Egyptian Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in Egyptian. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in Egyptian.

Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in Egyptian conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present Tense - Egyptian - Pronunciation
I speak English أنا بَتكَلِّم إنجليزي [ana batkalem egelizi]
you speak French إنت بِتِتكَلِّم فَرَنساوي [enta betetkalem faransawi]
he speaks German هُوَّا بِيتكَلِّم ألماني [huwa beyetkalem almani]
she speaks Italian هِيَّا بِتِتكَلِّم إيطالي [hiya betetkalem itali]
we speak Arabic إحنا بنِتكَلِّم عربي [ehna benetkalem 'arabi]
they speak Chinese هُمِّا بِيتكَلِّموا صِيني [huma beyetkalemo seeni]

The past tense in Egyptian conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past Tense - Egyptian - Pronunciation
I visited France أنا زُرت فَرَنسا [ana zurt faransa]
you visited Italy إنتَ زُرت إيطاليا [enta zurt italia]
he visited Morocco هُوَّا زار المغرِب [huwa zar elmaghrib]
she visited China هِيَّا زارت الصين [hiya zaret esseen]
we visited Mexico إحنا زورنا المَكسيك [ehna zurna elmexik]
they visited Kenya هُمَّا زاروا كينيا [huma zaru kenya]

The future tense in Egyptian conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense - Egyptian - Pronunciation
I will drink milk أنا حاشرَب لَبَن [ana hashrab laban]
you will drink coffee إنت حتِشْرَب قَهْوَة [enta hateshrab ahwa]
he will drink tea هَوَّا حيشرَب شاي [huwa hayeshrab shay]
she will drink water هِيَّا حتِشرَب مَيَّة [heya hateshrab mayya]
we will drink apple juice إحنا حنِشرَب عَصير تُفاح [ehna haneshra 'aseer tefah]
they will drink tea هُمَّا حيشرَبوا شاي [huma hayeshrabu shay]

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear ودن [wedn]

eye عين [een]

mouth بُق [bu']

nose مناخِير [manakheer]

hair شـَعْر [sha'r]

face وِش [wesh]

head راس [saar]

heart قلْب [alb]

hand إيد [eed]

fingers صوابع [sawabe']

leg رِجل [regl]

feet قَدَم [adam]

Travel Phrases in Egyptian

Imagine yourself in some Egyptian speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

English - Egyptian - Pronunciation
Can you help me? تِقدَر تِساعِدني؟ [te'dar tesa'edni]
Can I help you? أقدَر أساعدَك؟ [a'dar asa'dak?]
Where is the airport? فين المَطار؟ [feen el matar?]
Go straight إمشي دوغري [emshi dughri]
Then بَعدين [ba'deen]
Turn left لِف شِمال [lef shemal]
Turn right لِف يمين [lef yemeen]

I hope this lesson about the verbs in Egyptian was not hard for you. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.