هر(ج( أ - ana

muštaaq(at)un ileikunna

I put the appropriate phrase if you're a woman in parentheses — so if you're male, ignore what's in

the parentheses and use ره muštaaqun, and if you're female, use حره muštaaqatun.

For the Egyptian dialect, there are actually three ways to say "I miss you." The first uses the past-

tense conjugation of the verbمز , but even though it's past tense, it's frequently used with a

present-tense meaning. The second uses the present-tense conjugation of the verb. And the third

uses the active participle to describe a state of being, which in this case is the state of missing

someone:

Past tense Present tense Active participle

Addressed to a

manرهز -

waHašteni

هزرت -

betewHašni

هز د -

inta waHešni

Addressed to a

woman١رهز -

waHaštiini

١هزرت -

betewHašiini

هز ر -

inti waHšaani Addressed to

more than one

person

رهز -

waHaštuuni

هزرت -

betewHašuuni

هز ر -

intu waHšenni

If that confused you, just pick one — any is fine!

Comparative and superlative adjectives in Egyptian Arabic





Elative forms of adjectives Forming comparative and superlative statements

Elative forms of adjectives

In Arabic, there are elative forms of adjectives that are used for both comparisons (ex. "bigger")

and superlatives (ex. "best"). Elative adjectives are invariable and take three regular forms: 1. أ (af3al) - this is the most common form.

وث١ؽ (kibiir) أوثؽ (akbar)

big bigger

ور١ؽ (kitiir) أورؽ (aktar)

many more

١ؽ (fa'iir) أؽ (af'ar)

poor poorer

١ (gamiil) أ (agmal)

pretty prettier

ق (sahl) قأ (ashal)

easy easier

ة (Sa3b) أة (aS3ab)

hard, difficult harder

٠ (Tawiil) أي (aTwal)

tall, long taller, longer

١ة (Tayyib) أ١ة (aTyab)

nice nicer

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adjcomp.html#elat


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adjcomp.html#form

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adjcomp.html#form




أى.2 (af3a) - corresponds to adjectives that end in ـ (-i) or ـ (-w). ز (Helw) زأ (aHla)

sweet, nice sweeter, nicer

(3aali)

أ(a3la)

high higher

(ġaali) أ (aġla)

expensive more expensive

وغ (zaki) وغأ (azka)

smart smarter

3. أ (afa3ll) - corresponds to adjectives with a doubled/geminate root. ع٠ع (gediid) أع (agadd)

new newer

(mohimm) أ (ahamm)

important more important

١ض (xafiif) ضأ (axaff)

light lighter

١ ('aliil) أ (a'all)

few less, fewer

ػ٠ػ (laziiz) أػ (alazz)

delicious more delicious

There is an irregular comparative: و٠ف (kwayyis) كزأ (aHsan)

good better



Forming comparative and superlative statements

To form a comparison (between two things) in Arabic, you use the elative adjective followed

by (min). ظ أ ظ ١ (il-'amiiS da aġla min da)

This shirt is more expensive than that one.

أي ١كز (Hussein aTwal minni)

Hussein is taller than me.

To form a superlative (comparing one thing to multiple other things), you can use the elative

adjective followed by an indefinite noun. This has a basic "the [adj]est [noun]" meaning. ع أؽ (howwa aSġar walad)

He's the youngest boy.

ظ أؼض و١رح (di arxaS žakitta)

This is the cheapest jacket.

ؽ ع٠ح ؽج أوثؽ (il-qaahira akbar mediina fi maSr)

Cairo is the biggest city in Egypt.

For another kind of superlative, you can use the elative adjective followed by a definite plural noun.

This has a "the [adj]est of (all) the [nouns]" meaning. ظ أؽ (howwa aSġar il-wilaad fil-faSl)

He's the youngest of the boys in the class

س و١رخ ضؼأ ظ (di arxaS iž-žakittaat fil-maHall)

This is the cheapest of the jackets in the shop.

ؽ ع ؽج أوثؽ (il-qaahira akbar il-mudun fi maSr)

Cairo is the biggest of the cities in Egypt.

Adjectives in Egyptian Arabic



Introduction Some basic adjectives

Inflections for gender and number

Agreement

Nisba adjectives

Introduction

An adjective is a word that describes a noun — "smart," "pretty," "good," etc. Remember that ق (the active participle) acts as an adjective. ظ ١ (il-film da mumill)

This movie is boring.

و٠ف ورب (kitaab kwayyis)

a good book

٠ (howwa naayim)

He is sleeping.

ح كد (is-sitt illi wa'fa hnaak)

the woman who is standing there

Some basic adjectives

Here's a list of some common, basic adjectives in Egyptian Arabic: small ؼ )( ١ؽ Soġayyar (pl.)

Suġaar

big وثؼ )( وث١ؽ kibiir (pl.) kobaar

short ؼ )( ١ؽ 'oSayyar (pl.) 'uSaar

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html#adj


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html#list

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html#adj2


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html#adjn






http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html#list




long; tall ي )( ٠ Tawiil (pl.) Tuwaal

smart أغو١ء )( وغ zaki (pl.) azkiya

stupid أث١ء )( ث ġabi (pl.) aġbiya

rich أ١ء )( ġani (pl.) aġniya

poor ؽء )( ١ؽ fa'iir (pl.) fu'ra

old (in reference to things, not

people)ع )( ٠ع 'adiim (pl.) 'udaam

new عظ )( ع٠ع gediid (pl.) gudaad

pretty, beautiful ي )( ١ gamiil (pl.) gumaal

ugly ثسء )( ١ث 'abiiH (pl.) 'ubaHa

زم weHiš

clean)( ١

naDiif (pl.) nuDaaf

dirty قص wisix

expensive ġaali

cheap ١ضؼ raxiiS

good و٠ف kwayyis

bad زم weHiš

easy ق sahl

hard, difficult ة Sa3b

heavy ١ ti'iil

light ١ض xafiif

high 3aali

low waaTi

fat ١طذ tixiin

thin ١ؼ rofayya3



fast, quick ٠ؽق sarii3

slow ت baTii'

Inflections for gender and number

As with nouns, to make adjectives feminine or plural, usually you add a suffix: ـح (-a) for the

feminine form, ١ـ (-iin) for the regular plural form. But again, many adjectives do not have

regular plural forms, so for those you have to memorize the broken plurals. The first half of the list

above is made up of adjectives with broken plurals. Also see the following examples: Singular masculine Singular feminine Plural

big وث١ؽ (kibiir) وث١ؽج (kibiira) وثؼ (kobaar)

poor ١ؽ (fa'iir) ١ؽج (fa'iira) ؽء (fu'ra)

Here's a regular adjective: Singular

masculine

Singular

feminine Plural

good و٠ف (kwayyis

) و٠كح (kwayyesa) ١ك٠و (kwayyisii

n)

Note: Say an adjective ends in ـ (-i) and is not of the form (faa3il). When you're adding

on your ـح and ١ـ suffixes to make it feminine/plural, you need to insert a "yy" between the

adjective and the suffix (in terms of your pronunciation). Singular

masculine

Singular

feminine

Plural

stupid ث (ġabi) (ġabeyya)ث١ح (aġbiya)أث١ء

smart وغ (zaki) غو١ح (zakeyya) أغو١ء (azkiya)

Egyptia

n*ؽ (ma

Sri)

ؽ٠ح (maSre

yya)

١٠ؽ (maSriy

yiin)

* See below for more on this type of adjective.





If, however, an adjective ending in ـ is of the form , you don't insert a "yy" between it

and the suffix when you're making it feminine/plural. And while the masculine form of this adjective

has a long "aa," the feminine and plural forms have a short "a."

Singular

masculine

Singular

feminine Plural

expensive (ġaali) ١ (ġalya) ١١ (ġalyiin)

quiet,

calmظ (haadi) ظ٠ح (hadya) ١٠ظ (hadyiin)

Adjectives: agreement

In English, adjectives come right before the noun they describe, but in Arabic, adjectives always

directly follow the noun they modify. Also, adjectives and nouns must always agree in definiteness

(they must be both definite or both indefinite). Adjectives for singular nouns

A singular noun is modified by a singular adjective of the same gender.

ع٠ع ؼع (il-mudarris il-gediid)

the new teacher - lit. "the-teacher the-new"

تد ظ٠ح (bint hadya)

a quiet girl - lit. "girl quiet"

Adjectives for dual nouns

Any dual noun must be modified by a plural adjective.

١٠ؽ ٠ع (waladein

maSriyyiin)

١١ ١ترو (kitaabein ġalyiin)

two Egyptian boys two expensive books

١٠ؼق ١رت (bintein suriyyiin)ؽت١ر ١عظ (3arabiyyatein

gudaad)

two Syrian girls two new cars

Adjectives for human plural nouns



Human plural nouns, masculine or feminine, are usually modified by masculine plural nouns.

أظ وثؼ (awlaad kobaar)

big boys

(banaat Soġaar)تخ ؼ

small girls

Adjectives for non-human plural nouns Non-human plural nouns are modified by feminine singular adjectives. This is confusing at first,

but you get used to it fast!

رعح ظي (dowal mit'addima)

advanced countries

ؽت١خ ع٠ح (3arabiyyaat 'adiima)

old cars

أ ع٠عج (aflaam gediida)

new movies Note: A lot of beginning students get confused about adjectival phrases and whether or not they

can be complete sentences. Look at these examples for some clarification: ر١ػ نؽ (it-tilmiiz šaaTir)

A complete simple sentence: "The student is smart." (Lit. "The-student smart.")

هؽ ر١ػ (it-tilmiiz iš-šaaTir)

A phrase/sentence fragment: "The smart student." (Lit. "the-student the-smart.")

ذ١ػ نؽ (tilmiiz šaaTir)

A phrase/sentence fragment: "A smart student." (Lit. "student smart.")

Nisba adjectives (ةا)



Nisba adjectives are those that indicate a relationship, often a nationality. Nouns are transformed

into these adjectives in this manner: 1. Drop any definite article at the beginning of the noun, and any taa marbuuTa (حـ) or

alif (ـ) at the end of it.

2. Add the suffixes ـ (-ii) for the masculine adjective, ـ١ح (-eyya) for the feminine

adjective, and ١١ـ (-iiyyiin) for the plural adjective.

Here are some examples of nouns and their correponding nisba adjectives:

Noun

Adj

ect

ive

Mascu

line

singul

ar

Feminin

e

singula

r

Plural

Eg

ypt

ؽ(maSr

)

Egy

ptia

n

ؽ(ma

Sri)

ؽ٠(maSrح

eyya)

٠ؽ٠(maSr

iyyiin)

Le

ba

no

n

ث (libnaa

n)

Leb

ane

se

ث(libnaa

ni)

ث١ح (libnaney

ya)

١١ث (libnaniyyi

in)

the

Uni

ted

St

ate

s

٠ؽأو(am

riika)

Am

eric

an

٠ؽأو (a

mriiki)

١ى٠ؽأ(amrikeج

yya)

١ى٠ؽأ٠(amrik

iyyiin)

Palest

ineك٠(filisTiin)

Pal

estinia

n

ك٠ (fil

isTiini)

١كح١(filisTiineyya)

١١ك٠(filisTii

niyyiin)

Sy

ria

قؼ٠ (sur

ya)

Syri

an

قؼ(suu

ri)

قؼ٠ح(sureyya

)

١٠ؼق(suriyyi

in)



Su

da

n

كظ (is-

suuda

an)

Sud

ane

se

ظق (su

daani)

ظق٠(sudaح

neyya)

١ظق٠(suda

niyyiin)

sc

ho

ol

(mقحعؼadrasa

)

sch

olas

tic

عؼق (m

adrasi)

عؼق٠(madrح

aseyya)

١قؼع٠(madr

asiyiin)

Note: For some nouns that end in -a, you don't follow that formula but use the suffixes ـ (-

awi), ـ٠ح (-aweyya), and ١٠ـ (-awiyyiin).

Nou

n

Adj

ecti

ve

Mascul

ine

singul

ar

Feminin

e

singular

Plural

Fr

an

ce

ؽق(f arans

a)

Fren

ch

ؽك(fa

ransawi

)

كؽ٠(faranح

saweyya

)

كؽ١٠(fara

nsawiyyii

n)

As

ia١قأ(asya)

Asia

n

قأ(asawi

)

أق٠ح (a

saweyya

)

١٠قأ (

asawiyiin

)

ye

ar)قحsana)

year

ly/a

nnu

al

ق(sanawi

)

ق٠ح (s

anaweyy

a)

١٠ق (

sanawiyyi

in)

pr

op

he

t

ث

(nabi

)

prop

hetic

ث (

nabawi

)

ث٠ح (n

abaweyy

a)

١٠ث (n

abawiyyin

)

Some plural nisba adjectives are irregular:



Masculine

singular

Feminine

singular Plural

Arab تؽ (3arab

i)

ؽت١ح (3arabey

ya)

ؽب (3arab

)

Turkish ذؽو (turki) ذؽو١ح (turkeyya

) ؽذأ (atraak)

Kurdis

hظؽو (kurdi

)

وؽظ٠ح (kurdeyy

a)

أوؽظ (akraa

d)

Morocc

anتؽ (maġ

ribi)

ؽت١ح (maġrib

eyya)

ؽتح (maġ

arba)

British ؿ١ (ingiliizi) ١ؿ٠ح (inglii

zeyya) ١ؿ (ingiliiz)

The active participle in Egyptian Arabic

Introduction Derivation of the active participle

List of commonly-used active participles

Examples of usage

Introduction

Active participles act as adjectives, and so they must agree with their subject. An active participle

can be used in several ways: (1) to describe a state of being (understanding; knowing), (2) to

describe what someone is doing right now (going, leaving), and (3) to indicate that

someone/something is in a state of having done something (having put something somewhere,

having lived somewhere for a period of time). رت د أ (ana faahim ill-inta bit'uulu)

I understand what you're saying.

٠ ح (heyya nayma)

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#intro


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#deriv

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#list

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#ex

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#ex

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#list

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_act.html#deriv




She is sleeping.

ؼج ز (HaaTiT iS-Suura)

I've put up the picture.

For some verbs, active participles are not used, while for others, they are used frequently

and must be used instead of the present continuous tense if you want to describe a current action.

If you mess up and use an imperfect-tense verb where you should use an active participle (or vice

versa), it can change your sentence's meaning completely! Active participle Imperfect tense

تعح أ تكح (ana

labsa badla)vs.

تعح تثف (balbis badla)

I am wearing a suit

(right now).

I wear a suit (on a regular

basis).

ظ ٠ؼ أ (ana

raayiH in-naadi)vs.

ظ ؽت (baruuH in-

naadi)

I'm going to the club;

I'm on my way there

right now.

I go to the club (regularly).

٠ ؟ (3aamileih?)

vs.تر٠ ؟ (biti3mel eih?)

An idiomatic way of

asking someone, "What's

up?"

What are you doing (right

now)? -or- What do you do (as

a career)?

Derivation of the active participle

Active participles are derived in fairly regular ways from their root verbs. Type of verb Passive participle

Form 1 sound verbs (of the

type fi3il) (faa3il)



ؽ (3irif) to knowؼ (3aarif) in a state of

knowing

(fihim) to understand (faahim) in a state of

understanding

Form 1 geminate/doubled

verbs (of the type fa33) (faa3i3)

ز (HaTT) to putز (HaaTiT) in a state of having

put

Form 1 defective verbs (of

the type fi3i or fa3a) (faa3i)

ه (miši) to go ن (maaši) going

Form 1 hollow verbs (of the

type faa3)٠ (faayi3)

ؼ (raaH) to go ٠ؼ (raayiH) going

(ġaab) to be absentب٠ (ġaayib) in a state of beingة

absentMost other triliteral verb

forms

Substitute "mi" for the "yi" of the

imperfect howwa verb conjugation

ؼ (rawwaH) to go home ؽ (mirawwaH) going home

قؽ (saafir) to travel كؽ (misaafir) traveling

رق (istanna) to wait رك (mistanni) waiting*

* Note: When the imperfect howwa conjugation of the verb in question ends in -a, as with "istanna

- yistanna," the ending -a is replaced by -i in the active participle, as with "mistanni."

List of commonly-used active participles



Generally speaking, the most commonly-used active participles fall into the categories of motion or

action (going, coming, leaving, carrying), location (living, staying), and mental state (seeing,

understanding, wanting). Here is a table of some of these active participles: Masculine

singular

Feminine

singular Plural

coming (gayy) ٠ح (gayya) ١٠ (gayyiin)

going ٠ؼ (raayi

H)

ؼ٠سح (rayHa

)

١س٠ؼ (rayHii

n)

going/w

alkingن (maa

ši)

ن١ح (mašy

a)

١١ن (mašyii

n)

leaving ؼض (xaar

ig) ضؼح (xarg

a) ١ؼض (xarg

iin)

returnin

gؼ (raagi

3)

ؼح (rag3

a)

١ؼ (rag3i

in)

going

homeؽ (mir

awwaH)

ؽزح (mira

wwaHa)

١زؽ (mira

wwaHiin)

traveling كؽ (mis

aafir) كؽج (mis

afra) ٠ؽك (mis

afriin)

going up (Taali

3)

ح (Tal3a

)

١ (Tal3ii

n)

going

downؾي (naazil

)ؾح (nazla) ١ؾ (nazliin)

carrying ٠ن (šaayi

l)ن٠ح (šayla) ١٠ن (šayliin)

standing (waa'

if)ح (wa'fa) ١ (wa'fiin)

sitting ع ('aa3id

)عج ('a3da)

٠ع ('a3diin

)



awake ز (Sa

aHi)

ز١ح (SaH

ya)

١١ز (SaH

yiin)

sleeping٠ (naayim

)

٠ح (nayma

)

١٠ (naymii

n)

taking ضع (waax

id)ضعج (waxd

a)٠عض (waxdi

in)

eatingو (waak

ul)وح (wakla)

١و (wakliin

)

waiting رك (mis

tanni)

كر١ح (mist

anniyya)

١١رك (mist

anniyyiin)

living (in

a place)وق (saak

in)قوح (sakna

)١وق (saknii

n)

living (in

general)٠م (3aa

yiš)

٠ (3ayšهح

a)

١ه٠ (3ayšii

n)

rememb

erوؽ (faakir

)وؽج (fakra)

٠ؽو (fakriin

)

know ؼ (3a

arif)ؼح (3arfa

)١ؼ (3arfii

n)

understa

nd (faahi

m)

ح (fahma

)

١ (fahmii

n)

want ٠ؿ (3aayi

z)

٠ؿج (3ayza

)

٠ؿ٠ (3ayzii

n)

see ٠ن (šaa

yif) (šayfa)ن٠ح ١٠ن (šayfiin

)

hear ق (saa

mi3)

قح (sam3

a)

١ق (sam3

iin)



Examples of usage

Here are some examples of situations in which you could use the active participle. Note that

generally you can leave out the subject pronoun that would go with the active participle, as long as

it's clear who you're talking about. I'm about to go out to the supermarket, and I tell the people I'm with,

ن١ح٠ ،ؿ ٠زح؟ أ (ana

mašya, 3ayziin Haaga?)

I'm going out, do you

want anything?

Someone asks you how you are, and you

say,

ضعج أ ،ح٠ن ذثح (ta3baana šwaya, ana waxda bard)تؽظ

A little sick, I've caught a

cold.

A teacher asks a student a question, and

he responds,

ب م وؽ (miš faakir il-

gawaab)

I don't remember the

answer.

Someone asks you a question, and you

reply,

ؼ م أ (ana miš 3aarif) I don't know.

You're walking down a flight of stairs, and your friend downstairs calls

you to ask where you are. You say,

ي ؾح (nazla 3ala Tuul) I'm going right down.

You're on the way to the movie theater,

so you tell someone,

١ك أ ؼ٠سح (ana rayHa s-

senema)

I'm going to the movie

theater.

Someone asks you where you live, and

you say,

ع٠عج ؽ وق أ (ana I live in Heliopolis.



saakin fi maSr ig-gediida)

Someone asks you where your parents

live, and you say,

ضف ى٠ؽأ ١ه٠

١ق (3ayšiin fi amriika min xamassiniin)

They've been living in

the US for five years.

You see a friend of yours standing somewhere waiting, and you ask her,

كر١ح\ح ر؟ (wa'fa/mistanniyya hina min

imta?)

How long have you been

standing/waiting here?

You hear a weird noise and ask someone

with you,

ق زح؟ (saami3 Haaga?) Do you hear something?

You've been waiting for a friend, and then when you see him arrive:

أ (aho gayy) There he comes.

You see something incredible, and say:

!١١ ع م (miš misadda'3eineiyya!)

I don't believe my eyes!

Note: It's common to use كح (lissa), "still," before an active participle to mean that an action

has just been completed. You can think of it as saying, "I'm still in the state of just having (done

whatever)." وح كح (lissa wakla)

I've just eaten.

The passive participle in Egyptian Arabic

Introduction Derivation of the passive participle

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pass.html#intro


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pass.html#deriv

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pass.html#deriv




Introduction

Passive participles, like active participles, act as adjectives, and so they must agree with the noun

they're describing. A passive participle may express a current state of being; a couple of examples

would be "known" and "understood." Or it may express a state of having been — the result of an

action that has already been performed. Examples would be "written" (i.e. the item is in a state of

already having been written) and "cooked" (i.e. the item has already been cooked). Use of the

passive participle obscures the identity of the person who performed the action. ؽ (mumassil ma3ruuf ) ١ت (beiD ma'li)

a well-known actor fried eggs

Derivation of the passive participle

Passive participles are derived in different ways from their root verbs. However, if you know the

type of verb you're working with, deriving the passive participle from that verb is quite regular. Type of verb Passive participle

Form 1 sound verbs (of the

type fi3il)

ي (maf3uul)

ورة (katab) to write ىرب (maktuub) written

(fihim) to understand (mafhuum) understood

Form 1 geminate/doubled

verbs (of the type fa33) (maf3uu3)

زة (Habb) to love سثب (maHbuub) beloved

وة (kabb) to spill/pour ىثب (makbuub) spilled/poured

Form 1 defective verbs (of

the type fi3i or fa3a) (maf3i)

ن (šawa) to grill ه (mašwi) grilled



ك (nisi) to forget ك (mansi) forgotten

Most other triliteral verb

forms

Substitute "mi" for the "yi" of the

imperfect howwa verb conjugation*

وكؽ (kassar) to smash ىكؽ (mikassar) smashed

ؽطذ (itxarrag) to

graduateؽطر (mitxarrag) (a) graduate

ضرؼ (ixtaar) to choose طرؼ (muxtaar) chosen

عطرق (istaxdim) to use عطرك (mistaxdim) used

* Educated Egyptians often pronounce this "mi" as "mu" due to influence from standard Arabic —

see the pronunciation "muxtaar" (as opposed to "mixtaar") as an example. Note: For verbs that are not of Form 1, the active participle and passive participle are usually

exactly the same! You would use context to tell which it is.

رس (miHtall)

This could be the active participle, "occupying," or the passive participle, "occupied."

You might also have noticed that hollow verbs were not included in the above table of passive

participle derivations. This is because passive participles are not used for these verbs. Rather, you

would derive a passive participle from the verb's corresponding passive form (which would generally

begin with ذـ it-). ت (baa3) to sell

This has no passive participle. So you would instead use the verb:

ثذ (itbaa3) to be sold

From this you would derive the appropriate passive participle,

ثر(mitbaa3), "sold."

But also note that aside from passive verb forms of hollow verbs, you do not usually use passive

participles derived from ذ itfa3al verb forms — except, in some cases, if you want to

distinguish between a passive and active participle that would otherwise be the same.



ظ (dalla3) to spoil

The active and passive participle of this verb is the same: ع (midalla3)

So people will use ع only in its active participle sense. For the passive participle, they use:

رع (mitdalla3) spoiled, as in a spoiled child

ؼت (rabba) to raise or grow (as in a parent raising a child, or someone growing a plant)

The active and passive participle of this verb is the same: ؽت (mirabbi)

So people will use ؽت only in its active participle sense. For the passive participle, they use:

رؽت (mitrabbi) well-raised

But usually for passive verbs, you would derive a passive participle from the corresponding Form 1

verb. ذىرة (itkatab) to be written

This has no passive participle. So you would instead use the corresponding Form 1 verb:

ورة (katab) to write

From this you would derive the appropriate passive participle, ىرب (maktuub), "written."

كىذ (itkasaf) to be embarrassed

This has no passive participle. So you would instead use the corresponding Form 1 verb:

كو (kasaf) to embarrass

From this you would derive the appropriate passive participle, كى (maksuuf),

"embarrassed."

Adverbs in Egyptian Arabic

An adverb modifies a verb (or an adjective or adverb) and answers questions like how, when,

where, why, and to what degreesomething was done. Here is a list of some common adverbs; all

usually come after the expression they're modifying, except forز , which usually comes

before the modified expression. Adverbs of time Adverbs of place



today ظؼ (in-

nahaarda)

yesterday ؼث (imbaa

riH)

tomorrow تىؽج (bukra)

now ظد (dilwa'ti

)

later ٠عت (ba3dein

)

a long

time ago ؾ (zamaan)

recently/

soonؽ٠ة ('ariib/'o

rayyib)

always ٠ظ (dayman)

never عتأ (abadan)

early ؼعت (badri)

late ؽض (waxri)

رؤضؽ (mit'axx

ar)

finally ؽ١ضأ (axiiran)

usually ظج (3aadatan

)

usually,

for the

most part

ث (ġaaliban)

here (hina)

there (hin

aak)

outside

ؽت (barra)

inside (guw

wa)

up,

upstair

s

(foo')

down,downst

airsذسد (taH

t)

in front

of ع ('udd

aam)

behind ؼ (wara

)



sometime

s١زأ (aHyaan

an)

Adverbs indicating degree

very ('awi)

ث ظ ١ (il-film da 3agibni 'awi) - I liked that movie

a lot.

زج ؼج ظ (di Suura Helwa 'awi) - This is a really

nice picture.

very/at all

ض (xaaliS)

ض م ؼ زح (howwa miš 3aaref Haaga

xaaliS) - He doesn't know a thing.

ض ظ ضؽتح ثع (il-balad di xarbaana xaaliS) - This

country is totally messed up.

very ع (giddan)

ع ١ و (kalaamak gamiil giddan) - What you're saying

is really good.

a lot; often ور١ؽ (kitiir)

ظ ؽثط١رو (il-xabar da 'ala'ni kitiir) - This news really

worried me.

totally

خ (moot) * This is very slangy.

خ عج ظ (il-aġaani di gamda moot) - These

songs are really cool.

more, in

additionو (kamaan)



ن٠ح و رق (istanna kamaan šwayya) - Wait a little more.

nearly ث٠ؽذ (ta'riiban)

ذؽ٠ث قح (fiDilna ta'riiban noSS saa3a) - We had

almost half an hour left.

ث٠ؽذ ؼ ض (xiliS ramaDaan ta'riiban) - Ramadan is

almost over.

nearly ز (Hawaali) * Usually comes before the

expression being modified.

عو ح١رك ز قح ت أ (ana ba'aali Hawaali saa3a

mistanniyya kida) - I've been waiting like this for about an hour.

a little ن٠ح (šwayya)

ؼظأ ؾ٠ طرؼ ظ ٠ن كزأ (il-mumassil da

laazim tixtaar adwaaru aHsan šwayya) - That actor should pick his roles

a bit better.

Adverbs of manner

like this, in this way عو (kida)

١ عو رت م ؼح (miš 3arfa bit3aamilni kida leih) -

I don't know why you're treating me like this.

in this way/manner ظ ىهت (biš-šakle da)

تهى ظ؟ ىذ ؽركذ ؾ (izzaayy tistigri tkallemnibiš-šakle da?) - How do you dare talk to me like that?

quickly تكؽح (bi-sur3a)

ه حؽكت ؼه ن أود سأ (kunte maaši fiš-šaari3

bis-sur3a 3ašaan alHa' awSal) - I was walking down the street fast so I

could make it on time.



quickly, in a short time ('awaam)

ط ه أعث ٠ (yalla nibda' 3ašaan nixallaS 'awaam) -

Come on, let's get started so we can finish quickly.

slowly ته٠م (bišweiš)

٠ ؟ رك ،ح٠ن ته٠م (bišweiš šiwayya, mista3gil 3ala eih?) -

[Go] slowly, what are you in a hurry for?

right away, immediately ز (Haalan)

!ز ظؽ ؾج أ (ana 3awza r-rudd Haalan!) - I want the answer

right away!

presently, at this time ١ز (Haaliyyan)

١أ ١ح ١ز أ (ana Haaliyyan muqiima fi almanya) - Right

now I'm living in Germany.

together ق (sawa)

ق و (kullina fil-hawa sawa) - We're all in the same

boat (lit. "We are in the air together").

alone, by oneself

زع (li-waHd- + pronounsuffix)

عز ىقأ ت (bafaDDal askun li-waHdi) - I prefer to live

by myself.

straight ahead; right away;

continuously; foreverي (3ala Tuul)

ن ذ سع ي ه (imši

3ala Tuul li-Hadde matlaa'i g-gaami3 3ala šmaalak) - Go straight until

you find the mosque on your left.

ي ظ١ح (di'ii'a wa-gayy 3ala Tuul) - Just a

minute, I'm coming right away.

ي هز (inta waHešni 3ala Tuul)د - I miss you



all the time.

ي ؽ كؽج ؽ تع (ana msafra qaTar

ba3d il-faraH 3ala Tuul) - I'm going to Qatar right after the wedding.

م ٠ ١ىكة (howwa miš hayifDal yiksib

3ala Tuul) - He won't keep winning forever.

deliberately, on purpose ع (3amdan)

د وع ع؟ ا ترىؽ (bitfakkar inni 3amelte kida 3amdan?) - Do

you think I did that deliberately?

The genitive construct and other ways to express possession in

Egyptian Arabic

The genitive construct - ح (il-iDaafa) Other ways to express possession

The genitive construct

In Arabic, two nouns can be placed one after the other in what is called a genitive construct

to indicate possession. First comes the noun being possessed ( (ح) ), then

comes the noun referring to the owner (١ ). For example: ع (kitaab il-walad)ورب

the boy's book

ثد ق (ism il-bint)

the girl's name

ع ع٠ح (mediinat il-'uds)

the city of Jerusalem

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_idafa.html#idafa

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_idafa.html#poss

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_idafa.html#poss

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_idafa.html#idafa



تد (bint 3ammi)

my cousin (paternal uncle's daughter)

If ends in a taa' marbuuTa, then the end of that word will be pronounced -it instead of

-a. رضأ أح (ooDit oxti)

my sister's room

ث١ح ؽت١ح (3arabiyyit Nabiila)

Nabila's car

ثز ؼج (Suurit SaHbi)

my friend's picture

(ša''it Nagwa)نح

Nagwa's apartment

In Egyptian Arabic, must be indefinite, but ١ may be definite or

indefinite. ع ورب (kitaab il-walad)

the boy's book

كز برو (kitaab Hasan)

Hasan's book

ع ورب (kitaab walad)

a boy's book

Whether an adjective modifies or ١ , it will come at the very end,

after ١ . As usual, it will agree in gender, number, and definiteness with the noun

it modifies. ٠ح ثد ورب (kitaab il-

bint iT-Tawiila)

٠ ثد ورب (kitaab il-

bint iT-Tawiil)

the tall girl's book the girl's long book



٠ ورب تد (kitaab bint

Tawiil)

٠ح ورب تد (kitaab bint

Tawiila)

a girl's long book a tall girl's book

But sometimes, if both

or

١ are the same gender and number,

there can be confusion over what noun is being modified by the adjective, as with this phrase: ٠ ع ورب (kitaab il-walad iT-Tawiil) - does this mean "the tall boy's book" or "the

boy's long book"?

Fortunately, Egyptian Arabic has a solution for this kind of ambiguity: use of the رت (bitaa3)

construction. The word رت (female form ترح bitaa3a, plural form رت bituu3) indicates

possession. ٠ ع رت برى (il-kitaab bitaa3 il-walad iT-Tawiil)

the tall boy's book

رت ٠ ىرب (il-kitaab iT-Tawiil bitaa3 il-walad)

the boy's long book

This construction is also used if you want to modify both terms of the

حwith adjectives.

١ؽ ع رت ٠ ىرب (il-kitaab iT-Tawiil bitaa3 il-walad iS-Soġayyar)

the little boy's long book

Other ways to express possession

There are also other ways to express possession. Of course, you can use possessive pronouns. Arabic has no verb for "to have," but you can express this idea with three different prepositions,

with possessive pronoun suffixes added:

ع (3and-) - used to talk about "having" something in the sense of owning or possessing it.

This is the most commonly-used of these three choices.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns_poss.html




ع ظ ؽ١ثو د١ت (ir-raagil da 3andu beit kibiir)

That man has a big house.

ـ (li-) - used to refer to something intended for somebody or something "owned" by an

inanimate object.

ثقح ب ١ (liik gawaab fil-bosTa)

You have a letter in the mail.

١تثن خذ ح (il-ooDa liiha talat šababiik)

The room has three windows.

(ma3a) - used to talk about something you physically have with you.

؟ (ma3aak filuus?)

Do you have money (with you)?

Here are the "conjugations" of these words:

I have ع (3andi) (leyya)٠ (ma3aay

a)

you(masc

.

sing.)

have

ع (3andak) (lik) (ma3aak

)

you

(fem.

sing.)

have

ع (3andik) ى (likii)و (ma3a

akii)

he

hasع (3andu) (luh) (ma3aah)

she

has ع (3andaha) (laha) (ma3aa

ha)



we

have ع (3andena) (lina) (ma3aan

a)

you

(pl.)

have

وع (3anduku

)ى (luku)

و (ma3a

aku)

they

haveع (3anduhu

m)

(luhum

)

(ma3aa

hum)

And here are the negations: I

don'

t

have

ع٠م (ma3a

ndiiš)

١م (malii

š)

١م (ma

ma3iiš)

you

(ma

sc.

sing.

)

don'

t

have

عوم (ma3a

ndakš)

ىم (mal

akš)

ىم (ma

m3akš)

you

(fem

.

sing.

)

don'

t

have

عوم (ma3a

ndikiiš)

ى١م (ma

lkiiš)

ى١م (ma

m3akiiš)

he

does

n't

have

عم (ma3a

nduuš)

(mal

uuš)

(m

am3ahuuš)

she

does

n't

ع (ma3

andahaaš)

(ma

lhaaš)

(ma

m3ahaaš)



have

we

don'

t

have

ع (ma3a

ndenaaš)

(mal

naaš)

(ma

m3anaaš)

you(pl.)

don'

t

have

وع (ma3

andukuuš)

ى (m

alkuuš)

ى (m

am3akuuš)

they

don'

t

have

عم (ma3

anduhumš)

م (ma

lhumš)

م (m

am3ahumš)

To shift into the past tense, you say و (kaan) or وم (makanš) followed by the

preposition + pronoun suffix. عو ا جؽى ع وم (makanš 3andi fikra innu howwa lli

3amal kida)

I had no idea that he was the one who did that.

Modals in standard and Egyptian Arabic

Modals in standard Arabic Modals in Egyptian Arabic

Modals in standard Arabic

In English, modal verbs include "can," "may," "might," "must," "should," and "would" — verbs that

are not conjugated or negated in the same way as regular verbs. Standard Arabic doesn't have

exact equivalents of these verbs, but it has words that are used in much the same way — including

phrases beginning with ـ . Here's a list (all of these are followed by imperfect-mood verbs,

although if you remove the أ, you can follow them with a عؼ ):

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_modals.html#stand


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_modals.html#egy

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_modals.html#egy




أ ة٠ (yajib an) must, should

أ ـ (3ala + object + an) must

أ ؾ (min al-laazim an)have to, it is necessary

to

أ ة (min al-waajib an) it is necessary to

ؼؽ أ (min aD-Daruuri an) it is necessary to

أ ث٠ (yanbaġi an) should

أ ؽ (min al-mafruuD an) should

أ ؽر (min al-muftaraD an) should, ought to

أ ى٠ (yumkin an) might, may

أ ى (min al-mumkin an) it is possible to

أ ١سرك (min al-mustaHiil an) it is impossible to

أ ر (min al-mutawaqqa3 an) it is expected that

أ ؽر (min al-muntaZar an) it is expected that

أ ك (min as-sahl an) it is easy to

أ ؽ١ك١ (min al-yasiir an) it is easy to

أ ة (min aS-Sa3b an) it is hard to

أ ؽوػت ع٠ؽ (min al-jadiir

bid-dikr anna)

it's worth mentioningthat

أ دت (min at-taabit anna)it's well-established

that

أ ؽ (min al-ma3ruuf

anna)it's (well-)known that



أ (min al-waaDiH anna) it's clear that

أ (min al-mafhuum anna) it's understood that

أ ؽ (min al-murajja3 an) it's most likely that

أ رس (min al-muHtamal an) it's probable that

أ ؼؽ (min al-muqarrar an) it's been decided that

أ ١ ر (min al-muttafaq

3aleihi an)it's been agreed that

أ ظر (min al-mu3taad an) it's customary to

أ كسرك (min al-mustaHsan

an)it's preferable that

أ كز (min al-aHsan an) it's better that

أ ؼع (min al-ajdar an)it's more

suitable/proper to

أ ١ث (min aT-Tabii3ii an) it's natural that

أ (min al-mamnuu3 an) it's forbidden to

أ ك (min al-masmuuH an) it's permitted to

To shift to the past, add و (kaan) before the phrase. To shift to the future,

add ى١ق (sayakuun) beforehand. For negation, addف١ (laysa) before it. Examples:

ؼت ىؼح ك١ح ٠ حه ٠ ة ؟ ف (hal yajib munaaqašat qaDaaya mitl al-kaarita l-insaaniyya fii burma fii majlis

al-amn?)

Should issues like the humanitarian disaster in Burma be discussed in the Security Council?

ر أ١٠ ؽ ة كظخ" "ر١ي ؽ٠ ١



١٠ؽ (fiilm iiraani 3an iġtiyaal as-saadaat min al-mutawaqqa3 an yatiir ġaDab al-

miSriyyiin)

An Iranian movie about Sadat's assassination is expected to anger Egyptians (lit. excite Egyptians'

anger).

غ ثرك ا ؽج ذرسي أ ى هىح ػح٠ؼػ قثح زي ذ (haadihi l-muškila min al-mumkin an tataHawwil

ila Zaahira ida lam tuwDi3 liha Huluul munaasiba wa-jidriyya)

This problem may turn into a phenomenon if appropriate and radical solutions for it are not found.

ه١ ر٠إؼ ع ، ، ؽ٠ ١ث ؼ ؽ٠ث٠ كسة (min aT-Tabii3i an yafraH al-muwaaTin, ayya muwaaTin,

laday ru'yatu jeišan ġariiban yansaHib min arDu)

It's natural for a citizen, any citizen, to rejoice at the sight of a foreign army withdrawing from his

land.

١ك ر ضظ خك ذؾ رك غاى١كح١ ؿج عذ ١سذ ع ة

ك د ك (ida lam nastaTi3 tajaawuz al-inqisaamaat daaxil al-mujtama3 al-

filasTiini fa-sayakuun min aS-Sa3b jiddan taHqiiq taqaddum fi mawDuu3eiyy ġazza wa-3amaliyyat

as-salaam fil-waqt nafsu)If we can't overcome the divisions within Palestinian society, then it will be very difficult to achieve

progress in the issues of Gaza and the peace process at the same time.

Modals in Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic uses many of the same modals listed above, but without the

أ...ـ .

Usually they are followed by an imperfect-tense verb. ؾ (laazim) must, have to

ؼؽ (Daruuri) must

ؽ (il-mafruuD) should



ى (mumkin) can, it's possible

١سرك (mustaHiil) it's impossible

ى٠ (yemkin) perhaps

٠ؿ (gaayiz) may, it is possible that

ق (sahl) it's easy to

ة (Sa3b) it's hard to

(mamnuu3) it's forbidden to

ك(masmuuH) it's permitted to

There are also modals that are active participles. Remember that all active participles act as

adjectives, and thus have masculine, feminine, and plural forms. ٠ؿ٠-٠ؿج-٠ؿ (3aayiz - 3ayza - 3ayziin) want to

-ح٠-١٠ (naawi - nawya - nawyiin) intending to

ع٠-عج-ع ('aa3id - 'a3da - 'a3diin)continuingto

١-ح-ي (3ammaal - 3ammaala -

3ammaliin)

continuing

to

There are also modals that you attach a pronoun suffix to:

ف (nifs-) to feel like

ع ('aSd-) to mean to

ؾ (zamaan-)must have - indicates something

happening at the proper or expected time

ذ (tann-) continuing to



٠ؼ٠د (ya reit - suffix

optional)wish

Again, to shift to the past, add و (kaan) before the phrase. To shift to the future,

add

ى١(haykuun) beforehand. For negation, add

م (miš) before it.

Examples:

ذضع ؽؼ ث ذىؽ ؾ و (kaan laazim tifakkar fel-

mawDuu3 'abl ma taaxod qaraar)

You should've thought about it before you made a decision.

و٠ف د و ؽ (il-mafruuD innena kollena ni'Di wa't

kwayyis)We should all spend our time well.

٠ظأ ع وم (makanš 'aSdi adaayi'ak)

I didn't mean to annoy you.

ع تة ذىد ؼع رسد ر٠ؼ ٠ (ya reitni mafataHt sidri

witkallemt bi-'alb gaamid)

I wish I hadn't talked so openly and bravely.

ؾ٠ ح (zamanha gayya)

She ought to be coming (soon now).

ؾ د (zamaanak gu3t)

You must be hungry by now.

١ذعق رو ضد ؾ و زح و(kaan zamaan kulle Haaga

xilSit law kunti sa3idtiini)

Everything would've been finished by now if you'd helped me.

ث ك أقؽ (nifsi asaafir libnaan)

I'd like to travel to Lebanon.

ؼعت سأ ٠ح (nawya aSHa badri)



I intend to get up early.

١ عسرذ ح ث (il-balaawi 3ammaala titHaddif 3aleina)

Troubles keep on befalling us.

ظ ىس١ح هؼؽت١ح ق ىذ ح(il-3arabiyya l-kaHyaana

di 3ammaala tkoHH fi wesT iš-šaari3)

This beat-up old car keeps coughing in the middle of the street.

Nouns in Egyptian Arabic

Gender - making masculine nouns feminine Number - forming the dual and plural forms of nouns

o Dual nouns

o Broken plurals

o Regular masculine plurals

o Regular feminine plurals

Nouns: gender

Nouns are the names of things, whether objects, people, or places. Nouns in Arabic, both human

and non-human, are either masculine or feminine. Usually , if a (singular) noun ends in a ta

marbuuTa (حـ, pronounced -a), it is feminine, and if it doesn't end in a ta marbuuTa, it's masculine. ت١د (beit) ← masculine noun

house

(ša''a)نح ← feminine noun

apartment

However, there are exceptions. All of these words are feminine, even though they don't end in a ta

marbuuTa: (naar)ؼ fire

ق (sama) sky

ؼأ (arD) land/earth

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#nouns

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#nouns2

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#dual

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#brok

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#regm

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#regf

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#regf

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#regm

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#brok

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#dual

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#nouns2

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html#nouns



(šams)نف sun

٠ؼ (riiH) wind

١ (3ein) eye

٠ع (iid) hand

ؼ (ruuH) soul

زؽب (Harb) war

Nouns that can refer to both men and women (like job titles) can be made feminine with the

addition of the suffix ـح (-a). Masculine Feminine

teacher ؼع (mudarris) عؼقح (mudarrisa)

engineer ع (mohandis) عقح (mohandisa)

actor (mumassil) ح (mumassila)

artist (fannaan) ح (fannaana)

Nouns: number

Dual nouns

In Arabic, if you're talking about two things, you need to use the dual form of the noun. Just add

the suffix ١ـ (-ein) to the masculine singular form of the noun.

Singular Dual

book ورب (kitaab) ١ترو (kitaabein)

window ثن (šibbaak) ١وثن (šibbaakein)

Note: If the singular form ends in a taa marbuuTa (حـ, -a), you need to "untie it" — change it to

a — خ before adding the ١ـ suffix. Take the word ح ("sentence") as an example:



ح (gomla)

"Untie" the taa marbuuTa (replace it with a :(خ د

Add the ١ـ suffix: ١ر (gomlatein) - "two sentences"

Note: While you can use the

١ـsuffix to talk about two people, usually it's better to say

"١ذ (itnein) + [plural noun]": Singular Dual

teacher ؼع (mudarris) ١قؼع ١١ذ (itnein mudarrisiin)

engineer ع (mohandis) ١قع ١ذ (itnein mohandisiin)

If you want to talk about a pair of things, like socks or shoes, you should use the singular form of

the noun, and it'll be understood that you're talking about a pair. If you want to talk about one item

out of a pair, say ؽظج (farda min), literally "an individual from." ؿح ع٠عج ؽرن ؾ (laazim ašteri gazma gdiida)

I need to buy a new pair of shoes. - Note that although "gazma" technically means "shoe," it's

understood that you mean a pair of shoes.

تؽن م ١ح ؽظج أ (ana miš la'ya farda min šaraabi)

I can't find one of my socks. - Again, note that "šaraabi" technically means just "my sock," but it's

understood to mean a pair.

Broken plurals

Most Arabic nouns have broken (irregular) plurals. A few examples:

Singular Plural

book ورب (kitaab) ورة (kutub)

child/boy ع (walad) أظ (awlaad)

sentence ح (gomla) (gomal)

With these nouns, you simply have to memorize their plural forms until you internalize the broken

plural patterns. Eventually, once you've memorized enough broken plurals, you'll start being able to

predict the plural forms of new nouns.



Regular masculine plurals

There are some nouns that have regular (sound) plurals. Almost all masculine nouns that have

regular plurals fall under the category of job titles etc. that can refer to either men or a mixed group

of men and women. To make one of these nouns plural, you simply add the suffix ١ـ (-iin).

Singular Plural

teacher ؼع (mudarris) ١قؼع (mudarrisiin)

engineer ع (mohandis) ١قع (mohandisiin)

actor (mumassil) ١ (mumassiliin)

artist (fannaan) ١ (fannaaniin)

Note: In Arabic, plural human nouns that take the masculine form can refer to either a group of all

men, or a group of men and women. So a group of ١قع could be a bunch of male

engineers, or a mixed group of male and female engineers. Regular feminine plurals

To make a feminine noun (that doesn't have a broken plural form) plural, you drop the taa

marbuuTa and add the suffix ـخ (-aat). Many foreign loanwords, even some that are masculine,

take this plural form (see و١رح and وث١ذؽ ).

Singular Plural

car ؽت١ح (3arabiyya) ؽت١خ (3arabiyyaat)

word وح (kelma) وخ (kalimaat)

clinic ١ظج (3iyaada) ١ظخ (3iyaadaat)

acket (žakitta)و١رح (žakittaat)و١رخ

compute

rوث١ذؽ (kombiyuuter

)

وث١ذؽخ (kombiyuuteraat

)

Note: If you want to talk about a group of all women, you take the masculine singular form of the

noun and, again, add the .suffixـخSingular Feminine plural

teacher ؼع (mudarris) عؼقخ (mudarrisaat)

engineer ع (mohandis) عقخ (mohandisaat)



actor (mumassil) خ (mumassilaat)

artist (fannaan) خ (fannaanaat)

Numbers in Egyptian Arabic

The numbers from 1 to 10 o Noun-number construction for 1: [singular noun] + [form of عز that agrees with

the noun in gender] (for emphasis)

زعج تد (bint waHda) - (only) one girl

o Noun-number construction for 2: [dual noun] + ١ذ (for emphasis)

١ذ ١رت (bintein itnein) - (only) two girls

o Noun-number construction for 3 through 10: [short form of the number] + [plural noun]

ذخ تخ (talat banaat) - three girls

The numbers from 11 to 19

o Noun-number construction for 11 and up: [number] + [singular noun]

(xamastaašar bint)ضكرنؽ تد - fifteen girls

Multiples of 10

o To read out numbers from 21 to 99: [number in ones place] wa[multiple of ten]

١ذذ ١ذ (itnein wa-talatiin), 32

Multiples of 100

o To read out numbers from 101 to 999: [multiple of 100] + [number in ones place] +

[multiple of ten] - "wa" comes before the last number

ضكح ١ح (meyya wa-xamsa), 105

١كض زع ١ر (metein waaHid wa-xamsiin), 251

Multiples of 1,000

o To read out numbers from 1,001 to 999,999: [multiple of 1,000] + [multiple of 100] +

[number in ones place] + [multiple of 10]

قرح ١أ (alfein wa-sitta), 2,006

١كض أ قثح (alf sab3a wa-xamsiin), 1,057

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#one


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#elev


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#ten


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#hund


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#thou









٠ؽه (3ašar talaaf rub3omeyya sittaهؽ ذ ؼت١ح قرح

wa-3išriin), 10,426

١ذذ أ ذك١ح ذ١ح ١كض زع (waaHid wa-

xamsiin alf tus3omeyya tamanya wa-talatiin), 51,938

١رق ذر١ح ضكح أ ١تؼأ ١ح قثح (meyya sab3a

wa-arbi3iin alf tultomeyya xamsa wa-sittiin), 147,365

10,000+

The cardinal and ordinal numbers from 1 to 10

Cardinal

numbers

"Shortform"

(see

below)

Ordinalnumbers

(masc. -

fem.)

0 ؽ (Sifr

)

1 زع(wa

aHid)

1s

t

-أي

أ (aw

wil - uula)

2 ١ذ (itne

in)

2n

d

ذ-ذ١ح (taa

ni - tanya)

3 ذذح (talaata) ذخ (tal

at)3rd

-ذد

ذرح (taali

t - talta)

4 أؼتح (ar

ba3a)

تؼأ (arb

a3)

4t

h

تؼ-ؼتح (raabi3 -

rab3a)

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html#tenthou





5 ضكح (xa

msa)

ضف (xamas)

5t

h

-ضفضكح (x

aamis -

xamsa)

6 قرح (sitta)قد (sitt)

6t

h

ظق-قظقح (saadis -

sadsa)

7 ٧ قثح (sab

3a)

ثق (sab

a3)

7t

h

تق-قتح (saabi3 -

sab3a)

8 ٨ (taذ١حmanya)

ذ (taman)

8t

h

ذ-ذح (taa

min -

tamna)

9 ٩ ذكح (tis3a)

كذ (tisa3)

9th

قذ-

ذقح (taasi3 -

tas3a)

1

0

هؽج (3a

šara)

هؽ (3a

šar)

10

th

-نؽنؽج (3

aašir -

3ašra)

Note: While the rest of Arabic is written right-to-left, numbers are written left-to-right!

So is 356, for instance. زع and its feminine form, زعج waHda, are usually used after a single noun for emphasis.

It must agree with the gender of the noun it's modifying.

زع ؼ (raagil waaHid) (only) one man



زعج وح (kelma waHda) (only) one word

In a similar way, ١ذ usually follows a dual noun and is used for emphasis. It is invariable,

though, so there's no gender agreement with the noun.

١ذ ١ترو (kitaabein itnein) (only) two books

١ذ ١رت (bintein itnein) (only) two girls

However, there's a special instance here: singular count nouns. These nouns are always

singular and come after a cardinal number. 1. The kinds of nouns you use in ordering food, drinks, and so on:

ج زع (waaHid 'ahwa) one (cup of) coffee

ن ١ذ (itnein šaay) two (cups of) tea

ضكح ت١ؽج (xamsa biira) five beers

2. Most nouns indicating some kind of measurement (such as weight, length, distance, monetary

value):

و١رؽ زع (waaHid kilometr) one kilometer

١ ١ذ (itnein gineih) two Egyptian pounds

ؽ حذذ (talaata 'irš) three piasters

3. The words ١ (milyoon), million, and ١ت (bilyoon), billion

١ ١ذ (itnein milyoon) two million

١ت أؼتح (arba3a bilyoon) four billion

On to the numbers 3 through 10! The "short form" of these numbers must precede the plural form

of a noun. Here we don't have to worry about gender agreement.

٠أ ذخ (talat ayyaam) three days

١ق تؼأ (arba3 siniin) four years

ضف قرخ (xamas sittaat) five women

ظ قد (sitt welaad) six boys



أ ثق (saba3 aflaam) seven movies

ؼظ ذ (taman wuruud) eight roses

ؼأ كذ (tisa3 awraa') nine pieces of paper

(3ašar kutub)هؽ ورة ten books

Note that with any number from 3 up, you may make the number + noun phrase definite by simply

adding a definite article to the first word in the number. ٠أ رخ (it-talat ayyaam) the three days

١ق تؼ (il-arba3 siniin) the four years

طف قرخ (il-xamas sittaat) the five women

The numbers from 11 to 19

Cardinal numbers

11 (Hadaašar)زعنؽ

12 (itnaašar)ذنؽ

13 (talaattaašar)ذذنؽ

14 (arba3taašar)أؼترنؽ

15 (xamastaašar)ضكرنؽ

16 (sittaašar)قرنؽ

17 ٧ (saba3taašar)قثرنؽ

18 ٨ (tamantaašar)ذرنؽ

19 ٩ (tisa3taašar)ذكرنؽ



With any number from 11 and up, the number must precede a singular noun. There is no gender

agreement. ع (Hadaašar walad)زعنؽ eleven boys

(itnaašar 3arabiyya)ذنؽ ؽت١ح twelve cars

Note that with all numbers from 11 up, the ordinal numbers are the same as the cardinal numbers.

Multiples of ten from 20 to 90

Cardinal numbers

20 ٠ؽه (3ešriin)

30 ١ذذ (talatiin)

40 ١تؼأ (arbi3iin)

50 ١كض (xamsiin)

60 ١رق (sittiin)

70 ٧ ١ثق (sab3iin)

80 ٨ ١ذ (tamaniin)

90 ٩ ١كذ (tis3iin)

For numbers that fall within this range, you literally say "one and twenty, two and twenty, three and

twenty," etc. ٠ؽه زع (waaHid w3ešriin) 21

١ذذ ١ذ (itnein wa-talatiin) 32

١تؼأ ذذح (talata warbi3iin) 43



And if you want to say "21 cars" or whatever, you just put the singular form of the noun right after

the number.

Multiples of 100 from 100 to 900

Cardinal numbers Form used before a

counted noun

10

0

١ح (meyya) ١د (miit)

20

0

١ر (metein) ١ر (metein)

30

0

ذر١ح (tultomeyya) ذر١د (tultomiit)

40

0

ؼت١ح (rub3omeyya

)

ؼت١د (rub3omiit

)

50

0

ضك١ح (xumsomey

ya)

ضك١د (xumsom

iit)

60

0

قر١ح (suttomeyya) قر١د (suttomiit)

70

0

٧

٠ث١ح (sub3omeyya)قث١د (sub3omiit

)

80

0

٨

ذ١ح (tumnomeyya

)ذ١د (tumnomiit)



90

0

٩

ذك١ح (tus3omeyya

)

ذك١د (tus3omiit

)

For numbers that fall within this range, you do the same thing as above but add the multiple of 100

to the beginning. ٠ؽه زع ١ح (meyya waaHid w3ešriin) 121

١ذذ ١ذ ح١كض (xumsomeyya itnein wa-talatiin) 532

١تؼأ قر١ح ذذح (suttomeyya talata warbi3iin) 643

١ذ ١ح (meyya witnein) 102

Multiples of 1,000

Cardinal numbers

1,000 أ (alf)

2,000 ١أ (alfein)

3,000 ذ خذ (talat talaaf)

4,000 تؼأذ (arba3 talaaf)

5,000 ذ فض (xamas talaaf)

6,000 ذ دق (sit talaaf)

7,000 ٧ ذ ثق (saba3 talaaf)

8,000 ٨ ذ ذ (taman talaaf)

9,000 ٩ ذ كذ (tisa3 talaaf)

10,000 ذ ؽه (3ašar t-alaaf)



For numbers in this range, see this "formula": [multiple of 1,000] + [multiple of 100] + [number in

ones place] + [multiple of 10]: قرح ١أ (alfein wa-sitta) 2,006

١كض أ قثح (alf sab3a wa-xamsiin) 1,057

٠ؽه (3ašar talaafهؽ ذ ؼت١ح قرح

rub3omeyya sitta wa-3išriin) 10,426

١ذذ أ ذك١ح ذ١ح ١كض زع (waaHid wa-

xamsiin alf tus3omeyya tamanya wa-talatiin)51,938

١رق ذر١ح ضكح أ ١تؼأ ١ح قثح (meyya

sab3a wa-arbi3iin alf tultomeyya xamsa wa-sittiin)147,365

10,000+

Cardinal numbers

11,000 أ (Hadaašar alf)زعنؽ

12,000 أ (itnaašar alf)ذنؽ

etc. ... (number from 11 onward + alf)

100,000 أ ١د (miit alf)

200,000 أ ١ر (metein alf)

500,000 أ \١ضك١د (xumsomiitalf/nuSSe milyoon)

1

million ١ (milyoon)

2

million١ ١ذ (itnein milyoon)

3 ١ ذذح (talaata milyoon)



million

1 billion ١ت (bilyoon)

Demonstrative and relative pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic

Demonstrative pronouns - ق نؼج (ism al-išaara) Relative pronouns - ي ق (al-ism al-mawSuul)

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) point to and identify a noun or pronoun. In

standard Arabic, the demonstrative pronoun comes before the noun it refers to; in 3ammiyya, it

follows the noun. While fuSHa has specific words for "that" and "those" (as opposed to "this" and

"these"), 3ammiyya does not. Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

I like this book. ػ ةزأبرى (uHibbu haada l-

kitaab)

ىرب ظتسة (baHebb il-

kitaab da)

Did you

see that girl?

ذ ؼأ٠د ثد؟ (ra'eita tilka l-bint?)

ثد ند ظ؟ (šoft il-

bint di?)

Here are all the demonstrative pronouns in Arabic: Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

this

(masc.) ػ (haada) ظ (da)

this

man ؽ ػ (haada r-rajul)ظ ؽ (ir-

raagil da)

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns_demr.html#dem


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns_demr.html#rel






this

lesson ؼع ػ (haada d-dars)ظ ؼع (id-

dars da)

this

(fem.)* ػ (haadihi) ظ (di)

* Note that all plural non-human nouns are grammatially treated as

feminine, and this applies to demonstrative pronouns (as well as other

things like adjectives).

this girl ثد ػ (haadihi l-bint)ظ ثد (il-

bint di)

this

pillowطعج ػ (haadihi l-

mixadda)

ظ طعج (il-

mixadda di)

These

books are

long

٠ح ىرة ػ (haadihi

l-kutub Tawiila)

ظ ىرة ٠ح (il-kutub

di Tawiila)

These

cars are

new

ك١ؼخ ػع٠عج (haadihi s-sayaraat

jadiida)

ظ ؽت١خ ع٠عج (il-

3arabiyyaat di

gediida)that

(masc.) غ (daalika)

that

manؽ غ (daalika r-rajul)

that

(fem.) ذ (tilka)

that girl ثد ذ (tilka l-bint)

these

(masc.

dual)

| ػ٠ػ (haadaani/haadeini)*

ظي (dool)

* ػ is used with nouns in the nominative case (ؽ ); ٠ػ is

used with nouns in the genitive and accusative cases ( ؼؽ



ب ).

These

(two) boys

are

Egyptian

ع ػ٠ؽ (haadaani l-

waladaan miSriyaan)

ظي ٠ع١٠ؽ (il-

waladein dool

maSriyiin)

I saw

these

(two) boys

٠ػ د٠أؼ٠ع (ra'eitu haadeini l-

waladein)

٠ع ند ظي (šoft il-

waladein dool)

these

(fem.

dual)

| ر١ر (haataani/haateini)*

ظي (dool)

* ر is used with nouns in the nominative case (ؽ ); ١ر is

used with nouns in the genitive and accusative cases ( ؼؽب ).

these

(two) girlsرث ر (haataani l-

bintaan)

ظي ١رث (il-

bintein dool)

I saw

these

(two) girls

٠ع ١ر د٠أؼ (ra'eitu

haateini l-bintein)

١رث ند ظي (šoft il-

bintein dool)

these

(masc.

and fem.

pl.)

ئ (haa'ulaa) ظي (dool)

these

menؽي ئ (haa'ulaa r-

rijaal)

ؽحظي (ir-riggaala

dool)

these

girlsثخ ئ (haa'ulaa l-

banaat)

ظي ثخ (il-

banaat dool)



those

(masc.

and fem.

pl.)

أ (uulaa'ika)

those

men

ؽ أ (uulaa'ika r-

rijaal)

those

girlsثخ أ (uulaa'ika l-

banaat)

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns (such as "that, which, who") begin relative clauses, which act like adjectives and

describe the noun they follow. In Arabic, if the relative pronoun is referring back to a noun that is a

direct object or the object of a preposition (like "the book [that] I read," "the girl [whom] I wrote

to"), a pronoun suffix referring to this noun must be added to the relative pronoun. ذأؽ ػ ىرب (al-kitaab alladi qara'tuhu)

the book that I read - lit. "the book that I read it"

ر ورثد ثد (al-bint allati katabtu laha)

the girl whom I wrote to - lit. "the girl whom I wrote to her"

If you are referring to a noun that is indefinite, you do not use a relative pronoun. خ ٠رى قد ١ؾ (lii zamiil yatakallam sittu luġaat)

I have a colleague who speaks six languages. - Note that although English still uses the relative

pronoun "who," there's no corresponding pronoun in Arabic.

These two rules hold for both standard and Egyptian Arabic. Relative pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic

The Egyptian dialect has only one relative pronoun:

(illi) - used in reference to all nouns, regardless of gender/number.

Standard Arabic, on the other hand, has a whole bunch of relative pronouns:



Standard Arabic Egyptian

Arabic

used in

reference to

a masculine

singular

noun

ػ (alladi) (illi)

the man who

went to the

US

ا ػ غة ؽى٠ؽأ (ar-rajul alladidahab

ila amriika)

ؽ ؼى٠ؽأ (ir-

raagil illi raaH

amriika)

the book

(that) I readذأؽ ػ ىرب (al-

kitaab alladi qara'tuhu)

ىرب ر٠ؽ (il-kitaab

illi 'areitu)

used in

reference to

a feminine

singular

noun

ر (allati) (illi)

* Again, remember that all plural non-human nouns are grammatially

treated as feminine singular.

the girl who

studied

Arabic

ر ظؼقد ثد ؽت١ح (al-bint allati darasit

al-3arabiyya)

ثد ظؼقد تؽ (il-bint

illi darsit

3arabi)

the movies

(that) I sawر٠أؼ ر (al-

aflaam allati ra'eituha)

رن (il-aflaam illi

šoftaha)



used in

reference to

a masculine

dual noun

| ػ٠ػ (alladaani/alladeini)

(illi)

* ػ is used with nouns in the nominative case

(ؽ ); ٠ػ is used with nouns in the genitive and accusative

cases (ب ؽؼ ).

the two

teams who

reached the

finals

ػ ٠ؽ (al-fariiqaan

alladaani waSalaa ila n-

nihaa'i)

١٠ؽ (il-

farii'ein illi

waSalu n-

nihaa'i)

used in

reference to

a feminine

dual noun

| ر١ر (allataani/allateini)

(illi)

* ر is used with nouns in the nominative case (ؽ ); ١ر is

used with nouns in the genitive and accusative cases ( ؼؽب ).

the two

women who

stayed in the

village

ر١ت ر ذأؽؽ٠ح (al-imra'ataan

allataani baqiyataa fi l-qaria)

I gave the

present to

the two girls

who wanted

it

١رث ع٠ح ر ١أؼظذأ١د (a3Teitu l-

hadiyya lil-bintein allateini

araadaataha)

used in

reference to

a masculine٠ػ (alladiina) (illi)



plural noun

the

Egyptians

who work in

the Gulf

٠ ٠ػ ٠ؽ١ط (al-maSriyyuun

alladiina ya3maluun fil-xaliij)

١٠ؽ ره١ت ١ط (il-

maSriyyiin illi

bištaġalu fil-

xaliig)

used in

reference to

a feminine

plural noun

| ذذ (allaati/allawaati)

(illi)

the women

who work in

the field of

engineering

٠ ذ كء عقح ي (an-nisaa'

allawaati ya3milna fi majaal

al-handasa)

كرخ ره١تي عقح (is-

sittaat illi

bištaġalu fi

magaal il-

handasa)

Note: Relative pronouns are only used to refer to a definite noun. If you are not referring to a

definite noun, you would not use a relative pronoun. See these examples: Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

I talked to

the

Egyptians

who work in

the Gulf

١٠ؽ ذىد

٠ ٠ػ١ط (takallamtu ma3a

l-maSriyyiin alladiina

ya3maluun fil-xaliij)

١٠ؽ ود

ره١ت ١ط (kallimt il-

maSriyyiin illi

bištaġalu fil-xaliig)

I talked

with

Egyptians

who work in

١٠ؽ ذىد ٠

١٠ؽ ود ره١ت



the Gulf ١ط (takallamtu ma3a

maSriyyiin ya3maluun fil-

xaliij)

١ط (kallimte

maSriyyiin bištaġalu

fil-xaliig)

Note: Egyptian Arabic also has the pronouns (aho), (ahe), and (ahom). When

pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable (áho, áhe, áhom), these words introduce a

word/phrase with a "there it is" meaning. ٠ ح (áhe gayya)

There she comes.

When these words are pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable (ahó, ahé, ahóm), they

follow a noun and act as demonstrative pronouns drawing attention to the noun. عؼ- عؼ١ ؟ (il-mudarris fein? - il-mudarris ahó)

Where's the teacher? - The teacher's right over there.

ر؟ - ٠ ر (ma3aak il-muftaaH? - il-muftaaH ma3aaya

ahó)

Do you have the key (with you)? - I have the key (with me) right here.

Possessive pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic

Possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her, our, their) are used to indicate ownership of something. In

Arabic, as with object pronouns, these take the form of suffixes; they are attached to the noun

that's owned. ر١ت (beiti)

my house

ترو (kitaabu)

his book

رضأ (uxtuhum)

their sister



Note: If the noun that's owned ends in a taa' marbuuTa (حـ), the taa' marbuuTa must be "untied"

and made into a خ before the pronoun suffix is added: ضح (xaala) - maternal aunt

Untie the taa' marbuuTa to get ضد and then add the pronoun suffix:

رض (xalti) - my maternal aunt

The object and possessive pronoun suffixes are exactly the same except for the first person

singular. Possessive pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic:

English Standard Arabic Egyptian Arabic

Singular

my ـ(-i)

your (masc.) ـ(-ka) ـ(-ak)

your (fem.) ـ(-ki) ـ(-ik)

his ـ(-u)

her ـ(-ha)

Dual

our ـ(-na)

your ى ـ(-kuma)

their ـ(-huma)

Plural

our ـ(-na)

your (masc.) ى ـ(-kum)ى ى\ـ ـ(-ku/-kum)

your (fem.) ى ـ(-kunna)

their (masc.) ـ(-hum)

ـ(-hom)

their (fem.) ـ(-hunna)

Note: In standard Arabic, if the noun that's owned is dual (ends in ـ -aan or ١ـ -ein), or if

the noun has a sound masculine plural suffix (ـ -uun or ١ـ -iin), you need to drop the

final ـ before adding the pronoun suffix.



ع (waa

lidaan)

ع (waali

daahum)

ع٠ئ (mu'a

yyiduun)

ع٠ئ (mu'ay

yiduuh)

two parents their parents supporters his supporters

٠ع٠ (yadei

n) ٠ع٠ (yadeiha)

١قؼع (mud

arrisiin)

قؼع (mud

arrisiyya)

two hands her hands teachers my teachers

Note: In Egyptian Arabic, if a noun, verb, or preposition ends in a vowel that is not a taa'

marbuuTa, some of the pronoun suffixes you'll need to use with it will change. For

object/possessive pronouns: ـ (-ni) stays the same.

ـ (-i) → ١ـ (-ya)

ـ (-ak) → ـ (-k)

ـ (-ik) → ىـ (-ki)

ـ (-u) → ـ (-h)

Also, the final vowel in the noun/verb/whatever will need to be lengthened. Some examples: ؼ (war

a)

٠ؼ (waraay

a)

ز (Hawaa

li)

ز (Hawaleiy

ya)

behind behind me around around me

ـ (li-) ١ (liik) ؼ (warra) ؼ (warraak)

forfor you (masc.

sing.)to show

he showed you

(masc. sing.)

(3al

a)

ى١ (3aleik

i)تت (baaba) وتت (babaaki)

onon you (fem.

sing.)dad

your dad (fem.

sing.)

(ma3a (ma3aah (fi) ١ (fiih)



) )

with with him in in him

Note: In colloquial Arabic, when used with possessive suffixes, the words أب (ab), "father,"

and أش (ax), "brother," take the form تأ (abu) and ضأ (axu). Again, the final -u vowel is

lengthened before the suffix is added. ٠تأ (abuuya) ٠ضأ (axuuya)

my father my brother

تأ (abuuk) ضأ (axuuk)

your (masc. sing.) father your (masc. sing.) brother

وتأ (abuuki) وضأ (axuuki)

your (fem. sing.) father your (fem. sing.) brother

تأ (abuuh) ضأ (axuuh)

his father his brother

etc.

Note: Usually, you do not use possessive pronoun suffixes with dual nouns in Egyptian Arabic.

Instead, you say "il-[noun]ein bituu3[possessive pronoun suffix]." my two books ١ترو

رت ١ترى (il-kitabein bituu3i)

There are, however, a few exceptions: ١ (3eineiyya) ؼ (rigleiyya) ع٠ (iideiyya)

my (two) eyes my (two) legs my (two) hands

١١ (3eineik) ١ؼ (rigleik) ٠ع٠ (iideik)

your eyes your legs your hands



etc.

Subject and object pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic

Subject pronouns - ؽ (Damaa'ir al-faa3il) Object pronouns - ت ي ؽ (Damaa'ir al-maf3uul bihi)

Subject pronouns

Subject pronouns (I, you, we, he, she, we, they) take the place of a noun and function as the

subject of a sentence. ى٠ؽأ أ (ana min amriika)

I am from the US.

ع (howwa mohandis)

He is an engineer.

Note: In Arabic, the subject pronoun is frequently dropped. You can tell from a verb conjugation

who the subject is, so it's not really necessary to use the subject pronoun in such cases except for

emphasis. However, in equational (verbless) sentences like the two above, you do need the subject

pronoun. Subject pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic


Singular

I أ(ana)

you (masc.) د(anta) (inta)دyou (fem.) د(anti) ر(inti)

he (howwa)

she (heyya)

Dual we س(naHnu)

you رأ(antuma)

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns.html#subj


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns.html#obj






they (humaa)

Plural

we س(naHnu) ز(eHna)

you (masc.) رأ(antum)ر(intu)

you (fem.) رأ(antunna)

they (masc.) (homa)(homa)

they (fem.) (hunna)

Note: In English, there is only one second-person pronoun, "you," which is used whether you're

talking to one person, two people, or more. But in Arabic, as you see above, there are masculine

and feminine versions of "you," as well as singular, dual (standard Arabic only), and plural

versions: د\ د if you're addressing one person, رأ if you're addressing two (in standard

Arabic), andرأ\ رأ if you're addressing three or more people. Note that the dual "you"

(رأ) is the same regardless of gender. In standard Arabic, there is also a dual version of "they"

( - which is gender-indiscriminate as well) and masculine and feminine versions of the plural

"they" ( and ). Note that Egyptian Arabic has fewer pronouns than standard Arabic, since it has no dual pronouns;

it just has plural pronouns that are used to talk about two or more people, of any gender. And the

colloquial ر and are gender-neutral.

Object pronouns

Object pronouns (me, you, us, him, her, them) are used when you do something

directly to someone or something else. In Arabic, these pronouns are suffixes that are attached to

the verb: رتؽ (Darabatu)

She hit him.

ؽىه٠ (yaškuruuni)

They thank me.



Object pronouns in standard and Egyptian Arabic


Singular

me ـ(-ni)

you (masc.) ـ(-ka) ـ(-ak)

you (fem.) ـ(-ki) ـ(-ik)

him ـ(-u)

her ـ(-ha)

Dual

us ـ(-na)

you ى ـ(-kuma)

them ـ(-huma)

Plural

us ـ(-na)

you (masc.) ى ـ(-kum)ى ى\ـ ـ(-ku/-kum)

you (fem.) ى ـ(-kunna)

them (masc.) ـ(-hum) ـ(-hom)

them (fem.) ـ(-hunna)

Note: In colloquial Arabic, ىـ and ىـ are both used, but the former is more colloquial than the

latter. Here are some examples of object pronoun usage, using the verb قؤي (sa'al) - "to ask."


Singular

He asked me ؤق(sa'alni)

He asked you

(masc.) ؤق(sa'alaka) ؤق(sa'alak)

He asked you

(fem.)ؤق(sa'alaki) ؤق(sa'alik)

He asked himؤق(sa'alahu [more standard] or sa'alu [more

colloquial])

He asked her ؤق(sa'alaha [more standard] or sa'alha [more



colloquial])

Dual

He asked us ؤق(sa'alna)

He asked you ىؤق(sa'alkuma)

He asked

themؤق(sa'alhuma)

Plural

He asked us ؤق(sa'alna)

He asked you

(masc.)ىؤق(sa'alkum)

ىؤق\ى ـ(sa'alku/sa'alkum)He asked you

(fem.)ىؤق(sa'alkunna)

He asked

them (masc.)ؤق(sa'alhum)

ؤق(sa'alhom)He asked

them (fem.)ؤق(sa'alhunna)

The conditional sentence in Egyptian Arabic

Introduction Possible conditionals

Impossible/counter-to-fact conditionals

Examples - for comparison of the two kinds of conditionals

Introduction

There are two types of conditional statements: the possible (If you work hard, you'll do well; if I see

Samia today, I'll ask her out) and the impossible/counter-to-fact (If I were rich, I'd buy a Mercedes;

if I'd known that, I wouldn't have done what I did). There are two main words for "if" in Arabic: (law) and غ (ida in fuSHa/iza in 3ammiyya). (And

there's also the more literary/classical ا.) In standard Arabic, غ is reserved for possible

conditions, while is used for impossible conditions. In Egyptian Arabic, however, the two words

are usually used interchangeably, with being more common.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#intro


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#poss

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#imposs

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#ex

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#ex

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#imposs

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html#poss




Possible conditionals

The "if" clause may begin with or غ, followed by: possibility 1: a verb in the past tense or — with only — a verb in the present tense

تسأ (iza šoft aSHaabi)غ ند

if I see my friends

ك ١تىؽج ؽذ (law tiruuH is-senema bukra)

if you go to the movies tomorrow

possibility 2: some form of و paired with a verb, participle, modal, or nominal or

prepositional phrase

١ذ غ ود ذسة (iza

kunte tiHebbe tiigi)

غ ود (iza kunte

faaDi)

if you'd like to come if you're free

١ذ غ ود ٠ؿ (iza

kunte 3aayiz tiigi)

د ع و غ (iza

kaan 3andi l-wa't)

if you want to come if I have time

ى و (law kaan

mumkin)

if it's possible

The "then" clause may begin with a future-tense verb or command. ىر (hatkallem ma3aahom)

I'll talk to them



٠ ذ (ta3aala ma3aaya)

come with me

Examples:

،ف٠و ١غ غوؽخ ر١ة ظؼخ (iza zakirte kwayyis,

hatgiib daragaat 3alya)

If you study well, you'll get high grades.

ه ؿ ،ظ ؼ ٠ظ دن (law šofte Dina n-

nahaarda, ha3zemha 3ala l-3aša)

If I see Dina today, I'll invite her to dinner

زؽذ و ،جؽىت ١ك (law tiruuHi s-senema

bokra, haagi ma3aaki)

If you go to the movies tomorrow, I'll come with you.

ذ ورىم غ مؿذ ،تقأ ظ و (law kan da

osluubak, matiz3alše iza makallemtakše taani)

If that's your way of doing things, (then) don't get upset if I don't talk to

you again.

ؽ ٠ ،٠ ١ذ ود ٠ؿ (law kunte 3aayiz tiigi

ma3aaya, yalla nruuH)

If you want to come with me, then let's go.

ذ ،عذ ةسذ دو غ (iza kunte tiHebbe ti'3od, itfaDDal)

If you'd like to sit down, then go ahead.

هر و٠ف ٠ ،ؿي (law ig-gaww kwayyis, yallaninzil wa nitmašša)

If the weather is nice, let's go down and take a walk.

ثسر ،ظ ١ ذؽد (law itfarragt 3ala l-film da,

hatHebbu)

If you watch this movie, you'll like it.



Impossible/counter-to-fact conditionals

Again, the "if" clause may begin with or غ. It is usually followed by the appropriate form

of

و. What follows that may be a past- or present-tense verb, modal, or active participle.

رن دو (law kunte

šoftu)

ثسرت ود (law kunte

bitHebbeni)

if you'd seen him if you loved me

ود وؽ (law kunte

faakir)ى و (law kaan mumkin)

if I('d) remembered if it had been possible

Note that, as with the last example, this clause may be identical to its "possible" equivalent. What

really distinguishes possible from impossible conditionals is the following: The "then" clause must begin with an appropriate form of و! It is then followed by a past-

tense verb, if you are talking about something you would/wouldn't have done, or a simple

present/future-tense verb if you're talking about something you would do (right now).

و (kaan geh)

he would've come

أي ي \ود (kunt a'ollak/ha'ollak)

I would tell you

Examples: كزأ خؼظ دث دو ،ف٠و غ ود غوؽخ (iza kunte

zakirte kwayyis, kunte gibte daragaat aHsan)

If you had studied well, you would've gotten better grades.

ؽق١ع٠ف ،ود نرؽ٠د ؽت١ح ٠ (law ma3aaya

filuus, kunt ishtareit 3arabiyya Mercedes)



If I had money, I'd buy a Mercedes.

ى أ ود ،دزؼ دو ، ؼأ ى و هح (law kan mumkin aruuH ma3aak, kunte roHt, laakin ana kunt

mašġuula)

If I could've gone with you, I would've, but I was busy.

ظ حؼ دو مرو ،ؽضأ ١س تع (law kunte 3arfa inne da hayeHSal ba3de maxrug, makuntešضؽد

xaragt)

If I'd known that would happen after I left, I wouldn't have left.

ذ ي ،و زع د ورم د غ (law makunteš

enta 'oltili, kaan Hadde taani 'alli)

If you hadn't told me, someone else would've.

ر د د ورم ،ثسرت ود (law kunt

bitHebbeni, makunteš 'olt illenta 'oltu)

If you loved me, you wouldn't have have said what you said.

ث زؼ و ،ف٠و و (law ig-gaww kan kwayyis,

kunna roHna l-blaaž)

If the weather had been good, we would've gone to the beach.

ثسر دو ،ظ ١ ود ذؽد (law kunt itfarragt

3ala l-film da, kunte Habbeitu)

If you'd watched this movie, you would've liked it.

ورم ك١د سي ،ود ؼظ٠د ١ذ

ررت حى (law makunteš niseit telefooni l-maHmuul, kunt

raddeit 3ala l-mukalma beta3tek)

If I hadn't forgotten my cell phone, I would've replied to your call.

