10 Egyptian Arabic Jokes

Today we are covering ten well-known jokes in Egyptian Arabic. While this is a more advanced topic, jokes in a different language are always interesting to learn and an important part of connecting with another culture.

After all, among different Arab cultures, Egyptians are famous for their sense of humor and frequent joking. In fact, ancient Egyptians even assigned a “humor goddess” and married her to the deity of wisdom. They believed that not only was humor important, but that the world itself was created out of laughter!

Let’s get started with 10 modern Egyptian Arabic jokes.

A Few Notes About Jokes in Egyptian Arabic

• One of the reasons that Egyptians are so funny is that it’s a good way to deal with day-to-day problems. From rising inflation to Cairo traffic, life in Egypt is often not as easy as other countries around the world. Understanding this is a good first step in understanding the role that these jokes play in Egyptian culture.
• Egyptian Jokes *specially the short ones* usually start with Marra wa7ed, or Marra something. Marra wa7ed  means, “once upon a time, someone,…”. This is probably the most famous type of Egyptian jokes. In fact, someone even made a random Marra wa7ed jokes generator, check it out 🙂 https://marra-wahed.herokuapp.com/joke
• Egyptian Arabic jokes often start as a story about someone who did something normal, followed by a result (the punchline) that is completely exaggerated. This common type of joke has certain “sub-categories” according to the type of person the joke is about (a cheap person, a stupid person, a drunk person, etc.). These jokes are usually quite simple (like dad jokes)
• IMPORTANT: Understanding jokes in a language is one of the highest forms of fluency. That’s because it requires understanding words with double meanings as well as knowing about the culture and idioms. This is the hardest mix to understand for somebody not from the culture – don’t get frustrated if you don’t get these jokes right away. 🙂

10 Egyptian Arabic Jokes, Explained

1) Marra wa7ed se3edi zar el ahramat 2al yaaah, kol de gebna mosalsat?

مرة واحد صعيدي زار الاهرامات قال ياااه كل دي جبنة مثلثات؟

Translation: Once upon a time a guy from upper Egypt visited the Pyramids, he said: wow, what a big triangle of cheese

The joke: There are many brands that sell cream cheese in Egypt in the shape of triangles. Egyptians call them Gebna Mosalsat (triangles Cheese).

Se3edi: Someone from upper Egypt (from Se3eed). There are usually many types of jokes about people from upper Egypt. These are considered a little offensive, as the people from upper Egypt in these jokes are always presented as stupid / naïve and very close-minded. This type of joke is fun to learn, but make sure no se3edi person is around when you say them!

2) Marra wa7ed geh y3od 3ala ahwa a3ad 3ala shai.

.مرة واحد جه يقعد على قهوة قعد على شاي

Translation: Once upon a time, a guy was going to sit at an Ahwa, he sat instead on tea.

The joke: Ahwa means both coffee and café, where people sit to have drinks and shisha (check out our post on the famous Egyptian ahwa for more information). Because coffee and tea are the most two famous drinks in Egypt, the joke here basically uses the double meaning of ahwa (coffee and café) and replaces the café shop with the drink. The guy here sat on the tea instead of the coffee.

3) Marra doctor eshtara 3eesh la2ah sokhn wadah el mostashfa.

.مرة دكتور اشترى عيش لقاه سخن وداه المستشفى

Translation: Once upon a time, a doctor bought some bread and found it warm so he took it to the hospital.

In case you were curious, here is how to talk about being sick in Egyptian Arabic.

4) Marra mechanicy fata7 ma7el 7alwyat samah kalaksy.

.مرة ميكانيكي فتح محل حلويات سماه كلاكسي

Translation: Once upon a time, a car mechanic opened a candy shop, he named it “Kalaxy.”

The joke: This is basically a pun of the word Kalaxy. The word is very similar to the word Galaxy (a chocolate brand), while in Egyptian Arabic, Kalaks means “the car horn” and Kalaksy means “my car horn.”

The word Kalaks is taken from the French word “klaxon” which means “horn”.

5) Marra wa7ed se3edi shaf massa7a 2al yaaah kol de maknet 7ela2a?

مرة واحد صعيدي شاف مساحة قال ياااه كل دي مكنة حلاقة؟

Translation: Once upon a time, a se3edi (guy from upper Egypt) saw a rubber mop and said “Wow, is this a big razor blade!”

6) Marra wa7ed se3edi kan 3ayz ynt7er mn eldoor el3asher, nat mn eldoor elkhames marten.

.مرة واحد صعيدي كان عايز ينتحر من الدور العاشر..نط من الدور الخامس مرتين

Translation: Once Upon a time, a se3eedi who wanted to kill himself by jumping from the 10th floor…he jumped from the 5th floor twice.

Ok, maybe a bit dark, and actually not that funny.

In any case, here is how to count in Egyptian Arabic.

7) Marra wa7ed seni we2e3 etkasar.

.مرة واحد صيني وقع اتكسر

Translation: Once upon a time, a Chinese guy fell and broke.

The joke: Don’t worry – no racism here, we promise! The word Seni means Chinese but it also refers to the plates that are made out of porcelain.

8) Marra wa7ed eshtraki khalef bent samaha Lina.

.مرة واحد اشتراكي خلف بنت سماها لينا

Translation: Once upon a time, a communist had a baby girl, he named her :”Lina”

The Joke: The word Lina is a very common girl’s name. However, in Arabic it also means “for us.” 🙂

9) Bent esmaha zeina ra7et 7afla, 3ala2oha.

.بنت اسمها زينة راحت حفلة علقوها

Translation: A girl named Zeina went to a party and they hanged her on the wall.

The joke: Zeina is also a common girl’s name. However, it also means decorations (the ones you typically find in kids classes or during Ramadan in Egypt.

10) Sawa2 taxi ga3, akal matabeen.

.سواق تاكسي جاع ، كل مطبين

Translation: Once upon a time, a Taxi driver was hungry, he ate 2 speed bumps.

The joke: To understand this joke, you first need to understand how Egyptians use the word Akal. You probably already know that it literally means “to eat” (check out how to order at a restaurant in Egyptian Arabic if you don’t). However, it can also be used when someone takes something involuntarily (usually something unpleasant).

For example when someone gets beaten in a fight they say: Akal 3al2a. In this joke, the taxi drove goes over two speed bumps without slowing down and it really messes up the car. Because of that, you can say Akal el matab (or matabeen for two speed bumps).

That’s it for Egyptian Arabic jokes! Go out there and use them with your friends. After all, Egyptians always love a good joke!

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Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo