10 Ways To Say OK in Egyptian Arabic

Today we are talking about how to say “ok” in Egyptian Arabic.

But more specifically….10 different ways to do it!

Below you’ll find 10 examples of OK in Egyptian Arabic, as well as some example phrases in action.

Let’s get started.

How To Say OK in Egyptian Arabic

An important note about saying OK in Egyptian Arabic: a lot of these are often combined together.

You might see: Eshta, mashy or ana dais, eshta or mashy, ok  or ok, yalla.

English equivalent? “Ok, cool.”

1) Ok. : mashy.
.ماشي

Literal Translation: It goes (it passes).

Example:

We are going to play playstation, would you like to come? : hanro7 nel3ab playstation, t7eb tegi?

هنروح نلعب بلاي ستاشن..تحب تيجي؟

Ok, you guys go and I will catch up. : mashy, ro7o w ha7salko.

.ماشي..روحو وهحصلكو

 

2) Alright / ok. : tamam (Turkish origin).
.تمام

Example:

Are you ok? : enta tamam?
انت تمام؟

Yes thanks be to God, everything is alright / ok. : ah el hamdulelah kolo tamam.

.اه الحمدلله,..كله تمام

 

3) Ok / let’s go. : yalla.

.يلا

Example:

I am going to Moez street. Want to come? : ana ray7 share3 el mo3ez, t7eb tegi?

أنا رايح شارع المعز. تحب تيحي؟

Yes, definitely, let’s go. : aywa akeed, yalla bena.

.أيوه أكيد …يلا بينا

Important note: the word yalla could be used by itself to mean “let’s go” (often with bena at the end) or paired with a conjugated verb to mean “let’s + verb.”

 

4) OK. : ok

.أوك

Example:

Don’t forget to send the translation. : matnsash teb3at el targama.

.متنساش تبعت الترجمة

Ok, I will. : ok 7ader.

.أوك – حاضر

 

5) I agree. : mwafe2.

.موافق

Example:

I will use the green, what is your opinion? : ana hastakhdem el akhdar, eh ra2yak?

انا هستخدم الاخضر..ايه رأيك؟

I agree, the green will look good. : mwafe2, el akhdar hykon shaklo 7elw.

.انا موافق..الاخضر شكله حلو

Check out our post about the future tense for more info.

 

6) Cool / ok. : eshta.

.قشطة

Literal Translation: milk cream. Don’t ask how it ended up meaning cool or OK.

Example:

You need to come tomorrow, you will enjoy it. : lazem tegi bokra, hatetbset.

.لازم تيجي بكرة..هتتبسط

Ok, I will check and let you know (Lit. I will see and tell you). : eshta, hashof w a2olak.

.قشطة..هشوف وأقولك

Important note: you can’t use eshta to describe something as cool. It’s mostly just used generally as saying cool.

 

7) I’m in. : ana dais (super slang).

.أنا دايس

Literal translation: I’m stepping (I’m down for the plans).

Example:

Movie night at Rady’s tomorrow (Lit. Let’s film at Rady’s tomorrow)? Who is coming? : yalla film 3and rady bokra? meen gai?

يلا فيلم عند راضي بكرة؟ مين جاي؟

A: I’m in. : ana dais.

.أنا دايس

B: Me too. : ana kaman.

.أنا كمان

C: Still not sure. : mesh mot2aked lesa.

.مش متأكد لسه

D: Ok, let’s go. : mashy, yalla bena.

.ماشي يلا بينا

We’ve got your covered if you decide to just go the cinema!

 

8) Amazing / great. : meya meya.

.ميه ميه

Literal translation (100 out of 100)

Thanks, I will send you the report, and call you again. : shokran, hab3atlak el taqreer w aklmak tani.

.شكرا..هبعتلك التقرير وهكلمك تاني

Ok, great, I will be waiting for you. : tamam, meya meya, hastanak.

.تمام ..ميه ميه..هستناك

 

9) Awesome / great. : gamed

.جامد

Gamed could also used as “cool”, usually used by teenagers and younger generations.

Example:

I got tickets for Wegz’s gig (Lit. The party of Wegz), you coming? : ana gebt tazaker l 7aflet wegz, tegi?

انا جبت تذاكر لحفلات واجز، تيجي؟

Cool, let’s go! I like him a lot. : gameddd, yalla bena ana ba7bo gedan.

.جامد، يلا بينا  انا بحبه جدا.

Important note: gamed you basically means the same as all the other words for “nice” / “beautiful” in Egyptian Arabic (helw, gameel, hayel).

Check out our list of Egyptian Arabic compliments for some more ideas.

 

10) No problem (I don’t mind it). : ma3ndesh mane3.

.معنديش مانع

Literal Translation: I don’t mind it

Example:

Where are we eating today? : hanakol fen elnharda?

هناكل فين النهاردة؟

A: Let’s go to Zooba? : yalla nro7 zooba?

يلا نروح زوبا؟

B: I don’t mind it, let’ go. : ma3ndesh mane3, yalla.

.معنديش مانع..يلا

C: you guys go eat that touristic food, I will go get some koshary. : ro7o ento kolo akl el khawagat da, ana haro7 akol koshary.

.لا روحو انتو كلو اكل الخواجات ده..أنا هروح أكل كشري

PS: Zooba sells koshary as well, and its awesome!

#DontJudge

Cultural Insight

Egyptians often say things they don’t actually mean.

Like……quite a lot.

What I mean is that it’s kind of normal in Egyptian culture to be enthusiastic about something, but then not show up. We talked about this cultural reality in our post about Egyptian time.

Not that everybody does it, of course. But certainly something to keep in mind when somebody is saying OK in Egyptian Arabic! 🙂

…

Happy learning, 

Cleo Lingo