Introduction
Everybody loves a good stereotype.
Yeah, we know, we are horrible people.
But today, we are talking about pretty much everybody.
Take today with a sense of humor. Learning a language is supposed to make you laugh.
Today, Cleo Lingo will be discussing…how to say international stereotypes in Egyptian Arabic.
Vocabulary
First off, here are a few words related to our topic today.
Stereotypes are definitely a more difficult topic to talk about in a foreign language, but it’s super useful (in a funny way) to learn anyway.
Stereotype. : “Sterotype.”
.ستريوتايب
Yup; exactly the same word in Egyptian Arabic!
Nationality : “ginSEEuh.”
.جنسية
Country. : “BEHlid”
.بلد
Population. : “TAW’DEAD sooKEHnee.”
.تعداد سكاني
True. : “hhawEEee.”
.حقيقي
Example Sentences
Here are some loving stereotypes that you can bust out in Cairo when you are at those international house parties.
Egyptians will laugh with delight, and the foreigners that don’t speak Arabic will finally realize that you are just as funny as you claim you are.
Just say all this stuff with a smile!
The Egyptians are always late. : “ElMUHsruhEEN DAWeemehn mehTAWkhuhREEN.”
.المصريين دايما متأخرين
The Egyptians smoke a lot. : “ElMUHsruhEEN beeduhKHEHnoo kiTEER OWee.”
.المصريين بيدخنو كتير قوي
The Egyptians put a lot of sugar in their tea. : “ElMUHsruhEEN beeHUHtoo SOOkrr kiTEER OWee AWluh elSHAY.”
.المصريين بيحطو سكر كتير قوي على الشاي
Egyptians and Their Sugary Drinks: 10 Ways to Avoid Sugar Overload in Cairo
We will start with Egyptians on this list, because if Egyptians have one skill, it’s being able to laugh about themselves. No joke here: one of the coolest things about them.
The Americans think they are the center of the world. : “elAWMreeKEHN fehKREEN nefSOhome mawROOR elAW’lum.”
.الامريكان فاكرين نفسهم محور العالم
The Americans don’t speak any language besides English. : “elAWMreeKEHN MAWbeetKEHlihMOOSH EYEuh LOghuh GHEER inGLEEzee.”
.الامريكان مبيتكلموش اي لغة غير انجليزي
A lot of them also don’t ever bother to get a passport. Sad day.
The English left the European Union. : “El inGLEEZ SEEboo elEHteeHHAWD elohROHbee.”
.الانجليز سابو الاتحاد الاوروبي
Burn. Too soon?
The English become horrible people when they drink. : “El inGLEEZ BEEboo NEHSS fawZEE’aw LAWmuh beeyehSHREHboo.”
.الانجليز بيبقو ناس فظيعة لما بيشربو
But as an American, I find their accent way sexier then my own. Jealous? You bet.
Here is some stuff, by the way, in case you need to introduce yourself.
https://cleolingo.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-without-crying/
The Germans are (very) cold. : “elawMEHN bearDEHN (OWee).”
.الالمان باردين
Germans don’t understand humor. : “elawMEHN mawBEEfawmHOOSH elhihZAR
.الالمان مبيفهموش الهزار
Just a…. different sense of humor.
But their language is cool!
How I Learned German In Only Four Months, and What This Means For Your Egyptian Arabic.
The French smell like cigarettes (literally: The French their smell cigarettes). : “elFRAWNsawEEN rawHEHThome sihGAYurr.”
.الفرنسيين ريحتهم سجاير
The French only eat cheese. : “elFRAWNsawEEN beeYEHKloo GEHBnuh BESS.”
.الفرنسيين بياكلو جبنة بس
But my god, how good is that cheese?
The Nigerians are all rich. : “ElneyeJEEreeEEN awghNAYuh koLOHhome.”
.النيجيريين اغنيا كلهم
No joke, worked with a Nigerian guy, and if there was ever anyone who was secretly a bajillionaire, it was him.
The Africans dress in weird clothes. : “ElawFARkuh billBISSoo LIBSS ghawREEB.”
.الافارقة بيلبسو لبس غريب
Not the worst stereotype to have.
