Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs (verbs paired with another word) help you speak the dialect more accurately.
This improves your overall fluency across all skills, and makes you more comfortable with the language.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- What Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs are
- Some of the most common phrasal verbs that Egyptians use
- Real examples you can use in daily Egyptian Arabic conversations
Let’s check it out.
Quick Summary:Egyptian Arabic phrasal phrasal verbs are verb + preposition combinations that create a new meaning in spoken Egyptian Arabic. They are commonly used in daily conversation to express actions, emotions, opinions, and relationships. Learning phrasal verbs helps Egyptian Arabic learners sound more natural and understand real conversations more easily. |
What Are Phrasal Verbs And Why Do They Matter?
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a preposition or particle that creates a slightly different meaning.
- A verb on its own may mean one thing
- Add a preposition to this same verb (a phrasal verb), and the meaning changes slightly
To take an example from my native language of English:
- “Think” as a verb is a bit vague, and doesn’t have such a specific meaning.
- “Think about” (a phrasal verb) is more specific, and so common that you just need to learn it if you want to speak English fluently.
Which leads me to the importance of Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs:
They matter because they facilitate more successful language learning.
A ton of Egyptian Arabic students simply “learn verbs”, without learning the structures that will allow them to actually use Egyptian Arabic. Phrasal verbs give you this structure.
This allows you to speak at higher levels about more advanced topics (actions, emotions, reactions, etc).
How Do Egyptian Arabic Phrasal Verbs Work?
Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs work by combining a basic verb with a specific preposition or directional word. It’s important to note that when you use a phrasal verb, you still need to conjugate the verb correctly.
To see what that means in practice, let’s look at some common patterns below (we give you more examples further down the post):
Verb + 3ala / على
Examples:
1) ye3tamed 3ala / يعتمد على : to depend on
He depends on his family. : Howwa bye3tamed 3ala ahlo.
.هو بيعتمد على أهله
2) yewafe2 3ala / يوافق على : to agree to
He agreed to the idea. : Waf2 3ala el-fekra.
.وافق على الفكرة
3) yedawwar 3ala / يدور على : to search for
I’m looking for work. : Badawwar 3ala shoghl.
.بدور على شغل
Verb + fi / في
Examples:
1) yefakkar fi / يفكر في : to think about
I’m thinking about traveling. : Bafakkar fi el-safar.
.بفكر في السفر
2) yesharek fi / يشارك في : to participate in
They participate in the meeting every week. : Homma byesharko fi el-egtima3 kol esboo3.
.هم بيشاركوا في الاجتماع كل أسبوع
Verb + min / من
Examples:
1) yekhaf men / يخاف من : to be afraid of
She is afraid of dogs. : Heyya betkhaf men el-kelab.
.هي بتخاف من الكلاب
2) yemna3 men / يمنع من : to prevent…from
He prevented me from speaking. : Mana3ni men el-kalam.
.منعني من الكلام
Verb + ma3 / مع
Examples:
1) yetkallem ma3 / يتكلم مع : to speak with
I spoke with the manager. : Etkallemt ma3 el-modeer.
.اتكلمت مع المدير
2) yet3amel ma3 / يتعامل مع : to deal with
She deals with customers politely. : Heyya betet3amel ma3 el-zabayen be adab.
.هي بتتعامل مع الزباين بأدب
9 Other Egyptian Arabic Phrasal Verbs
- yebattel 3an / يبطل عن : to quit / give up
- ye3tazer le / يعتذر لـ : to apologize to
- yed7ak 3ala / يضحك على : to laugh at
- yes2al 3ala / يسأل على : to ask about someone
- yeshteki men / يشتكي من : to complain about
- yerga3 le / يرجع لـ : to return to
- yestalef men / يستلف من : to borrow from
- yenga7 fi / ينجح في : to succeed in
- yetlob men / يطلب من : to ask/request from someone
Egyptian Arabic Phrasal Verbs: FAQ’s
What are the most common mistakes with Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs?
I made numerous mistakes when first learning Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs, and I see other students do the same. Here are three common ones:
- Removing the preposition. Ex: “I am thinking about…” is “Bafakkar fi…”, so make sure you include the fi / في .
- Using the wrong preposition. It’s easy to mix these up (على and عن and من), so it’s best just to commit the right pairings to memory.
- Translating phrasal verbs directly in your native language. Different languages simply function differently, so direct translations don’t always work (and can result in speech that sounds unnatural).
What’s the best way to learn Egyptian Arabic phrasal verbs?
Rote memorization. Honestly, this gives you the greatest odds for success with your Egyptian Arabic. Memorize phrasal verbs as complete expressions (rather than translating word by word), and memorize a lot of them.
This is going to make your life a whole lot easier when you simply cram them into your head. 🙂
Do I need to learn these phrasal verbs?
Yes. But honestly phrasal verbs aren’t that complicated. Follow my advice above, and your Egyptian Arabic will start to sound a lot more natural and fluent.
Do all verbs include prepositions?
No. Again, there is a slight (but important) difference between verbs and phrasal verbs. And one doesn’t have to become the other. To give you an example from above, you can say:
I’m thinking.: Ana bafakkar.
انا بفكر.
This literally just means “I’m thinking.” But when somebody asks you what you are thinking about?
That’s when you have to turn the verb into a phrasal verb with the preposition fi / في:
I’m thinking about traveling. : Bafakkar fi el-safar.
.بفكر في السفر
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo