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Egypt
Travel Essentials: Language & learn few
words to get you through
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Language
The national language in Egypt is Arabic. However,
tourists will rarely find a problem communicating as
English is widely spoken in hotels and shops, with
French a close second, and many staff in tourist
areas also speaking German or Italian.
Learn few Arabic words to get you through
Arabic is written from right to left, and the
language itself has many different spoken dialects,
some so far apart from each other that native Arabic
speakers from different countries may actually have
difficulty understanding each other. The Arabic used
in Egypt is the most widely understood dialect, due
in large part to the fact that most of the Arabic
movies are produced in Egypt. However, written or
"classical" Arabic is the same across the Arab
world, and is basically an older, purer form of the
language. Modern-day spoken Arabic in Egypt is
vastly different in both vocabulary and grammar from
the written classical Arabic that is used in
newspapers, magazines and books - to the extent that
if the same difference were expressed in English, it
would be as if all printed material were written in
Chaucerian! This enormous variety of vocabulary in
daily use in the Arab world is part of the reason
that Arabic is considered such an expressive
language. Native Arabic speakers also tend to have a
great appreciation for the beauty of their own
language, and poetry, or songs using poetic
expressions, are greatly valued.
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ENGLISH |
ARABIC |
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ENGLISH |
ARABIC |
| Egypt |
Mus-r / Mis-r |
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Water |
Mayaah |
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Good morning |
Saba-hel-kheer |
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Where |
Feen |
| Good evening |
Misaa' el-kheer |
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How much? |
Bi-kem? |
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Welcome! |
A-h-lan! |
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That's a lot! |
Kiteer awi! |
| Goodbye |
Maa salaama |
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Beautiful |
Gameel |
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Please |
Min fad-lak |
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Wow, cool!! |
Ishta!! |
| Thank you |
Shok-ran |
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Never mind |
Maa-lesh |
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Yes |
Ay-wa |
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Tomorrow |
Bok-ra |
| No |
La'-a |
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if God wills! |
In-sha' al-lah |
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Tips |
Bak-sheesh |
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No problem! |
Ma-feesh mosh-kela |
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