Adjectives
Adjectives can be used in two ways: to describe something, or to specify which one of several you are talking about (a qualifying adjective).
In English, you put the in front of a qualifying adjective. In Egyptian, you put il-iil_ ا ِلـ before both the qualifiying adjective and the noun: the il-iil_ ا ِلـ before the adjective is the one that means that the adjective is specifying which one you mean. Note that adding il-iil_ ا ِلـ to a word affects the pronunciation if it begins with a sun letter.
| English | Egyptian | ||
| describe | a cherry is red |  kireeza hamrakiryzao Hamrao | كـِريز َة حـَمر َة |
| describe | the ball is red | ilkoora hamraiil-kwrao Hamrao | ا ِلكور َة حـَمر َة |
| describe | I want a red ball | aayiz koora hamraaoayiz kwrao Hamrao | َة َيـِز كور َة حـَمر َة |
| qualify | I want the red ball | Aaayiz ilkoora ilhamraAaayiz iil-kwrao iil-Hamrao | عا َيـِز ا ِلكور َة ا ِلحـَمر َة |
| describe | the book is big | ilkitaab kibeeriil-kitaab kibyr | ا ِلكـِتا َب كـِبير |
| describe | I have read a big book | 'ara't kitaab kibeerqaraaCt kitaab kibyr | قـَرا َءت كـِتا َب كـِبير |
| qualify | I have read the big book | 'ara't ilkitaab ilkibeerqaraaCt iil-kitaab iil-kibyr | قـَرا َءت ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلكـِبير |
| describe | the man is blind | ilraagil 'aAmaiil-raagil aacAmY | ا ِلرا َجـِل أعمى |
| describe | a blind man is outside | raagil 'aAma barraraagil aacAmY barraa | را َجـِل أعمى بـَرّاَ |
| qualify | the blind man is outside | ilraagil il'aAma barraiil-raagil iil-aacAmY barraa | ا ِلرا َجـِل ا ِلأعمى بـَرّاَ |
Masculine, feminine, plural
In English, there is only one form of an adjective, but in Egyptian, most adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun that they relate to. Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | |
| the man is clever | ilraagil shaaTiriil-raagil shaaTir | ا ِلرا َجـِل شا َطـِر |
| the woman is clever | ilsitt shaTraiil-sitt shaaTrao | ا ِلسـِتّ شا َطر َة |
| the children are clever | il'aTfaal shaTreeniil-aacTfaal shaaTiryn | ا ِلأطفا َل شا َطـِرين |
The following table shows some typical feminine and plural forms:
| English | Egyptian | |||||
| masculine | feminine | plural | ||||
| -a_ao | ــَة | -yn_yn | ـين | |||
| big | kibeerkibyr | كـِبير | kibeerakibyrao | كـِبير َة | kubaarkubaar | كـُبا َر |
| good | kuwayiskuwayis | كـُو َيـِس | kuwayisakuwayisao | كـُو َيـِس َة | kuwayiseenkuwayisyn | كـُو َيـِسين |
| red | 'ahmaraacHmar | أحمـَر | hamraHamrao | حـَمر َة | humrHumr | حـُمر |
| easy | sahlsahl | سـَهل | sahlasahlao | سـَهل َة | sahleensahlyn | سـَهلين |
| nice | laTeeflaTyf | لـَطيف | laTeefalaTyfao | لـَطيف َة | luTaafluTaaf | لـُطا َف |
| free | faaDifaaDy | فا َضي | faDyafaaDyao | فا َضي َة | faDyyinfaaDyyin | فا َضييـِن |
| brown | bunnibunny | بـُنّي | bunnibunny | بـُنّي | bunnibunny | بـُنّي |
The feminine form of most adjectives is made by adding the suffix -a_ao ــَة, and the plural is formed by adding the suffix -yn_yn ـين. Note that adding a suffix may affect the pronunciation.
The plural form of an adjective is normally only used for many people: for many things, the feminine form is used. Animals are half-way between: in the same way as an English person might say 'he' or 'it' about a dog, Egyptians could use either the plural or the feminine form to talk about a group of animals
| English | Egyptian | |||
| thing plural | person plural | |||
| the dogs are big | ilkilaeb kibeeraiil-kilaeb kibyrao | ا ِلكـِلا َب كـِبير َة | ilkilaeb kubaariil-kilaeb kubaar | ا ِلكـِلا َب كـُبا َر |
| the dogs are good | ilkilaeb kuwayisaiil-kilaeb kuwayisao | ا ِلكـِلا َب كـُو َيـِس َة | ilkilaeb kuwayiseeniil-kilaeb kuwayisyn | ا ِلكـِلا َب كـُو َيـِسين |
Some nouns, for example dibbaendibbaen د ِبّا َن (flies) are collective nouns- a singular form is used to talk about a group of them. When an adjective is applied, the singular form of the adjective is used, for example:
ildibbaen mu'rifiil-dibbaen muqrifWe will look at some of the common exceptions later. Note that some words, for example brown bunnibunny بـُنّي are invariable- you use the same form for masculine, feminine and plural.
