Introduction

Ordering delivery in Egyptian Arabic is a great skill to have.

You’ll never go hungry, and all your Cairo friends will be impressed.

If you prefer the app method you can skip to todays “Cultural Insight.”

Otherwise, read up.

Also, subscribe to our email list and get our guide to Egyptian Arabic resources.

Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining….how to order delivery on the phone in Egyptian Arabic.

Vocabulary

Delivery / Take-out. : “towSEEL.”

توصيل

Food. : ” EHkll.”

اكل

Restaurant. : “MAWtaw’awm.”

مطعم

Order. : “TAWluhb.”

طلب

Menu. : “MEHNyoo.” :

منيو

We covered a lot of these in our post about how to order at a restaurant.

Example Phrases

We split today’s phrases into different parts of the conversation.

This is something that will probably take less than two minutes…depending on how hungry you are!

Beginning of Order

Hello, is this (name of restaurant)? : “suhLAWM ‘awLAYkome. MAWtaw’awm…?”

سلام عليكم.. مطعم ؟

I want to order delivery. : “Ana EYEizz AW’mll TAWlub LO suhMAWHHT.”

.انا عايز اعمل طلب لو سمحت

Where can I find your menu? : “uhLEHee elMENyoo FANE LOW suhmawhht?”

الاقي المنيو فين لو سمحت؟

Are you guys working (are you open)? : “ENtoo SHEHghuhLEEN?”

انتو شغالين؟

Do you guys deliver? : “BIHtooSUHloo TOHlehBAWT?”

بتوصلو طلبات؟

Delivery in Egyptian Arabic is actually pretty easy to do.

It’s so common that they probably have hundreds of calls a day.

Middle of Order

I want to order….and…please. : “EYEizz…wuh…LOWsuhMAWHHT.”

.عايز..و… لو سمحت

Do you guys also have drinks / dessert? : “‘awnDUHkoo MEHshrooBAWT / HHEHlooweeEHT?”

عندكو مشروبات/حلويات؟

Here’s some good stuff if you happening to be ordering koshary.

End of Order

My name is…. : “ESmee…”

…اسمي

The order is under the same number (in case you ordered from there before). : “elTUHlibb AWluh NEFSS elRAWkum..”

.الطلب على نفس الرقم

They should have your number saved.

My number is… : “RAWkuhmee…”

..رقمي

Did you understand everything? : “fuhHEHMT KOLE’ HAHga?”

فهمت كل حاجة؟

Can you please confirm the order (repeat)? : “MOOMkin TEHkod elTUHlib?”

ممكن تأكد الطلب؟

Our post about getting people to speak Arabic with you also has some useful phrases for this situation.

I live on…..street. : “Ana SEHkin feelSHEHruh…”

…انا ساكن في شارع

My address is #,…..street, building #, 1st floor. : “el’awnWEHN SHEHruh   ‘awMAWruh    elDOOR elOWwll

.العنوان, شارع….عمارة….الدور الاول

I live in Dokki, Mohandiseen, Zamalek, Garden City. : “Ana SEHkin feelDOHee elmooHENdihSENN elzuhMEHlick elMAW’DEE

.انا ساكن في الدقي… المهندسين… الزمالك… المعادي

Near the…. : GAWNB el…

…جنب ال

These sort of phrases are also found in our guide on talking to a taxi driver.

When will the food come? (they probably tell you without asking) : “heyYOOsll EHMtaw LOW suhMAWHHt

هيوصل امتى لو سمحت؟

It pays to remember Egyptian time in this situation.

Good Stuff to Know

Can you say that again? : “MOOMkin tawOOL DAW MAWruh TEHnee?

ممكن تقول ده مرة تانية؟

How expensive is it? : “KEHM elhhihSEHB?”

كام الحساب؟

One of the first things you should learn how to say.

Do I have to pay in cash? : “LEHzim EHDfaw’ KASH?”

لازم ادفع كاش؟

The answer to this is almost assuredly “yes.”

Cultural Insight

In Egypt you can order almost any service to be delivered to your home (any type of food, groceries, laundry, medicine, etc.). This is actually a pretty big part of the economy.

The unemployment rates and the number of informal small businesses” in Egypt are quite high. Lots of male Egyptian youth are willing to work as a delivery guy even if it doesn’t pay that much. This is unlike some higher income countries, where hiring a delivery guy can be quite expensive with all the overhead, insurance, etc. that need to be paid.

That said, this kind of service in Egypt has been there for ages. It started with your bawab delivering stuff to all the building residents pretty much anytime, and Egyptians got used to that. Now that smart phones are used by almost everyone, the service has shown up digitally as well in the form of mobile apps for delivery.

If you are too lazy to talk to somebody, you can always use “Otlob.” This is the most famous food delivery app. You also have “Elmenus” and “UberEats,” which provide pretty much the same service.

Fun Fact: Egyptians call delivery guy “Tayaar.” This means “Pilot” – he’s literally piloting your food to your door!

Good luck with all those take out nights. 🙂

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo