Egyptian Arabic Dialect for Non-Natives

About this course

Modern Standard Arabic gets you reading newspapers; Egyptian dialect gets you a friend group, a job, and a life. This course is for non-Arabic speakers (and Arabic speakers from other dialects) who want to function in Cairo: ordering food, hailing a taxi, gossiping with a colleague, watching a movie without subtitles. We focus on the 1500 most-used phrases, the sound shifts that make Egyptian unique (the famous 'g' for 'j'), and cultural context — when to use 'ya basha', when 'wallahi' is rude, what every Egyptian sitcom is actually saying.

What you'll cover

• 1

  Sounds, greetings, and the first 50 words

  Egyptian sound shifts. Greetings for every time of day. Polite vs casual.

• 2

  Numbers, prices, and bargaining at the souk

  Counting up to a million. Asking the price. The bargaining script that doesn't get you ripped off.

• 3

  Getting around: taxis, Uber, the metro

  The phrases for directions. What 'fi nasaba' means. Negotiating without GPS.

• 4

  Food, coffee, and the Egyptian table

  Ordering at ahwas, koshari shops, mahshi. The food vocab that opens conversations.

• 5

  Work and small talk with colleagues

  Office vocabulary. The 'how was your weekend' script. Being polite with the office boy.

• 6

  Dating, friendship, and being invited home

  Cultural rules. Compliments without overstepping. The phrases that make you a 'long-lost cousin'.

• 7

  Movies, music, and the slang you'll actually hear

  Watching a Mohamed Henedy movie without subtitles. Gen Z slang. Mahraganat lyrics.

Skills you'll build

• Egyptian Arabic
• spoken Arabic
• MENA dialect
• everyday conversation
• Cairo Arabic
• Arabic for expats
• cultural fluency
• language immersion