Sounds
Pronunciation guide
Now that you have the phrases, understanding how to deliver them — the ʿayn, the qaf, the emphatic consonants — makes you audible on the street rather than in the classroom.
Pronunciation →
Where to begin
Why these phrases matter more than grammar
When you arrive in Egypt — at Cairo International, at Alexandria Borg el-Arab, or stepping off a train at Luxor — the very first thing you will encounter is people. A porter, a taxi driver, a hotel receptionist, a market seller. Your grammar is irrelevant in that moment. What matters is whether you can say hello in a way that lands as genuine, whether you can say thank you and have it sound sincere, and whether you can admit you do not understand without the conversation collapsing into embarrassed silence.
Egyptian Arabic has a reputation among travellers for being warm and forgiving. Egyptians are genuinely pleased when a foreigner tries, and they respond to effort with patience. But they respond to the right phrases — phrases from the spoken dialect, Masri, not from a textbook form of classical Arabic that nobody on the street uses casually. The phrases on this page are exactly what you will hear back when you speak them. No false starts, no confusion about register.
The table below gives you the English meaning, the Arabic script for reference, and the transliteration in the system used across all Masr Phrase Academy materials: stress is shown with a macron over the vowel (ā, ē, ū, ī), the ʿayn is written ʿ, the glottal stop as ʾ. Read through the full pronunciation guide if you want to understand how those sounds are made — but you do not need to before you start using the phrases.
Full phrasebook — 25+ entries
Greetings and everyday courtesy
The phrases you will use every single day, grouped by situation.
| English | Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Greetings | ||
| Hello (formal, to any group) | السلام عليكم | salām ʿalēku |
| Reply to salām ʿalēku | وعليكم السلام | wa ʿalēku s-salām |
| How are you? (to a man) | إزيك | izzayyak |
| How are you? (to a woman) | إزيك | izzayyik |
| I am fine, thank you | كويس، شكرا | kuwayyis, shukran |
| Good morning | صباح الخير | ṣabāḥ el-khēr |
| Reply: morning of light | صباح النور | ṣabāḥ en-nūr |
| Good evening | مساء الخير | masāʾ el-khēr |
| Goodbye | مع السلامة | maʿ es-salāma |
| See you later | شوفك بعدين | shūfak baʿdēn |
| Courtesy and requests | ||
| Thank you | شكرا | shukran |
| You are welcome | أهلا وسهلا | ahlan wa sahlan |
| Please (to a man) | من فضلك | min faḍlak |
| Please (to a woman) | من فضلك | min faḍlik |
| Excuse me / sorry | عن إذنك | ʿan iznak |
| No problem / never mind | معليش | maʿlēsh |
| Yes | أيوا | aywa |
| No | لأ | laʾ |
| No thank you | لأ شكرا | laʾ, shukran |
| When you don't understand | ||
| I don't understand (male) | مش فاهم | mish fāhim |
| I don't understand (female) | مش فاهمة | mish fāhma |
| Please repeat that | تاني بقا | tāni baʾa |
| Slower please | بالراحة شوية | bil-rāḥa shwayya |
| Do you speak English? | بتتكلم إنجليزي؟ | btitkallim ingilīzi? |
| Useful in any situation | ||
| What is your name? | اسمك إيه؟ | ismak ēh? |
| My name is … | اسمي … | ismi … |
| Good / OK | كويس | kuwayyis |
| Not good | مش كويس | mish kuwayyis |
| Wait a moment | استنى شوية | istanna shwayya |
| I want … | عايز … | ʿāyiz … |
| I don't want | مش عايز | mish ʿāyiz |
Using the phrases correctly
Context and delivery tips
The greeting salām ʿalēku is heard everywhere and at all times of day — it is never wrong to use it. When someone says it to you first, the expected reply is wa ʿalēku s-salām. Skipping the reply can seem abrupt, even if unintentionally. Learn both halves of this exchange and you will feel the rhythm of Masri greetings within a day.
Izzayyak and izzayyik are everyday, informal equivalents of "how are you" — literally "how are you doing?" in the sense that a friend would ask. The standard reply is kuwayyis or kuwayyis, shukran, meaning fine or fine, thank you. This word — kuwayyis — is one of the great utility words of Masri. You can use it to confirm something is okay, to say you are satisfied, or to signal agreement.
