Introduction

Neither of us smokes.

It’s bad for you….and also costs a bit of money.

However, learning a language doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In Egypt, smoking is everywhere, and whether you are a smoker or not (we can still be friends if you are), it’s useful to know these kinds of words.

So read up, and impress your friends next time you can buy cigarettes from an Egyptian kiosk.

Also, get our 5,000 word guide to learning Egyptian Arabic, if you haven’t already (click the button at the top if you are on mobile to sign up for our email list and get your guide). 🙂

Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining…how to smoke cigarettes in Egyptian Arabic.

Vocabulary

Here are the most important words. After that, we’ll hook you up with some pretty dope phrases that will let you smoke like a boss.

Cigarettes. : “sihGAYyrr.”

سجاير

Unhealthy. : “mooTHDUHruh.”

مضرة

Smoke (verb). : “yihDAWkhnn / YEHshrub sihGAYyrr.”

.يدخن/ يشرب سجاير

The single verb goes by itself, the second one usually comes with the word “cigarettes.”

And yes: Egyptians do indeed “drink” things when they smoke them. 🙂

Box of cigarettes. : “‘EHLLbit sihGAYyrr.”

.علبة سجاير

Lighter. : “wihLAW’eh.”

.ولاعة

You might have to practice this word a couple times to get it right.

Example Phrases

We split today’s “example phrases” into a few different parts.

Buy Cigarettes

If you are a foreigner, cigarettes (like pretty much everything in Cairo) are pretty cheap.

Can I buy cigarettes? : “MOOMkin sihGAYyrr?”

ممكن سجاير؟

The word “moomkin” is one of the most versatile words in Egyptian Arabic that you can learn. Use it correctly, and the word implies a ton of things you don’t actually have to say.

This example, for instance. It is literally “Can I cigarettes?”, because the word “buy” (or in some situations “smoke”) is implied.

How much does a box of cigarettes cost? : “beeKEHM ‘ EHLLbit sihGAYyrr?”

بكام علبة السجاير؟

 

Is there anyone selling Cigarettes here? : “Fee HHUHd beeYEHbaw’ sihGAYyrr HEHnuh?”

في حد بيبع سجاير هنا؟

Whip this out if you are on the street and are really craving a smoke. A pedestrian will probably know the way to a nearby koshk, where you can also buy whatever kind of snacks you want.

Although, let’s be real….your average Egyptian dude will probably just give you one.

Do you sell (have) cigarettes? : “bitBEE’aw (‘AWNduck) sihGAYyrr?”

بتبيع سجاير؟ عندك سجاير؟

Egyptians usually ask for a specific brand, not just cigarette. Each brand has a specific price range (if you are already a smoker you will know that). However, for the sake of learning, here is a good one to ask for:

Do you sell Red Marllboro? : “AWNduck MARluhBOOrow AWHHmar?”

عندك مارلبورو احمر

Notice that the pronunciation of Marlboro is slightly different.

Interesting debate here: do you pronounce a word the way it’s supposed to be pronounced (in this case the American accent), or do you “Egyptianize” it (or whatever language you happen to be speaking at the time)?

We say the second one. I mean, you want to be understood, right?

Do you sell separate cigarettes? : “bitBEE’aw sihGAYyrr FAWrrt?”

بتبيع سجاير فرط؟

This is for when you are short on money and you only need to buy one or two cigarettes, not the whole box. Yes, Egyptians have something for that!

They also will have a lighter to hand to you that’s usually tied to a string so you can’t take it away. How’s THAT for creativity?

Ask About Smoking

If you aren’t willing to pay for a cigarette (you cheap bastard), you can just drop it into a conversation with your friends.

Do you smoke? : “bihTEHshrub sihGAYyrr?”

بتشرب سجاير؟

Maybe this should go into the Culture Corner for today, but oh well: Egyptian women don’t seem to smoke cigarettes.

I’m sure they do, but at least “on the streets,” this is quite rare to see. Most likely a “protecting the image of a chaste Muslim woman” sort of thing. If you are going to ask a random person on the street for a cigarette, make sure you ask a man.

Is it ok if I smoke here? : “MOOMkin EHshrub sihGAYyrr HEHnuh?”

ممكن اشرب سجاير هنا؟

Can I have a cigarette from you? (Do you have a cigarette?) : “MAW’uck seeGAWruh?”

معاك سجارة؟

And, at last, we finally see the singular version of “cigarettes.” Most phrases in Egyptian Arabic use the word “cigarettes” instead of “cigarette”…but we do have some info on two different pronunciations of “cigarette” further below.

Can I have a puff? : “mawtGEEB NEFss.”

.متجيب نفس

With Coronavirus right now, we don’t recommend sharing a cigarette

Alright, so there are two different ways to pronounce “cigarette”: “See-Gara” or Sue-Gara.”

The first (“see-GARA”) is basically just calling it a normal cigarette. No fun here.

The second (“soo-GARA”, the difference is in the “soo”) is much funnier! It is classier, and makes the cigarette something closer to a high class cigar.

This second one is how most of the Egyptian labour/blue collar class pronounce it, and it ensures a good laugh if you bust that out when asking a friend of yours for a cigarette.

