Colloquial Egyptian Arabic expressions

Here are some colloquial expressions used in Egyptian 3ammiyya (and only in 3ammiyya; I didn't list words that are also found in fuSHa with the same meanings). I focused on interesting idioms, very commonly-used words and phrases, and words that can have completely different meanings from the standard meaning. And I tried to list only expressions that I've actually heard used, ones that are relatively frequent or at least interesting.

حطّه على الرفّ (HaTTuh 3ala r-raff)
To put someone on the shelf (not make use of their abilities)

وجع راسه (waga3 raasu)
To annoy or inconvenience someone (lit. hurt their head)

ناس مابتجيش الا بالعين الحمرا (naas matbitgiiš illa bil-3ein il-Hamra)
People who only do things the hard way, like after being yelled at (lit. who only come by the red/evil eye)

مقطع السمكة وديلها (mi'aTTa3 is-samaka we-deilha)
A "player" or someone who commits lots of vices

نسوانجي (niswaangi)
A womanizer or philanderer

عنده وشّ (3andu wašš)
Someone crazy (lit. who has a buzz/hum)

ماعندوش دمّ (ma3anduuš damm)
He has no shame (lit. no blood)

كوسا (koosa)
A wasta (واسطة) - connections, someone you know who can grease the wheels for you

بين فكيّ الكمّاشة (bein fakkeiyy il-kammaaša)
Between a rock and a hard place (lit. between the plier's jaws)

خرجنا من الحفرة ووقعنا في الدحديرة (xaragna mil-Hofra wa wi'i3na fid-daHdiira)
We jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire (lit. we got out of the hole and fell down the slope)

نزل من عيني (nizil min 3eini)
He went down in my estimation, my opinion of him fell (lit. he fell from my eye)

على مهلك (3ala mahlak)
Slowly, take your time; you can say this to a driver to try and get him to slow down

مافيش فايدة (mafiiš fayda)
It’s no use, it’s pointless

ماينفعش (mayinfa3š)
It does no good, it's useless

مش معقول (miš ma3'uul)
No way; that's ridiculous! (lit. not reasonable)

زي الفل (zayy il-full)
Perfect (lit. like jasmine)

ولا يهمّك (walla yhimmak)
Don't worry

مافيش مشكلة (mafiiš moškila)
No problem

خللي بالك من (xalli baalak min)
Watch out for, take care of (s.t.)

في المشمش (fil-mišmiš)
Never; used to express skepticism about something happening (lit. in the apricot season)

اشمعنى (išma3na)
Why (especially, particularly)

يا سلام (ya salaam)
Wow! Expression of surprise (lit. oh peace)

يا خبر أبيض | اسود (ya xabar abyaD/iswid)
Expresses surprise about a piece of news; you can say just يا خبر! or يا خبر ابيض in reaction to any news; يا خبر اسود is used in reaction to bad news.

مالوش دعوى بـ (maluuš da3wa bi)
He has nothing to do with (s.t.) or no right to interfere in it; you can tell someone مالكش دعوى بي (malakš da3wa biyya) to tell them to leave you alone and stop meddling in your affairs.

زي القمر (zayy il-'amar)
Beautiful (lit. like the moon)

موت (moot)
A slangy intensifier.
يموت في (yimuut fi)
To be crazy about something (lit. to die in)

مهووس بـ (mahwuus bi)
Crazy about s.t.

غاوي (ġaawi)
A fan, enthusiast or devotee
كييف (ج) كييفة (kayyiif (pl.) kayyiifa)
A buff or enthusiast; or a connoisseur or sophisticated devotee
مالك؟ (maalak?)
What's wrong with you? What's with you?

ضحك على (DiHik 3ala)
To fool, trick (lit. to laugh at)

قد الدنيا ('add id-donia)
(1) world-class, very big and important, a big-shot
(2) very much
في آخر الدنيا (fi aaxer id-donia)
At the ends of the earth; can be used to indicate great distance

في شمال خط السما (fi šemaal xaTT is-sama)
Very far away

طويل الأمل (Tawiil il-amal)
Very long
زي اللبلب (zayy il-liblib)
Fluently; used in reference to someone's language abilities

غصب عنه (ġaSb 3annu)
Forced on someone, against their will

بلّوه واشرب ميته (billuuh wišrib mayyetu)
Wet it and drink its water; used to denigrate a worthless or useless piece of paper

ده كلام أي كلام (da kalaam ayy kalaam)
That's a bunch of nonsense

الكلام ده (il-kalaam da)
A state of affairs or condition (lit. that talk); حكاية (Hekaaya, lit. story) can also be used in a similar way to mean matter/affair.

عشان خاطرك (3ašaan xaaTrak)
For your sake

بتلاتة مليم (bi-talaata milliim)
Worthless, poor-quality (lit. for three pennies)

طوّل بالك (Tawwal baalak)
Be patient

بلسان طويل (bi-lisaan Tawiil)
Rudely, insultingly (lit. with a long tongue)

طول بعرض (Tuul bi-3arD)
Can be used in reference to a man to refer to their muscular build (lit. height by breadth)

بالدراع (bid-diraa3)
By force (lit. by the arm)

حباله طويلة (Hibaalu Tawiila)
He takes a long time to get anything done (lit. his ropes are long)

زي سمن على عسل (zayy samn 3ala 3asal)
Used in reference to two people who get along really well (lit. like clarified butter on honey)

حرام عليك (Haraam 3aleik)
Shame on you

عالفاضي (3al faaDi)
For nothing
اتكل على الله (ittakil 3al allah)
Depend on God; you can tell someone اتكل على الله to mean "Go away!"

حاجة غريبة (Haaga ġariiba)
How strange!

دمّه خفيف (dammu xafiif)
He's fun to be around (lit. his blood is light). (The opposite expression would be دمّه تقيل dammu ti'iil, his blood is heavy.)

على حسابي (3ala Hisaabi)
On my bill; I'm the one who pays. Can be used to offer to pay for dinner, etc. (Lit. on my account)

على فكرة (3ala fikra)
By the way, incidentally

ضرب عليه بمبة (Darab 3aleih bomba)
To cheat s.o. of their money

مافيش حاجة اسمها (mafiiš Haaga ismaha)
There's no such thing as... (lit. there's nothing called...)

احطياطي (iHTiyaaTi)
A spare; can be used in the context of a spare tire etc. or can mean an understudy in the context of theater

نمر | لقيم (nimr/la'iim)
Somone cunning and sly (نمر literally means "tiger")

راجل اخطبوط (raagul axTabuuT)
A corrupt, ruthless businessman who accumulates a lot of money (lit. an octopus)

زي الحصان (zayy il-HiSaan)
Used to describe someone who is strong and active (lit. like a horse)

زي القطة تاكل وتيكر (zayy il-'uTTa taakul wa tinkir)
Like the cat who eats and denies (that she just ate). Used to describe someone ungrateful.

نمس (nims)
Used to describe someone clever and astute (lit. a weasel, but it's not used insultingly like it would be in English)

أظرط من ستي إلى سيدي (aZraT min sitti ila siidi)
Used to describe two people who are worse than each other

مخربش (mixarbiš)
Describes someone who knows all the tricks of his trade

طلّع عينيها (Talla3 3eineiha)
To give someone a hard time

لعّبها على الشناكل (la33abha 3alaš-šanaakil)
To give someone a hard time

شيّب (šayyib)
Not just to give someone a hard time, to put them through the wringer. At the Military Academy, the non-commissioned officers say this to intimidate the cadets — هشيّبكو النهارده! (hašayyibku n-nahaarda!) It can also describe something really scary — ده موضوع يشيّب (da mawDuu3 yišayyib) Lit. to make s.o.'s hair turn white.

احترم نفسك (iHtirim nafsak)
Behave yourself, be polite (lit. respect yourself)

تعبان (ta3baan)
In addition to "tired," it can mean "sick, ill" or "poor, of bad quality."
كرش (kirš)
Potbelly; you can call someone with a potbelly ابو كرش (abu kirš).

اتصرّف (itSarraf)
To cope or manage, to find a way to deal with something. (The more standard meaning is "to act or behave.")
عينه صفرا (3einu Safra)
His eye is yellow; used to describe someone jealous

حرارة (Haraara)
In addition to the usual meaning of "heat," Haraara can also mean an electric current in the context of a phone line. If someone is checking to see if there's a ring tone, you can ask them, في حرارة (fii Haraara?).
الخط طار (il-xaTTe Taar)
The (phone) line went dead. Lit. "The line flew."

حطّ النقط على الحروف (HaTT il-no'aT 3ala l-Horuuf)
To clarify something, make everything crystal-clear and precise. Lit. "to put the dots on the letters."
خده تحت باطه (xaduh taHt baaTu)
To take someone under one's wing, be a friend to someone (lit. to take s.o. under one's armpit)

حتّة (ج) حتت (Hetta (pl.) Hetat)
Several meanings: (1) a piece or bit, like a piece of food or material; (2) place or neighborhood.

طلع - يطلع (Tili3 - yiTla3)
Aside from meaning "to go up," it can also mean "to turn out (to be s.t.)."
يسرق الكحل من العين. (yisra' il-kuHl mil-3ein.)
He could steal the eyeliner from your eye. (Used to describe a big thief.)

حطّه في جيبه (HaTTuh fi geibu)
To put someone in one's pocket, have them at your beck and call

يفتح الله (yiftaH alla)
Said between a seller and buyer, if one doesn't accept the other's price; the meaning is like "May God open (another opportunity)."

نام - ينام (naam - yinaam)
Aside from meaning "to sleep," in the context of a tire or battery, naam can mean "to go flat," as in العجلة نايمة (il-3agala nayma), The tire is flat.

جدع (ج) جدعان (gada3 (pl.) gid3aan)
Gada3 can have several different meanings: (1) smart and hard-working; (2) someone with integrity and nobility of character; (3) a manly tough guy. A general, vague translation could be "a good guy." It can also be used to address a young man (يا جدع). It's not always used to describe men, but it often is; if a woman displays one of these characteristics, she can also be called a جدعة.

نضيف (ج) نضاف (niDiif (pl.) nuDaaf)
In addition to meaning "clean/free of impurities," نضيف can mean (1) presentable or neat and proper-looking; (2) honest, upright, morally decent; (3) high-quality, excellent.

بلدي (baladi)
Baladi can mean (1) local, traditional Egyptian (as in رقص بلدي ra'S baladi, local Egyptian-style dancing, or عيش بلدي 3eiš baladi, local coarse whole-meal bread); (2) common or garden, ordinary; (3) of the more rural or lower class; upper middle-class Cairenes often refer to something as being "baladi" in a condescending way; (4) vulgar

الله (alla)
Often used as an interjection of annoyance, surprise, or frustration

على الله (3al-alla)
Can be used (1) when refusing alms to a beggar (as in "God will provide") or (2) to imply misgivings about an outcome.
على طول (3ala Tuul)
3ala Tuul has several meanings: (1) straight ahead, as e.g. a direction for a driver; (2) right away, immediately; (3) continuously, incessantly

بتاع (bitaa3)
Bitaa3 is a flexible word with different meanings: (1) it can indicate possession, particularly in situations where the normal iDaafa structure might cause confusion.
(2) In a more general sense, it can also indicate an association or a general tendency/inclination.
(3) بتاع ايه (bitaa3 eih) can mean "Why, what for?" or "How come?"
(4) It can also indicate a genitive relationship.
(5) Or it can indicate approximation, like تقريبا (ta'riiban) or حوالي (Hawaali).
(6) Especially with a "wa-" it can mean "and so on, and what not."
(7) And finally, I hear it used frequently to mean "the thingamajig, the whatchamacallit."

حطّ صوابعه في الشقّ من (HaTT Sawaaba3u fiš-ša'' min)
To give on s.t., be completely fed up with it. Lit. to put one's fingers in the crack.
روحي طلعت (ruuHi Til3et)
Another way of saying "I'm fed up."

وقع الفاس في الراس (wi'i3 il-faas fir-raas)
Things have gone past the point of no return, there's nothing that can be done about it now. The situation is ended. (Lit. the hoe has fallen on the head)

كذا مرة (kaza marra)
Many times

شرب - يشرب (širib - yišrab)
Aside from meaning "to drink," شرب can also mean "to smoke" (ex. cigarettes or shisha), or "to absorb or soak in."
على ما يرام (3ala mayraam)
Okay, decent.

مش ولا بدّ (miš wala bodd)
So-so, not very good.

مش بطال (miš baTTaal)
Not bad.

عرف - يعرف (3irif - yi3raf)
In addition to meaning "to know s.t.," 3araf can mean: (1) to have the ability to do s.t.
(2) to manage to
(3) to discover or find out s.t.
(4) to recognize or distinguish s.t.
(5) to show consideration for
ضربه على قفاه (Darabu 3ala 'afaah)
To fool s.o., make a fool of him (lit. to hit s.o. on the back of the neck)

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