How To Use the Word “Ya3ni” (يعني) in Egyptian Arabic

Today we are talking about how to use the word ya3ni correctly.

The word ya3ni is one you will hear quite a lot. So knowing how to use it is actually quite important.

.يعني

Overall, there are three different ways you can use ya3ni in Egyptian Arabic.

They are:

1) To mean something (the definition of a word)

2) A filler word (umm / uhhh)

3) So-so quality (not great)

Let’s get into some example of using ya3ni correctly.

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1) The word ya3ni : To mean something (the definition of a word)

This is the most common way to use the word ya3ni.

In fact, this version of ya3ni should be one of the first things you learn in Egyptian Arabic.

That’s because it’s so useful!

What does this word mean? : Ya3ni eh elkelma de?

يعني ايه الكلمة دي؟

What does….mean in Arabic? : Ya3ni eh ….bel3araby?

يعني ايه …بالعربي؟

You would of course include the word in the middle that you weren’t sure about.

What does the word “freedom” mean, in your opinion? : Ya3ni eh  kelmt 7orrya belnsbalak?

يعني ايه كلمة حرية بالنسبالك؟

As you can see with this third example, the word ya3ni can also refer to more “abstract” concepts.

Also important to note: this first way of using ya3ni is usually as a question.

The second and third version of ya3ni are more common as answers.

2) The word ya3ni : A filler word (umm / uhhh)

Our second version of ya3ni is used when you can’t think of the exact word to say.

While its equivalent in English would be “umm”, it can also be translated as “uhh,” “well,” “I mean,” and basically any other filler word / phrase.

This way of using the word ya3ni is SO COMMON.

In fact, here’s some homework for you.

Go to a Cairo cafe, listen to a conversation between two younger Egyptians, and take note of how many times you hear the word ya3ni used.

Here are some examples in action.

How was your weekend (Lit.: The weekend was how)? : Elagaza kant 3amla eh?)

الاجازة كانت عاملة ايه؟

Ummm…it was ok. : Ya3ni, … kant 3adia.

.يعني..كانت عادية

In case you need to know how to use “3ady” عادي , we did a post on that too. 😉

Are you happy here? : Mabsoot hena?

مبسوط هنا؟

Well…the pay isn’t good, but my family is here. : Ya3ni…el mortab mesh kwaiss awy, bas 3elti hena.

.يعني ..المرتب مش كويس قوي. بس عيلتي هنا

An important thing about Egyptian Arabic: you don’t always have to specify the pronoun when asking questions.

This question doesn’t actually use the word “you” (انت or انتي), and is more like “Happy here?”

Because the adjective doesn’t end in a tamruboota, we can infer that the question is directed at a male.

Our post on how to say emotions in Egyptian Arabic would be useful here.

What are you going to do later? : Hat3meli eh ba3den?

هتعملي ايه بعدين؟

I will see my boyfriend… walk around a little, I mean. : Hashof sa7by…ntmasha shwya ya3ni.

.هشوف صاحبي….نتمشى شوية يعني

A few things about this example.

First, because the first question verbs ends in a ي, we know the person is asking it to a female.

Second, it adds a ه at the beginning of the verb to indicate future tense (What are you (female) going to do later?).

Check out our post on the Egyptian Arabic future tense for more information.

Also, the word ya3ni here implies that the planned activity with her boyfriend isn’t so exciting.

Just walk around, hang out, nothing that fun.

Ya3ni in general is more common at the beginning / middle of a sentence.

But as we see here, it can also be the end.

3) The word ya3ni : So-so quality (not great / more or less)

For this last way to use the word ya3ni, you’re basically saying something wasn’t so great / isn’t special enough to deserve a more positive answer.

Treat this version of ya3ni as your one word knock-out punch of indifference.

You don’t care, and you don’t care SO MUCH that you are only willing to use one word to say it.

Did you like this movie? : 3agbak elfilm?

عجبك الفيلم؟

So-so. : Ya3ni!

!يعني

Do you love me? : Bt7bni?

بتحبني؟

More or less…a little bit. : Ya3ni…shwya.

.يعني ..شوية

Yes, we know: this is a pretty harsh answer!

Is Cleo Lingo the coolest website on the internet? : Hwa Cleo Lingo agmad mawke3 3ala elnet?

هو كليولينجو اجمد موقع على النت؟

In your dreams, dude. : Ya3ni!

!يعني

This last one is more like “Not really.”

But now you can see how versatile the word ya3ni really is!

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So there you have it.

While there is a lot of discussion about the word ya3ni, it really comes down to these three main ways.

Using the word ya3ni will make you sound more Egyptian, and with how often it’s used, feel free to toss it into whatever conversation you are having.

Now it’s your turn!

How are you going to use the word ya3ni?

Whatever version you use, we hope your sentence is….ya3ni….a good one!