Countries
A country name is usually converted to an adjective by adding -i_y ـي. This can be used to refer to a person, a language or something from a country.
| English | Country | m | f | pl | ||||
| -i_y | ـي | -iya_iyao | ــِيـَة | iyyin-iyyin | ِييـِن | |||
| Egypt | maSrmaSr | مـَصر | maSrimaSry | مـَصري | maSriyamaSriyao | مـَصر ِيـَة | maSriyyinmaSriyyin | مـَصر ِييـِن |
| Greece | ilyoonaaniil-ywnaan | ا ِليونا َن | yoonaaniywnaany | يونا َني | yoonaaniyaywnaaniyao | يونا َنـِيـَة | yoonaaniyyinywnaaniyyin | يونا َنـِييـِن |
| Italy | 'ieeTalyaiicyTaalyaa | إيطا َلياَ | 'ieeTaaliiicyTaaly | إيطا َلي | 'ieeTalyaiicyTaalyao | إيطا َليـَة | 'ieeTalyyiniicyTaalyyin | إيطا َلييـِن |
| Sweden | ilsiweediil-siwyd | ا ِلسـِويد | siweedisiwydy | سـِويدي | siweedyasiwydyao | سـِويديـَة | siweedyyinsiwydyyin | سـِويدييـِن |
| the North | ilshimaaliil-shimaal | ا ِلشـِما َل | shimaalishimaaly | شـِما َلي | shimaaliyashimaaliyao | شـِما َلـِيـَة | shimaaliyyinshimaaliyyin | شـِما َلـِييـِن |
| Europe | 'uoorubbauucwrubbaa | أ ُور ُبّاَ | 'uooroobbiuucwrwbby | أ ُوروبّي | 'uooroobbiyauucwrwbbiyao | أ ُوروبّـِيـَة | 'uoorubbiyyinuucwrubbiyyin | أ ُور ُبّـِييـِن |
| Irregular ones... | ||||||||
| India | ilhindiil-hind | ا ِلهـِند | hindihindy | هـِندي | hindyahindyao | هـِنديـَة | hunoodhunwd | هـُنود |
| America | 'amreekaaacmrykaa | أمريكاَ | (people) 'amreekiaacmryky | أمريكي | 'amreekiyyaaacmrykiyyao | أمريكـِييـَة | 'amreekiyyinaacmrykiyyin | أمريكـِييـِن |
| (things) 'amrikaaniaacmrikaany | أمر ِكا َني | |||||||
| Russia | roosyarwsyaa | روسياَ | roosrws | روس | roosiyyarwsiyyao | روسـِييـَة | (things,men) roosrws | روس |
| (women) roosyaetrwsyaet | روسيا َت | |||||||
For some countries, eg England, the adjective is made from the collective noun. Here are some examples:
| English | Country | m | f | collective noun | ||||
| -i_y | ـي | -iya_iyao | ــِيـَة | |||||
| England | 'ingiltiraiicngiltiraa | إنجـِلتـِراَ | 'ingileeziiicngilyzy | إنجـِليزي | 'ingileeziyaiicngilyziyao | إنجـِليز ِيـَة | 'ingileeziicngilyz | إنجـِليز |
| Arabia | AarabiAaraby | عـَر َبي | AarabiAaraby | عـَر َبي | AarabiyaAarabiyao | عـَر َبـِيـَة | AarabAarab | عـَر َب |
| Russia | roosyarwsyaa | روسياَ | roosirwsy | روسي | roosyarwsyao | روسيـَة | roosrws | روس |
| Germany | 'almanyaaaclmaanyaa | ألما َنياَ | 'almaaniaaclmaany | ألما َني | 'almanyaaaclmaanyao | ألما َنيـَة | 'almaanaaclmaan | ألما َن |
| Spain | 'asbanyaaacsbaanyaa | أسبا َنياَ | 'asbaaniaacsbaany | أسبا َني | 'asbanyaaacsbaanyao | أسبا َنيـَة | 'asbaanaacsbaan | أسبا َن |
For countries ending with two consonants and alif, for example faransafaransaa فـَر َنساَ, the ending is -aawi_aawy ـا َوي.
| English | Country | m | f | pl | ||||
| -aawi_aawy | ـا َوي | -aawiya_aawiyao | ـا َو ِيـَة | -aawiyyin_aawiyyiin | ـا َو ِييا ِن | |||
| Austria | ilnimsaiil-nimsaa | ا ِلنـِمساَ | nimsaawinimsaawy | نـِمسا َوي | nimsawiyyanimsawiyyao | نـِمسـَو ِييـَة | nimsawiyyinnimsawiyyin | نـِمسـَو ِييـِن |
| France | faransafaransaa | فـَر َنساَ | faransaawifaransaawy | فـَر َنسا َوي | faransawiyafaransawiyao | فـَر َنسـَو ِيـَة | faransawiyyinfaransawiyyin | فـَر َنسـَو ِييـِن |
One common usage of the country adjective is to talk about a person from that country. Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | |
| an Egyptian man | waahid maSriwaaHid maSry | وا َحـِد مـَصري |
| an Egyptian woman | wahda maSryawaaHdao maSryao | وا َحد َة مـَصريـَة |
| an Englishman | waahid 'ingiliziwaaHid iicngilizy | وا َحـِد إنجـِلـِزي |
| an Englishwoman | wahda 'ingileezyawaaHdao iicngilyzyao | وا َحد َة إنجـِليزيـَة |
| a Frenchman | waahid faransawiwaaHid faransawy | وا َحـِد فـَر َنسـَوي |
| a Frenchwoman | wahda faransawiyawaaHdao faransawiyao | وا َحد َة فـَر َنسـَو ِيـَة |
The feminine and plural are used only for people. For inanimate objects, the masculine form only is used. Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | |
| a Greek boat | markib yoonaanimarkib ywnaany | مـَركـِب يونا َني |
| French cheese | gibna faransaawigibnao faransaawy | جـِبنـَة فـَر َنسا َوي |
| American cars | ilAarabiyaat 'amrikaaniiil-Aarabiyaat aacmrikaany | ا ِلعـَر َبـِيا َت أمر ِكا َني |
Colours
The main colours follow a pattern. Here are some examples:
| English | m | f | pl | |||
| C=consonant | aCCaC | CaCCao | CuCC | |||
| white | 'abyaDaacbyaD | أبيـَض | biyDabiyDao | بـِيضـَة | biyDbiyD | بـِيض |
| black | 'iswidiicswid | إسو ِد | soodaswdao | سود َة | suwdsuwd | سـُود |
| yellow | 'aSfaraacSfar | أصفـَر | SafraSafrao | صـَفر َة | SufrSufr | صـُفر |
| blue | 'azra'aaczraq | أزر َق | zar'azarqao | ز َرقـَة | zur'zurq | ز ُرق |
| green | 'aKDaraacKDar | أخضـَر | KaDraKaDrao | خـَضر َة | KuDrKuDr | خـُضر |
| red | 'ahmaraacHmar | أحمـَر | hamraHamrao | حـَمر َة | humrHumr | حـُمر |
Colours derived from a material or thing just have a -i_y ـي added. They are invariable: the feminine and plural form is the same as the masculine form.
| English | m/f/pl | |
| brown coffee | bunnibunny | بـُنّي |
| gold | zahabidhahaby | ذ َهـَبي |
| silver | faDDifaDDy | فـَضّي |
| copper | nahaasinaHaasy | نـَحا َسي |
| light grey | rumaadirumaady | ر ُما َدي |
| dark grey lead | ruSaaSiruSaaSy | ر ُصا َصي |
| dark green olive | zeetizyty | زيتي |
| dark blue | kuhlikuHly | كـُحلي |
| pale blue milk | labanilabany | لـَبـَني |
| dark red wine | nibeetinibyty | نـِبيتي |
| chestnut | kastanaa'ikastanaaycy | كـَستـَنا َئي |
| light brown honey | AasaliAasaly | عـَسـَلي |
| purple violet | banafsigibanafsigy | بـَنـَفسـِجي |
| orange | burtu'aaliburtuqaaly | بـُرتـُقا َلي |
| deep purple aubergine | bitangaanibitangaany | بـِتـَنجا َني |
Personal attributes
Personal attributes or disabilities follow the same pattern as the basic colours:
| English | m | f | pl | |||
| C=consonant | aCCaC | CaCCao | CuCC | |||
| foolish | 'ahbalaachbal | أهبـَل | hablahablao | هـَبلـَة | hublhubl | هـُبل |
| squinting | 'ahwalaacHwal | أحو َل | hoola'HwlaaC | حولا َء | huwlHuwl | حـُول |
| bald | 'a'raAaacqraA | أقر َع | 'arAaqarAao | قـَرعـَة | 'urAqurA | قـُرع |
