How To Talk About Egyptian Culture in Egyptian Arabic

Today we are talking about Egyptian culture.

Specifically, how to talk about it in Egyptian Arabic.

This is Part Two in a five part series on talking about Egypt. We will be showing you how to talk about various parts of the country, including the people, the economy, and the social life.

Lots of information!

Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining….how to talk about Egyptian culture in Egyptian Arabic.

Vocabulary For Egyptian Culture

Here are the most important vocabulary words for Egyptian culture.

After this short list, we will show different ways to use them in longer example phrases.

Egypt. : Masr.
.مصر

Culture. : el-Sakafa.
.الثقافة

Egyptian Culture. : el-sakafa el-masrya.
.الثقافة المصرية

Different. : mokhtalef.
.مختلف

Religion. : Deen.
.دين

Family. : el-3eela.
.العيلة

There are a couple of different words for family in Egyptian Arabic.

Check out our post on how to talk about family in Egyptian Arabic for more information.

Marriage. : el-gawaz.
.الجواز

Conservative. : mo7afez.
.محافظ

Liberal. : mot7arer.
.متحرر

Cultural Differences. : far2 sakafy.
.فرق ثقافي

Example Phrases For Egyptian Culture

We divided today’s Egyptian culture phrases into “easy” and “advanced.”

This will help you talk about Egyptian culture in Egyptian Arabic no matter what your level is.

And because foreigners have a wide variety of experiences in Egypt, we included both positive and negative.

Easy Phrases About Egyptian Culture

Note: the phrases are conjugated (masculine) the way a man would say them.

The example conversation at the bottom is conjugated (feminine) in the female form.

I like (love) Egypt. : ana ba7b masr.
.انا بحب مصر

I don’t like Egypt. : ana mesh ba7b masr.
.انا مش بحب مصر

Negating a verb in Egyptian Arabic is pretty easy using the word “mesh/mish” ( مش ).

This is called “making mish sandwiches” (ok, that’s just what Cleo Lingo calls it, but it’s true).

Egyptian culture is beautiful. : el-saqafa elmasrya gamila.
.الثقافة المصرية جميلة

The culture here is very different. : el-saqafa hena mokhtalefa gedan.
.الثقافة هنا مختلفة جدا

I like the people in Egypt. : ana bahb el-nas fi masr.
.انا بحب الناس في مصر

Egypt is very loud. : masr dawsha gedan.
.مصر دوشة جدا

We wrote a post on this called all that noise.

Sure, Egypt and Cairo in particular are quite loud.

But role with it! It’s actually kinda nice sometimes to see how alive the city is.

Egyptian culture is different than my culture. : el-saqafa elmasrya mokhtalefa gedan 3an saqafty.
.الثقافة المصرية مختلفة جدا عن ثقافتي

Religion / family is very important here. : el-deen/ el-3ela mohem awy hena.
.الدين / العيلة مهم قوي هنا

Marriage is also very important. : el-gawaz mohem awy bardo.
.الجواز مهم قوي برضو

If there is one thing I immediately noticed about Egyptian culture when I first moved there, this is it.

Religion / family / marriage are all super important.

I’m American, and it’s not really the same in my country. Sure, all three of these things are important.

Don’t get my wrong.

But in Egyptian culture, they take on a whole new meaning. That’s important to know.

Ramadan is a very cool time to experience Egyptian culture. : Ramadan wa2t 7elw awy 3alshan tet3raf 3ala el-saqafa el-masrya.
.رمضان وقت حلو قوي علشان تتعرف على الثقافة المصرية

Egyptian culture is conservative. : el-saqafa el-masrya mo7afza.
.الثقافة المصرية محافظة

I am a liberal person. Because of that, (the) living in Egypt is difficult sometimes. : ana shakhs mot7arer. 3lshan keda el-3esha fi masr btb2a sa3ba sa3at.
.انا شخص متحرر. علشان كده العيشة في مصر بتبقى صعبة ساعات

Egypt is not very liberal. : masr mesh mot7arera awy.
.مصر مش متحررة قوي

The people are the best thing of Egypt. : elnas homa a7san 7aga fi masr.
.الناس هما احسن حاجة في مصر

The noise is the worst thing of Egypt. : el-dawsha hya aw7ash 7aga fi masr.
.الدوشة هي اوحش حاجة في مصر

Advanced Phrases About Egyptian Culture

The phrases that follow are more difficult.

