Today we will be discussing life in Egypt, and more specifically, how to do it in Egyptian Arabic.
It’s the last part in our five part series “Talk About Egypt.”
Here is Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
Today is a huge post with a ton of vocab and example phrases. Next time your Egyptian friend asks “What do you think about living here?”, you’ll be ready!
Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining….how to talk about life in Egypt in Egyptian Arabic.
Life in Egypt Vocabulary
A few important vocab words in Egyptian Arabic before we get started.
After that we will provide some phrases about life in Egypt.
Egypt. : masr.
.مصر
Life. : el7ayah.
.الحياة
Move. : yet7rak / yesafer / ygy.
يتحرك/يسافر/يجي
The word “move” actually has a few meanings in Egyptian Arabic.
Yet7rak means to literally move something, while yesafer (travel) and ygy (come) are used when you are moving to a new country.
You’ll see some examples today.
Activities. : ansheta.
.انشطة
Night life. : sahar.
.السهر
Sahar literally means to stay late.
However, Egyptians use it for “night life” or “going out.”
Life in Egypt Example Phrases
Time for some longer phrases about life in Egypt.
We’ve split these up into “easy phrases” and “advanced phrases.”
Easy Example Phrases
Egypt is an interesting country. : masr balad shayeq.
.مصر بلد شيق
Egypt is very diverse. : masr motanawe3a gedan.
.مصرمتنوعة جدا
Egypt is a country rich in culture. : masr balad ghani bel saqafa.
.مصر بلد غني بالثقافة
Life in Egypt is beautiful / amazing / bad / loud. : el 7ayah f masr gamela/ 3azema/we7sha/moz3ega.
.الحياة في مصر جميلة/ عظيمة/ وحشة/ مزعجة
Life in Egypt (Cairo specifically) is quite loud.
We’ve actually written about all that noise before. 😉
Life in Cairo is always exciting. : el7ayah f el kahera dayman momte3a.
.الحياة في القاهرة ممتعة
My life here is different than in my country. : 7yaty hena mokhtalefa 3an elli f baladi.
.حياتي هنا مختلفة عن اللي في بلدي
I like (the) living here. : ana ba7b el3esha hena.
.انا بحب العيشة هنا
I don’t like (the) living here. : ana mab7bsh el3esha hena.
.انا مبحبش العيشة هنا
Living here is fun. : el3esha hena momte3a.
.العيشة هنا ممتعة
Living here is stressful. : el3esha hena mot3eba lel a3sab.
.العيشة هنا متعبة للاعصاب
Here is a list of things that expats find stressful about life in Egypt.
We’ve included links to some posts that might help you with these situations.
- How crazy the traffic is (How to complain about Cairo traffic in Egyptian Arabic)
- Getting overcharged all the time (How to bargain in Egyptian Arabic)
- Knowing how to get a taxi (How to get a taxi in Egyptian Arabic)
- How late Egyptian often are (Egyptian time)
- Finding a place to stay (How to find an apartment in Egypt)
See? Life in Egypt doesn’t have to be so stressful after all! 🙂
There are always a lot of activities. : dayman fe ansheta kter.
.دايما في انشطة كتير
The activities in Cairo make life fun. : elansheta f el qahera btkhali el 7yah momte3a.
.الانشطة في القاهرة بتخلي الحياة ممتعة
The night life is fun in Cairo. : elsahar f elqahera momte3.
.السهر في القاهرة ممتع
Rooftop bars in Cairo are also quite popular.
Great place to sit outside, smoke a shisha, and enjoy some time with friends!
The night life isn’t so great. : elsahar mesh helw awy.
.السهر مش حلو اوي
She moved to Cairo in 2018. : hya gat elqahera f alfeen w tamntashar.
هي جت القاهرة في ٢٠١٨
I moved here in 2015. : ana geet hena f alfeen w khamstashar.
انا جيت هنا في ٢٠١٥
Advanced Example Phrases
Time for more advanced phrases about life in Egypt.
These are similar to the easy phrases, but a bit more complicated.
