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Mastering Egyptian Arabic comparatives and superlatives

Comparative and superlative forms in Egyptian Arabic have some features. Let’s analyze some unique constructions and usage patterns.

Last updated: 2 months

The in Egyptian Arabic has some special features. We already took a look at the basic singular and plural forms.

In this last part of our miniseries about adjectives, I will examine some peculiarities of the and superlative forms.

“more tired”: the comparative of long adjectives

If you want to say bigger in , you use the standard pattern that is also used in Modern Standard Arabic: ุฃูŽูู’ุนูŽู„. So, we eventually get ุฃูŽูƒู’ุจูŽุฑ.

This formula works perfectly for short adjectives that are derived from verbs (not augmented).

But what should we do if we have adjectives that are quite long regarding the number of letters? We use the additional word ุฃูŽูƒู’ุชูŽุฑ and put it after the adjective. This helping construction works very well for most adjectives and is often used instead of the regular comparative.

tiredุชูŽุนู’ุจุงู†
more tiredุชูŽุนู’ุจุงู† ุฃูŽูƒู’ุชูŽุฑ
more tired than youุชูŽุนู’ุจุงู† ุฃูŽูƒู’ุชูŽุฑ ู…ูู†ู‘ูŽูƒ

How do you build the superlative in Egyptian Arabic?

That is tricky! In Egyptian Arabic, you have three options.

waa7id and wa7da

You often just use a helping construction with the word waahid (ูˆุงุญูุฏ) or wahda (ูˆุงุญูุฏุฉ) which are placed after the comparative!

the (fem. ) best oneุฃูŽุญู’ุณูŽู† ูˆุงุญูุฏุฉa7san wahda
This (fem.) is the nicest one I have.ุฏููŠ ุฃูŽุฌู’ู…ูŽู„ ูˆุงุญูุฏุฉ ุนูŽู†ู’ุฏููŠda agmal wa7da 3andy.
This (masc.) is the cheapest one.ุฏูŽู‡ ุฃูŽุฑู’ุฎูŽุต ูˆุงุญูุฏda ar5aS waa7id.

Standard solution: genitive construction

This is the standard solution that is also used in Modern Standard Arabic. Use the comparative form and add the noun. It is nothing but a ุฅูุถุงูุฉ-construction.

This is the biggest book.ุฏูŽู‡ ุฃูŽูƒู’ุจูŽุฑ ูƒูุชุงุจda akbar kitaab

Complex solution: comparative plus pronoun

Here, you have to listen closely. Otherwise, you may misunderstand it. Instead of a ุฅูุถุงูุฉ, you use a different word order and add a possessive pronoun to the comparative form. Usually, this is the plural pronoun hum (ู‡ูู…). Sounds complicated? Let’s see.

This is the biggest book.ุงู„ูƒูุชุงุจ ุฏู‡ ุฃูŽูƒู’ุจูŽุฑู‡ู…elkitaab da akbarhum.
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rahzaar
rahzaar
4 years ago

Are there any rules about the possessive pronoun in 2.3? Can you use a different one? Or does it mean something like biggest among them?

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