The most-used skill in everyday Egypt travel
Before your first full day in Egypt is over, you will have encountered numbers in more contexts than almost any other linguistic category. The taxi driver names a fare. The market seller quotes a price. The café menu shows amounts in Eastern Arabic numerals on one side. The hotel receptionist asks which floor. Numbers are everywhere, and unlike phrases where context carries a lot of load, an incorrect number misheard in a price negotiation can cost money in a very literal sense.
Egyptian Arabic numbers have a reputation for being complicated. The reputation is partly deserved: Arabic has grammatical agreement rules for numbers that interact with noun gender in ways that take time to internalise. But here is the good news for travellers — those rules apply to formal, grammatically complete sentences. In the market, in a taxi, in a street transaction, Egyptians use a simplified spoken form that strips most of the complexity away. You say the number, then the thing or currency. That is it. Khamsa ginēh: five pounds. Talatat arbaʿa: three or four (items). ʿishrīn daqīʾa: twenty minutes.
This page covers the core numbers from zero to one thousand, the Eastern Arabic numerals you will see on banknotes and signs, the key money and price phrases, and the bargaining vocabulary that changes the dynamic in any open market. Cross-reference the essential phrases page for courtesy words that surround these transactions, and the getting around page for numbers applied to taxi fares and distances.
The base numbers — learn these first
| Number | Eastern Arabic | Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ٠ | صفر | ṣifr |
| 1 | ١ | واحد | wāḥid |
| 2 | ٢ | اتنين | itnēn |
| 3 | ٣ | تلاتة | talāta |
| 4 | ٤ | أربعة | arbaʿa |
| 5 | ٥ | خمسة | khamsa |
| 6 | ٦ | ستة | sitta |
| 7 | ٧ | سبعة | sabʿa |
| 8 | ٨ | تمانية | tamanya |
| 9 | ٩ | تسعة | tisʿa |
| 10 | ١٠ | عشرة | ʿashara |
Tens, hundreds and the numbers you'll use most
| Number | Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | حداشر | ḥidāshar |
| 12 | اتناشر | itnāshar |
| 13 | تلتاشر | taltāshar |
| 14 | أربعتاشر | arbaʿtāshar |
| 15 | خمستاشر | khamastāshar |
| 20 | عشرين | ʿishrīn |
| 25 | خمسة وعشرين | khamsa wi ʿishrīn |
| 30 | تلاتين | talātīn |
| 40 | أربعين | arbaʿīn |
| 50 | خمسين | khamsīn |
| 60 | ستين | sittīn |
| 70 | سبعين | sabʿīn |
| 80 | تمانين | tamānīn |
| 90 | تسعين | tisʿīn |
| 100 | مية | miya |
| 200 | ميتين | mitēn |
| 500 | خمسميت | khamsumiyet |
| 1,000 | ألف | alf |
Compound numbers between ten and twenty are formed by combining the unit with -tashar (the equivalent of -teen in English). Numbers above twenty are formed units-first with wi (and) connecting them: arbaʿa wi ʿishrīn — four and twenty — means twenty-four. This reversal from English word order trips people up initially, but the pattern is perfectly regular.
Eastern Arabic numerals — ten characters to memorise
Egyptian banknotes print the denomination in Eastern Arabic numerals on one face. These are the same number system used across much of the Arab world and derive from the same Indian source as Western Arabic numerals — but they look very different. Recognising them takes about twenty minutes of focused practice and will pay dividends immediately when reading menus, receipt printouts, signs and banknotes.
| Western (familiar) | Eastern Arabic | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ٠ | A small dot — easy to confuse with a decimal point on printed menus. In context, positioned between other numerals. |
| 1 | ١ | A single short vertical stroke — nearly identical to Western 1. |
| 2 | ٢ | Looks a little like a 2 tipped on its side, or a z-shape. |
| 3 | ٣ | Resembles a backwards or mirrored 3. |
| 4 | ٤ | Looks like a backwards 3 with a foot — easy to confuse with 3 at first glance. |
| 5 | ٥ | An open circle or a zero with a gap — remember: 5 looks like 0, 0 looks like a dot. |
| 6 | ٦ | Resembles a 7 pointing to the right. A common source of confusion: this is not 7. |
| 7 | ٧ | Looks like an upside-down V or a wedge shape. Decidedly not a 7 to English eyes. |
| 8 | ٨ | Looks like a v or u with a tail — not at all like 8 in Western script. |
| 9 | ٩ | Looks somewhat like a 9 with the circle opened — possibly the most recognisable of the group. |
The vocabulary of buying, paying and bargaining
| English | Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Asking prices | ||
| How much is this? | بكام ده؟ | bikām da? |
| How much does it cost? | بكام ده بالظبط؟ | bikām da biẓẓabṭ? |
| What is the price? | السعر كام؟ | is-siʿr kām? |
| Reacting to prices | ||
| Too expensive | غالي أوي | ghāli ʾawi |
| Very cheap / a bargain | رخيص أوي | rakhīṣ ʾawi |
| That's reasonable | معقول | maʿʾūl |
| Bargaining | ||
| Can you lower the price? | ممكن تنزل السعر؟ | mumkin tinazzil is-siʿr? |
| What is the best price? | أحسن سعر إيه؟ | aḥsan siʿr ēh? |
| I will give you [amount] | هديلك [amount] | hadīlak [amount] |
| Final price? | آخر سعر؟ | ākhir siʿr? |
| I'll take it | هاخده | hākhdu |
| I don't want it (polite decline) | مش عايزه | mish ʿāyzu |
| Paying | ||
| Do you have change? | عندك فكة؟ | ʿandak fakka? |
| Keep the change | الباقي لك | il-bāʾi lak |
| Do you accept cards? | بتقبل كارت؟ | btiʾbal kart? |
| Receipt please | فاتورة من فضلك | fātūra min faḍlak |
| Currency | ||
| Egyptian pound | جنيه مصري | ginēh maṣri |
| Piastre (1/100 of a pound) | قرش | ʾirsh |
| One pound | جنيه واحد | ginēh wāḥid |
| Five pounds | خمسة جنيه | khamsa ginēh |
| Twenty pounds | عشرين جنيه | ʿishrīn ginēh |
| One hundred pounds | مية جنيه | miya ginēh |
How a market negotiation actually runs
Open-market bargaining in Egypt is not aggressive confrontation — it is a social ritual with understood steps. Understanding the structure makes it far less stressful. The seller opens with a price significantly above what they expect. Your acknowledgement that you heard the price, followed by a counter, signals that you are a buyer. The walk-away is a genuine tactic, and a lower offer will often follow within steps.
Ask with bikām da
Start with a calm, friendly bikām da — how much. This opens the negotiation without commitment. The first price you hear is the anchor. In tourist-heavy markets like Khan el-Khalili in Cairo or the souk near Luxor temple, first prices for non-fixed-price goods can be two to four times the expected final price. Do not react with shock — just nod.
Say ghāli ʾawi and name your number
A quiet ghāli ʾawi — too expensive — signals genuine reluctance without hostility. Then follow with hadīlak [your number] — I'll give you [amount]. Name roughly sixty to seventy per cent of what you are actually willing to pay. You both know this is a starting offer, not an ultimatum. The seller will counter. You counter again.
Ask ākhir siʿr to close
When you are close to an acceptable price, say ākhir siʿr — final price — as a signal that you are ready to close if they will commit. If they agree, say hākhdu — I'll take it — and the transaction is done. If you are genuinely unwilling at their final price, mish ʿāyzu (I don't want it) with a smile and a departing step usually produces one more offer.
Frequently asked
The standard question is bikām da — how much is this. You can also say bikām da illi hina — how much is this one here — if you are pointing at a specific item. Vendors in busy markets are accustomed to hearing bikām and will understand it even from a heavily accented speaker. Using it with a pointing gesture reinforces the question clearly.
The Egyptian Pound, abbreviated EGP and written locally as ج.م (ginēh maṣri). One pound is divided into 100 piastres (ʾirsh). In speech, prices are usually quoted in ginēh (pounds) for whole amounts. Most tourist transactions are in whole pound amounts — piastres appear mainly on printed receipts in supermarkets.
Egyptian banknotes carry Eastern Arabic numerals on one face and Western Arabic numerals on the other. Eastern Arabic numerals are ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩ for 0 through 9. The 0 looks like a dot, 5 looks like an open circle, and 6 looks like a 7. The table on this page gives memory tips for each. Learning all ten takes about twenty minutes.
Yes, in open markets (souks), souvenir stalls, and many informal retail settings. Fixed-price shops — supermarkets, pharmacies, branded stores — do not negotiate. At a souk, a first quoted price is typically set high to leave room. Responding with ghāli ʾawi and naming a lower figure is completely normal. Also visit the at the market guide for the full shopping vocabulary.
Amounts are said with the number first, then ginēh (pounds). Five pounds is khamsa ginēh. Twenty-five pounds is khamsa wi ʿishrīn ginēh. One hundred pounds is miya ginēh. Two hundred is mitēn ginēh. Five hundred is khamsumiyet ginēh. Thousand is alf ginēh.
Informally, many vendors near major tourist sites will accept dollars or euros and will do the conversion mentally. However the rate they use will not be in your favour. Exchanging to EGP at a bank or licensed exchange bureau and paying in local currency is almost always cheaper. Using the phrase bikām bil-ginēh — how much in pounds — when in doubt confirms you are paying in local currency.
Combine numbers with transport phrases
Numbers in taxis, on metro tickets, and for distances — the getting-around guide shows them in action. Or sign up for a short course and practise counting with a real teacher.
Transport phrases Send a message