Don’t forget to add the right attitude 😉

Give me a (fancy) cigarette, dude (my friend). : “mawtGEEB sooGARA yaw SAWHHbee.”

متجيب سجارة يا صاحبي!؟

This is cultural gold!

Expressing Opinions About Smoking

Alright, time to get to the good stuff.

We know you have your opinions about smoking…it’s time to express them!

Smoking is bad / unhealthy. : “eltehdKHEEN mooTDHUHrubb.”

.التدخين مضر

I hate the smell of cigarettes. : “Ana BAWKraw REEhuh sihGAYyrr.”

.انا بكرة ريحة السجاير

Smoking is fun. : “eltehdKHEEN MOOMtaw’.”

.التدخين ممتع

We are sure you have other hobbies….but it’s ok if you don’t.

One cigarette every now and then will not kill you. : “seeGARA KOLE’ FANE w FANE MISH hehtMOWwutt.”

.سجارة كل فين وفين مش هتموت

If you want to learn how to express verbs in the future tense (as this sentence does with “will not kill”), check out our post on the future tense.

Also, note that here we used “Fean” which means “Where.” It’s a bit confusing, but its really useful to know the idiom “kol fean w fean.” You use this term when talking about something that doesn’t happen frequently, but merely “Every now and then / rarely.”

Smoking with friends is great. : “eltehdKHEEN MAW’ elsohHHAWB GEHmidd.”

.التدخين مع الصحاب جامد

Extra Questions

Now that you can generally buy cigarettes, ask for cigarettes, and express opinions about cigarettes….here’s some extra stuff!

Do you have a lighter? : “MAW’UCK WEHLaaw’?”

معاك ولاعة؟

The word for “lighter” is dangerously close to the word for “coals” when you are smoking shisha. Make sure you get the right one!

Can you light my cigarette? : “MOOMkin TWEH-LAWlee?”

ممكن تولعلي؟

If you are like me, you needed to hear this phrases 5,000 times before you pronounce it correctly. Sorry. 🙁

What kind of cigarettes do you have? : “‘MAW’UCK sihGAYyrr AY?”

معاك سجاير ايه؟

When did you start smoking? : “bihTEHshrub sihGAYyrr men EMtaw?”

بتشرب سجاير من امتى؟

Do I have to smoke outside? : “LEHzim ETlaw’ BAWruh AWluhSHANE EHshrub sihGAYyrr?”

لازم اطلع بره علشان اشرب سجاير

Want to smoke a cigarette? : “EYEizz sihGAYyrr?”

عايز سجارة؟

Let’s go outside smoke a couple of cigarettes. : “tawEHlee NEHshrub sihGAYyrrTANE BAWruh.”

تعالى نشرب سجارتين بره

How very nice of you, taking it outside!

Can you please put out the cigarette, I’m sick!  : “MOOMkin tuhTUHfee elseeGARA. Ana ‘eyeYEHN.”

ممكن تطفي السجارة. انا عيان

Does your family know about it? : “AWhluck AWruhFEEN EHnuck BIHtihDAWkhin?”

اهلك عارفين انك بتدخن؟

As we mentioned before, if you are talking to an Egyptian woman, this is a much more applicable question. The answer is probably “no.”

If you ask an Egyptian guy? The answer is probably “I don’t care.”

Cultural Corner

Extra long “Cultural Corner” today!

Smoking is….well, everywhere in Egypt. Even your very own boweb probably does it!

Although smoking is considered officially “Haram” to Muslims by the official fatwa that was issued in 1998, Egyptians consume a SHITLOAD of cigarettes every year.

The most famous brand that you should know about (probably the cheapest one too) is called “Cleopatra.” We at Cleo Lingo have no shares in this locally manufactured product, but we recommend giving it a try. Heads up:  Cleopatra is considered the “Stella” of Cigarettes.

And if you don’t know what Stella is, we wrote a guide of sorts to buying it.

Here is a funny thing that I’ve noticed: taxi drivers are one of the heaviest smokers in Egypt (beside blue collar workers and civil engineers). When your taxi driver takes one of his cigarettes out, he will ask you first if you want to share a cigarette too (he might even pull out two cigarettes, assuming that you will accept it). If you say yes, y’all will be peacefully sharing some carcinogenic conversation for the next couple of minutes.

If not, he will just go ahead and smoke it. Its their tricky polite way of letting you know that they will smoke that damn cigarette anyways, without asking you directly if he can smoke it or not. (Don’t worry you can still ask him to put it out if you have a problem with it).

As its well established almost everywhere in the world, its strictly not allowed to sell cigarettes to minors (children under 18 years old). Here is a question to all you all: do you think Egyptian kiosk guys abide to that rule? Let us know if you have any experience or shared stories regarding this.

Here is one more extra tip for you: even if you “aren’t really a smoker,” give it a try every now and then. Whether it’s smoking a cigarette or two with your Egyptian flatmate, or non-voluntarily sharing one with your taxi driver, try it out. Even if it cuts a couple minutes off your life span, it’s a good experience that you will look back fondly on.

I sure know I do.

Good luck with all that smoke. 🙂

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo