How To Buy Groceries in Egyptian Arabic

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?