Maʿlēsh deserves special attention. It functions as "never mind," "it's okay," "not to worry," "I'm sorry about that" and "don't worry about it" all at once, depending on tone. If something breaks, if a taxi takes a wrong turn, if you bump into someone — maʿlēsh covers it. It is one of the most human words in Masri and you will hear it dozens of times a day.
The phrase ʿan iznak (excuse me) is most naturally used when you need to get past someone or when you need to interrupt a conversation politely. If you have made a mistake or caused an inconvenience, maʿlēsh is more natural than ʿan iznak in those situations. The two are not interchangeable in the way English speakers sometimes assume.
Tone carries more than words
In Egyptian Arabic, a warm tone and eye contact when you say shukran means more than perfect pronunciation. A slightly imperfect phrase delivered with genuine warmth will always land better than a textbook-perfect line delivered flatly. Smile. People respond to that before they process any phoneme.
In practice
Three situations where these phrases do the work
1
Arriving at your hotel or guesthouse
Lead with salām ʿalēku. When asked how you are, say kuwayyis, shukran. If the receptionist asks a question you don't follow, say mish fāhim and btitkallim ingilīzi. This combination — greeting, simple exchange, graceful fallback — handles ninety per cent of arrival conversations and sets an immediately good tone.
2
Buying something at a street stall
Open with ṣabāḥ el-khēr or masāʾ el-khēr depending on the time of day. When you decide on a purchase, say ʿāyiz da — I want this one. After paying, always say shukran and maʿ es-salāma as you leave. Sellers remember polite customers and prices sometimes soften on repeat visits.
3
Declining a sales approach
Persistent vendors along tourist routes are a reality in Egypt, and they are not malicious — this is simply how much informal trade works. A calm, direct laʾ, shukran combined with continued walking is the cleanest exit. Avoid long explanations; they are read as ambiguity. One clear laʾ, shukran and a smile is final and polite.
Common questions
About these phrases
Shukran — thank you — is the one word that opens almost every positive exchange. Follow it with a smile and you will rarely go wrong anywhere in Egypt. If you learn only one word before you land, make it shukran.
The standard greeting is salām ʿalēku — peace be upon you. The reply is wa ʿalēku s-salām. A more casual option between men is izzayyak, or izzayyik when speaking to a woman. Either works as a warm opener at any time of day.
Not at all. Laʾ is a clean, polite no. You can soften it by adding shukran after: laʾ, shukran — no thank you. This is the perfect phrase for turning down persistent vendors without causing offence. One clear delivery is better than hesitation.
Mish fāhim (male speaker) or mish fāhma (female speaker) means I do not understand. You can add min faḍlak — please — to soften the request, and follow with btitkallim ingilīzi — do you speak English. Most people in tourist areas will switch without any problem.
Yes. Egyptian Arabic, Masri, is understood across the whole country from Alexandria to Aswan. The Cairo accent drops the qaf to a glottal stop, which you will hear constantly in the capital, but the phrases on this page work wherever you travel. Read more about sounds in the pronunciation guide.
Arabic is a grammatically gendered language, so some words change depending on whether you are speaking to a man or a woman, or depending on your own gender. The key examples on this page are izzayyak (to a man) versus izzayyik (to a woman), and mish fāhim (I, a man, don't understand) versus mish fāhma (I, a woman, don't understand). Min faḍlak and min faḍlik follow the same rule.
Keep going
What to learn next
Money
Numbers and money
Greetings get you through doors. Numbers get you through markets. Learn to count, read prices in Eastern Arabic numerals, and say "how much" in a way vendors expect.
Numbers and money →
Travel
Getting around
Taxi directions, the Cairo metro, "stop here," "how far" — the transport phrases that every traveller needs from day one in any Egyptian city.
Getting around →Want live practice with a teacher?
A short course with one of our Alexandria or Cairo teachers turns these phrases into real conversation in two to four sessions. Tell us your travel dates and we will suggest the right plan.
Reach the team See course plans