Egyptian Arabic vs Levantine Arabic
These two are the closest pair of the four. Egyptians and Levantines converse without much difficulty — the grammar is nearly parallel and most everyday vocabulary overlaps. The give-aways are the question words (إيه versus شو), the pronunciation of ج, and a handful of high-frequency verbs.
The differences, side by side
| Egyptian Arabic | Levantine Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| The letter ق | Glottal stop — قلم is said alam | Glottal stop in the cities — قلب is said albe |
| The letter ج | Hard g — جميل is gamiil | Soft j, as in French "jour" — جميل is jamiil |
| Present tense | b- prefix: باكتب (baktib), "I write" | b- prefix: بكتب (baktob), "I write" |
| Future tense | ha- prefix: هاكتب (haktib), "I will write" | رح (rah) or ha-: رح اكتب |
| Negation | ما...ش around the verb: makatabtish | ما before the verb: ما بعرف |
| "What?" | إيه (eeh) | شو (shu) |
| "Now" | دلوقتي (dilwa2ti) | هلّق (halla2) |
| "I want" | عايز (3ayez) / عايزة (3ayza) | بدي (baddi) |
| "Good" | كويس (kwayyes) | منيح (mnee7) |
The same phrases in both
| English | Egyptian Arabic | Levantine Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| hello | أهلا ahlan | مرحبا mar7aba |
| how are you? | ازيك؟ ezzayyak? | كيفك؟ kifak? |
| thank you | شكرا shukran | شكرا shukran |
| happy birthday | كل سنة وانت طيب kull sana w inta tayyib | كل سنة وإنت سالم kull saneh w inta salem |
| good morning | صباح الخير saba7 el kheir | صباح الخير saba7 el khayr |
| good evening | مساء الخير masa el kheer | مسا الخير masa l-kheir |
| goodbye | مع السلامة ma3a el salama | مع السلامة ma3 as-salameh |
| please | لو سمحت law sama7t | لو سمحت law sama7t |
| excuse me | لو سمحت law sama7t | عفوا 3afwan |
| I'm sorry | انا اسف ana aasef | انا اسف ana aasef |
| yes and no | ايوة ولأ aywa w la2 | إيه ولأ eh w la2 |
| my name is... | اسمي ismi | اسمي ismi |
Which one should you learn?
Pick Egyptian Arabic for the widest reach: Egyptian film and music mean it is understood almost everywhere. Pick Levantine if you have ties to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan or Palestine, or if you simply find it easier to listen to — many learners do. Learning either one makes the other largely free.
Practice Egyptian Arabic phrases
8 questions, half of them spoken out loud. Free, no account needed.