Egypt is an interesting country because of its history. : masr balad shayeq bsabab tareekh-ha.
.مصر بلد شيق بسبب تاريخها
Egypt is very diverse. There are people from all of nationalities that live here. : masr balad motanawe3 gedan, fe nas men kol elgensyat 3ayshen hena.
.مصر بلد متنوع جدا. في ناس من كل الجنسيات عايشين هنا
How to say international stereotypes in Egytian Arabic is just a funny post.
Still, might be helpful if you want to make fun of all your expat friends!
Egypt has a very rich culture because of it’s combination of history and importance. : masr balad ghani gedan belsaqafa, 3lshan el mazeeg ben tareekh-ha w ahmytha.
.مصر بلد غني جدا بالثقافة علشان مزيج بين تاريخها واهميتها
We aren’t sure why this came out as two posts.
We’re sure you’ll figure it out though.
Life in Cairo is loud and dirty and hectic, but I love it. : el7ayah f elqahera moz3ega w mesh ndefa w mot3eba, bas ana ba7bha.
.الحياة في القاهرة مزعجة ومش نضيفة ومتعبة بس انا بحبها
The life here is different than in my country, and I don’t think I can live here very long. : el 7ayah hena mokhtalefa 3an baldi, w mazonesh ha3raf a3esh hena kter.
.الحياة هنا مختلفة عن بلدي ومظنش هعرف اعيش هنا كتير
My girlfriend is not very happy living in Egypt. : sa7bty mesh mabsota men el3esha f masr.
.صاحبتي مش مبسوطة من العيشة في مصر
One of the reasons this phrase might be true is the sexual harassment in Egypt.
It’s certainly a problem, and if you are a woman living in Egypt, you will probably experience it.
Check out our post on how to deal with sexual harassment in Egyptian Arabic for more information.
I usually like living here. : f elaghlab ba7eb el3esha hena.
.في الاغلب بحب العيشة هنا
I don’t like living here because I don’t make too much money. : ana mesh ba7b el3esha hena 3lshan mesh ba3mel floos kteer.
.انا مش بحب العيشة هنا علشان مش بعمل فلوس كتير
Living here is fun, but you have to do find friends and things to do. : el3esha hena momte3a, bas lazem tela2i so7ab w hagat te3mlha.
.الحياة هنا ممتعة بس لازم تلاقي صحاب وحاجات تعملها
Knowing how to rent a felucca in Egyptian Arabic might be your solution!
Living here is stressful. People stare at me and it’s too conservative. : el3esha hena mot3eba lel a3sab, elnas btboselak w elbalad mo7afza awy.
.العيشة هنا متعبة للاعصاب..الناس بتبصلك والبلد محافظة قوي
Cool activities in Cairo are: visiting monuments, going to cafes, smoking shisha, learning Arabic, and play football. : 7agat 7elwa te3mlha f elqahera : tzor ma3alem sya7ya, to23od 3ala ahwa, tshrab shisha, tet3lm 3arabi, w tel3ab kora.
.حاجات ممكن تعملها في القاهرة: تزور معالم سياحية، تقعد على القهوة، تشرب شيشة، تتعلم عربي, تلعب كرة
The night life is much cheaper than my home country. : el sahar arkhas bkteer 3an balady.
.السهر ارخص بكتير عن بلدي
The night life in Cairo sucks. It’s so bad! : elsahar f elqahera we7sh awy.
.السهر في القاهرة وحش قوي
If you are serious about finding fun things to do in Cairo, check out Cairo 360.
This is website dedicated to all the cool stuff in the city.
I highly recommend you check it out, regardless of how long you’ve been living in Cairo.
They moved to Cairo in 2018 together. : homa gom elqahera fe alfeen w tamntashar ma3 ba3d.
.هما جم القاهرة في الفين وتمنتاشر مع بعض
Common Questions About Life in Egypt
It’s inevitable when speaking with Egyptians that they will ask you about your opinion of life in Egypt.
Here are what some of those questions.
Keep in mind (as we point out) that a lot of these verbs are conjugated in the masculine form.