| bald | 'aSlaAaacSlaA | أصلـَع | SalAa'SalAaaC | صـَلعا َء | SulASulA | صـُلع |
| fair skin blonde | 'ash'araacshqar | أشقـَر | sha'arashaqarao | شـَقـَر َة | shu'rshuqr | شـُقر |
| dark skin brunette | 'asmaraacsmar | أسمـَر | samrasamrao | سـَمر َة | sumrsumr | سـُمر |
| frizzy haired | 'akrataackrat | أكر َت | kartakartao | كـَرتـَة | kurtkurt | كـُرت |
| left handed | 'ashwalaacshwal | أشو َل | shoolashwlao | شولـَة | shoolshwl | شول |
| right handed | 'aeemanaacyman | أيمـَن | yimnayimnao | يـِمنـَة | yumnyumn | يـُمن |
| lame | 'aAragaacArag | أعر َج | AargaAargao | عـَرجـَة | AurgAurg | عـُرج |
| blind | 'aAmaaacAmY | أعمى | AamyaAamyao | عـَميـَة | AumiAumy | عـُمي |
| deaf | 'aTrashaacTrash | أطر َش | Tursha'TurshaaC | طـُرشا َء | TurshTursh | طـُرش |
| deaf | 'aSamaacSam | أصـَم | Sama'SamaaC | صـَما َء | SummSumm | صـُمّ |
| mute | 'aKrasaacKras | أخر َس | KarsaKarsao | خـَرسـَة | KursKurs | خـُرس |
Slightly, Very... Extremely...
The following adverbs can be placed after the adjective:
| English | Egyptian | |
| slightly | shwayashwayao | شو َيـَة |
| moderately | bi'iAtidaalbi-iicAtidaal | بـِإعتـِدا َل |
| very | 'awiqawy | قـَوي |
| extremely | KaaliSKaaliS | خا َلـِص |
| giddangiddaaN | جـِدّاً | |
| Aail'aKirAa-iil-aacKir | عـَا ِلأخـِر | |
| too | 'awiqawy | قـَوي |
Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | |
| the car is slightly damaged | ilAarabiya 'itDarrarit shwayaiil-Aarabiyao iictDarrarit shwayao | ا ِلعـَر َبـِيـَة إتضـَرّ َر ِت شو َيـَة |
| the carpet was very expensive | ilsigaada kaanit Galya 'awiiil-sigaadao kaanit Gaalyao qawy | ا ِلسـِجا َد َة كا َنـِت غا َليـَة قـَوي |
| he is extremely rich | huwwa Gani giddanhuwwa Gany giddaaN | هـُوّ َ غـَني جـِدّاً |
| this house is too big | ilbiyt dih kibeer 'awiiil-biyt dih kibyr qawy | ا ِلبـِيت د ِه كـِبير قـَوي |
You may have noticed that the word qawy has two meanings: very and too. This sometimes causes confusion when Egyptians speak English: they say, for example, too much when they mean very much.
Comparatives
In English we take an adjective like big and add suffixes -er to make comparative bigger and -est to make the superlative biggest. In Egyptian there is one word, a comparative, that is used for both. The context indicates the meaning.
We can compare two things using minmin مـِن, which is equivalent to than in English:
| English | Egyptian | |
| Ahmad is taller than me | 'ahmad 'aTwal minniaacHmad aacTwal minny | أحمـَد أطو َل مـِنّي |
| he is more stupid than I thought | huwwa 'aGba min makunt faakirhuwwa aacGbY min makunt faakir | هـُوّ َ أغبى مـِن مـَكـُنت فا َكـِر |
We can also make comparison without specifying the second thing like this:
| English | Egyptian | |
| Ahmad is a lot taller | 'ahmad 'aTwal bikiteeraacHmad aacTwal bi-kityr | أحمـَد أطو َل بـِكـِتير |
| the weather will be a little better tomorrow | ilgaww haykoon 'ahsan shuwaya bukraiil-gaww Haykwn aacHsan shuwayao bukrao ا ِلجـَوّ حـَيكون أحسـَن شـُو َيـَة بـُكر َة | |
For the superlative (best, biggest) the comparative is used immediately before a noun:
| English | Egyptian | |
| mohammed is the tallest student | muhammad 'aTwal TaalibmuHammad aacTwal Taalib | مـُحـَمّـَد أطو َل طا َلـِب |
| he is the youngest boy | huwwa 'aSGar waladhuwwa aacSGar walad | هـُوّ َ أصغـَر و َلـَد |
| the tallest student is 1m90 | ilTaalib il'aTwal Toolooh mitr 1 wa 90 santiiil-Taalib iil-aacTwal Twlwh mitr 1 wa 90 santy ا ِلطا َلـِب ا ِلأطو َل طولوه مـِتر ١ و َ ٩٠ سـَنتي | |
| the most expensive drink is 20 pounds | ilmashroob il'aGla 20 gineehiil-mashrwb iil-aacGlY 20 ginyh | ا ِلمـَشروب ا ِلأغلى ٢٠ جـِنيه |
| this is the prettiest dress in the shop | dih 'ahla fustaan fi ilmahaldih aacHlY fustaan fy iil-maHal | د ِه أحلى فـُستا َن في ا ِلمـَحـَل |
| it was the best day in my life | kaan 'ahsan yoom fi hayaatikaan aacHsan ywm fy Hayaaty | كا َن أحسـَن يوم في حـَيا َتي |
Making comparatives
As you may have noticed from the previous examples, the comparative is often derived from the adjective as follows:
| English | adjective | comparative | ||
| big | kibeerkibyr | كـِبير | 'akbaraackbar | أكبـَر |
| easy | sahlsahl | سـَهل | 'ashalaacs-hal | أسهـَل |
| tall | TaweelTawyl | طـَويل | 'aTwalaacTwal | أطو َل |
| classy | raaQiraaQy | را َقي | 'arQaaacrQY | أرقى |
| exceptions | ||||
| good | kuwayyiskuwayyis | كـُو َييـِس | 'ahsanaacHsan | أحسـَن |
For adjectives with two consonants and ending in -i_y ـي or -w_w ـو, the final letter changes to alif-layena -a_Y ـى.
| English | adjective | comparative | ||
| pretty | hilwHilw | حـِلو | 'ahlaaacHlY | أحلى |
| expensive | GaaliGaaly | غا َلي | 'aGlaaacGlY | أغلى |
| loud/high | AaaliAaaly | عا َلي | 'aAlaaacAlY | أعلى |
| rich | GaniGany | غـَني | 'aGnaaacGnY | أغنى |
| healthy | SahiSaHy | صـَحي | no comp | |
| stupid | GabiGaby | غـَبي | 'aGbaaacGbY | أغبى |
| clever | zakidhaky | ذ َكي | 'azkaaacdhkY | أذكى |
For adjectives with three consonants where the last two consonants are the same, the middle vowel is replaced with a fatha -a_a ـَ.
| English | adjective | comparative | ||
| serious | gaddgadd | جـَدّ | no comp | |
| new | gideedgidyd | جـِديد | 'agdadaacgdad | أجد َد |
| important | muhimmmuhimm | مـُهـِمّ | 'ahammaachamm | أهـَمّ |
| numerous | AadeedAadyd | عـَديد | no comp | |
| lucky | mahZooZmaHZwZ | مـَحظوظ | no comp | |
| popular | mahboobmaHbwb | مـَحبوب | 'ahabbaacHabb | أحـَبّ |
| light | KafeefKafyf | خـَفيف | 'aKaffaacKaff | أخـَفّ |
| delicious | lazeezladhydh | لـَذيذ | 'alazzaacladhdh | ألـَذّ |
| few | 'alayilqalayil | قـَلـَيـِل | 'a'aalaacqaal | أقا َل |
In English, it is not possible to make a comparative in the usual way from some adjectives, for example interesting: instead, we say more interesting. The same is true in Egyptian: the words 'aktaraacktar أكتـَر - more and 'a'aalaacqaal أقا َل - less are used with the adjective. Here are examples of adjectives that are handled this way
| Group | Example | |
| participles beginning with m-m_ مـ | the contract is more acceptable like thisilAa'd ma'bool 'aktar kidahiil-Aaqd maqbwl aacktar kidah ا ِلعـَقد مـَقبول أكتـَر كـِد َه | |
| participles beginning with ta-ta_ تـَ | I am less traditional than you'ana ta'lidi 'a'aal minnakaacnaa taqlidy aacqaal min-nak أنا َ تـَقلـِدي أقا َل مـِنّـَك | |
| adjectives beginning with 'a-aac_ أـ | he gets more selfish every dayhuwwa biyib'a 'anaani 'aktar kul yoomhuwwa biyibqaa aacnaany aacktar kul ywm هـُوّ َ بـِيـِبقا َ أنا َني أكتـَر كـُل يوم | |
| adjectives ending with -an_aaN ـاً | Sarah is more tired than Ahmedsaara taAbaana 'aktar min 'ahmadsaarao taAbaanao aacktar min aacHmad سا َر َة تـَعبا َنـَة أكتـَر مـِن أحمـَد | |