The Canadians say “sorry” too much (a lot). : “ElKEHnehdehEEN beeOOloo EHsiff kiTEER OWee.”
.الكنديين بيقولو اسف كتير قوي
The Canadians play hockey all day.. : “ElKEHnehdehEEN beeYEHL’boo HOCKey TOOL elYOME.”
.الكنديين بيلعبو هوكي طول اليوم
Too nice. And we want to punch them in the face.
And we love them for it.
Let’s just hope they’re not lazy!
How to Insult Your Friends in Egyptian Arabic, Part 1 : Laziness
The Chinese always (all the time) take selfies. : “ElSSINeeEEN BITsawWAWroo SELFee TOOL elWAWT.”
.الصينيين بيتصورو سيلفي طول الوقت
The Chinese are everywhere. : “ElSSINeeEEN MOWgooDEEN fee KOLE’HEHtuh.”
.الصينيين موجودين في كل حتة
Selfie sticks: never used one myself, but they look at least somewhat useful.
Maybe the Chinese are just lightyears ahead of us in terms of style.
The Japanese are way too nice. : “ElYAWbuhnuhEEN mooAWduhBEEN OWee.”
.اليابانين مؤدبين قوي
The Japanese only eat rice. : “ElYAWbuhnuhEEN beeYEHKloo ROZE bess.”
.اليابانين بياكلو رز بس
They also brought us Pokemon. So nothing bad can be said.
The Russians sound like they are going to kill you. : “ElROOS BITkehLEHmoo kehNOHhome heyYEH’tehlOOK.”
.الروس بيتكلمو كأنهم هايقتلوك
The Russians want to steal your money (Lit: rob you). : “ElROOS EYE’ZEEN YISSrawOOK.”
.الروس عايزين يسرقوك
Well, it’s true. But also probably useful to have a Russian accent when you are walking down a dark alley.
Because who would mess with you?
The Columbians love / do drugs. : “ElkowLUMbawEEN beeHHEHboo / beeyuhSHRUHboo mooKHAWduhRAWT.”
.الكولموبيين بيحبو المخدرات / بيشربو مخدرات
They’re also super hot.
Maybe it has something to do with the drugs. Just saying.
Here are some super large generalizations if we didn’t cover your favorite country to make fun of:
The Europeans/Africans/Asians/Latin Americans / people from Africa / Europe / Asia. : “El ohROHbeeEEN / eluhFARkuh / elEHseeweeEEN / elLAteeneeEEN / elElNEHSS EHlee men uhROpuh / uhFRAWkeeuh / AWseeuh.”
….الاوربيين / الافارقة / الاسيويين / اللاتنيين
We will let you finish this however you want.
And as for more serious example sentences that will let people know you are (hopefully) just kidding?
Stereotypes are not always true. : “Stereotypes mish DAWeemuhn SAWHH.”
.ستريوتيب مش دايما صح
Racism is a big problem. : “el’AWNsohRAYuh mooshKEHLuh kaBEEruh.”
.العنصرية مشكلة كبير
And for one more massive sentence that will take you a month to learn but will win you hearts everywhere?
The stereotypes are not always true, if there is somebody that is good, it has no relationship to where he is from, every country has good and bad. : “ElTAW’MEEM mish DAWeemuhn SAWHH, lOW fee HHUHD mish KWAYiss, mawlHEHSH awLEHuh HOOuh menANE, KOLE’ BEHlid FEEhaw elKWAYiss w elWEHHsh.”
.التعميم مش دايما صح, لو في حد مش كويس ملهاش علاقة هو منين, كل بلد فيها الكويس والوحش
Culture Corner
I’m just gonna say it: Egyptians make fun of themselves.
Completely serious here: if there is one nationality that is least likely to be offended by “nationality jokes,” it’s good ol’ Egyptians.
I have heard various reasons for this. The economy isn’t so great, so people will laugh at anything, or the heat zaps their energy so they never really care to debate how true stereotypes really are.
Regardless, you’re in the right country if you like a good laugh. Egyptians will laugh at anything (including themselves), and you will quickly fall in love with them because of it.
Good luck laughing about your own country! 🙂
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
