Finding good websites to learn Egyptian Arabic can be frustrating. There aren’t very many of them, and often the ones that do have a high quality aren’t updated so often.
Still, useful websites for people learning Egyptian Arabic do exist, and that’s what we’ll be sharing with you in this post.
In this post we’ve gathered the best websites to learn Egyptian Arabic, as well as some of the pro’s and con’s of using them. We’ve also included a section called “best for” where we give our own take on who the website is best suited for.
No website will ever be perfect for learning a language, but these are some of the best websites for Egyptian Arabic!
1) Cleo Lingo:
Our own website! Cleo Lingo’s tagline is “Your Ultimate Guide to Egyptian Arabic.” Our goal is to become your favorite website for learning Egyptian Arabic – and to make you laugh while doing it.
Pro’s:
- Cleo Lingo includes a wide array of content topics. This includes everything from our weekly “How To” guides on just about any situation you can imagine, to tutorials on WhatsApp conversations between Egyptians.
- We are consistent. We started the website in September of 2018 and have published over 100 posts as of writing this one. We want to give you something new basically every week.
- 100 percent focus on Egyptian Arabic. Cleo Lingo isn’t a general “language blog.” It’s not even an “Arabic blog.” Nope – we focus 100 percent on Egyptian Arabic and it will always be that way.
Con’s:
- Literally none. Hahaha, just kidding (there’s that humor). As a young website we are still a bit “clunky” (inconsistent blog post formatting depending on the month it was published and voice notes that mysteriously don’t work sometimes).
- We are still mostly a two man show. There are numerous things we know we should do that we simply haven’t made the time for yet. But we’re trying! 🙂
Best for: Anybody interested in Egyptian Arabic. This is something we mean with 100 percent sincerity. We try to mix up the difficulty of our posts, including stuff for beginners all the way to advanced (often within the same post!). We mean it when we say that we’re committed to being the best website for learning Egyptian Arabic. Stick around if you want to learn Egyptian Arabic and grow with us! 🙂
2) LisaanMasri
This is basically an online dictionary. You either look up an Arabic word and get its English translation, or vis versa. You also have the option for a thesaurus, where words are grouped by category, and a ton of example sentences.
Pro’s:
- One of the only true “Egyptian Arabic” dictionaries. This is invaluable, as dictionaries like the Hans Wehr version simply don’t help too much when you’re trying to get good at the Egyptian dialect.
- Differentiates between how often words and phrases are used in Standard Arabic vs. the Egyptian Arabic dialect. This is especially useful for people making the switch.
- The “example sentences” section is awesome. I’m a huge fan of learning a language intuitively through exposure to a ton of example sentences, and that’s exactly what this section does with Egyptian Arabic.
Con’s:
- Not exactly the best user experience. If you are looking for a fun resource to dive into, LisaanMasri can be quite dull.
- A bit inconsistent with their “Standard Arabic vs. Egyptian Arabic” feature. Numerous times I’ve shown an Egyptian friend a phrase that LisaanMasri claims is widely used, only to be told that it’s not so common. This creates doubt and confusion in learners.
Useful for: Anybody that’s below the advanced stage (C1 / C2) in Egyptian Arabic. Even as I approached C1 while living in Cairo, I still found myself referencing this site weekly. Be sure to give this site a try; it’s one of the best websites for learning Egyptian Arabic!
3) Arabic.Desert-Sky
This is basically a blog with a ton of information on both Egyptian Arabic and Standard Arabic. You can find everything from common vocabulary lists to grammar explanations to interesting idioms.
Pro’s:
- There is a massive amount of good information on this site. If you have a question about a specific word or aspect of Egyptian Arabic, there’s a good chance you can find it here.
- Vocabulary lists are long and detailed. Same thing with the grammar explanations. The founder of this blog obviously put a lot of time into explaining complicated concepts and it shows!
Con’s:
- The website doesn’t seem to be updated so often. And if it is, it’s not clear where the new content would be.
