If you want to describe things, you need to know how the colors in Egyptian Arabic.
Unfortunately they are usually some of the last words you learn.
And that’s quite alright.
Because today, that’s exactly what we’re talking about!
Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining…how to say colors in Egyptian Arabic.
Vocabulary For Colors in Egyptian Arabic
Here are the main colors in Egyptian Arabic.
While there are similarities between Egyptian Arabic and Standard Arabic color words, there are a few differences to know.
After that we will go over some longer phrases.
Color / Colors. : loon / Alwan.
.لون
Red : ahmar.
.احمر
Orange. : borto2ani.
.برتقاني
Yellow. : asfar.
.اصفر
Green. : akhdar.
.اخضر
Blue. : azra2.
.ازرق
Purple. : Banafsegi / move.
.بنفسجي/ موف
White. : abyad.
.ابيض
Black. : eswed.
.اسود
Brown. : bonni.
.بني
Silver. : faddi.
.فضي
Gold. : dahabi.
.دهبي
Light. : khafeef.
.خفيف
Dark. : ghame2.
.غامق
Here’s some important information that we won’t cover in depth today: the words for colors sometimes change depending on the sentence.
If you say “the red car,” for example, the word for red will become feminine.
That’s because the word “car” is feminine in Egyptian Arabic, and in this sentence, “red” is attached to “car.”
However, if you say “the car is red,” the word for “red” remains unchanged. That’s because it’s no longer attached to the word “car.”
The gender of nouns would be good to read for more info.
Example Phrases For Colors in Egyptian Arabic
Now that you know the main colors, let’s go over some phrases.
What color is it? : eh el loon da?
ايه اللون ده؟
What color is your car? : 3arbetak lonha eh?
عربيتك لونها ايه؟
It’s a mix of colors. : meshaggar/ kaza lon.
.دول كذا لون / مشجر
The word Meshaggar means a pattern of different colors.
This usually refers to a piece of cloth with the pallet of tree leaves (yellow, green, red..all together).
The word’s origin is Shagar, which means “Trees.”
What is your favorite color? : eh aktar loon bt7bo?
ايه اكتر لون بتحبه؟
My favorite color is…. : aktar lon ba7bo hwa ….
….اكتر لون بحبه هو
That is a pretty color. : da loon 7elw / 7elw el-loon da.
.ده لون حلو /حلو اللون ده
That is a very ugly color. : da loon we7sh awy).
.ده لون وحش قوي /ده لون مقرف
The color of the sky today is very weird. : loon el-sama el-nharda ghareeb awy.
لون السما غريب قوي النهارده
Learn here how to talk about the weather in Egyptian Arabic.
Cultural Insight
When I first moved to Cairo, I realized quite quickly that the clothes people wear are a bit “muted.”
Or, in other words….not very colorful.
Blame it on the weather, or blame it on the sand, but there’s not a whole lot of color going on in the average Egyptian wardrobe.
Of course, this is relative.
Being American, where people wear the stupidest shit, Egyptian clothes just look a little drab.
Maybe you disagree!
Good luck with all those colors!
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
