Transport in Egypt is active, oral and negotiated. Even in Cairo, where Uber and Careem operate reliably for smartphone users with data, there are constant situations where words matter: navigating from an airport exit to your pickup point, directing a microbus from the window, asking a bystander how far the nearest metro station is, or confirming with a driver that you want the Sayyida Zeinab neighbourhood and not somewhere else with a similar-sounding name. Getting these moments right in Arabic takes twenty minutes of preparation and saves hours of confusion.
The fundamental four direction words — fēn (where), shimāl (left), yimīn (right), ʿala ṭūl (straight ahead) — are the building blocks of almost every navigation exchange. Around them, you need a handful of question structures and polite openers. This guide gives you those building blocks, then the phrases for taxis, for the metro, and for the specific situations that catch travellers most often.
Numbers are essential companions to transport phrases — you need to discuss fares, minutes of travel time and floor numbers. If you have not already read the numbers and money page, it is worth a quick pass before your first taxi ride. The essential phrases give you the courtesy words that wrap any transport exchange in the right social register.
| English | Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Core directions | ||
| Where is …? | فين …؟ | fēn …? |
| Left | شمال | shimāl |
| Right | يمين | yimīn |
| Straight ahead | على طول | ʿala ṭūl |
| Turn left | دور شمال | dūr shimāl |
| Turn right | دور يمين | dūr yimīn |
| U-turn / reverse direction | العكس | il-ʿaks |
| Near | قريب | ʾurayyyib |
| Far | بعيد | biʿīd |
| How far from here? | قد إيه من هنا؟ | ʾad ēh min hina? |
| How many minutes? | كام دقيقة؟ | kām daqīʾa? |
| Taxis | ||
| Taxi! | تاكسي! | tāksi! |
| To … please | لـ … من فضلك | li-… min faḍlak |
| To the museum please | للمتحف من فضلك | lil-matḥaf min faḍlak |
| To the airport please | للمطار من فضلك | lil-maṭār min faḍlak |
| To the train station | لمحطة القطر | li-maḥaṭṭit il-ʾaṭr |
| To the hotel | للفندق | lil-funduq |
| Stop here | هنا كويس | hina kwayyis |
| Stop here (direct) | وقف هنا | wuʾʾif hina |
| How much to …? | بكام لـ …؟ | bikām li-…? |
| That is too much | ده كتير | da kitīr |
| I will give you [amount] | هديلك [amount] | hadīlak [amount] |
| Metro (Cairo) | ||
| Where is the metro? | المترو فين؟ | il-mitrū fēn? |
| One ticket please | تذكرة واحدة من فضلك | tazkarāt wāḥda min faḍlak |
| Two tickets please | تذكرتين من فضلك | tazkaratēn min faḍlak |
| Which line for …? | أنهي خط لـ …؟ | anhi khaṭṭ li-…? |
| End of the line | آخر محطة | ākhir maḥaṭṭa |
| Change / transfer here? | بتعدل هنا؟ | btiʿaddil hina? |
| Asking people on the street | ||
| Excuse me | عن إذنك | ʿan iznak |
| Where is the …? | فين الـ …؟ | fēn il-…? |
| Is it close? | قريب؟ | ʾurayyib? |
| On foot? | مشي؟ | mashī? |
| I'm lost | أنا تهيت | ana tiht |
| Can you show me on the map? | ممكن تورني على الخريطة؟ | mumkin tiwwarīni ʿala l-kharīṭa? |
Raise your hand, say tāksi as the car approaches, and as the driver slows, lean to the window and say your destination with lil-... min faḍlak. State the neighbourhood name rather than a precise street address — drivers navigate by area and landmark. Agree a fare before entering: bikām? If the number feels high, say da kitīr and name your counter-offer. Once inside, guide with shimāl, yimīn, ʿala ṭūl as needed. Hina kwayyis is the stop signal.
At the entrance, say tazkarāt wāḥda min faḍlak for one ticket. The fare is fixed — no need to name a destination for price. To confirm you are on the right line, ask anhi khaṭṭ li-[station name] — which line for [station]. Line 1 runs north-south, Line 2 east-west through central Cairo, Line 3 connects to the airport. Signs in stations are bilingual; the platform name and direction are shown clearly.
Open with ʿan iznak (excuse me) followed by fēn il-[place name]. Listen for the response — you will hear some combination of shimāl, yimīn, ʿala ṭūl and ʾurayyib. If you do not understand, say mish fāhim (from the essential phrases) and show your phone screen with the map. Mumkin tiwwarīni ʿala l-kharīṭa — can you show me on the map — works with any smartphone and removes the language barrier entirely for the final navigation step.
Microbuses (microbus or minibus) are shared vehicles that run fixed informal routes in Cairo and Alexandria. You stand at the roadside and shout your destination as they pass — drivers or passengers will confirm if it is on the route. Say the destination name clearly; you do not need extra grammar. Pay when you get off by handing notes forward — the fare is very low and rarely negotiated. The key phrase is hina kwayyis called out when you want to exit.
Naming your destination in its Arabic form — or something close to it — is far more reliable than using a transliterated or English version. Cairo and Alexandria have widely used Arabic names for key areas that drivers and locals recognise instantly.
| English name | Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Tahrir Square (Cairo) | ميدان التحرير | midān it-taḥrīr |
| Egyptian Museum (Cairo) | المتحف المصري | il-matḥaf il-maṣri |
| Khan el-Khalili bazaar | خان الخليلي | khān il-khalīli |
| Cairo International Airport | مطار القاهرة | maṭār il-ʾāhira |
| Cairo Train Station (Ramses) | محطة رمسيس | maḥaṭṭit ramsis |
| Alexandria Corniche | الكورنيش | il-kurnīsh |
| Alexandria Library (Bibliotheca) | مكتبة الإسكندرية | maktabit il-iskandariyya |
| Luxor Temple | معبد الأقصر | maʿbad il-uqṣur |
| Karnak Temple | معبد الكرنك | maʿbad il-karnak |
| Aswan train station | محطة أسوان | maḥaṭṭit aswān |
| Giza Pyramids | أهرامات الجيزة | ahrāmāt il-gīza |
Say lil followed by the place name and min faḍlak — please. For example: lil-matḥaf min faḍlak — to the museum please. If you have an address on your phone, showing the screen is always a valid backup, but naming the neighbourhood or landmark in Arabic almost always works better than a precise street address, which drivers often do not navigate by.
The phrase is hina kwayyis — here is good. It is the natural, colloquial way to ask a driver to stop at your current position. You can also say wuʾʾif hina — stop here — for a more direct instruction. Both are understood immediately and neither comes across as rude or abrupt.
Yes. The Cairo Metro has three lines and covers much of central and suburban Cairo. Fares are fixed regardless of distance and are paid at the station entrance turnstile. Signs in stations are bilingual Arabic and English. Women-only carriages (typically the first and last carriage on each train) operate on all lines and are marked with pink signs on the platform.
Say ʾad ēh min hina — how far from here. You can also say buʿd ʾad ēh — how far away is it. Egyptians will typically respond with a time estimate in minutes (daqāʾiq) rather than a distance in kilometres, which is actually more useful for a traveller. Ten minutes on foot is mashī ʿashar daqāyiʾ.
Regular taxis — the black-and-white cabs in Cairo, yellow in some other cities — require you to negotiate or agree a fare before you get in. App-based services, Uber and Careem, operate widely in Cairo and Alexandria, are metered, and remove the need to negotiate. However the phrases on this page remain useful when your phone has no data, at airports before you reach pickup areas, and for any street transport like microbuses.
Left is shimāl, right is yimīn, straight ahead is ʿala ṭūl. You will also hear doghri used for straight — informal but widely understood. For turn, say dūr shimāl (turn left) or dūr yimīn (turn right). These four words cover the vast majority of direction-giving interactions in a taxi or on foot. See the pronunciation guide for how to deliver the ʿayn in ʿala ṭūl correctly.
Taxi fares, metro tickets, distance in minutes — all of these use the numbers covered in the numbers and money guide. Bikām, khamsa ginēh, ʿishrīn daqīʾa — learn them before your first ride.
Numbers and money →The courtesy words that wrap every transport exchange — ʿan iznak (excuse me), min faḍlak (please), shukran (thank you), mish fāhim (I don't understand). Combine them with the direction phrases for complete interactions.
Essential phrases →Once you get there — to Khan el-Khalili or any Egyptian souk — the market phrases take over. Bargaining, asking prices and the full shopping vocabulary in the at-the-market guide.
At the market →A short course with one of our teachers runs through transport scenarios as spoken role-play — the fastest way to get comfortable before your first Cairo taxi. Tell us your trip date and we will match you with the right plan.
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