Today we are talking about how to do your laundry in Egyptian Arabic.
Specifically, how to take it to a laundry place in Egypt and have it done for you. This is an important difference, and definitely a part of Egyptian culture you might not have in your home country.
After reading this post, you’ll be able to do it by yourself in Egyptian Arabic.
Let’s get started!
Laundry in Egyptian Arabic: Vocabulary
First off, it’s perfectly normal in Egyptian culture to wash your own clothes.
Many families will either have a washing machine or will do it by hand.
However, it’s also a part of the culture to bring your clothes to a place like a dry cleaner. These places are often quite small, and you can find them everywhere.
Here is the vocab you need to know.
Clothes. : hdoom / lebs.
.هدوم / لبس
Laundry (the clothes you need to wash). : el-ghaseel.
.الغسيل
Launder’s place / Dry clean (a fancy shop where you can wash and iron your clothes, typically found in fancier neighborhoods): dry clean / maghsela.
.دراي كلين/ مغسلة
Ironer (the guy who irons clothes) : Makwagi.
.مكوجي
Ironing shop. : makwagi.
.مكوجي
This is basically a small shop where 1 – 2 guys are working to iron clothes.
As you can see, these are both the same word with two different meanings.
To understand how the “gi” suffix works in Egyptian Arabic, check out our post on Egyptian ahwa.
Laundry bag. : kees ghaseel.
.كيس الغسيل
Washing powder. : mas7oo2 ghaseel.
.مسحوق غسيل
Wash (verb). : yghsel.
.يغسل
Iron (verb). : yekwi.
.يكوي
Washing machine. : ghassala.
.غسالة
Iron (noun). : makwa.
.مكوة
Hanger. : shamma3a.
.شماعة
Dry clean. : tandeef gaf (dry clean).
.تنضيف جاف
Laundry in Egyptian Arabic: Example Sentences
Let’s start with some example sentences.
These are typical thing you need to say when doing your laundry in Egyptian Arabic.
I want to wash and iron my clothes, please. : 3ayz aghsel w akwi hdomi law sam7t.
.عايز اغسل واكوي هدومي لو سمحت
I need to iron these pants. : 3ayz akwi el bantlon da.
.عايز اكوي البنطلون ده
I need to iron this shirt. : 3ayz akwi el amees da.
.عايزاكوي القميص ده
Laundry in Egyptian Arabic: Common Questions
Moving on to questions.
Because it’s typically men that work at these smaller shops, the verbs will be conjugated for talking to men.
To know how to address women, our post on present tense verbs would be helpful.
Can you please wash my clothes? : momken law sam7t aghsel hdomi?
ممكن لو سمحت اغسل هدومي؟
Can you iron these (handing over your clothes)? : momken tekwi dool?
ممكن تكوي دول؟
Please wash (and dry) only, I don’t want ironing. : momken ghaseel bas, mesh 3ayz makwa.
.ممكن غسيل بس، مش عايز مكوة
How much does all of that cost? : bkam keda kolo?
بكام كده كله؟
Need more “shopping” vocab?
Take a look at how to shop in Egyptian Arabic for a good primer.
When can you deliver them? : hakhodhom emta inshallah?
هخدهم امتى ان شاء الله؟
We will be showing you how to use the word inshallah. Basically, in this context, it means “hopefully.”
Are my clothes done? I wanted to wash and iron two pants. : hdomi khelset? kont 3ayz aghsel w akwi bantalonen.
هدومي خلصت؟ كنت عايز اغسل واكوي بنطلونين؟
Example Conversation
Time for a conversation!
As I said before, it’s typically men that work here, so take this into consideration with the masculine conjugations below.
Guy: Hello. Is there washing and ironing here? : salamo 3aleko, fe ghaseel w makwa hena?
سلام عليكم، في غسيل ومكوة هنا؟
Read how to greet people in Egyptian Arabic, in case you want to say something else.
Worker: Yes, go ahead, what do you need sir? : aywa, etfadal, o2mor ya basha.
ايوه، اتفضل ، اؤمر يا باشا؟
Guy: I have some dirty clothes here. I want to wash all of them, and please only iron the shirts. : ana 3andi hdom metwaskha hena, 3ayz aghselhom kolhom w mn fadlak ekwi el 2omsan bas.
.انا عندي هدوم متوسخة هنا، عايز اغسلهم كلهم و من فضلك اكوي القمصان بس
Worker: Ok sounds good. Each piece is 5 guinea for washing, plus ironing is 3 guinea. All together that is 39 guinea. : tamam, el hetta b 5 gneh ghaseel w el makwa b 3 gneh. Keda kolo 39 gneh.
.تمام، الحتة ب 5 جنية غسيل والمكوة ب 3 جنية, كده كله 39 جنيه
Guy: Ok here you go. When can I take them? : tamam, etfadal. a2dar astlmhom emta?
تمام اتفضل، اقدر استلمهم امتى؟
Worker: Not long. We will do this today. Hopefully after sunset (maghreb). : mesh hantawel, han3mlhom elnharda, 3ala ba3d el maghreb inshallah.
.مش هنطول …هنعملهم النهاردة، على بعد المغرب ان شاء الله
Guy: OK good, can you deliver them? : tab kwaiss, momken twaslhom elbeet?
طب كويس ممكن توصلهم البيت؟
Worker: Of course, what is your address (Lit. Your address where)? : tab3an, el3nwan fen?
طبعا، العنوان فين؟
Guy: I live in the same street, building number 8, 4th floor. flat 42. Thanks. : ana saken f nafs elshare3, 3mara 8, eldor elrabe3 sha2a 42. Shokran.
.انا ساكن في نفس الشارع، عمارة 8 الدور الرابع شقة 42، شكرا
Worker: You’re welcome, sir. : El3afw ya basha.
.العفو يا باشا
Cultural Insight
Delivery is common in Egyptian culture. For more information on this, check out our post on ordering delivery in Egyptian Arabic.
When it comes to laundry delivery, however, things are taken to a whole new level. For example, a normal makwagi won’t just deliver your stuff to your home – they even send workers to randomly pass by apartment buildings to pick-up dirty laundry if needed. This happens especially in smaller neighborhoods.
The conversation example above would probably happen in these smaller, more local neighborhoods. A more fancy or high class neighborhood, meanwhile, typically doesn’t have a normal makwagi. He is instead replaced by a bigger dry cleaning business where you can find more professional help. This is, of course, more expensive.
Here is a video of an Egyptian makwagi doing his job. Interesting stuff!
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Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
