5 Ways To Say “Bad” In Egyptian Arabic

Knowing how to use the word “bad” in Egyptian Arabic is important. It is a basic thing, but will help you establish higher levels of fluency in the language.

In this post we go over five of the most common ways to say “bad” in Egyptian Arabic. For each one, we also provide:

• alternate meanings that also apply to the word
• a quick background on how to use it most accurately
• example conversations using each version of “bad” in Egyptian Arabic

Let’s get started!

1) W7sh / وحش 

Various meanings: bad, not good, ugly (depending on the context)

Background: W7sh is the most common way to say something or someone is bad. Because it’s an adjective, you will add a Taa Marbouta (ة) to make it feminine. This would turn the word into w7sha / وحشة.

Example:

Hi Heba. How was your day today? : Ahlan Heba. youmek kan 3amel ezay ennharda?

أهلاً هبة إزيك؟ يومك كان عامل إزاي النهاردة؟

It was a bad day. My car doesn’t work and also I have problems at my job. : kan youm w7sh. 3arabity bazet we-kaman 3ndi mashakel fe shoghli.

.كان يوم وحش. عربيتي باظت وكمان عندي مشاكل في شغلي

Be sure to look up how to talk about your job in Egyptian Arabic to extend this conversation. 

2) Sayye’ / سيء

Various meanings: bad, terrible, nasty

Background: This is actually an MSA word, but it’s also used in Egyptian Arabic. Quick note on the pronunciation: there is a “guttural stop” at the end of this word. It’s kind of like seye-uh + a quick sound at the back of your throat.

Example:

Do you like (fem.) koshary? : Bt7ebi el koshary?

بتحبي الكُشري؟

Of course! : Tab3an! 

!طبعاً

Ok and mahshi? : Tab wel-ma7shi?

طب والمحشي؟

Honestly…no, I think mahshi tastes bad. : Bsra7a .. la, shayefa en ta3mo saye’.

.بصراحة …لا, شايفة إن طعمه سيء

Also, the word tayeb in Egyptian Arabic and ordering koshary are both very important topics. 🙂

3) Battal / بطّال

Various meanings: bad, not so good, not that good

Background: This is an interesting way to say “bad” in Egyptian arabic. That’s because it doesn’t technically mean “bad”, but more “useless.” As in, something is not deserving of so much effort or attention.

Example:

How was the book (Lit. What the news the book)? : Eh akhbar el ketab?

إية أخبار الكتاب؟

Not so good. : Battal.

.بطّال

Why? : Leh? 

 ليه؟

I just think it wasn’t interesting. : Ana bas shayef en el ketab makansh momt3.

.أنا بس شايف إنه مكانش ممتع

4) Zeft / زفْت

Various meanings: very bad, terribly bad 

Background: This is probably my favorite way to say “bad” in Egyptian Arabic. Zeft technically means “asphalt” but it’s used in Egyptian Arabic to describe a difficult or bad situation. Keep in mind that this is a very slang word. It’s preferable to use it with friends and close acquaintances and not in formal situations.

Example:

Do you speak (masc.) French? : Bettekallem franscawy?

بتتكلّم فرنساوي؟

A little, but my French is really bad. : Shwaya, bas el franscawy bta3y zeft khales. 

.شوية ,بس الفرنساوي بتاعي زفت خالص

Want to chat more about the languages you speak?

Check out how to talk about languages in Egyptian Arabic! 🙂

5) Msh kwayiss  / مش كويس

Various meanings: not good, not okay, not alright

Background: Here we are using mish / مش to negate the meaning of kwayiss (which we saw in our post on five ways to say “good” in Egyptian Arabic). Good reminder: you can basically use مش plus any positive word to mean the opposite of that word. Just like English!

Example:

Is your computer working? : El combuter bta3ak shaghal?

الكُمبيوتر بتاعَك شغال؟

No, it’s broken. : La, bayez.

.لا ,بايظ

Wow! That’s really bad, sorry! : oh! Da msh kwyaiss, asef!

!آوه! دة مش كويس ,آسف

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo