In Egyptian Arabic, the word beta3 / بتاع is a very important one. You will hear it quite often at the end of a sentence – but what does it mean?
As important as it is, beta3 / بتاع is also very confusing. Today we are covering what it means, how it’s used, as well as a few very important rules on its usage.
Let’s get started!
The Word Beta3 (بتاع): What It Means
Basically, the word beta3 is how you show possession in Egyptian Arabic.
It means “belong to” / “of” / or “‘s” (as in “Eric’s table”). Simple enough, right?
Well…not so fast. Turns out there are quite a few rules you need to know regarding the word beta3 / بتاع.
Let’s check them out below.
The Word Beta3 (بتاع): Different Ways To Use It + Examples
Feminine singular nouns / plural nouns:
If the noun is feminine (ends in a ة / taa marboota) or simply plural, you will need to include a ت before the final suffix (final 1-2 letters, table below!) of the end of the word beta3. This is highlighted in red for the the Arabic in the examples below below so you can see exactly what I mean.
Basically, think of this as the ة / taa marboota in the noun becoming a t / ت in beta3. That’s how I thought of it when I was learning Egyptian Arabic and it really helped me.
My car. : El 3arabeyya beta3ti.
.العربية بتاعتي
Her pillow. : El ma5ada beta3etha.
.المخدة بتاعتها
Our pens. : El a2lam beta3etna.
.الأقلام بتاعتنا
Their books. : El kotob beta3ethom.
.الكتب بتاعتهم
As for how to remember what these suffixes are?
- My = Add ee / ي at the end of beta3
- Your (masculine) = Add ak / ك at the end of beta3
- Your (feminine) = Add ek/ك at the end of beta3
- Your (plural) = Add kom / كم at the end of beta3
- His = Add u / ه at the end of beta3
- Her = Add ha / ها at the end of beta3
- Our = Add na / نا at the end of beta3
- Their = Add hom / هم at the end of beta3
You will see this above with all four examples (including, as we just discussed, the ت in red).
Masculine singular nouns (notice that the thing about the you just read above no longer applies):
Simply add the above suffix endings (ee / ي for “my”, ak / ك for “your” (masculine), etc.) to the end of the word beta3.
Notice here that the thing about “the ة / taa marboota in the noun becoming a t / ت in beta3″ no longer applies, because the nouns are masculine.
My cat. : El 2ot beta3i.
.القط بتاعي
His key. : El mofta7 beta3u.
.المفتاح بتاعه
A specific person’s possession:
Definite noun (with “the”) + بتاعت / beta3et + name of the person.
Here are some examples:
Mohamad’s pillow. : el ma5ada beta3et m7amad.
.المخدة بتاعت محمد
Esraa’s cat. : el 2otta beta3et esraa.
.القطة بتاعت إسراء
A Few Notes About Beta3 (بتاع)
Some important things to remember before we finish up:
1) Like we saw in the last section about showing a specific person’s possession, this part is pretty easy. That said, in Egyptian Arabic, sometimes what we just covered above is written as بتاعة / beta3a, but still pronounced as بتاعت / beta3et. I know, confusing! (And just one of the intricacies of written Egyptian Arabic!)
Here’s what I mean (with the same two examples, but the slightly differently spelled word in red):
Mohamad’s pillow. : el ma5ada beta3et m7amad.
.المخدة بتاعة محمد
Esraa’s cat. : el 2otta beta3et esraa.
.القطة بتاعة إسراء
2) The word beta3 is also used in informal contexts to refer to something if you forget the exact name of it (or if the name is simply not important). Here is an example:
May you get me that thing? : Momken tegebli el beta3 da?
ممكن تجيبلي البتاع دة؟
3) You have to be careful when you’re using the word by itself (بتاعي / beta3i: “mine”) or (بتاعك / beta3ik: “yours”) because it can also mean a person’s private parts. Pretty awkward!
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo
