How To Use The Word “3ady” (عادي) in Egyptian Arabic

It’s important to know how to use 3ady (عادي) correctly.

3ady is a word that is used quite often by Egyptians, and if you are learning Egyptian dialect, it can be kind of confusing.

عادي

The word 3ady basically means:

1. Normal / Nothing special about it / Basic
2. It doesn’t matter / It makes no difference
3. OK / Not great (quality)

Sure, there is definitely some overlap here. But nothing a little practice can’t help!

So that’s what we have for you today: brief explanations on the word 3ady, and some example sentences.

Using 3ady عادي : Normal / Nothing special about it / Basic

The first version of 3ady is basically saying that something is either boring or so normal that it needs no special explanation.

If you want to use 3ady correctly, this is the most common way to do it.

Here are some examples.

1) What is your opinion of my new car? : Eh ra2yak f 3arbetee elgideeda?

ايه رأيك في عربيتي الجديدة؟

Nothing special about it. : 3adya.

.عادية

Notice with this first one that the word 3ady actually becomes 3adya.

That’s because the word “car” is feminine in Egyptian Arabic, so you have to add a “tamruboota” at the end of 3ady.

Check out our post on the gender of nouns, part one and part two for more explanation.

 

2) How is your new job? : elshoghl el-gded 3amel eh?

الشغل الجديد عامل ايه؟

It’s normal.  Just a job. : 3ady….mogarad shoghl.

.عادي..مجرد شغل

 

3) What is your opinion of that girl’s dress? : eh ra2yak f fostan el-bent de?

ايه رأيك في فستان البنت دي؟

Nothing special. I have seen better than it. : 3ady. Shoft a7la menno.

.عادي..شوفت احلى منه

To use 3ady correctly, it’s important to not do a direct translation.

3ady can basically be translated into several different words / phrases in English.

 

4) How was the school today? : akhbar el-madrasa eh el-nharda?

اخبار المدرسة ايه النهاردة؟

Normal, like every day. : 3ady, zai kol yoom!

!عادي..زي كل يوم

 

5) Is your car automatic? : hya 3arbetak automatic?

هي عربيتك اوتوماتيك؟

No, its manual (basic). : la2 3adia.

.لا عادية

Again, the word 3ady  is made feminine when referencing the (also feminine) car.

And (also again) the word 3ady  here isn’t exactly saying “it’s manual” but rather “it’s normal / basic.”

 

6) Wow, you (masculine) won again!! : Wow, enta ksebt tany!

!واو..انت كسبت تاني

That’s the norm! (being cocky). : da el-3ady!

!ده العادي

“That’s the norm” doesn’t sound that cool.

On second thought, maybe a better translation is something like “What’s new?”

You get the idea.

 

Using 3ady عادي : It doesn’t matter / It makes no difference

The second version of 3ady says that there is no difference, or that a choice between several things is completely unimportant.

Here are a few examples to help you out.

1) Where do you want to go (Lit. Where do you want that we go) tonight? (talking to your girlfriend) : te7by nroo7 fen el-nharda?

تحبي نروح فين النهاردة؟

It doesn’t matter. Anywhere. : 3ady. Ay 7etta.

.عادي.اي حتة

In this example of 3ady, your girlfriend obviously doesn’t care where you guys go.

Anywhere will be fine!

 

2) Where should we go on the next vacation? : nroo7 fen f el-agaza el-gaiia?

نروح فين في الاجازة الجاية؟

It makes no difference. Anywhere outside Cairo is the same. : 3ady. Ay 7eta barra el-qahera.

.عادي. اي حتة برة القاهرة

 

 

3) Would you (masculine) like a cup of tea or tea with mint? : 3ayz shai wala shai bel na3naa3?

عايز شاي ولا شاي بالنعناع؟

It doesn’t matter, anything. Just add a lot of sugar. : 3ady ay 7aga. Bas 7ot sokkar kteer.

.عادي اي حاجة! بس حط سكر كتير

Egyptians and their sugary drinks is something we also wrote about.

Helps to be prepared. 😉

Using 3ady عادي : OK / Not great (quality)

The third version of 3ady says that something isn’t that good.

Not that it’s bad, but more like “so average it isn’t really either.”

That said, with the third version of 3ady, it is often used in a way that implies something was bad.

1) Did you like Paris when you visited? : 3agbetak paris lama zortaha?

عاجبتك باريس لما زرتها؟

It was OK. Just like any other capital. : 3adya ya3ni…zai ay 3asema.

.عادية يعني .زي اي عاصمة

Again, it becomes 3adya because you are referencing Paris (a city).

The word for “city” in Egyptian Arabic (مدينة) is feminine, so you also use the “femine version” of 3ady.

 

2) What did you (masculine) do during the weekend (basically asking “How was your weekend”)? : 3amlt eh f el-agaza?

عملت ايه في الاجازة؟

Not great. It was boring. I didn’t do anything. : 3ady. Kant momela. Ma3mltsh 7aga.

.عادي. كانت مملة .معملتش حاجة

All in all, using the word 3ady correctly isn’t too hard if you just remember these three versions.

Also remember (as you have seen in several examples) to use the feminine version of 3ady (3adya) when it is attached to / referencing a word that is feminine.

Pro tip:

If you ask your girlfriend “Are you mad / angry?”, and you get “ la2 3ady” as the answer….you better run for your life!

Using 3ady is basically like saying something is not important / not that interesting.

And if you girlfriend uses that….it means she is angry at you. Just trust us!

Happy learning, and keep your 3ady day filled with learning 🙂