Examples for comparison of possible and impossible conditionals



١د ي \ ،ب أ (law la'eit/alaa'i l-gawaab,

ha'ollak)

If I find the answer, I'll tell you.

ي ،ب ؽخ (law 3etert 3ala l-gawaab, 'olli)

If you come across the answer, tell me.

د ب ،ود ود ؼح (law kunte 3arfa l-gawaab,

kunt 'oltilak)

If I'd known the answer, I would've told you.

ي ب ،ود ود ؼح (law kunte 3arfa l-

gawaab, kunt ha'ollak)If I knew the answer, I would tell you.

د ورم ،ب ود ؼح رز (Hatta wa-law

kunte 3arfa l-gawaab, makunteš 'oltilak)

Even if I'd known the answer, I wouldn't have told you.

ي ورم ،ب ود ؼح رز (Hatta wa-law

kunte 3arfa l-gawaab, makunteš ha'ollak) Even if I knew the answer, I wouldn't tell you.

Introduction to the Arabic sentence

Types of sentences Subject and predicate

Negation

Types of sentences

In traditional Arabic grammar, there are two basic types of sentence, based on what the sentence's

first word is.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html#types


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html#subj

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html#neg

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html#neg

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html#subj




1. ح ق١ح (al-jumla l-ismiyya) - the nominal sentence, where the

sentence's first word is a noun.

.ؽ ع (al-walad miSri) - The boy is Egyptian.

2. ١ح ح (al-jumla l-fi3liyya) - the verbal sentence, where the sentence's

first word is a verb.

ؽ. ع ع (wulida l-walad fi miSr) - The boy was born in Egypt.

Those categories are different from the ones used in many Arabic classes in the West, where

sentences are classified simply according to whether or not they include a verb — regardless of

where the verb is in the sentence. 1. Equational sentence - a sentence without a verb.

.ؽ ع (al-walad miSri) - The boy is Egyptian.

Although this sentence contains a verb in English, it doesn't in Arabic. Remember

that since Arabic doesn't use a present-tense form of "to be," this is a verbless

sentence consisting only of a noun and adjective. It literally translates as "The boy

Egyptian"; the "is" is understood.

أقؽذ ح أؽظ. (fi usrati talaatat afraad) - There are three people in my family.

Again, the English translation contains a verb ("are"), but the original Arabic

doesn't. It literally translates as "In my family three individuals." Since there's no

present-tense form of "to be," "In my family [are] three individuals" is implied.

2. Verbal sentence - a sentence with a verb.

ؽ. ع ع (wulida l-walad fi miSr) - The boy was born in Egypt.

Subject and predicate

Now let's look at the parts of these sentences. The subject ثرعء) al-mubtada') is what the sentence is talking about. It could be a

noun (the boy; Cairo; Ahmed), pronoun (I; he; they), or noun phrase (the math teacher; a

long book).



The predicate طثؽ) al-xabar) tells us something about the subject. The

Arabic ضثؽ means a piece of news, so you can think of the predicate as delivering news

about the subject. It may be an adjective (happy), verb (woke up), or noun (student).

Here are some simple examples. The subject is in bold, and the predicate is underlined.

.ؽ اود (al-walad miSri)The boy is Egyptian. - The subject is a noun, and the predicate is an adjective.

عؼقح. عتب (bint 3ammi mudarrisa)

My cousin is a teacher. - The subject is a noun phrase (a genitive construction), and the predicate

is a noun.

.٠ هو (howwa Tawiil)

He is tall. - The subject is a pronoun, and the predicate is an adjective.

.ؽىث ضؽد ل (xarajat Manaal mubakkiran)

Manal went out early. - The subject is a (proper) noun, and the predicate is a verb paired with an

adverb.

Note: In sentences with a verb, standard Arabic usually follows a Verb-Subject-Object order,

though sometimes it uses a Subject-Verb-Object order. The Egyptian dialect pretty much always

follows a Subject-Verb-Object order. Manal went out early.

ؽىث ي ضؽد (xarajat

Manaal mubakkiran) تعؼ ي ضؽد (Manaal

xargit badri)

The boy ate an apple.

ع ذزح وأ (akala l-waladu

tuffaaHatan)

ع و ذزح (il-walad kal

tuffaaHa)

Negation

Now, how do we negate these sentences? Negating a sentence with a verb is simple; you just

negate the verb. (To learn how to negate a verb in Egyptian Arabic, go here.) Negating a sentence

without a verb, however, requires a different — but still quite simple — approach. In standard

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_idafa.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_tenses.html





Arabic, you simply insert ١ف (laysa), conjugated to match the noun. Here are the conjugations

of ف١ : ١ف (to not be)

English Standard Arabic

Singular

I am not دك(lastu) you (masc.) are not دك(lasta) you (fem.) are not دك(lasti) he is not ١(laysa)ف she is not ١(laysat)كد

Dual

we are not ك(lasna) you are not رك(lastuma) they (masc.) are not ك١(laysaa) they (fem.) are not رك١(laysataa)

Plural

we are not ك(lasna) you (masc.) are not رك(lastum) you (fem.) are not رك(lastunna) they (masc.) are not ك١(laysuu) they (fem.) are not ك(lasna)

Here are examples of negated verbless sentences in standard Arabic:

ث١ح أ (ana lubnaaniyya)ث١ح كد أ (ana lastu

lubnaaniyya)I am Lebanese. I am not Lebanese.

عؼقح تد (bint 3ammi

mudarrisa)

عؼقح ١كد تد (bint

3ammi laysat mudarrisa)

My cousin is a teacher. My cousin is not a teacher.



٠ (howwa Tawiil)٠ ١ف (howwa laysa

Tawiil)

He is tall. He is not tall.

ذس أ ؾ ؽىث (min al-laazim an taSHu

mubakkiran)

ذس أ ؾ ١ف ؽىث (laysa min al-laazim an taSHu

mubakkiran)

You need to wake up early. You don't need to wake up early.

ض١ؼ آضؽ (honaaka

xiyaar aaxar)

ض١ؼ آض١ف (laysa

honaaka xiyaar aaxar)

There is another choice. There is no other choice.

ػ ع ٠ضثؽج ي (ladayha xibra fi haada l-

majaal)

ػ ع ٠ضثؽج ١ف ي (laysa ladayha xibra fi haada

l-majaal)

She has experience in this field.She doesn't have experience in this

field.

To negate verbless sentences in Egyptian Arabic, you insert

م (miš) between the subject and

predicate. ث١ح أ (ana libnaniyya) ث١ح م أ (ana miš libnaniyya)

I am Lebanese. I am not Lebanese.

عؼقح تد (bint

3ammi mudarrisa)

عؼقح م تد (bint 3ammi

miš mudarrisa)

My cousin is a teacher. My cousin is not a teacher.

٠ (howwa Tawiil) ٠ م (howwa miš Tawiil)

He is tall. He is not tall.

تعؼ سذ ؾ (laazim

tiSHa badri)

ؼعت سذ ؾ م (miš

laazim tiSHa badri)



You need to wake up early. You don't need to wake up early.

ذ ض١ؼ (fii xiyaar taani)ذ ١م ض١ؼ (mafiiš xiyaar

taani)*

There is another choice. There is no other choice.

عي ضثؽج ظ (3andaha xibra fil-magaal da)

ي ع ضثؽج ظ (ma3andahaaš xibra fil-magaal da)*

She has experience in this field.She doesn't have experience in this

field.

* Note: In Egyptian Arabic, if a verbless sentence contains an inverted predicate (that is, where the

predicate comes before the subject instead of after) consisting of either

, "there is," or a

preposition and pronoun suffix, like ع, then the predicate is negated with

the ...ـم (ma...š) form.

Verb conjugations for standard and Egyptian Arabic

This page contains information about the different kinds of verbs in Arabic and conjugationtables for each kind in both standard and Egyptian Arabic.

First of all, there are two moods/tenses in Arabic: the perfect/past ( al-maaDi) - used to indicate actions that have been

completed.

the imperfect/present (ؼ al-muDaari3) - used to indicate actions that

have not been completed yet.

There are two main classes of verbs in Arabic: sound (١س SaHiiH) and weak

(ر mu3tall). Here's an outline of the types of verbs:

ااح (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH) Sound verbs - don't have

a or as one of the three root letters

o ااحام (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH as-saalim) Regular sound

verbs

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#regsound








o Irregular sound verbs:

ضاا (al-fi3l al-muDa33af) Geminate/doubled verbs -

where the second and third radicals of the root are the same

ظ daqqa - ع٠ yadiqqu (to knock)

ؼظ radda - ٠ؽظ yaruddu (to reply)

ااوز (al-fi3l al-mahmuuz) Hamzated verbs - where ء isone of the consonants

وأ akala - وؤ٠ ya'kulu (to eat)

قؤي sa'ala - ٠كؤي yas'alu (to ask)

تعأ bada'a - ٠ثعأ yabda'u (to begin)

اا (al-fi3l al-mu3tall) Weak verbs - have a or as one

or more of the root radicals

o ااثل (al-fi3l al-mitaal) Assimilated verbs - begin

with or (usually ); in the imperfect and in other situations the often

disappears

waDa3a - ٠ yaDa3u (to put)

waSala - ٠ yaSilu (to arrive)

o اوجا (al-fi3l al-ajwaf) Hollow verbs - the second radical is

either a or ; in the perfect, the or is replaced by an alif

ت baa3a - ١ث٠ yabii3u (to sell)

ظ 3aada - ٠ظ ya3uudu (to return)

o ااقص (al-fi3l al-naaqiS) Defective verbs - where the final root

radical is either or a

ك nasiya - ك٠ yansa (to forget)

عت bada - عث٠ yabdu (to appear, seem)

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#gem



http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#hamz



http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#assim



http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#holl



http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html#defect










Sound verbs

ااح (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH)

Sound verbs don't have a or as one of the three root letters.

Regular sound verbs

ااحام (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH as-saalim)

This is the first type of sound verb.

Regular sound verbs - perfect mood

ورة (to write)


Singular

I wrote دثرو(katabtu) (katabt)ورثد

you (masc.) wrote دثرو(katabta) (katabt)ورثد

you (fem.) wrote دثرو(katabti) رثرو(katabti)

he wrote ةرو(kataba) (katab)ورة

she wrote (katabat)ورثد (katabit)ورثد

Dual

we wrote ثرو(katabna)

you wrote رثرو(katabtuma)

they (masc.) wrote ثرو(katabaa)

they (fem.) wrote رثرو(katabataa)

Plural

we wrote ثرو(katabna) ثرو(katabna)

you (masc.) wrote رثرو(katabtum)رثرو(katabtuu)

you (fem.) wrote رثرو(katabtunna)

they (masc.) wrote ثرو(katabuu)

ثرو(katabuu)they (fem.) wrote رثو(katabna)

Regular sound verbs - imperfect mood

ورة (to write)


Singular I write (aktubu)أورة (aktib)أورة



you (masc.) write (taktubu)ذىرة (tiktib)ذىرة

you (fem.) write ١ثرىذ(taktubiina) ثرىذ(tiktibi)

he writes ٠(yaktubu)ىرة ٠(yiktib)ىرة

she writes (taktubu)ذىرة (tiktib)ذىرة

Dual

we write (naktubu)ىرة

you write ثرىذ(taktubaani)

they (masc.) write ثرى٠(yaktubaani)

they (fem.) write ثرىذ(taktubaani)

Plural

we write (naktubu)ىرة (niktib)ىرة

you (masc.) write ثرىذ(taktubuuna)

ثرىذ(tiktibuu)you (fem.) write ثرىذ(taktubna)

they (masc.) write ثرى٠(yaktubuuna)ثرى٠(yiktibuu)

they (fem.) write ثرى٠(yaktubna)

Sound verbsااح (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH)

There are two types of irregular sound verbs. The first is:

Geminate/doubled verbs

ضاا (al-fi3l al-muDa33af)

Verbs where the second and third radicals of the root are the same.

Geminate verbs - perfect mood ؼظ (to reply)


Singular

I replied خظظؼ(radadtu) (raddeit)ؼظ٠د

you (masc.) replied خظظؼ(radadta) (raddeit)ؼظ٠د

you (fem.) replied خظظؼ(radadti) ر٠ (raddeiti)ؼظ



he replied (radda)ؼظ (radd)ؼظ

she replied (raddat)ؼظخ (raddit)ؼظخ

Dual

we replied ظظؼ(radadna)

you replied ذظظؼ(radadtuma)

they (masc.) replied ظؼ(raddaa)

they (fem.) replied ذظؼ(raddataa)

Plural

we replied ظظؼ(radadna) ٠ظؼ(raddeina)

you (masc.) replied ذظظؼ(radadtum)ر٠ (raddeituu)ؼظ

you (fem.) replied ذظظؼ(radadtunna)

they (masc.) replied (radduu)ؼظ

(radduu)they (fem.) repliedؼظ ظظؼ(radadna)

Note that in fuSHa, the doubled consonant is separated into two consonants for all theconjugations except the highlighted ones. In 3ammiyya, though, the doubled consonantstays doubled.

Geminate verbs - imperfect mood ؼظ (to reply)


Singular

I reply (aruddu)أؼظ (arodd)أؼظ

you (masc.) reply (taruddu)ذؽظ (tirodd)ذؽظ

you (fem.) reply ٠ظؽذ(taruddiina) (tiroddi)ذؽظ

he replies ٠(yaruddu)ؽظ ٠(yirodd)ؽظ

she replies (taruddu)ذؽظ (tirodd)ذؽظ

Dual

we reply (naruddu)ؽظ

you reply ظؽذ(taruddani)

they (masc.) reply ظؽ٠(yaruddaani)

they (fem.) reply ظؽذ(taruddaani)

Plural we reply (naruddu)ؽظ (nirodd)ؽظ

you (masc.) reply (tarudduuna)ذؽظ (tirodduu)ذؽظ



you (fem.) reply ظظؽذ(tardudna)

they (masc.) reply ٠(yarudduuna)ؽظ ٠(yirodduu)ؽظ

they (fem.) reply ظظؽ٠(yardudna)

In fuSHa, the doubled consonant remains doubled for the imperfect conjugations, with the

exception of the second- and third-person feminine plural conjugations. In 3ammiyya, thedoubled consonant again remains doubled for everything.

Sound verbs

ااح (al-fi3l aS-SaHiiH)

The second type of irregular sound verb is:

Hamzated verbs

ااوز (al-fi3l al-mahmuuz)

Verbs where ء is one of the root consonants.

Hamzated verbs - perfect mood وأ (to eat)


Singular

I ate دوأ(akaltu) (akalt)ود

you (masc.) ate دوأ(akalta) (akalt)ود

you (fem.) ate دوأ(akalti) رو(akalti)

he ate وأ(akala) و(akal)

she ate (akalat)أود (aklit)ود

Dual

we ate وأ(akalna)

you ate روأ(akaltuma)

they (masc.) ate وأ(akalaa)

they (fem.) ate روأ(akalataa)

Plural we ate وأ(akalna) و(akalna)



you (masc.) ate روأ(akaltum)رو(akaltuu)

you (fem.) ate روأ(akaltunna)

they (masc.) ate وأ(akaluu)و(akaluu)

they (fem.) ate وأ(akalna)

Note that in 3ammiyya, people usually say و (kal) rather than و (akal). However,

for the sake of direct comparison with fuSHa, I went with the latter variation for thistable.

Hamzated verbs - imperfect mood وأ (to eat)


Singular

I eat وأ(akulu) و(aakul)

you (masc.) eat وؤذ(ta'kulu) وذ(taakul)

you (fem.) eat ١وؤذ(ta'kuliina) وذ(takli)

he eats وؤ٠(ya'kulu) و٠(yaakul)

she eats وؤذ(ta'kulu) وذ(taakul)

Dual

we eat وؤ(na'kulu)

you eat وؤذ(ta'kulaani)

they (masc.) eat وؤ٠(ya'kulaani)

they (fem.) eat وؤذ(ta'kulaani)

Plural

we eat وؤ(na'kulu) و(naakul)

you (masc.) eat وؤذ(ta'kuluuna)وذ(taklu)

you (fem.) eat وؤذ(ta'kulna)

they (masc.) eat وؤ٠(ya'kuluuna)و٠(yaklu)

they (fem.) eat وؤ٠(ya'kulna)

Note that while in fuSHa the hamza is kept in the imperfect conjugations, in 3ammiyya itis elided into a long alif.

