Egyptian Arabic pronunciation guide
The sounds English speakers find hardest, how Cairo says some letters differently, and the mistakes to avoid, each with a native recording.
Egyptian Arabic has a few sounds English doesn’t, and Cairo pronounces some letters differently from textbook Arabic. Here are the ones that matter most, each with a word recorded by a native Egyptian teacher. Listen, then say it out loud.
Sounds English doesn’t have
ع (in eysh) is a squeeze deep in the throat. ح (in helw) is a strong, breathy h, like breathing on glasses. خ (in khamsa) is like the ch in Scottish “loch”. غ (in ghaali) is a gargled sound, like a French r.
- BreadEyshعيش
- Nice, sweetHelwحلو
- 5Khamsaخمسه
- ExpensiveGhaaliغالي
Where Cairo differs from textbook Arabic
ق is usually a glottal stop: urayeb (near), not qareeb. ج is a hard g, as in “go”: gameel, not jameel. ث often becomes t: talata (three). ذ often becomes z: zaki (clever).
- The bank is close, next to the post office.El bank urayeb, gamb el bosta.البنك قريب، جنب البوسطه.
- BeautifulGameelجميل
- 3Talataتلاته
- CleverZakiذكي
Heavy consonants
ص and ط are “heavy” versions of s and t: the tongue sits lower and the vowels around them sound darker. Compare soghayar (small) and tayyeb (kind) with the plain s of setta (six).
- SmallSoghayarصغير
- KindTayyebطيب
- 6Settaسته
Reading transliteration
Transliteration writes Arabic sounds with Latin letters so you can start speaking before you read the script. There is no single standard, so treat it as a guide and always trust the recording. In Mashi’s dialogues an apostrophe marks the glottal stop (a’rab, nearest) and doubled vowels show a long sound (ostaaz, teacher or sir).
Common beginner mistakes
- Using textbook words. Egyptians say ayiz for “I want”, not ureed. See Egyptian vs MSA.
- Forgetting who you’re talking to. Many words change for a man or a woman: ezzayak? to a man, ezzayek? to a woman. A woman says ana ayiza, not ana ayiz.
- Saying ق as k. In Cairo, ’ahwa (coffee) starts with a glottal stop.
- Dropping ع. It’s a real consonant. Leaving it out can turn one word into another.
- Reading before listening. Hear a word several times before you look at how it’s spelled.
Keep going in the app
Every word in Mashi has its own recording by a native Egyptian teacher, so you always hear how it’s really said.
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The first three lessons of the level you choose are free, with no card.