The example conversation about life in Egypt has more feminine conjugations.
What is your opinion about Egypt? : eh ra2yak/ra2yek fe masr?
ايه رايك في مصر؟
Remember that you conjugate most verbs for “you” (feminine) different than “you” (masculine) in Egyptian Arabic.
In this example, though, “your opinion” is spelled the same. Regardless of whether you are asking a man or woman.
It is pronounced differenty though!
What is the life here like? : el7ayah hena 3amla ezay?
الحياة هنا عاملة ازاي؟
Do you like living in Egypt? : bt7b eh f el3esha f masr?
بتحب العيشة في مصر؟
Now an example where “you” (feminine) would be different.
In this example you would add ي at the end of the verb.
So, if you were asking a female the same question, it would be: bt7bee eh f el3esha f masr?
Why did you move to Egypt? : leh geet masr?
ليه جيت مصر؟
When did you move here? : geet masr emta?
جيت مصر امتى؟
What do you do for fun? : bt3ml eh 3lshan tetbset?
بتعمل ايه علشان تتبسط؟
Is the night life in Cairo good? : elsahar f elqahera helw?
السهر في القاهرة حلو؟
Example Conversation About Life in Egypt
Lastly, let’s bring it all together.
Below is a conversation between an Egyptian man and American woman.
Important to know because it changes the way you would conjugate nouns.
Good morning, nice to meet you. : Sabah elkheer, mabsot eni abltek.
.صباح الخير ..مبسوط اني قابلتك
Yeah, you too. : w ana kaman.
.وانا كمان
Are you Egyptian? : enti masrya?
انتي مصرية؟
No, I’m American. : la2 ana amrecya.
.لا انا امريكية
How to introduce yourself in Egyptian Arabic is one of the first things to learn.
It will help in conversations like this!
When did you move (come) to Cairo? : gety el qahera emta?
جيتي مصر امتى؟
I moved here in 2015. I work as an English teacher. : ana get hena f alfeen w khamstashar, ana bashtaghal modareset englizy.
.انا جيت هنا ٢٠١٥ ..انا بشتغل مدرسة انجليزي
Cool. What do you think of the city? : gamed, w eh ra2yek f elbalad?
جامد..و ايه رأيك في البلد؟
Sometimes great, sometimes not good. : sa3at helwa w sa3at mesh kwaissa.
.ساعات حلوة و ساعات مش كويسة
What is your favorite part (Lit.: What is the biggest thing you like it) about living here? : eh aktar haga bt7beha f el 3esha hena?
ايه اكتر حاجات بتحبيها في العيشة هنا؟
Life is cheap and the city is very interesting. And I feel different here. : el7yah rekhesa, w madina momte3a, w ba7s bekhtlaf hena.
.الحياة رخيصة والمدينة ممتعة. وبحس باختلاف هنا
Sorry to interrupt, but this is a big thing for expats: how you feel in Egypt.
The vibe is different. Very difficult to explain if you’ve never been there.
Egypt in general, and Cairo specifically, are different than anywhere I’ve ever been.
That’s one of the reasons people stay as long as they do.
And what is worst part? : w eh aw7ash haga?
وايه اوحش حاجة؟
I don’t like that the Egyptian culture is conservative. Sometimes it can be hard. : mesh ba7b en elsaqafa elmasrya mo7afza, sa3at elmawdo3 byb2a sa3b.
.مش بحب ان الثقافة المصرية محافظة..ساعات الموضوع بيبقى صعب
Yes, I understand what you mean. : ah ana fahem asdek.
.ايوه انا فاهم قاصدك
Cultural Insight
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Egyptians are proud of their country.
Regardless of how the economy looks, how loud Cairo is, or how dirty it is in places, Egyptians are proud to be Egyptians.
Keep that in mind when you are talking about “life in Egypt.”
Maybe it just boils down to being a good person, but be respectful of the Egyptian culture. It’s probably different than wherever you come from. It’s probably a bit louder, a bit more stressful, a bit more “invasive.”
But the country has a lot to offer – as long as you are open to receiving it.
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
