Learn some common Egyptian Arabic slang
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Intro |
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| Michael: What is Egyptian Arabic slang like? |
| Nora: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At ArabicPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Farida uses a slang expression which Ben has never heard before. Ben asks, |
| Nora: "What does "meyya meyya" mean?" |
| يَعني إيه مِيَّة مِيَّة؟ (yaʿnī ʾeīh meyyah meyyah?) |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee:يَعني إيه مِيَّة مِيَّة؟ (yaʿnī ʾeīh meyyah meyyah?) |
| Farida Fahmy:.يَعني كُوَيِّس أَوِي (yaʿnī kuwayyes ʾawi.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee:يَعني إيه مِيَّة مِيَّة؟ (yaʿnī ʾeīh meyyah meyyah?) |
| Nora: "What does "meyya meyya" mean?" |
| Farida Fahmy:.يَعني كُوَيِّس أَوِي (yaʿnī kuwayyes ʾawi.) |
| Michael: "It means "great."" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Before we proceed, please notice that this lesson is about the Egyptian Arabic dialect. This is because, as you might already know, Modern Standard Arabic is not used in everyday life, except in some contexts, like the news on TV or on the radio. Therefore, there aren't any slang expressions that could be labeled as Modern Standard Arabic. |
| Slang is an aspect of language that isn’t usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. Slang indicates a set of words and expressions used by a group of people to better convey feelings and implied concepts. Slang is usually an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from one group to the other. Let’s start with a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember what word Ben was asking about? |
| Nora: مية مية (meyyah meyyah) |
| Michael: This word literally means "a hundred out of a hundred." But, when it's used as a slang expression, it means "awesome." You can use it to express satisfaction about something. Let's hear an example. Imagine Ben and Farida went to a restaurant, the waiter treated them very nicely, and they also got the dessert for free. In such a situation, they could say |
| Nora: .الخدمة هنا مية مية (ālḫedmah henā meyyah meyyah.) |
| Michael: which means "Service here is awesome." Our next slang expression is |
| Nora: ينفض (yenaffaḍ) |
| Michael: which literally means "to brush the dust away." But, when used as a slang expression, it means "to ignore." You can use this slang expression when you want to express that someone has been ignoring you or not listening to what you're saying. Let's imagine again that Ben and Farida went to a restaurant. This time the service wasn't as good, and the busy waiter didn't even reply to their calls. One of them could say |
| Nora: .كلمته خمس مرات بس هو نفضلي (kallemtuh ḫamas marrāt bas huwwa naffaḍlī) |
| Michael: "I called him five times, but he ignored me." The next slang expression is |
| Nora: بيئة (bīʾah) |
| Michael: which literally means "environment," but, when used as a slang expression, it means "low class." You can use it when you want to describe someone or some place as low class, but be careful because, if you overuse it, people might think you're a snob. Imagine Farida wants to buy a fancy shirt for her friend, she enters a store, but she's disappointed by the cheap atmosphere and says |
| Nora: .الهدوم في المحل ده بيئة أوي (elhudūm fī el-maḥal dah bīʾah ʾawī) |
| Michael: which means "The fashion in this store is so low class." Let's now hear a couple of slang expressions that mention body parts. The first is |
| Nora: من عينيا (men ʿīnayyā) |
| Michael: This literally means "from my eyes," but, when used as a slang expression, it means "sure." You can use it when you are responding generously to something you were asked to do. For example, imagine Ben was asked to attend a party by his best friend. He could emphatically reply |
| Nora: .حاضر من عينيا، هجيلك في المعاد (ḥāḍer men ʿīnayyā, hagīlak fī el-maʿād) |
| Michael: which means "Ok sure, I'll come on time!" Our second slang expression containing a body part is |
| Nora: يكبر دماغه (yekabbar demāġuh) |
| Michael: This literally means "to enlarge one's head," but, when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to ignore." Use it when you want to convey that someone is ignoring an issue or taking it lightly. Imagine that Ben is trying to cheer up a friend who is feeling disappointed. He could say |
| Nora: .كبر دماغك و متزعلش نفسك (kabbar demāġak wa matzaʿʿalš nafsak.) |
| Michael: which means "Ignore this issue and don't be upset about this." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: As you might know if you have Egyptian friends, when it comes to colloquial expressions, Egyptian Arabic can be a very colorful language. The only downside is that many slang words, if used in the wrong context, sound offensive. For example, many slang words are used to describe people's negative habits or attitudes; for example, let’s consider the expression |
| Nora: سرسجي (sarsagī) |
| Michael: It literally means “a vagrant,” but, when used as a slang word, it indicates someone who looks “tacky.” You could call a friend of yours this while joking, but you can’t do the same with someone you don’t know well. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Nora: !سلام (Salām!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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