- No audio. This is something that presents a real challenge, as Egyptian Arabic pronunciation can be quite difficult.
- Can be pretty boring. While this is a good website for learning Egyptian Arabic, you have to be dedicated to really take advantage of it. It’s basically just giant lists – not the most engaging learning content.
Best for: Somebody that is already learning Egyptian Arabic from other sources that needs (or wants) a handy “reference guide” on many aspects of the dialect. Don’t expect to become fluent from this site. That said, this is a great website that shouldn’t be missed.
4) Lingualism:
This is a language blog that teaches you the language and culture of numerous Arab countries. The site also offers a bunch of paid products (mostly books) that can supplement your study.
Pro’s:
- While Lingualism has content on numerous Arabic dialects, there’s a clear preference for Egyptian Arabic. This is great if you want to focus on Egyptian Arabic but are also interested in other dialects.
- The site usually has audio for the example sentences in its blog posts. This is awesome and super helpful for getting your Egyptian Arabic pronunciation just right!
Con’s:
- Not the best organized. You kind of just have to browse the blog until you come across something you find useful.
- As I mentioned, the website isn’t solely focused on Egyptian Arabic. This can be a bit of a time waster for people who only want to focus on the Egyptian dialect.
- In addition, Lingualism also produces general “cultural guides” on the blog. While this can be helpful for some people, others might prefer to focus only on the language.
Best for: People that want a mix of content for various Arabic dialects. The site is also good for learning Egyptian Arabic because it offers a bunch of links to their paid products, which are really quite useful.
5) Egyptian Arabic Course blog
Like music? Then this is the website for you! This blog breaks down a bunch of Egyptian Arabic songs and teaches you the dialect through the lyric explanations.
Pro’s:
- Super cool way to learn. Learning through music not only provides you with useful instruction and a bunch of vocabulary and phrases, but also gives you valuable cultural insight.
- Very easy to use. You basically just click on a song, then a video opens where you can listen to it while reading the explanations below. Handy indeed!
- Also has a big list of Egyptian Arabic vocabulary sorted alphabetically. Pretty useful if you learn best with vocab lists.
Con’s:
- Super old and not updated. This site was made in 2008 and basically seems to be “dead” at this point.
- Not everybody’s cup of tea. While learning a language through music can be fun, it’s not necessarily the best way to go about it. Relying only on this website will basically teach you some interesting phrases that still might sound weird in normal conversation.
Best for: Anybody that wants to switch things up. This is a great website for learning Egyptian Arabic if you want a break from your typical routine. Cool idea, and quite well done!
6) Talk in Arabic: This is a website dedicated exclusively to Arabic dialects (cool, right?). It’s run by Donovan Nagel, the guy behind the popular language learning site Mezzofanti Guild.
Pro’s:
- A definite preference for Egyptian Arabic. While the site covers all of the major Arabic dialects, the content is mostly for Egyptian.
- Engaging content. This isn’t just a site with a bunch of blog posts. Instead, Talk in Arabic gives you access to a nice mix of material. This includes everything from explanations on counting to deep dives on Egyptian commercials.
- There is a range in difficulty level. This makes it suitable for Egyptian Arabic learners at most stages.
Con’s:
- Not exclusively focused on Egyptian Arabic. As I mentioned, this can be a good thing for people interested in other dialects, but also frustrating if you know you want to focus only on Egyptian Arabic.
- Talk in Arabic isn’t a “course” that you can follow. Rather, the site is made of separate pieces of content that you consume and learn from on your own time. This makes learning Egyptian Arabic, if you are only relying only on this website, a bit haphazard.
- You need to pay to get the best quality material. This is totally normal, but Talk in Arabic is probably not the best website for Egyptian Arabic if you are on a budget.
Best for: Somebody who is looking to test out numerous Arabic dialects, or that wants to cross-compare them with Egyptian Arabic. The website is also good if you are looking for new engaging content types to spice up your learning routine with.
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That’s it! Did I miss any good website for Egyptian Arabic? Let me know in the comments.
And as always…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo