How To Talk About Egypt in Egyptian Arabic

You should know how to talk about Egypt in Egyptian Arabic.

Period. If you are learning the language, you are probably either living in Egypt or somehow interested in the culture.

That means that knowing how to talk about Egypt is important.

So that’s what we will cover.

This is  the first part in a longer series. Today’s post will be more general, covering a few different aspects of life in Egypt.

Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining….how to talk about Egypt in Egyptian Arabic.

Vocabulary To Talk About Egypt in Egyptian Arabic

Here are the most importanty vocabulary words to know.

Egypt. : masr.

.مصر

Culture. :  el-sakafa.

.ثقافة

Economy. : elektsad.

.اقتصاد

People. : elnas.

.ناس

Differences. : ekhtlafat.

.اختلاف

Example Phrases To Talk About Egypt in Egyptian Arabic

We have three main categories.

The first is Egyptian culture, the second is Egyptian economy, and the third is Egyptian people.

These will allow allow you to talk about Egypt in Egyptian Arabic.

Egyptian Culture

Egypt is great / bad. :  masr 7elwa awy/we7sha.

.مصر حلوة قوي/ وحشة

Egypt is normal / weird. :  masr 3adia/ghareba .

.مصر عادية/ غريبة

The culture is conservative. : el-sakafa mo7afza.

.الثقافة محافظة

Egypt is very different. : masr mokhtalefa gedan.

. مصر  مختلفة جدا

Egypt is feminine, so ends in a tamruhbootah.

The gender of nouns in Arabic is also something we cover.

It’s difficult / easy to live here. : sa3b t3esh hena/sahl t3esh hena.

.صعب تعيش هنا

.سهل تعيش هنا

As a woman, Egypt is not very nice. : masr mesh 7elwa lel-banat.

.مصر مش حلوة للبنات

Egyptian Economy

Being able to talk about the Egyptian economy in particular is something that Egyptians will appreciate.

Life in Egypt isn’t easy. Egyptians feel “listened to” when a foreigner is able to express these economic problems in their language.

The Egyptian economy is not strong/ is weak. :  elektsad elmasry mesh qawi/elektsad elmasry da3eef.

.الاقتصاد المصري مش قوي

.الاقتصاد المصري ضعيف

Egypt is great (beautiful) if you are a foreigner. :  masr gamela law enta agnabi.

.مصر جميلة جدا لو انت اجنبي

The currency is weak. : el3omla da3efa.

.العملة ضعيفة

My job is good, but I don’t want to stay here forever. : shoghlti 7elwa, bas mesh 3ayz a3esh hena 3altol.

.شغلتي حلوة بس مش عايز اعيش هنا علطول

How to talk about your job in Egyptian Arabic…..if anybody asks. 🙂

Egyptian People

Egyptian men….  :  elregala elmasryeen ….

…الرجالة المصريين

Egyptian women…. : elsetat el masryeen…

…الستات المصريين

Egyptian people are kind and nice. : elmasryeen tayben w lotaf 

.المصريين طيبين ولطاف

I think that Egyptian people are hard to trust….. : azon sa3b taseq fe elmasryeen

.اظن صعب تثق في المصريين

Egyptian people always laugh. : elmasryeen dayman byd7ako

.المصريين دايما بيضحكو

Example Conversation: Talking About Egypt in Egyptian Arabic

Below is an example conversation talking about Egypt in Egyptian Arabic.

It uses a lot of important phrases, and is split by each phrase to make studying easier.

What do you think of Egypt? : ra2yak eh f masr?

.رأيك ايه في مصر

I like Egypt….but it’s different. : ana ba7b masr, .. bas hya mokhtalefa.

.انا بحب مصر..بس هي مختلفة

What do you mean? : 2asdak eh?

قصدك ايه؟

I mean that Egypt is really cool, but that it’s very different than my country. : 2asdy en masr gamda gedan, bas mokhtalefa gedan 3an baladi.

.قصدي ان مصر جامدة جدا بس مختلفة جدا عن بلدي

And where are you from? : w enta mnen?

وانت منين؟

This would be asking a male where they are from.

A female would be انتي or enti.

I am American. : ana amreiky 

.انا امريكي

Oh, so there are a lot of cultural differences? : ok.. fe ekhtlafat sakfya kter ya3ni?

اه..في اختلافات ثقافية كتير يعني؟

Yeah, it’s more conservative here. : ah hena balad mo7afza aktar 

.اه..هنا بلد محافظة اكتر

Oh, ok. I understand you. : ok, fehmtak

.اوك فهمتك

I still love it anyways! : bas ana ba7b masr keda keda 

.بس انا بحب مصر كده كده

Cultural Insight

Egyptians will almost always be curious about what you think of their country.

And quite often in a self-deprecating way.

Which basically means: they love to make fun of their own country.

Whether that’s the cultural oddities of Egyptian, the weak economy, or the political situation, Egyptians are their own biggest critics.

But be careful about doing the same. While Egyptians may complain about their country….it’s a little different with a foreigner doing it.

Just be aware of what you are complaining about. 🙂

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo