Categories: "How To" Tuesday

How To Talk About Your Family in Egyptian Arabic

If you want to talk about your family in Egyptian Arabic, today’s guide is everything you need.

While we have already covered how to talk about your friends in Egyptian Arabic, this is our first post about family. Whether you love them or hate them…you can’t really change them. And either way, Egyptians love talking about family, so it’s definitely a good skill to have. Plus, the words in Egyptian Arabic can be a bit confusing.

Today, Cleo Lingo will be discussing….how to talk about your family in Egyptian Arabic.

Vocabulary To Talk About Your Family in Egyptian Arabic

We will start with the main “family” words that you need to know. After that, we will move on to more “actionable” phrases.

First thing: there are three main ways to say the word “family” in Egyptian Arabic.

This can get a little confusing, so make sure you remember these.

Family.

AWhll.

اهل (Usually refers to the close family members, parents and siblings)

‘EYEluh

عيلة (Usually refers to the whole family and relatives, including cousins, nieces, aunts and uncles)

USSraw

اسرة (usually refers to the family members under your roof, wife and kids if you are married, or parents and siblings if you aren’t)

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to everybody else.

Most Common Family Words

These are the most common family words, which basically includes your immediate family.

We will do a second part later.

Brother / s. : AKH / akhWEHT.

.اخ / اخوات

My brother / Your brother / My brothers. : awKHOOyuh / awKHWEHT / awKHWEHtee.

.اخويا / اخوك / اخواتي

My sister / Your sister / Sister / Sisters. : OKHtee / OKHtuck / OHT / okhWEHT.

.اختي / اختك / اخت / اخوات

In Egyptian Arabic, the words “sisters”, “brothers”, and “siblings” are all the same word “اخواتي”. You can understand the meaning from the context.

Dad. : AWB / BAba.

.اب / بابا

Mom. : OME / MAma.

.ام / ماما

If the gender of nouns confuses you, we don’t really blame you. It’s sometimes difficult to get used to, and can really make you shake your head depending on the noun. The gender of nouns, part one and the gender of nouns, part two might help here.

Luckily, the genders of different “family nouns” (because they are people with actual genders) is easy to remember.

Grandpa. : GEHD.

.جد

My grandpa. : GEHdee.

.جدي

Your Grandpa. : GEHduck.

.جدك

Grandma. : GEHduh.

.جدة

My Grandma. : gehDEHtee.

.جدتي

Grandparents. : guhDOOD.

.جدود

Example Phrases To Talk About Your Family in Egyptian Arabic

Here are some general things that you can say about your family in Egyptian Arabic.

I am the oldest / youngest (literally “the big” and “the small”). : Ana elkawBEER / elsooGHEYErr.

.انا الكبير – انا الصغير

Youngest sibling (literally “end of the grape vine”). : EHkhrr el’AWNuhOOD.

.اخر العنقود

I am the second youngest / oldest. : Ana TEHnee AWZZghawr WAWhhehd.

.انا تاني اصغر واحد

I am the second oldest. : Ana TEHnee AWKbar WAWhhehd.

.انا تاني اكبر واحد

I am the middle child. : Ana elMUHtuhWUHsuht.

.انا المتوسط

And in case you get tired of talking about your family, you can always learn how to introduce yourself in Egyptian Arabic. That way you still have a little bit left to say about yourself!

I have one brother. : Ana ‘AWNdee awkh WAWhhehd.

.انا عندي اخ واحد

I have one sister. : Ana ‘AWNdee OKHT WAWhhehdUH.

.انا عندي اخت واحدة

I have two sisters. : Ana ‘AWNdee okhTANE.

.انا عندي اختين

I have two brothers. : Ana ‘AWNdee awKHANE.

.انا عندي اخين

My grandparents all died. : GuhDOOdee koleOHhome MEHtoo.

.جدودي كلهم ماتو

My grandparents are still living. : GuhDOOdee koleOHhome MEHtoo / LISSuh ‘eyeSHEEN.

.جدودي لسه عايشين

Positive Family Phrases

Here are some things you might say if you like your family.

I am very close to my family. : Ana ooREYEihb GEHdin men AWhulee.

انا قريب جدا من اهلي

My family is great. : AWhuhlee KWAYihSEEN OWee.

اهلي كويسين قوي

I love my family so much. : Ana bawHHEHB AWhuhlee / ‘EYEluhtee OWee.

انا بحب عيلتي قوي

انا بحب اهلي قوي

My siblings and I talk all the time. : Ana wuh awKHWEHtee BIHnitKEHlim TOOL elWUH’T.

انا واخواتي بنتكلم طول الوقت

Negative Family Phrases

And useful phrases if you really DON’T like your family.

Keep in mind, a lot of the vocabulary that is used to insult your friends is also used to insult your family. Check out our series of posts about how to insult your friends if you need extra ammunition.

Let’s get back to business.

I don’t like my family. : Ana MAWbawHHEBSH AWhulee.

.انا مبحبش اهلي

My family and I are not very close. : Ana wuh AWhuhlee mish ooREYEihBEEN men BAW’tdh.

.انا واهلي مش قريبين من بعض

My siblings are annoying. : awKHWEHtee mihZAW’GEEN.

.اخواتي مزعجين

My parents and I don’t agree on a lot of things. : Ana wuh AWhuhlee MISH buhnehTEHfih fee hhawGEHT kiTEER.

انا واهلي مش بنتفق في حاجات كتير

If the disagreement is something about your career, how to talk about your job in Egyptian Arabic might be a good next read.

Some Last Useful Phrases To Talk About Your Family in Egyptian Arabic

Here are some last phrases for you. So far you have learned how to say the most common words, as well as express your opinion about your family in Egyptian Arabic. Here are a few more things that you might say:

Family is the most important thing in life. : elAWhll awHEHmuh HHAWguh feel heyeEHT.

.الاهل اهم حاجة في الحياة

Family is great, but there are more important things. : elAWhll MOOhuhMEEN bss FEE hhawGEHHT awHEHM.

.الاهل مهمين بس في حاجات اهم

I see my family a lot. : Ana bawSHOOF AWhuhlee kiTEER.

.انا بشوف اهلي كتير

I don’t see my family very often. : Ana MISH bawSHOOF AWhuhlee kiTEER.

.انا مش بشوف اهلي كتير

My siblings don’t have kids yet. : awKHWEHtee maw’AWNduhHOMESH wehLEHD LISSuh.

.اخواتي معندهمش ولاد لسه

Making mish sandwiches is one of the most fun things to do in Egyptian Arabic, and definitely something you should read up on.

Although the word “Welad” means boys, usually its used for kids/children.

Family reunions are a lot of fun. : eltuhGAWmuh’awt el’AWuhLAYuh moomTAW’AW GEHdin.

.التجمعات العائلية ممتعة جدا

My family is super weird. : AWhuhlee NEHSS ghawREEbuh GEHdehn.

.اهلي ناس غريبة جدا

Regardless of your opinions about your family, they are still your family. And if you want to take them out to dinner….well, learn how to order Egyptian koshary first!

Cultural Insight

This may not come as a surprise, but Egyptian culture can be quite conservative.

It’s very “family-centered,” and you can see how this affects the culture.

First, Friday is family day. Often, after the men go to the mosque to pray, there is a big family gathering. This usually happens at the house of the oldest people, where their kids bring THEIR kids. This means that Friday is usually a day that sees generations under the same roof.

Actually, the “same roof” part is quite literal.

Often, numerous generations of the same family will live in the same apartment building (just on a different floor). This makes it easy to get together, and the members of a typical Egyptian family see each other quite frequently.

Good luck with all those siblings of yours! 🙂

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo

How To Talk About Your Family in Egyptian Arabic

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