Browsing Category
Dialects
27 posts
It’s the spoken word: tricky and essential things about Arabic dialects. Basics like the negation – but also difficult expressions that are not found in Standard Arabic.
Subcategories
بقى in Egyptian Arabic – what does it mean?
The verb ba'a (بَقى) in Egyptian Arabic is tricky. You'll hear this verb in many situations. In general, it is used with a following past tense verb.
ما in Egyptian Arabic – is it “what” or “not” or what?
Some expressions in Egyptian Arabic can be very tricky. They are all related to the word ma - ما.
Why is Egyptian Arabic difficult?
Filler expressions make Egyptian Arabic difficult for learners: bass, ya'ny, ba'a - words that don't really change the meaning of the sentence. Here is a list.
lissa in Egyptian Arabic
When I started learning Egyptian Arabic, there was one word which gave me a headache: lissa -لِسّه; sometimes also written لِسَّى or لِسّة. Let's see why.
Pasha, Mister, and Baksheesh – etymology of Arabic words (part 3)
In Arabic, there are words that don’t look Arabic - and they aren't. The etymology of basha, bakshish, sitt, efendim, khan, dulab, fingan and Khorchide.
Prison, ice cream, and shoes – etymology of Arabic words (part 2)
In Arabic there are words that don’t look Arabic - and they aren't. The etymology of liman, odah, dondurma, shish tawouk, gazma, dughry, fihris.
Jailbirds, thugs, and kufta – etymology of Arabic words (part 1)
In Arabic there are words that don’t look Arabic - and they aren't. The etymology of Baltagi, Idda, shanta, daftar, dukkan