How To Talk About Ancient Egyptians in Egyptian Arabic

A few weeks ago, Cairo had the “Golden Parade.”

The purpose was to transfer a bunch of mummies in preparation of opening the new Cairo Museum.

That got us to thinking: ancient Egypt was interesting, and ancient Egyptians were even more interesting.

So that’s what we’re talking about today: how to talk about ancient Egyptians in Egyptian Arabic.

How To Talk About Ancient Egyptians: Vocabulary

Here are some vocab words that might come in handy.

Pharaohs. : elfara3ana / fer3on.

.فراعنة/فرعون

Here are the 10 most famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs if you are interested.

History. : el-tareekh.

.التاريخ

Mummy. : elmomya.

.المومياء

Mummification. : ta7neet.

.تحنيط

Tombs. : maqaber / maqbara.

.مقبرة/مقابر

Temples. : ma3abed / ma3bad.

.معبد/معابد

Statues. : tamaseel / temsal.

.تمثال/تماثيل

Kings. : molook / malek.

.ملك/ملوك

Queens. : malekat/ maleka.

.ملكة/ملكات

Monuments. : asaar.

.اثار

Museum. : mat7af / mata7ef.

.نتحف/متاحف

B.C. : qabl el melad.

.قبل الميلاد

Check out the curious case of the missing qaff for more information on pronunciation with the letter ق.

Civilization. : 7adara.

.الحضارة

How to Talk About Ancient Egyptians: Example Sentences

Let’s move onto example sentences.

Check out our post on talking about Egyptians for more current sentences! 😉

The ancient Egyptian Civilization was very developed. : el7adara elmasrya elkadema kant motkadema awy.

.الحضارة المصرية القديمة كانت متقدمة قوي

Have you ever been to the pyramids? : 3omrak ro7t el ahramat?

عمرك رحت الاهرامات؟

Interested in going?

Prepare yourself with our guide on visiting the pyramids in Egyptian Arabic. 🙂

The Pharaohs were very smart. : elfara3na kano azkya awy.

.الفراعنة كانو اذكياء قوي

Who do you think built the pyramids? : teftker men elbana elahramat?

تفتكر مين اللي بنى الاهرامات؟

King Ahmus kicked out the invaders. : elmalek ahmus tarad el hksos.

.الملك احمس طرد الهكسوس

The Ancient Egyptian history is very rich. : el tareekh elmasri el2adeem ghani awy.

.التاريخ  المصري القديم غني قوي

I wish I could understand the ancient Egyptian writings. : ana nefsy a2dar afham elketaba elmasrya el2adema.

.انا نفي اقدر افهم الكتابة المصرية القديمة

Can you write my name in Hieroglyphics? : te3raf tekteb esmi bel hyroghlify.

تعرف تكتب اسمي بالهيروغليفي؟

Hieroglyphics are definitely interesting – I wish I could read them too!

But for modern-day languages? Check out our guide on talking about languages.

Have you ever been to the Egyptian Museum? : 3omrak ro7t elmat7af elmasry?

عمرك رحت المتحف المصري؟

We are so excited for the Grand Egyptian Museum. : e7na mota7mseen awy lel mat7af elmasry elkbeer.

احنا متحمسين قوي للمتحف المصري الكبير

Did you see the golden parade to transfer the mummies? It was so great. : shoft el mawkeb elmalaki l na2l elmomyawat? kant 3azema awy.

.شوفت الموكب الملكي لنقل المومياوات ؟ كانت عظيمة قوي

Ancient Egyptians used to mummify their kings because they believed in the after life (life after death). : elmasryeen elkodama2 kano by7anato el molook 3lshan kano byo2mno bel7yah ba3d elmoot.

.المصريين القدماء كانو بيحنطو الملوك علشان كانو بيؤمنو بالحياه بعد الموت

The new civilization museum is showing more than 20 mummies. : mat7af el7adara el gded feh aktar men 20 momya.

.متحف الحضارة فيه اكتر من 20 مومياء

How to count in Egyptian Arabic might come in handy here.

Ancient Egyptian civilization depended on the Nile river. : el7adara elmasrya el kadema 2amet 3ala nahr elnile.

.الحضارة المصرية القديمة قامت على نهر النيل

If you want to try your luck on the Nile river?

Try getting a felucca in Egyptian Arabic!

I love the ancient drawings on the temples’ walls. : ana ba7b el rosomat el 2adema el 3ala elma3abed.

.انا بحب الرسومات القديمة اللي على المعابد

Fun Facts

• Ancient Egypt was one of the greatest and most powerful civilizations in the history of the world. It lasted for over 3000 years, from approximately 3150 BC to 30 BC.
• The civilization of ancient Egypt was located along the Nile River in northeast Africa. The Nile was the source of much of ancient Egypt’s wealth.
• Ancient Egyptians wore makeup. It was thought to have healing powers, plus it helped protect their skin from the sun.
• They used moldy bread to help with infections.
• Ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and paper called papyrus.
• The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had many inventions including one of the first calendars, the plow for farming, musical instruments, and even toothpaste.
• The Pharaoh kept his hair covered. It was not to be seen by regular people.
• Cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo