Egyptian Arabic vs Modern Standard Arabic
Not really a question of intelligibility: Fusha is the shared written standard and every educated Arabic speaker reads it, but nobody grows up speaking it. Egyptian Arabic is what people actually say. The two coexist — an Egyptian will read a newspaper in Fusha and then discuss it in Masri.
The differences, side by side
| Egyptian Arabic | Modern Standard Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| The letter ق | Glottal stop — قلم is said alam | Pronounced as a full q — قلب is qalb |
| The letter ج | Hard g — جميل is gamiil | Soft j — جميل is jamiil |
| Present tense | b- prefix: باكتب (baktib), "I write" | Bare imperfect: أكتب (aktub), "I write" |
| Future tense | ha- prefix: هاكتب (haktib), "I will write" | سـ or سوف: سأكتب (sa-aktub) |
| Negation | ما...ش around the verb: makatabtish | لا / لم / ما before the verb: لا أكتب |
| "What?" | إيه (eeh) | ماذا (maadhaa) |
| "Now" | دلوقتي (dilwa2ti) | الآن (al-aan) |
| "I want" | عايز (3ayez) / عايزة (3ayza) | أريد (ureed) |
| "Good" | كويس (kwayyes) | جيّد (jayyid) |
The same phrases in both
| English | Egyptian Arabic | Modern Standard Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| hello | أهلا ahlan | مرحبا mar7aban |
| how are you? | ازيك؟ ezzayyak? | كيف حالك؟ kayfa 7aluka? |
| thank you | شكرا shukran | شكرا shukran |
| happy birthday | كل سنة وانت طيب kull sana w inta tayyib | عيد ميلاد سعيد 3eed meelaad sa3eed |
| good morning | صباح الخير saba7 el kheir | صباح الخير saba7u al-khayr |
| good evening | مساء الخير masa el kheer | مساء الخير masaa' al-khayr |
| goodbye | مع السلامة ma3a el salama | إلى اللقاء ila al-liqa' |
| please | لو سمحت law sama7t | من فضلك min fadlika |
Which one should you learn?
Egyptian Arabic if you want conversation. Fusha if you want to read books, follow the news, study the Quran, or work in a formal setting. Many learners do Fusha for the sound system and the script, then move to a dialect for speaking.
Practice Egyptian Arabic phrases
8 questions, half of them spoken out loud. Free, no account needed.