How To Shop in Egyptian Arabic

Knowing how to shop in Egyptian Arabic is important.

You will save money, avoid getting ripped off, and be able to ask questions about exactly what you want.

And today’s post will help you do all three!

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

Shop In Egyptian Arabic: Vocabulary

We will start with the most important vocabulary words you should know.

Buy. : Yeshtry.

.يشتري

Sell. : Yebee3.

.يبيع

Shop. : Ma7el / ma7elat.

.محل / محلات

Clothes. : Hodoom / lebs.

.هدوم / لبس

These two words for “clothes” in Egyptian Arabic are both used.

Women’s / mens clothes. : Lebs regali/ lebs 7aremi.

لبس رجالي/ لبس حريمي

Money. : Floos.

.فلوس

Save. : Y7awesh.

.يحوش

Expensive / not expensive / cheap. : Ghali / mesh ghali / rekhees.

.غالي/  مش غالي / رخيص

Quite often, Egyptians just make the opposite of an adjective my adding mish to the beginning.

Check out our post on making mish sandwiches for how to do this with verbs.

Affordable. : Se3ro kwaiss.

.سعره كويس

This literally means “it’s price is good.”

Presents. : Hadaya.

.هدية

Just in case you wanted to buy me a gift during Christmas in Egypt. 😉

Shop In Egyptian Arabic: Example Phrases

Let’s move on to the most important phrases when shopping in Egyptian Arabic.

We have split them into general categories of when you might say them.

General Questions To Shop in Egyptian Arabic

How expensive is this / what is the price? : Bkam da?

بكام ده؟

Do you have change? : Ma3ak fakka?

معاك فكة؟

We covered the two forms of “have” in Egyptian Arabic. Worth checking out here.

Do you work here? : 7adrtak shaghal hena?

حضرتك شغال هنا؟

This is the masculine form.

Is the store open or closed? : El ma7el fate7 wala afel?

المحل فاتح ولا قافل؟

At what time does the store open / close? : elma7el byfta7 elsa3a kam? / by2fel elsa3a kam?

المحل بيفتح الساعة كام / بيقفل الساعة كام؟

Do you have……here? : 3andak….hena?

عندك …هنا؟

Again, masculine pronunciation.

Asking this to a girl would be spelled the same, but be pronounced 3andik.

Can I pay with card? : Momken adfa3 bel kart?

ممكن ادفع بالكارت؟

Usually the answer is no.

In Egypt cash is king. We mention this in our post about how to exchange currency in Cairo.

Is there a…..in the mall? : Fe …gwa el mall?

في ….جوا المول؟

Do you (plural, “you guys”) sell clothes / food / books here? :  btbe3o hoddom ekl kotob … hena?

بتبيعو هدوم / اكل / كتب هنا؟

When You Need Help

These are some phrases for when you need help while shopping in Egyptian Arabic, or are interested in buying something.

Check out how to ask for help in Egyptian Arabic for more phrases.

Can you please help me? : Momken tsa3dni law sama7t?

ممكن تساعدني لو سمحت؟

I like this. : Ana 3agbni da.

…انا عاجبني ده

I like this, how much? : ana 3agbni da, bekam?

انا عاجبني ده، بكام؟

Can I get this for a little bit cheaper? : Momken ynzel shwya f el se3r?

ممكن ينزل شوية في السعر؟

This is too big. Can I have something smaller? : Bas da kbeer, fe ma2as asghar?

ده كبير قوي. في مقاس اصغر؟

This is too small. Can I have something bigger? : Bas da soghayar. Fee ma2as akbar?

ده صغير قوي. في مقاس اكبر؟

I want this. : 3ayz da.

.عايز ده

When You Don’t Need Help

And of course – phrases for when you don’t need help.

Unless you are at Khan el Khalili (in which case you need to know how to bargain in Egyptian Arabic), Egyptian shop workers are usually good at leaving you alone.

I’m just looking. : Ana batfrag bas.

.انا بتفرج بس

No, thank you. : La2 shokran.

.لا شكرا

This is one of the most universal ways of saying “leave me alone.”

But if you actually wanted to say “thank you?”

Check out 10 ways to say “thank you” in Egyptian Arabic.

I don’t like this. : Mish 3agbni.

.مش عجبني

I don’t want to buy this. : Mish 3ayz ashtri da.

.مش عايز اشتري ده

Some Last Example Phrases To Shop in Egyptian Arabic

Good evening. : mesa2 elkheer.

.مساء الخير

Most people go shopping during the evening.

But for more information, here’s a post on greetings in Egyptian Arabic.

Not so expensive. : mesh ghali awy.

.مش غالي قوي

Let’s go buy some things. : yalla nro7 nshtri 7agat / na3ml shopping

يلا نروح نشتري حاجات

My friend (female) always wants to go (Lit. do) shopping. It’s annoying (Lit.: The topic is very hard). : sahabti 3alatool 3ayza te3ml shopping, elmodhtoouh sa3b OWee.

.صاحبتي علطول عايزة تعمل شوبينج. المضوع صعب قوي

It’s nice, but very expensive. : Helw daw (could also say da helo), bas ghali awy.

حلو ده. بس غالي قوي

Cultural Insight

If you are living in Cairo, I highly recommend that you visit City Stars shopping mall at least once.

For three reasons.

1) It has a ton of stores. If you want to buy something that you can’t easily find somewhere else, there’s a good chance that City Stars has it.

2) It’s a wonderful cultural experience. If you are new to Arab culture, going to a giant shopping mall in Cairo is a worthwhile experience.

3) To practice your newly-learned shopping vocabulary, of course!

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo