Egyptian Arabic Lesson 10

Adil’s Schedule
Vocabulary ‫اﳌﻔﺮدات‬

Verbs Months

‫ﺻﺤﻲ ﻳﺼﺤﻰ‬ to wake up ßi˙i yiß˙a ‫ﻳﻨﺎﻳﺮ‬ January yanaayir

‫ﺧﺮج ﻳﺨﺮج‬ to go out xarag yuxrug ‫ﻓﺒﺮاﻳﺮ‬ February fibraayir

‫ﺧﺪ ﻳﺎﺧﺪ‬ to take xad yaaxud ‫ﻣﺎرس‬ March maaris

‫ذاﮐﺮ ﻳﺬاﮐﺮ‬ to study (review) zaakir yizaakir ‫اﺑﺮﻳﻞ‬ April ’abriil

‫وﺻﻞ ﻳﻮﺻﻞ‬ to arrive wißil yiwßal ‫ﻣﺎﻳﻮ‬ May maayu

‫ﺟﺎوب ﻳﺠﺎوب‬ to answer gaawib yigaawib ‫ﻳﻮﻧﻴﻮ‬ June yunyu

‫ﻗﺎل ﻳﻘﻮل‬ to say ’aal yi’uul ‫ﻳﻮﻟﻴﻮ‬ July yulyu

‫رﮐﺐ ﻳﺮﮐﺐ‬ to ride; take (bus, etc.) rikib yirkab ‫أﻏﺴﻄﺲ‬ August ’a¶us†us

‫ر ّوح ﻳﺮ ّوح‬ to go home rawwa˙ yirawwa˙ ‫ﺳﺒﺘﻤﺒﺮ‬ September sibtimbir

‫ﻧﺎم ﻳﻨﺎم‬ to sleep naam yinaam ‫أﮐﺘﻮﺑﺮ‬ October ’oktoobir

‫ﺧﻠّﺺ ﻳﺨﻠّﺺ‬ to finish xallaß yixallaß ‫ﻧﻮﻓﻤﺒﺮ‬ November nofimbir

‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮ ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ to travel saafir yisaafir ‫دﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ‬ December disimbir

‫اﺗﮑﻠّﻢ ﻳﺘﮑﻠّﻢ‬ to speak itkallim yitkallim

Nouns
‫زار ﻳﺰور‬ to visit zaar yizuur
‫ﺗﺎﮐﺴﻲ ﺗﺎﮐﺴﻴﺎت‬ taxi taksi taksiyyaat
‫اﺗﻮﻟﺪ ﻳﺘﻮﻟﺪ‬ to be born itwalad yitwilid
‫ﺗﺎﮐﺲ ﺗﺎﮐﺴﺎت‬ taxi taks taksaat
‫ﻗﻌﺪ ﻳﻘﻌﺪ‬ to sit, stay ’acad yu’cud
‫ﻏﻠﻄﺔ ﻏﻠﻄﺎت‬ mistake gal†a gal†aat
‫دﺧﻞ ﻳﺪﺧﻞ‬ to enter daxal yudxul
‫ﻓﻨﺠﺎن ﻓﻨﺎﺟﲔ‬ cup fingaan fanagiin
Adverbials and Conjunctions ‫ﺳﻴﺠﺎرة ﺳﺠﺎﻳﺮ‬ cigarette sigaara sagaayir

‫ﺑﺪري‬ early badri ‫ﺷﺮﮐﺔ ﺷﺮﮐﺎت‬ company širka šarikaat

‫ﺑﺴﺮﻋﺔ‬ quickly, fast bisur a c

‫ﺟﻮاب ﺟﻮاﺑﺎت‬ letter, answer gawaab gawabaat

‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﻃﻮل‬ straight c

ala †uul ‫ﺟﺮﻳﺪة ﺟﺮاﻳﺪ‬ newspaper gariida garaayid

‫ﺟ ّﺪ ًا‬ very giddan ّ ‫ﻣﺠﻠّﺔ‬

‫ﻣﺠﻼت‬ magazine magalla magallaat
ّ ‫ﻋﻠﻰ‬
‫ﮐﻞ ﺣﺎل‬ in any case c
ala kulli ˙aal ‫ أﻟﻒ آﻻف‬thousand ’alf ’alaaf

‫ ﺑﻌﺪﻳﻦ‬later, afterwards ba deen c

‫ ﻋﻴﺪ ﻣﻴﻼد‬birthday iid milaad
c

(‫ أ ّو ًﻻ )ﻓﻲ اﻷول‬first of all ’awwalan (fi l’awwil) ‫ ﻋﻴﺪ اﳊﺐ‬Valentines Day iid il˙ubb
c

‫ ﺛﺎﻧﻴ ًﺎ‬secondly saaniyan

Adjectives
‫أﻫﻮ أﻫﻲ أﻫﻢ‬ there (it is) ’ahó ’ahé ’ahúm
‫ ﻃﻮﻳﻞ‬long, tall †awiil
‫ﻣﻌﻠﺶ‬ never mind maclišš
‫ ﻗﺼ ّﻴﺮ‬short ’ußayyar
‫ﻃﺒﻌ ًﺎ‬ of course †abcan
ّ
‫ﻣﺘﺄﺧﺮ‬ late mit’axxar
‫ﳌّﺎ‬ when (conj) lamma

‫ ﻟﮑﻦ‬but laakin
Expressions and Proverbs

(‫ ﺗﺼﺒﺢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺧﻴﺮ )واﻧﺖ ﻣﻦ أﻫﻠﻪ‬Good night (response) tißba˙ cala xeer. (winta min ’ahlu)

‫ واﻟﻠﻪ اﻟﻌﻈﻴﻢ‬by the great God! (= really? or really!) wallaahi lcaΩiim!

‫ ﮐﻠّﻨﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻬﻮا ﺳﻮا‬we’re all in the air together (we’re all in the kullina fi lhawa sawa
same boat)

Dialogue Assignment
1. Work with a partner. Take turns pretending that you are busy doing something at your house when the other person stops by. Your
partner will ask what you are doing. Have a conversation in Arabic about what you are doing. Use the present continuous tense (I
am writing, reading etc.) .

2. Now practice using the present habitual tense. Take turns talking in Arabic about what you do every week. For example, ‫ﮐﻞ أﺳﺒﻮع‬
‫‘ ﺑﺎروح اﻟﺴﻴﻨﻤﺎ‬every week I go to the cinema’.

3. Now use the future and negative past tenses. Talk about what you didn’t do last year, but what you will do this year – or next.
For example: .‫ ﺑﺲ اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻠﻲ ﺟﺎﻳﺔ ﺣﺎروح‬،‫اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻠﻲ ﻓﺎﺗﺖ ﻣﺎرﺣﺘﺶ ﻣﺼﺮ‬

Drills
1. a. Using the first reading assignment, write the story about Kariima instead of Kariim.

b. Now write the story about yourself.

2. a. Again using the first reading assignment, tell the story in the present tense, talking about what Kariim usually does. You may
change some details to have it make more sense as a present tense story.

b. en tell what you will do tomorrow using the future tense, based on the details of the same story.

3. Practice saying the following years out loud.

١٢٩٧ ١٧٧٦ ١٨٤٠ ١٦٥١ ١٩٨١
٢٠٠٣ ١٨٦١ ٧٤٤ ١٩٧٦ ١٩١٧

4. Translate the following into Arabic.

When is your birthday?

I was born on June 28, 1976.

I was born on October 5, 1981

Did you finish reading the magazine yet?

Where is my letter? ere it is.

Do you speak Arabic?

5. Identify the roots of the following words.

Example: Prompt: ‫ ﺟﺮﻳﺪة‬Answer: ‫ د‬- ‫ ر‬- ‫ج‬

‫ﺧﻤﻴﺲ‬ ‫ﺷﺮﮐﺎت‬ ‫ﻣﮑﺘﺐ‬ ّ

‫ﻣﺘﺄﺧﺮ‬ ‫ﻳﺸﺘﻐﻞ‬ ‫ﻏﻠﻄﺔ‬ ‫اﺗﮑﻠّﻢ‬ ‫ذاﮐﺮ‬
6. Which form do the following verbs belong to?
Example: Prompt: ‫ ذاﮐﺮ‬Answer: III
‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮ ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ّ ‫ﻣﻄﺮ‬
‫ﳝﻄﺮ‬ ّ ‫اﺗﻮﻟﺪ ﻳﺘﻮﻟﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﺮج ﻳﺨﺮج‬ ‫اﺗﮑﻠّﻢ ﻳﺘﮑﻠّﻢ‬

7. Make both a present and a past sentence out of the following sets of words. Use the prefix ‘bi-’ for the present tense sentences.

‫ﺑﺎرﻳﺲ‬ ‫زار ﻳﺰور‬ ‫ﻫﻮ‬ ‫ﮐﺘﻴﺮ‬ ‫ﻧﺎم ﻳﻨﺎم‬ ‫ﻫﻢ‬

‫اﻟﮑﺘﺎب‬ ‫ذاﮐﺮ ﻳﺰاﮐﺮ‬ ‫أﻧﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﻮاﺟﺒﺎت‬ ‫ﺧﻠّﺺ ﻳﺨﻠّﺺ‬ ‫اﺣﻨﺎ‬

8. Use the same words from drill 7 and make the past and present sentences negative.
Example: ‫أﻧﺎ ﺑﺎذاﮐﺮ اﻟﮑﺘﺎب –< أﻧﺎ ﻣﺎﺑﺎزاﮐﺮش اﻟﮑﺘﺎب‬, etc.

9. Answer the following questions changing the object in the question, to a pronoun ending. Answer each question twice, the first time
in the positive – and the second time in the negative.
Example: Prompt: ‫ ﻫﻮ ﺷﺎف اﻟﺒﻨﺖ؟‬Answer: Positive: .‫ ﺷﺎﻓﻬﺎ‬،‫ أﻳﻮه‬Negative: .‫ ﻣﺎﺷﺎﻓﻬﺎش‬،‫ﻻ‬

‫ﻫﻲ ﺟﺎوﺑﺖ ع اﻟﺴﺆال؟‬ ‫اﻧﺖ ﺧﺪت اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ؟‬

‫ﻫﻢ ﺷﺎﻓﻮا اﻟﻄﻼب؟‬ ‫اﻧﺘﻮ زرﺗﻮا اﳌﺪن؟‬

10. Write a short story about your personal daily schedule in the  tense using all of the following verbs.

‫ﻧﺎم ﻳﻨﺎم‬ ‫ﺧﺪ ﻳﺎﺧﺪ‬ ‫ﮐﻞ ﻳﺎﮐﻞ‬ ‫ﺻﺤﻲ ﻳﺼﺤﻰ‬

‫ر ّوح ﻳﺮ ّوح‬ ‫ﺧﺮج ﻳﺨﺮج‬ ‫ﻟﺒﺲ ﻳﻠﺒﺲ‬

11. Tell the same story again, this time in the present tense, telling about what you usually do. Write about when you usually wake
up, etc. Remember to use the prefix bi-.
EA 10 Language Notes
1. Presentationals
e forms ’ahó (m.), ’ahé (f.), and ’ahúm (pl.) are called . ey do not mean ‘here’ in a locative sense; rather,
they are used for pointing things out: ‘here it is’, ‘there it is’, ‘over there’. If you imagine a finger pointing when these words are
used, you will understand their sense. For example:

‫ﻓﲔ اﻟﮑﺘﺎب ﺑﺘﺎﻋﻚ؟‬ Where is your book?

.‫أﻫﻮ‬ Over there.

‫ﻓﲔ اﻷوﻻد؟‬ Where are the boys?

.‫أﻫﻢ‬ ere the are.

2. Arabic Months
Several different calendars are in common use in Egypt and the Middle East in general. e Islamic months are based on a
lunar calendar with less than 365 days in the year, and so they move around the western year, coming about two weeks earlier
every year. Different regions of the Arab World have adopted different names for the months of the western calendar. Egypt
and North Africa tend to use names that sound more or less like they do in English, while countries in the Levant and the
Gulf use Arabic words to refer to these months. Egyptians tend not to be very familiar with the Levantine month names, and
vice versa. Egyptians also frequently use numbers to refer to western months. Someone might tell you he was born on ’‫أرﺑﻌﺔ‬
‫ ﺗﺴﻌﺔ‬،‫وﻋﺸﺮﻳﻦ‬, or ‫( ﺷﻬﺮ ﺗﺴﻌﺔ‬nine), meaning he was born on the 24th of September.

3. Years in Arabic
e Islamic calendar counts years from the hijra of the prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century A.D. Since the Islamic
year is about two weeks shorter than the western year, the centuries go by a little faster. Newspapers and magazines often
print both the western and Islamic dates on the front page. When a year is referred to, the word sana often precedes it as the
first term on an i∂aafa (thus sanit): sanit ’alf tuscumiyaa talaata wisabciin, sanit ’alfeen wixamsa. Note that as with other long
numbers, the conjunction wi- is used only before the final element. Remember that the last two elements are reversed in
comparison with their English order: three and seventy instead of seventy three. Another example:

.١٧٧٦ ‫ ﺳﻨﺔ‬the year 1776

.‫ ﺳﻨﺔ أﻟﻒ ﺳﺒﻌﻤﻴﺔ ﺳﺘﺔ وﺳﺒﻌﲔ‬the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy six

4. Arabic roots
Almost every word in Arabic has three main consonants that make up its ‘root’. ere is a very small number of items with
only two consonants in the root, and a few more with four or more. e huge majority, however, have three. ese root
consonants always appear in the same order. To create an actual word, vowels and sometimes other consonants are added
to the root. For example, the root of the word saafir (‘to travel’) is s-f-r (with added vowels) and the root of the word maktab
(‘office’) is k-t-b (with added consonants and vowels).

S  are those with three normal consonants that are different from each other, like s-f-r and k-t-b. D
 are those in which the second and third consonants are the same, like j-d-d and ˙-b-b. W or  
are those in which the third consonant is an ‘underlying’ w or y which often either changes to a vowel or simply disappears.
You have learned the verb ’ara yi’ra, for example, which has the root ’-r-y even though the y shows up in only some of the
forms. H , similarly, are those in which the middle consonant is an ‘underlying’ w or y with similarly distressing
properties, as with the verb šaaf yišuuf which has the root š-w-f, or the verb gaab yigiib which has the root g-y-b. And finally,
  are those in which the first consonant is an underlying w as in the verb wißil yiwßal which has the root
w-ß-l.
One develops facility in recognizing Arabic roots with practice. It is important to get good at it since dictionaries are organized
by root. Obviously, it is easier to recognize sound roots than any of the others. Even with sound roots, however, words often
add extra consonants, so you need to be able to figure out which consonants to ‘discount’ when trying to find the root. e
letters alif lam are added to nouns and adjectives as the definite article, so they would be the first to go, for example. Since
verbs conjugate with prefixes like ti-, ni- and yi-, and with suffixes like -t, -tu and -na, it is easy to avoid those when looking for
the root. Place nouns and some participles and verbal nouns are formed with an m- prefix, so m can often be discounted. As
we will see below, t and sometimes n are ‘infixed’ into the middles of roots, so these can also often be discounted. is does not
mean that you discount every l, m, t, n or y you see. It is just that if you have a word with more than three consonants, these
are the first you would consider getting rid of when trying to boil the word down to its three root consonants.

us the roots of the words for ‘restaurant’, ‘thanks’ and ‘participant’ are:

Root Word

‫ر‬-‫ك‬-‫ش‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺸ ّﮑﺮ‬

‫م‬-‫ع‬-‫ط‬ ‫ﻣﻄﻌﻢ‬
‫ك‬-‫ر‬-‫ش‬ ‫ﻣﺸﺘﺮك‬

Roots normally give some kind of common meaning to words that share them. is makes Arabic vocabulary learning easier,
once you understand the ‘logic’ of the root and pattern system. e idea is that once you know a word with a particular root,
like ‫ﻣﻄﻌﻢ‬, when you encounter an unfamiliar word with the same root, you have a better chance of figuring out the meaning.
So, for example, ‫ ﻃﻌﻢ‬means ‘taste,’ ‫ ﻃﻌﺎم‬means ‘food,’ and the verb ‫ أﻃﻌﻢ‬means ‘to feed.’ A similar cluster of words of the same
root are ‫‘ ﮐﺘﺎب‬book,’ ‫‘ ﻣﮑﺘﺐ‬office,’ ‫‘ ﻣﮑﺘﺒﺔ‬library,’ ‫‘ ﮐﺎﺗﺐ‬author,’ and ‫‘ ﮐﺘﺐ‬he wrote.’ Since words are organized by root in most
dictionaries, it is fairly easy to learn several words sharing the same root together.

5. Arabic verb form introduction

In Standard Arabic verbs are classified into ten forms, or patterns, and many of these are also used in colloquial. Most verbs
are based on the three letter root discussed above. In discussing verbs, the past and present forms in the ‫ ﻫﻮ‬conjugation are
always given, because the past and present stems are often different from each other and you need to know both.

e basic Form I verb uses the three letters without much elaboration (‫ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻳﮑﺘﺐ‬katab yiktib, ‫ ﺷﺮب ﻳﺸﺮب‬širib yišrab). All the
other forms (called derived forms) do something to the root. For example, Form II doubles the middle consonant of the root
(compare Form I ‫ درس ﻳﺪرس‬daras yidris with Form II ‫ﻳﺪرس‬ ّ ‫درس‬ ّ darris yidarris). e following chart lists the forms used in
colloquial, explains what each form does to the root, and gives examples of each form.

Form Present Past Script Explanation of Change

I yiktib katab ‫ﮐﺘﺐ ﻳﮑﺘﺐ‬ plain
II yidarris darris ‫ﻳﺪرس‬ّ ‫درس‬ ّ double the middle consonant
III yisaafir saafir ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮ ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ add alif after first consonant
IV yikrim ’akram ‫أﮐﺮم ﻳﮑﺮم‬ add hamza at the beginning (rare)
V yitkallim itkallim ‫اﺗﮑﻠّﻢ ﻳﺘﮑﻠّﻢ‬ add -it to beginning of Form II
VI yitbaadil itbaadil ‫اﺗﺒﺎدل ﻳﺘﺒﺎدل‬ add -it to beginning of Form III
VII yitkitib itkatab ‫اﺗﮑﺘﺐ ﻳﺘﮑﺘﺐ‬ add -it (or -in) to beginning of Form I
VIII yištirik ištarak ‫اﺷﺘﺮك ﻳﺸﺘﺮك‬ add t after first consonant of root
IX yi˙marr i˙marr ‫ﻳﺤﻤﺮ‬
ّ ‫اﺣﻤﺮ‬
ّ double the last consonant (for colors and defects)
X yistabdil istabdil ‫ اﺳﺘﺒﺪل ﻳﺴﺘﺒﺪل‬add ista- at the beginning of root
Note that the past and present stems are different from each other in Form I, IV, VII and VIII, while they are the same as
each other in forms II, III, VI, VII, IX and X.

6. Form III
e verbs of the various forms conjugate pretty much the same way as the verbs you have already learned. Because of their
phonetic shape, there are a few things to notice, however, so we will begin to present the conjugations of verbs of each form
one by one in order to examine them more carefully. Here is the entire conjugation of the verb ‫ ﺳﺎﻓﺮ ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬a typical Form III
verb.

Imperative ˙a- Imperfect bi- Imperfect Plain Imperfect Perfect Pronoun

‫ﺣﻴﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﻴﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﻫﻮ‬
‫ﺣﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺗﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮت‬ ‫ﻫﻲ‬
‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺣﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺗﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮت‬ ‫اﻧﺖ‬
‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮي‬ ‫ﺣﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮي‬ ‫ﺑﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮي‬ ‫ﺗﺴﺎﻓﺮي‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮﺗﻲ‬ ‫اﻧﺖ‬
ِ
‫ﺣﺎﺳﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﺳﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫اﺳﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮت‬ ‫أﻧﺎ‬

‫ﺣﻴﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺑﻴﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﻳﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﻫﻢ‬

‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺣﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺑﺘﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺗﺴﺎﻓﺮوا‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮﺗﻮا‬ ‫اﻧﺘﻮ‬
‫ﺣﻨﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﻨﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﻧﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺮﻧﺎ‬ ‫اﺣﻨﺎ‬

Imperative ˙a- Imperfect bi- Imperfect Plain Imperfect Perfect Pronoun

˙aysaafir biysaafir yisaafir saafir huwwa
˙atsaafir bitsaafir tisaafir safrit hiyya
saafir ˙atsaafir bitsaafir tisaafir safirt inta
safri ˙atsafri bitsafri tisafri safirti inti
˙asaafir basaafir asaafir safirt ana

˙aysafru biysafru yisafru safru humma

safru ˙atsafru bitsafru tisafru safirtu intu
˙ansaafir binsaafir nisaafir safirna i˙na

Verbal Noun ‫ﺳﻔﺮ‬ safar (Form I)

Active Participle ‫ﻣﺴﺎﻓﺮ‬ musaafir
To understand the changes from ‘normal’ in this conjugation, you really only need to understand the normal rules for vowel
dropping and vowel shortening. Any short i is dropped if it doesn’t create three consonants together in the middle of the
word, or two together at either end. us you can’t drop the i of saafir since it would create two consonants at the end, but
you can drop the i of the ‘underlying’ saafiru since by adding the -u ending, the two consonants are no longer at the end.
Likewise, although you cannot drop the i of the ti- prefix in the form bitiktib, you can drop it with the form bi-ti-saafir which
becomes bitsaafir. Once you drop the i you are often left with a long vowel followed by two consonants, which is automatically
shortened: saafiru to saafru to safru. Likewise, an unstressed long vowel is automatically shortened: saafírt to safírt. Most of
these changes are reflected only in the pronunciation, not in the script. It means, however, that the characteristic long aa of
Form III only shows up in the huwwa form of the past tense, and only in the forms of the present tense that have no suffix.
Try to figure out these forms well enough so that these alternations no longer seem random. Acquiring these phonological
alternations will form the basis for a good understanding of Egyptian Arabic pronunciation in general.

In regard to the verbal noun, the normal pattern for Form III verbal nouns is muFaaMaLa. However, many derived verbs, like
saafir yisaafir, use the Form I verbal noun instead.