Hamzated verbs 2 - perfect mood



قؤي (to ask)


Singular

I asked دؤق(sa'altu) (sa'alt)قؤد

you (masc.) asked دؤق(sa'alta) (sa'alt)قؤد

you (fem.) asked دؤق(sa'alti) رؤق(sa'alti)

he asked (sa'ala)قؤي (sa'al)قؤي

she asked (sa'alat)قؤد (sa'alit)قؤد

Dual

we asked ؤق(sa'alna)

you asked رؤق(sa'altuma)

they (masc.) asked ؤق(sa'alaa)

they (fem.) asked رؤق(sa'alataa)

Plural

we asked ؤق(sa'alna) ؤق(sa'alna)

you (masc.) asked رؤق(sa'altum)رؤق(sa'altuu)

you (fem.) asked رؤق(sa'altunna)

they (masc.) asked ؤق(sa'aluu)ؤق(sa'aluu)

they (fem.) asked ؤق(sa'alna) Hamzated verbs 2 - imperfect mood

قؤي (to ask)


Singular

I ask (as'alu)أقؤي (as'al)أقؤي

you (masc.) ask (tas'alu)ذكؤي (tis'al)ذكؤي

you (fem.) ask ١ؤكذ(tas'aliina) ؤكذ(tis'ali)

he asks ٠(yas'alu)كؤي ٠(yis'al)كؤي

she asks (tas'alu)ذكؤي (tis'al)ذكؤي

Dual we ask (nas'alu)كؤي

you ask ؤكذ(tas'alaani)



they (masc.) ask ؤك٠(yas'alaani)

they (fem.) ask ؤكذ(tas'alaani)

Plural

we ask (nas'alu)كؤي (nis'al)كؤي

you (masc.) ask ؤكذ(tas'aluuna)ؤكذ(tis'aluu)

you (fem.) ask ؤكذ(tas'alna)

they (masc.) ask ؤك٠(yas'aluuna)ؤك٠(yis'aluu)

they (fem.) ask ؤك٠(yas'alna)

Hamzated verbs 3 - perfect mood ؽأ (to read)


Singular

I read خأؽ(qara'tu) ('areit)ؽ٠د

you (masc.) read خأؽ(qara'ta) ('areit)ؽ٠د

you (fem.) read خأؽ(qara'ti) ر٠ؽ('areiti)

he read (qara'a)ؽأ ؽ('ara)

she read (qara'at)ؽأخ ('arit)ؽخ

Dual

we read أؽ(qara'na)

you read ذأؽ(qara'tuma)

they (masc.) read (qar'aa)ؽآ

they (fem.) read ذأؽ(qara'taa)

Plural

we read أؽ(qara'na) ٠ؽ('areina)

you (masc.) read ذأؽ(qara'tum)

ر٠ؽ('areituu)you (fem.) read ذأؽ(qara'tunna)

they (masc.) read أؽ(qara'uu)ؽ('aruu)

they (fem.) read أؽ(qara'na)

Again, note that while the hamza is kept in the fuSHa conjugations, it is elided in3ammiyya.



Hamzated verbs 3 - imperfect mood

ؽأ (to read)


Singular

I read (aqra'u)أؽأ ؽأ(a'ra)

you (masc.) read (taqra'u)ذؽأ ؽذ(ti'ra)

you (fem.) read ١ؽذ(taqra'iina) ؽذ(ti'ri)

he reads ٠(yaqra'u)ؽأ ؽ٠(yi'ra)

she reads (taqra'u)ذؽأ ؽذ(ti'ra)

Dual

we read (naqra'u)ؽأ

you read آؽذ(taqra'aani)

they (masc.) read آؽ٠(yaqra'aani)

they (fem.) read آؽذ(taqra'aani)

Plural

we read (naqra'u)ؽأ ؽ(ni'ra)

you (masc.) read أؽذ(taqra'uuna)ؽذ(ti'ru)

you (fem.) read أؽذ(taqra'na)

they (masc.) read أؽ٠(yaqra'uuna) ؽ٠(yi'ru)

they (fem.) read أؽ٠(yaqra'na)

Weak verbs

اا (al-fi3l al-mu3tall)

A verb is "weak" if one of the letters from the verb's three root letters is , , or .

There are three different classes of weak verbs; let's begin with:

Assimilated verbs

ااثل (al-fi3l al-mitaal)

Verbs where the first radical is a long vowel (usually ).



Assimilated verbs - perfect mood

(to arrive)


Singular

I arrived د(waSaltu) (wiSilt)د

you (masc.) arrived د(waSalta) (wiSilt)د

you (fem.) arrived د(waSalti) ر(wiSilti)

he arrived (waSala) (wiSil)

she arrived (waSalat)د (wiSlit)د

Dual

we arrived (waSalna)

you arrived ر(waSaltuma)

they (masc.) arrived (waSalaa)

they (fem.) arrived ر(waSalataa)

Plural

we arrived (waSalna) (wiSilna)

you (masc.) arrived ر(waSaltum)ر(wiSiltuu)

you (fem.) arrived ر(waSaltunna)

they (masc.) arrived (waSaluu) (wiSiluu)

they (fem.) arrived (waSalna)

Note that weak verbs beginning with a are just like regular verbs regarding perfect

conjugations.

Assimilated verbs - imperfect mood (to arrive)


Singular

I arrive أ(aSilu) أ(awSil)

you (masc.) arrive ذ(taSilu) ذ(tiwSil)

you (fem.) arrive ١ذ(taSiliina) ذ(tiwSili)

he arrives ٠(yaSilu) ٠(yiwSil)



she arrives ذ(taSilu) ذ(tiwSil)

Dual

we arrive (naSilu)

you arrive ذ(taSilaani)

they (masc.) arrive ٠(yaSilaani)

they (fem.) arrive ذ(taSilaani)

Plural

we arrive (naSilu) (niwSil)

you (masc.) arrive ذ(taSiluuna)ذ(tiwSilu)

you (fem.) arrive ذ(taSilna)

they (masc.) arrive ٠(yaSiluuna)٠(yiwSilu)

they (fem.) arrive ٠(yaSilna)

Note that in the imperfect mood, an assimilated verb drops its first letter in fuSHa. In3ammiyya, however, the initial letter remains.

Weak verbs


The second kind of weak verb is:

Hollow verbs

ااجوف (al-fi3l al-ajwaf)

Verbs where the second radical is either a (as with -٠ي ) or (as with ت-١ث٠ ); in the perfect, the or is replaced by an alif.

Hollow verbs - perfect mood

ؾؼ (to visit)


Singular

I visited خؼؾ(zurtu) (zurt)ؾؼخ

you (masc.) visited خؼؾ(zurta) (zurt)ؾؼخ

you (fem.) visited خؼؾ(zurti) ذؼؾ(zurti)



he visited (zaara)ؾؼ (zaar)ؾؼ

she visited (zaarat)ؾؼخ (zaarit)ؾؼخ

Dual

we visited ؼؾ(zurna)

you visited ذؼؾ(zurtuma)

they (masc.) visited ؼؾ(zaaraa)

they (fem.) visited ذؼؾ(zaarataa)

Plural

we visited ؼؾ(zurna) ؼؾ(zurna)

you (masc.) visited ذؼؾ(zurtum)ذؼؾ(zurtuu)

you (fem.) visited ذؼؾ(zurtunna)

they (masc.) visited ؼؾ(zaaruu)

ؼؾ(zaaru)they (fem.) visited ؼؾ(zurna)

Note that the long vowel is dropped in all conjugations but those for the third-personsingular, dual, and plural masculine. When the long vowel is dropped, it is replaced by ashort version of the long consonant used in the imperfect conjugation. For example, the

imperfect conjugation of ؼؾ zaara is ٠ؿؼ yazuuru, so a short "u" is used. Other

examples: the imperfect conjugation of و kaana isى٠ yakuunu, so a short "u" is

used for the perfect conjugations where the long vowel is dropped. But the imperfect

conjugation of ؼق saara is ٠ك١ؽ yasiiru, so a short "i" would be used in those

instances.

Hollow verbs - imperfect mood ؾؼ (to visit)


Singular

I visit (azuuru)أؾؼ (azuur)أؾؼ

you (masc.) visit (tazuuru)ذؿؼ (tizuur)ذؿؼ

you (fem.) visit ٠ؼؿذ(tazuuriina) ؼؿذ(tizuuri)

he visits ٠(yazuuru)ؿؼ ٠(yizuur)ؿؼ

she visits (tazuuru)ذؿؼ (tizuur)ذؿؼ

Dual we visit (nazuuru)ؿؼ



you visit ؼؿذ(tazuuraani)

they (masc.) visit ؼؿ٠(yazuuraani)

they (fem.) visit ؼؿذ(tazuuraani)

Plural

we visit (nazuuru)ؿؼ (nizuur)ؿؼ

you (masc.) visit ؼؿذ(tazuuruuna)ؼؿذ(tizuuru)

you (fem.) visit ؼؿذ(tazurna)

they (masc.) visit ؼؿ٠(yazuuruuna)ؼؿ٠(yizuuru)

they (fem.) visit ؼؿ٠(yazurna)

Note that here the long vowel is dropped only for the feminine second and third-personplurals.

Weak verbs


The third kind of weak verb is:

Defective verbs

ااقص (al-fi3l an-naaqiS)

Verbs where the final root radical is either a (as with عت-عث٠ ) or (as with ت-ث٠ ).

Defective verbs - perfect mood ك (to forget)


Singular

I forgot د١ك(nasiitu) (niseit)ك١د

you (masc.) forgot د١ك(nasiita) (niseit)ك١د

you (fem.) forgot د١ك(nasiiti) ر١ك(niseiti)

he forgot ك(nasiya) ك(nisi)

she forgot (nasiyat)ك١د (nisyit)ك١د



Dual

we forgot ١ك(nasiina)

you forgot ر١ك(nasiituma)

they (masc.) forgot ١ك(nasiyaa)

they (fem.) forgot ر١ك(nasiyataa)

Plural

we forgot ١ك(nasiina) ١ك(niseina)

you (masc.) forgot ر١ك(nasiitum)ر١ك(niseitu)

you (fem.) forgot ر١ك(nasiitunna)

they (masc.) forgot ١ك(nasiyuu)١ك(nisyu)

they (fem.) forgot ١ك(nasiina)

Defective verbs - imperfect mood

ك (to forget)


Singular

I forget كأ(ansa) ك(ansa)

you (masc.) forget كذ(tansa) كذ(tinsa)

you (fem.) forget ١كذ(tansiina) كذ(tinsi)

he forgets ك٠(yansa) ك٠(yinsa)

she forgets كذ(tansa) كذ(tinsa)

Dual

we forget ك(nansa)

you forget كذ(tansaani)

they (masc.) forget ك٠(yansaani)

they (fem.) forget كذ(tansaani)

Plural

we forget ك(nansa) ك(ninsa)

you (masc.) forget كذ(tansuuna)كذ(tinsu)

you (fem.) forget كذ(tansana)

they (masc.) forget ك٠(yansuuna)ك٠(yinsu)

they (fem.) forget ك٠(yansuna)



The Arabic verb forms

Most Arabic words are derived from a three-letter (trilateral) root. And each trilateral Arabic root

can theoretically be transformed into one of fifteen possible verb forms (ؾ , al-awzaan).

(Forms 11 through 15 are very rare, so people usually just focus on forms 1 through 10, although 9

is also pretty rare). Each form has a basic meaning associated with the general meaning of the root

being used. Here's a more detailed breakdown, using (fa3ala, to do) as an example. (This is

all taken from old handouts I got at the AUC, so it's not my original work.)

Form 1 - (fa3ala)

Expresses the general verbal meaning of the root in question

Root Form 1 verb

ؼ ش(x-r-j) - leaving, departing

ؽض(xaraja) - to leave, go out

(j-m-3) - joining, uniting (jama3a) - to gather, collect

(3-m-l) - doing, making (3amala) - to work, to do, to

make

(q-T-3) - cutting (qaTa3a) - to cut, cut off

ب ظ(b-3-d) - separating,

distance تع(ba3ada) - to be far from

Form 2 - (fa33ala)

Built on form 1 by doubling the middle radical of the form 1 verb (adding a shadda to it)Often is a causative version of the form 1 verb ؽض (xaraja) means "to go out"; ؽض (xarraja) means "to make (s.o.) go out; to graduate

(s.o.)"

Often an intensive version of the form 1 verb (especially if the form 1 verb is transitive)

(jama3a) means "to collect, gather"; (jamma3a) means "to amass, to accummulate"

Form 3 - ع (faa3ala)

Built on form 1 by adding an alif between the first and second radicals of the form 1 verbUsually gives an associative meaning to the form 1 verb; describes someone doing the act inquestion to or with someone else (3amala) means "to work"; (3aamala) means "to treat or deal with (s.o.)"



Form 4 - أ (af3ala)

Built on form 1 by prefixing an alif to the form 1 verb and putting a sukuun over the first radicalSimilar to form 2 in that it is usually a causative version of the form 1 verb ؽض (xaraja) means "to go out"; ؽض (xarraja) means "to graduate

(s.o.)";

ؽضأ(axraja) means "to expel, to evict; to produce"

Form 5 - (tafa33ala)

Built on form 2 by adding the prefix ذـ to the form 2 verb

Often a reflexive version of the form 2 verb ؽض (xarraja) means "to graduate (s.o.)"; ؽطذ (taxarraja) means "to graduate" (Note:

form 5 is usually intransitive)

Sometimes an intensive version of a form 1 verb

(jama3a) means "to collect, gather"; ذ (tajamma3a) means "to congregate, to flock

together"

Form 6 - ع (tafaa3ala)

Built on form 3 by adding the prefix ذـ to the form 3 verb

Usually a reflexive version of the form 3 verb (3aamala) means "to treat or deal with (s.o.)"; ذ (ta3aamala) means "to deal with

each other" (Form 6 is usually intransitive)

Form 7 - نا (infa3ala)

Built on form 1 by adding the prefix ـ to the form 1 verb

Usually a reflexive and/or passive version of the form 1 verb (qaTa3a) means "to cut, to cut off"; (inqaTa3a) means "to be cut off (from); to

abstain (from)"

Form 8 - ا (ifta3ala)

Built on form 1 by adding the prefix to the form 1 verb and placing a sukuun must be placed over

its first radicalOften a reflexive version of the form 1 verb (jama3a) means "to collect, gather"; ر (ijtama3a) means "to meet; to agree (on)"

Sometimes has a specially derived meaning relative to a form 1 verb



تع (ba3ada) means "to be far away"; ترع (ibta3ada) means "to avoid"

Form 9 - ا (if3alla)

Built on form 1 by adding the prefix to the form 1 verb, placing a sukuun over its first radical, and

adding a shadda to the last radical

Relates to colors

ؼ (H-m-r) relates to "redness"; زؽ (iHmarra) means "to become or turn red"

Form 10 - سا (istaf3ala)

Built on form 1 by adding the prefix قرـ to the form 1 verb and inserting a خ between the first

and second radicals; a sukuun must be placed over the first radicalOften a considerative version of the form 1 verb; means "to consider or to deem someone to havethe quality" of the form 1 verb in question

تع(ba3ada) means "to be far away";

قرثع(istab3ada) means "to consider s.o. or s.t.

remote or unlikely"

Often a requestive version of a form 1 verb; means "to request or to seek something" for oneself (3amala) means "to make; to do"; رق (ista3mala) means "to use, to put into

operation" (that is, to seek to make something work for oneself)

And here's a table of all the verb forms, including their perfect and imperfect conjugations

(

ؼ ), active and passive participles (

ق قي ), and verbal nouns (ؼع ). Because they're all regular and predictable (with the

exception of form 1 - the second vowel in the imperfect and perfect conjugations, and the verbal

noun), if you just memorize them, you'll know them for almost every verb there is. So if you're

learning Arabic, I suggest you memorize all the verb forms along with their associated meanings as

soon as you can; it'll really come in handy.

عؼ ق

ي ق

ؼ

؟ ي ٠ 1

١ ذ ٠ 2

ح or ٠ 3

اي ٠ أ 4

ذ ر ر ر٠ ذ 5

ذ ر ر ر٠ ذ 6



ي ٠ 7

ي ر ر ر٠ ر 8

ي - ٠ 9

قي رك رك رك٠ رق 10

The imperative in Egyptian Arabic

Forming direct commands Expressing indirect/polite wishes

Forming direct negative commands

Expressing indirect negative commands

Forming direct commands

To form commands in Egyptian Arabic, step 1 is to start out with the imperfect form of the verb

(ؼ ). A few examples: س٠ (yiHoTT) to put ه٠ (yimši) to go/walk

ؽ٠ (yiruuH) to go ر٠ (yiftaH) to open

Step 2 is to get rid of the at the beginning: ز (HoTT) ه (mši)

ؼ (ruuH) ر (ftaH)

Step 3 is to determine whether you can leave the verb like that or need to add an

at the

beginning. If the verb is like the verbs in the left-hand column (i.e. "HoTT," "ruuH"), and has a consonant

followed by a vowel, you leave it alone. This is the correct command form.

But if the verb is like those on the right, and has a consonant cluster at the beginning, you

can't leave it that way and say "mši" or "ftaH." In Egyptian Arabic, consonant clusters like that

aren't allowed at the start of words. So you have to add an at the beginning:

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#direct


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#indir

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#directn

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#indirn

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#indirn

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#directn

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html#indir




ه (imši)

ر (iftaH)

This is the formula for a command to a man. So, step 4: in order to formulate commands to a

woman or to a group, you just add an -i or -u suffix, respectively. ز-ز (HoTTi - HoTTu) ه-ه (imši - imšu)

زؼ-زؼ (ruuHi -

ruuHu)

سر-سر (iftaHi -

iftaHu)

Note: With defective verbs, where the base verb ends in a vowel (as with ه٠ ), you get rid of

the ending vowel before adding -i or -u. Some more examples:

Step 1 -

original verb

Step 2 -

take out

the

initial ي

Step 3 -

masc.

command

form

Step 4 -

fem./pl.

command

form

رك٠ (yistin

na) to wait

رق (stinna)

رق (istin

na)

رق- رق (isti

nni -istinnu)

س٠ (yiS

Ha) to wake

up

س (SH

a)

س (iSH

a)

س-س (iS

Hi - iSHu)

ك٠ (yinsa)

to forget ك (nsa) ك (insa)

ك-

ك (insi- insu)

A table of some common commands: Step 1 -

original verb

Step 2 -

take out

the

Step 3 -

command

form

Step 4 -

fem./pl.

command



initial ي form

٠ (yi3mel

) to do/make

(3mel

)

(i3m

el)

- (i3m

eli - i3melu)

ؽ٠ (yirga

3) to return

ؼ (rga3

)

ؼ (irga

3)

ؼ-ؼ (irg

a3i - irga3u)

ؽ٠ (yigri)

to runؽ (gri)

ؽ (igri

)

ؽ-ؽ (igri -

igru)

٠ؿي (yinzil)

to go downؿي (nzil) ؿي (inzil)

ؿ-ؿ (inzili

- inzilu)

٠رى (yitkalli

m) to talk

ذى (tkalli

m)

ذى (itkalli

m)

-ذى ذى (itkal

limi -itkallimu)

٠رىؽ (yiftikir

) to

remember

رىؽ (ftikir

)

رىؽ (iftiki

r)

ؽىر-ؽىر (ifti

kri - iftikru)

ره٠ (yišta

ġil) to work

رن (štaġil)

رن (ištaġil)

رن-

رن (ištaġli - ištaġlu)

١٠ (yiġayyؽ

ar) to change

s.t.

١ (ġayyؽ

ar)

١ (ġayyaؽ

r)

ؽ ١-ؽ ١ (ġayy

ari - ġayyaru)



٠ى (yikallim

) to talk (to

s.o.)

و (kallim) و (kallim)

-و و (kallim

i - kallimu)

٠كع (yisaa

3id) to helpقع (saa

3id)قع (saa3

id)

عق-

عق (saa

3idi -

saa3idu)

٠ػوؽ (yizaak

ir) to study

غوؽ (zaak

ir)

غوؽ (zaaki

r)

ؽوغ-ؽوغ (zakr

i - zakru)

٠ (yi'uum)

to get up/rise ('uum) ('uum)

- ('uumi

- 'uumu)

١ه٠ (yišiil)

to carry١ن (šiil) ١ن (šiil)

١ن-١ن (šiili -

šiilu)

So to sum up with a simplified rule: if the verb is any of the following, you don't need to add an to

the beginning of the command. form 2 verbs

١٠ (yiġayyar)ؽ to change (s.t.)

٠ؽب (yigarrib) to try/test

form 3 verbs

٠كع (yisaa3id) to help

٠سي (yiHaawil) to try/attempt

geminate/doubled verbs

٠ؽظ (yirodd) to reply



ث٠ (yiboSS) to look

hollow verbs

ؽ٠ (yiruuH) to go

٠ك١ة (yisiib) to leave

Note: With hamzated verbs that have a long alif right after the initial (like ٠ضع yaaxod

and و٠ yaakol), you remove both the inital and the long alif in step 2. So the commands for

these verbs are ضع-ضع-ضع (xod - xodi - xodu) and و-و-و (kol -

koli - kolu).

And if the verb isn't in one of those categories, you do need to add an to the beginning of the

command.

Note: There are a couple of irregular commands:

Verb Command forms

١٠-ب (gaab -

yigiib) to bring

ذ-ذ-خ (haat - haati

- haatu)

-٠ (geh - yiigi) to

come

ذ-ذ-ذ (ta3aala -

ta3aali - ta3aalu)

Expressing indirect/polite wishes

To express a more polite/indirect desire for someone to do something, there are different ways to

go about it: You can use modals with the appropriate second-person imperfect verb conjugation:

... ؾ (laazim...) ...ؽ (il-mafruuD)

you must/have to... you should...

...كزأ (aHsan...) ى...؟ (mumkin...)

it'd be better to... can you...?



Words like ؾ are more imperative. ى is better to use with people you don't know; in

general, it's the best all-purpose polite way to phrase a request. And of course it's always good to say "please"!

- -ى (min faDlak - min faDlik - min faDluku)

قسر -قسد -رسق (law samaHt - law samaHti - law samaHtu)

Examples: ؾ ذىؽ ذضع ث ١ز ١(laazim tifakkar fil-mawDuu3ؽؼ

min gamii3 nawaHiih 'able ma taaxod

qaraar)

ذ ؽ وؾ (kaan il-mafruuD

tiwSil min zamaan)

You should think about the issue

from every angle before you make a

decision.

You should have arrived a

long time ago.

ث ح١ى طذ كزأ

ذرؾ (aHsan tixallaS il-kolliyya

'able ma titgawwiz)

ى٠ؼذ

كىح؟ (mumkin tiwarriini

s-sikka?)

It'd be better to finish college before

you get married.Can you show me the way?

Forming direct negative commands

To form basic direct negative commands, forget about how you formed commands above. Step 1 is

starting out with the appropriate second-person imperfect conjugation of the verb. سذ (tiHoTT) you (masc.)

put

هذ (timši) you (masc./fem.)

go/walk

زؽذ (tiruuHi) you (fem.) سرذ (tiftaHu) you (pl.) open



go

Step 2: put at the beginning and ـم at the end. ذسم (matHoTTeš) ذه١م (matimšiiš)

ذؽز١م (matruuHiiš) سرذ (matiftaHuuš)

That's it! A table of negative commands, using the same words as the big table above. Step 1 -

original verb

- 2nd person

Step 2 -

add andش ـ Fem./pl. forms

ذ (ti3mel)you do/make ذم (mati3mel

š)

-ذ١م

ذ (mati3meli

iš - mati3meluuš)

ؽذ (tirga3

) you return

ذؽم (matirga

3š)

-ذؽ١مؽذ (matirga

3iiš - matirga3uuš)

ؽذ (tigri)

you runذؽ٠م (matigrii

š)

-ذؽ٠مؽذ (matigriiš

- matigruš)

ذؿي (tinzil)

you go down

ذؿم (matinzilš

)

-ذؿ١مؿذ (matinziliiš

- matinziluuš)

ذرى (titkalli

m) you talkم ذرى (matitkall

imš) ١م -ذرى ذرى (matitkall

imiiš - matitkallimuuš)

ذرىؽ (tiftikir)

you remember

ؽىرذ (matiftik

irš)

-ذرىؽ٠مؽىرذ (matiftik

riiš - matiftikruuš)



رهذ (tištaġ

il) you work

ذهرم (matišta

ġilš)

-ذهر١مرهذ (matišta

ġliiš - matištaġluuš)

(tiġayyaذ١ؽ

r) you change

s.t.

ذ١ؽ (matġayyarš

)

-ذ١ؽ٠مؽ ١ذ (matġayy

ariiš - matġayyaruuš)

ذى (tikallim)

you talk (to

s.o.)

م و (matkallim

š)

١م -ذى ذى (matkallim

iiš - matkallimuuš)

ذكع (tisaa

3id) you help

عكذ (matsa3

idš)

-ذكع٠معكذ (matsa3

idiiš - matsa3iduuš)

ذػوؽ (tizaaki

r) you study

ؽوػذ (matzak

irš)

-ذػوؽ٠مؽوػذ (matzakr

iiš - matzakruuš)

ذ (ti'uum)

you get

up/rise

ذم (mat'umš

)

-ذ١مذ (mat'umii

š - mat'umuuš)

١هذ (tišiil)you carry

ذه١م (matšilš)

-ذه١١م١هذ (matšiliiš -

matšiluuš)

To negate those two irregular imperatives, you just do the two steps described above. Verb - 2nd person Negated command forms

-١٠ث-ذ١ةث١ذ (tigiib - tigiibi -

-ذ١ث١م-ذ١مث١ذ (matgibš - matgibiiš -



tigiibu) you bring matgibuuš)

١ذ-١ذ-١ذ (tiigi - tiigi - tiigu)

you come

-ذ١١م-ذ١١م١ذ (matgiiš - matgiiš -

matguuš)

Expressing indirect negative commands

And aside from the direct negated imperative, there are a few other ways to tell someone not to do

something: 1. Use

ت (balaaš) with the appropriate second-person imperfect verb conjugation. This is not

as strong as a direct negative order; it can have the connotation of a polite request or even mere

advice/preference on behalf of the person talking.

If you saw a friend standing in the street to catch a bus and there was a place to sit nearby, you

might say,

ج ذع كزأ ،ؼه ذكر وعج ت (balaaš tistinna kida feš-

šaari3, aHsan-lak te'3od gowwa)

"No need to wait like that in the street, it'd be better for you to sit inside."

ت can also be used with a عؼ . If you were in a library and there were a bunch of children making noise nearby, you could tell

them,

ظ ٠ حنظ ت (balaaš dawša ya welaad)

"No noise, kids."

2. Use ا (ew3a) with the appropriate second-person imperfect verb conjugation. Note that if

you're addressing a woman, ا changes to ا (ewa3i), and if you're addressing a

group, it becomes أ (ewa3u). This word can have different connotations depending on how

it's used; it can be a "watch out/take care!" kind of statement (like ت ض often is), a

warning, or a very strong "Don't dare do that!" kind of statement. If someone tall was going into a room with a low door, you might tell them,

قؼ ا (ew3a raasak)



Watch out for your head.

If someone was waiting and waiting for someone who wasn't going to come, you could say,

ي ١رك ذ ا (ew3a tifDal mistinnyaah 3ala Tuul)

Don't keep waiting for him forever.

To warn someone not to forget their cellphone:

٠ت كذ ا (ewa3i tinsi mobaylek)

If you'd had an argument with someone and were really mad at them:

!ن نأ م ٠ؿج أ ،ذ ا ذى (ew3a tkallemni taani, ana miš 3ayza ašuuf wiššak taani!)

Don't dare talk to me again, I don't want to see your face again!

3. And finally, there's ٠ا (iiyyaak) with the appropriate second-person imperfect verb

conjugation. Note that if you're addressing a woman,

٠اchanges to

و٠ا(iiyaaki), and if

you're addressing a group, it becomes و٠ا (iiyyaaku). ٠ا is from fuSHa but used

colloquially to express a very strong prohibition (like "Don't you dare do that!!"). However, if it's

used with someone you know well in a context that isn't angry, it doesn't necessarily express such

strong feeling. رح وأ وذ و٠ا (iiyaaki takli min akli fet-tallaaga)

Don't eat any of my food that's in the fridge!

[Index: Only topics marked “EA” follow.] Arabic grammar lessons

arabic.desert-sky.net

Here are some pages I put together on Arabic grammar. Most of this information focuses on

Egyptian Arabic, but some material on standard Arabic is also included. I've used EA to indicate that

a lesson covers Egyptian Arabic and MSA to indicate that a lesson covers (modern) standard Arabic. Articles & the sun and moon letters EA - information on the definite article, its use, and the "sun

and moon letters" (rules of assimilation of the -l of the definite article).

Nouns EA - information on how to inflect nouns for gender and number (make them feminine, dual,

and plural).

Adjectives EA - definition of what adjectives are and how to inflect them for gender and number. A

list of common, basic adjectives. Information on the rules of adjective agreement with nouns, and

how to form nisba adjectives.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_articles.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adj.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nouns.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_articles.html



Comparative and superlative adjectives EA - how to form the "elative" adjective forms that are used

for comparisons. How to make both comparative and superlative statements.

Adverbs EA - lists of common adverbs, arranged by type (adverbs of time, place, degree, and

manner).

Subject and object pronouns EA MSA - tables of the subject and object pronouns in Arabic.

Possessive pronouns EA MSA - tables of the possessive pronouns, with notes on usage and

examples.

Demonstrative and relative pronouns EA MSA - tables of the demonstrative and relative pronouns,

with examples of usage.

The genitive construct and other ways to express possession EA - information on

the اح construct that indicates possession, and on prepositions that can also be used for the

same purpose.

Introduction to the Arabic sentence EA MSA - the basic types of Arabic sentences, definition of

subject and predicate, and how to negate sentences.

Asking questions EA MSA - information on how to ask questions in Arabic, covering questions using

interrogative words (who, what, when, where, how, why, etc.), yes/no questions, and questions

posing alternatives to choose from.

The verb forms MSA - information on the different verb forms and their associated meanings, and a

table of all the verb forms including their perfect/imperfect conjugations, active/passive participles,

and verbal nouns.

Verb conjugations EA MSA - information on the different types of sound and weak verbs, and

conjugation tables for verbs of each type.

Verb tenses EA - information on the past, simple present, present continuous, and future tenses:

how to use them and negate them, with examples.

Modals EA MSA - information on modals, including examples of usage.

The imperative EA - how to form and negate commands, including tables showing the steps to do

this and examples.

The active participle EA - the usage of the active participle, including examples, how to derive the

active participle from verbs, and a table of commonly-used active participles.

The passive participle EA - the usage of the passive participle, including examples and how to

derive the passive participle from verbs.

Conditional statements EA - how to form possible and impossible conditional statements, including

lots of examples.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adjcomp.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adv.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns_demr.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_question.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_vforms.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_modals.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pass.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cond.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pass.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_command.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_modals.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_conj.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_vforms.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_question.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_intro.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns_demr.html


http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_pronouns.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adv.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_adjcomp.html



Numbers EA - the numbers from 0 to 1 billion, information on how to read out long numbers, and

noun-number constructions.

Case endings MSA - information on the nominative, genitive, and accusative cases: when and how

to use them, with examples.

kaana, inna, and Zanna and their sisters MSA - information on these verbs, which shift part of the

sentence they're in to the accusative case; includes examples.

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cases.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nawaasix.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_nawaasix.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_cases.html

http://arabic.desert-sky.net/g_numbers.html

egyptian arabic - desert sky net

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