While we include them for more advanced students of Egyptian Arabic, they can benefit anyone.

Especially if you are in a conversation about Egyptian culture!

It is difficult to talk about Egyptian culture. : sa3b tetklm 3an elsaqafa elmasrya.
.صعب تتكلم عن الثقافة المصرية

I like how friendly Egyptian people are. : ana ba7b 2ad eh elmasryeen lotaf.
.انا بحب قد ايه المصريين لطاف

Egyptian culture is different than the culture in my country. : el-saqafa elmasrya mokhtalefa 3an elsaqafa f baladi.
.الثقافة المصرية مختلفة عن الثقافة في بلدي

I never know if Egyptians are speaking seriously. : 3omri ma ba3raf law el-masryeen bytklmo bgd.
.عمري ما بعرف لو المصريين بيتكلمو بجد

Egyptians are often late. It (Lit: this subject) is very difficult. : el-masryeen ghaleban met2akhreen. elmawdo3 sa3b awy.
.المصريين غالبا متأخرين.الموضوع صعب قوي

This is easily one of the biggest culture shocks for expats in Egypt.

In case you don’t have the time to our post about Egyptian time, here are some suggestions for dealing with the lateness of Egyptians:

• Relax and don’t take punctuality so seriously.
• Plan for things to start about 15-20 minutes later than what you originally plan.
• Bring along a book / your phone so you have something to keep you entertained.
• Enjoy the chance to be consistently late without consequences.

My favorite part (Lit: Biggest thing I like it) of Egyptian culture is… : Aktar 7aga ba7bha f elsaqafa elmasrya heya…
…اكتر حاجة بحبها في الثقافة المصرية هي

…the friendly people / the generosity/ that the people are joyful. : …elnas el lotaf / elkaram/ en elnas far7ana.
.الناس اللطاف / الكرم / ان الناس فرحانة…

My least favorite part (Lit: Biggest thing I don’t like it) of Egyptian culture is… : Aktar 7aga mesh bt3gbni f elsaqafa elmasrya …
…اكتر حاجة مش بتعجبني في الثقافة المصرية

 …the harassment / the conservatism. : …el-ta7ros/ elmo7afza.
.المحافظة/التحرش …

Knowing how to deal with sexual harassment is important for women in Egypt.

Because it’s definitely a problem.

Not saying, of course, that there aren’t great Egyptian men. Because there are.

But sexual harassment of women in Egypt happens, and it probably happens more often than wherever you are coming from.

Keep it in mind.

Religion is the most important thing here. It influences everything in life. : el-deen hwa aham 7aga hena, by2asar 3ala kol 7aga fi el7ayah.
.الدين هو اهم حاجة هنا..بيأثر على كل حاجة في الحياة

Fridays are the best. It’s the day or prayer, so the streets are always empty early Friday morning. : elgom3a a7san yoom 3alshan fe salat elgom3a, elshaware3 btb2a fadya gedan elgom3a elsob7.
.الجمعة احسن يوم علشان في صلاة الجمعة. فالشوارع بتبقى فاضية جدا الجمعة الصبح

Marriage is a very important topic here. You have to get married! : elgawaz mohem gedan hena, lazem tetgawez.

!الجواز مهم جدا هنا. لازم تتجوز

Egypt is conservative, but this is not a big problem if you (masculine) are a foreigner. : Masr balad mo7afza, bas de mesh moshkela law enta agnaby.
.مصر بلد محافظ, بس دي مش مشكلة لو انت اجنبي

This is an interesting reality about living in Egypt.

For Egyptians, life in Egypt is difficult. The salaries are low, inflation has badly affected the economy, and the standard of living for the majority of citizens ins’t very high. Basically, life is hard.

But if you’re a foreigner? Well…completely different story. You probably make more money, have more freedom, and have an overall better life than your Egyptian friends.

Probably. Not always.

The Egyptian culture is different in every city. : el saqafa elmasrya mokhtalefa gedan fi kol madina.
.الثقافة المصرية مختلفة جدا في كل مدينة

I didn’t know what to expect when I traveled to Egypt. : Makontsh a3raf atwaka3 eh lama safert masr.
.مكونتش عارف اتوقع ايه لما سافرت مصر

Cairo is liberal. The culture here is different than the countryside. : elqahera mot7arera,.. elsaqafa hena mokhtalefa 3an elqora.
.القاهرة متحررة.. الثقافة هنا مختلفة عن القري

Common Questions to Ask

Here are some questions you might ask Egyptians if you are talking about Egyptian culture.

And trust us: that’s a conversation you will frequently find yourself in. Because Egyptians are naturally curious. They want to (in a friendly way) know what you are doing in their country. And what naturally follows from that?

You opinion about Egyptian culture, of course!

What do you think of (Lit: what is your (masculine) opinion of) Egyptian culture? : ra2yek eh f elsaqafa el masrya?
رأيك ايه في الثقافة المصرية؟

What is the best part / worst part of your culture? : eh aktar 7aga bt7beha/mesh bt7beha fi elsaqafa bta3tek?
ايه اكتر حاجة بتحبها / مش بتحبها في الثقافة بتاعتك؟

What do you think of, when you think of Egyptian culture? : btfakari fi eh lama a2olek elsaqafa elmasrya?
بتفكر في ايه لما اقولك “الثقافة المصرية؟

Do you like living (Lit: the living) here? : bt7bi el3esha hena?
بتحب العيشة هنا؟

Are you happy here? : enta mabsota hena?
انت مبسوط هنا؟

And if you want to use words more precise than “happy,” we have a post about saying emotions in Egyptian Arabic.

That might help you out.

Is life easy or hard for the Egyptians? : el7yah sa3ba wala sahla 3ala elmasryeen?
الحياه صعبة ولا سهلة على المصريين؟

What is some famous music in Egyptian culture? : eh elmazzika elmashhoura fe masr?
ايه المزيكا المشهورة في مصر؟

What food is Egypt famous for?
مصر مشورة باكل ايه؟

To answer this question, Egypt is famous for (among other things):

• Mahshi
• Ful
• Ta3maya (falafel)
• Koshary

In fact, you kinda need to know how to order koshary in Egyptian Arabic.

It’s an essential skill!

Do you want to live here forever?
عايز تعيش هنا علطول؟

Example Conversation On Egyptian Culture

Here is an example conversation that might happen about Egyptian culture.

The answers are coming from a woman.

That will allow you to see how some of these words are conjugated (remember, the trick is usually to add a “tamruhboota”).

What do you think (what is your opinion) about Egyptian culture? : ra2yek eh f elsaqafa elmasrya?
رأيك ايه في الثقافة المصرية؟

That’s a very difficult question. I am a foreigner and have only been here 1 month / 6 months / one year. : da so2al sa3b awy. Ana agnbya w ba2ali hena shahr wa7ed, set sho-hor, sana.
.ده سؤال صعب قوي. انا اجنبية وبقالي هنا شهر واحد/ ٦ شهور/ سنة

Ok. Are you happy here? : tamam. Enti mabsota hena?
تمام.انتي مبسوطة هنا؟

I am happy here. But I don’t want to live my whole life here. : ana mabsota hena, bas mesh 3ayza a3esh 7yati kolha hena.
.انا مبسوطة هنا..بس مش عايزة اعيش حياتي كلها هنا

Why not? : leh la2?
ليه لا؟

It’s very loud. Besides, I am a woman, the harassment is very difficult here. : Dawsha gedan, gher en ana set, elta7rosh sa3b awy hena.
.دوشة جدا.غير ان انا ست,التحرش صعب قوي هنا

What do you think of Egyptian people? : eh ra2yek f el masryeen?
ايه رأيك في المصريين؟

They are nice….but always late. : tayben awy… bas dayman met2kharen.
.طيبيين قوي..بس دايما متأخرين

Yes, I know. But that’s part of the culture. : ah ana 3aref, bas de goz2 men elsaqafa.
!اه انا عارف..بس دي جزء من الثقافة

That’s true. Egypt is very different than my culture! : da 7a2e2y. Masr mokhtalefa gedan 3an saqafti.
!ده حقيقي. مصر مختلفة جدا عن ثقافتي

Cultural Insight

Egyptian culture definitely varies depending on where you are.

While lot of countries are the same way (rural vs. urban America is a great example), the variation in Egypt is crazy.

Even just in Cairo.

Spend a day walking around Zamalek and Maadi, and then take a trip to Faisal and Imbaba.

These are all different parts of Cairo….and all very different.

If you want to get a well-rounded view of “Egyptian culture in Cairo,” that’s my suggestion for you.

Can be pretty interesting!

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo