Knowing how to use the word “good” in Egyptian Arabic is essential. It helps you describe the quality of things, express your own opinions, and take part fully in conversations.
In this post we go over five of the most common ways to say “good” in Egyptian Arabic. For each one, we also provide:
- alternate meanings that also apply to the word
- a quick background on how to use it most accurately
- example conversations using each version of “good” in Egyptian Arabic
Let’s get started!
1) 7elw / حلو
Various meanings: Sweet / good / fine / OK
Background: The word 7elw (pronounced helloo or hellwuh for a feminine noun) can be used to describe food, an experience, or even a person. The literal translation is “sweet” or “sugary” (if you visited any juice place in Cairo you probably know that Egyptians love everything extra sweet).
Important note: #1 and #5 both use the letter ح which is a deep throaty “hh” sound. This letter is written with the number “7” – check out our post on Franco-Arabic for more information.
Examples:
1) Did you like the civilization museum? I heard you visited it last week. : 3agbak mat7af elhadart? Sem3t enek ro7ty elesbo3 eli fat.
.عجبك متحف الحضارات؟ سمعت انك رحتي الاسبوع اللي فات
Yea it was really good, very spacious and well organized. : Aywa kan helw awy, wase3 gedan w metnzam kwaiss.
.ايوه كان حلو قوي..واسع جدا ومتنظم كويس
2) Thank you Dina, the mahshi was so good. : Shokran Dina, elma7shi kan 7elw awy.
.شكرا دينا,المحشي كان حلو قوي
2) Tamam / تمام
Various meanings : Good / fine / OK / excellent
Background: Tamam is one of the most common ways to say “good” in Egyptian Arabic. Keep in mind that it can also mean “excellent” if you use it in an exciting way.
Examples:
1) How are you? : Ezayak?
ازيك؟
Good, and you? : Tamam, wenta?
تمام, وانت؟
2) How was the meeting? Did you guys finish everything? : Elegtma3 kan 3amel eh? khalasto kol haga?
الاجتماع كان عامل ايه؟ خلصتو كل حاجة؟
It was OK. Not bad but we still have to meet again. : Kan tamam. mesh we7sh, bas lazem net2abel tani.
.كان تمام. مش وحش بس لازم نتقابل تاني
3) Kwayiss / كويس
Various meanings: Good / OK / Not bad
Background: When you describe the quality of something as being “good” if you put it on a scale. On this scale, kwayiss is either slightly higher than good or slightly lower than good in Egyptian Arabic, depending on the tone and body language.
Examples:
1) I love the coffee here. It’s amazing. : Ana ba7b elahwa hena awy. De kwaissa.
.انا بحب القهوة هنا قوي. دي كويسة
Really? I had it last time. It was OK but not the best. : Bgad? Ana shrebtaha elmara eli fatet. Kant kwaissa bas mesh a7san 7aga.
.بجد؟ انا شربتها المرة اللي فاتت. كانت كويسة بس مش احسن حاجة
2) How are you? Good? : 3amel eh? Kwaiss?
عامل ايه؟ كويس؟
Yeah thank God everything is good. : Ah alhamdulillah kolo tamam.
.اه الحمد لله كله تمام
Don’t forget how important the phrase alhamdulillah is!
4) Lazeez / لذيذ
Various meanings: Delicious / cool / good
Background: This is a word that is most common when talking about delicious or sweet food. However, you can also use it to mean cool or good in Egyptian Arabic.
Examples:
1) This guy is cool…he is funny. : Elwalad da laziz gedan…damo khafef.
.الولد ده لذيذ جدا…دمه خفيف
2) The trip to Sharm el Sheikh was really cool. I wish you were there with us. : Elsafria l sharm kant laziza awy. kant na2sak.
.السفرية لشرم كانت لذيذة قوي. كانت ناقصاك
5) To7fa / تحفة
Various meanings: This word literally means “monument” or “antique.” However, it’s also used for something that is amazing or so excellent that you might consider it a masterpiece.
Background: To7fa could be used as an exaggeration when something is really good. However, Egyptians use it quite a lot so it’s lost a bit of its intensity. Because of that, people can also use it to just mean “alright, gotcha.”
Examples:
1) The chocolate you got me is really good thanks a lot. Did you try it before? : Elshokolata elgebthali helwa awy motshakera gedan. Enta garbtaha?
الشوكولاتة اللي جبتهالي حلوة قوي متشكرة جدا. انت جربتها؟
Yes of course. It’s amazing that’s why I got it for you. : Ah tab3an. De to7fa 3lshan keda gebtahalek.
.اه طبعا. دي تحفة علشان كده جبتهالك
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
