If you live in Egypt, you should know how to buy groceries in Egyptian Arabic.
You could, of course, just eat fast food all the time.
But nobody wants to do that!
So take a seat, and learn some new words today.
Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining…how to buy groceries in Egyptian Arabic.
Vocabulary For Groceries in Egyptian Arabic
Grocery بقالة
Small market بقالة – sometimes they ignore the fact that its a small market and they also call it a supermarket
Food اكل
Akl
Drinks شرب
Shorb
Supermarket سوبر ماركت
Supermarket
Basket / s سلة
Salla
Cart / s عربية
3arbya
Bag / s شنطة / كيس
Shanta/Kees
Buy يشتري
Yeshtrey
Eat ياكل
Yakol
Because there is so much overlap with useful words / phrases, check out our post on how to buy your snacks at a koshk.
Example Phrases For Groceries in Egyptian Arabic
Now here is the good stuff. Things you might actually say in an Egyptian supermarket.
Searching For a Supermarket
I need to buy food. انا عايز اشتري اكل
Ana 3ayz ashtry akl.
Where can I buy food? ممكن اشتري اكل منين
Momken ashtry Akl mnen?
I want to buy some / water / juice. انا عايز اشتري مايه/ عصير
Ana 3ayz ashtry maya/ 3asser
Is there a (good/big) supermarket here? في سوبرماركت كبير هنا؟
Fe supermarket kbeer hena?
Where is the supermarket? فين السوبر ماركت
feen elsupermarket?
For more phrases on directions, how to ask for directions in Egyptian Arabic was one of our very first posts.
Once You Are At the Supermarket
Is this the supermarket? ده السوبر ماركت
Hwa da elsupermarket?
Do you work here? بتشتغل هنا؟
bteshtaghal hena?
Can I please use the basket / cart? ممكن السلة؟ ممكن العربية
Momken elsalla? momken el 3arbya?
Where are the carts? فين العربيات؟
fen el3arbyat?
Can you help me? I am looking for….cheese / bread / coffee. ممكن تساعدني؟ …فين الجبن؟ فين العيش؟ فين القهوة؟ فين الدقيق؟
momken tsa3deny? fen elgeban? fen el3eesh? fen elahwa? fen eld2ee2?
What You Would Buy at The Supermarket
This is just basically a list of things you might buy.
We covered a lot of food items on our posts about Egyptian kitchen vocab.
Check out the first one here and the second one here.
Milk لبن
Laban
Butter زبدة
Zebda
Cheese جبنة
Gebna
Bread عيش
3eesh
Tea شاي
Shai
Coffee قهوة
Ahwa
And because I know you love your coffee, how to order coffee in Egyptian Arabic might be quite useful.
Water مياه
Maya
Eggs بيض
Beed
Meat لحمة
la7ma
Chocolate شوكولاته
Shokolata
Flour دقيق
D2ee2
Sugar سكر
Sokkar
Salt ملح
mal7
If you want to buy fruits or vegetables, don’t do it at the indoor supermarket.
Instead, we recommend going outside to any of the outdoor markets. This is where the good stuff is.
How to buy fruits and vegetables in Egyptian Arabic is a great post to check out.
You can also buy phone credit at a supermarket.
But we wrote post on how to do that easier!
How to get your phone up and running in Egyptian Arabic.
Buying Your Groceries
How expensive is everything? كام كده كله؟
kam keda kolo?
Do you have change? معاك فكة؟
ma3ak fakka?
At this point, knowing how to bargain in Egyptian Arabic might be a good skill to have.
Can I please have a bag? ممكن كيس لو سمحت
momken kees law sama7t?
