Adverbs

A verb explains what is being done: adverbs can be used to specify how, when, where and in what manner it is being done. There can be more than one adverb- they are placed after the verb. Here are some examples.

	Example
direction	Ahmed is going up (stairs) 'ahmad TaalaA foo'aacHmad TaalaA fwq أحمـَد طا َلـَع فوق
position	Ahmed is coming here 'ahmad gayi hinaaacHmad gayy hinaa أحمـَد جـَيي هـِنا َ
time	Ahmed will come tomorrow evening 'ahmad hayigi bukra biilleelaacHmad Hayigy bukrao bi-iil-lyl أحمـَد حـَيـِجي بـُكر َة بـِا ِلّيل
frequency	Ahmed always walks 'ahmad biyimshi daymanaacHmad biyimshy daymaaN أحمـَد بـِيـِمشي د َيماً
quality	Ahmed walks quickly 'ahmad biyimshi bisuraAaaacHmad biyimshy bi-suraAao أحمـَد بـِيـِمشي بـِسـُر َعـَة
degree	Ahmed walks extremely quickly 'ahmad biyimshi bisuraAa giddanaacHmad biyimshy bi-suraAao giddaaN أحمـَد بـِيـِمشي بـِسـُر َعـَة جـِدّاً
	Ahmed always walks slowly upstairs in the evening 'ahmad biyiTaalaA ilsalaalim dayman bishweesh fi illeelaacHmad biyiTaalaA iil-salaalim daymaaN bishwysh fy iil-lyl أحمـَد بـِيـِطا َلـَع ا ِلسـَلا َلـِم د َيماً بـِشويش في ا ِلّيل

direction

Direction adverbs can be used with verbs like go

English	Egyptian		English example	Egyptian example
up	foo'fwq	فوق	I am going upstairs	'ana TaalaA foo'aacnaa TaalaA fwq أنا َ طا َلـَع فوق
down	tahttaHt	تـَحت	he dived down	GiTis tahtGiTis taHt غـِطـِس تـَحت
left	shamaalshamaal	شـَما َل	turn left!	Kushsh shamaalKushsh shamaal! خـُشّ شـَما َل
right	yimeenyimyn	يـِمين	look right!	buSS yimeenbuSS yimyn! بـُصّ يـِمين
straight ahead	Aala ToolAalY Twl	عـَلى طول	go(walk) straight ahead	'imshi Aala Tooliicmshy AalY Twl إمشي عـَلى طول

location

Location adverbs can be used with verbs like go

English	Egyptian	English example	Egyptian example
here	hinahinaa هـِناَ	come here!	taAala hinataAaalY hinaa! تـَعا َلى هـِنا َ
there	hinaakhinaak هـِنا َك	I have to go there tomorrow	laazim 'aruwh hinaak bukrahlaazim aacruwH hinaak bukrah لا َز ِم أر ُوح هـِنا َك بـُكر َه

time

Time adverbs are used to specify when you do something: they can be used with almost any verb. Here are some examples:

English	Egyptian		Example
immediately	haalanHaalaaN	حا َلاً	I will open it immediately haftahuh haalanhaftaH-uh HaalaaN هـَفتـَحـُه حا َلاً
now	dilwa'tidilwaqty	د ِلو َقتي	we are ready now 'ihna gahzeen dilwa'tiiicHnaa gaahizyn dilwaqty إحنا َ جا َهـِزين د ِلو َقتي
already	no equivalent		he (is) already here huwwa mawgoodhuwwa mawgwd هـُوّ َ مـَوجود
today	ilnahardaiil-nahaar-dao	ا ِلنـَها َرد َة	the party is this evening ilhafla ilnaharda biilleeliil-Haflao iil-nahaar-dao bi-iil-lyl ا ِلحـَفلـَة ا ِلنـَها َرد َة بـِا ِلّيل
tomorrow	bukrahbukrah	بـُكر َه	I will go to Alexandria tomorrow haruwh il'iskandiraaya bukrahharuwH iil-iicskandiraayao bukrah هـَر ُوح ا ِلإسكـَند ِرا َيـَة بـُكر َه
the day after tomorrow	baAd bukrahbaAd bukrah	بـَعد بـُكر َه	I will come back the day after tomorrow 'ana hargaA baAd bukrahaacnaa hargaA baAd bukrah أنا َ هـَرجـَع بـَعد بـُكر َه
yesterday	'imbaarihiicmbaariH	إمبا َر ِح	she arrived yesterday waSalt 'imbaarihwaSalt iicmbaariH و َصـَلت إمبا َر ِح
day before yesterday	'awil 'imbaarihaacwil iicmbaariH	أو ِل إمبا َر ِح	I bought it the day before yesterday 'ashtareetuh 'awil 'imbaarihaacshtaryt-uh aacwil iicmbaariH أشتـَريتـُه أو ِل إمبا َر ِح
next week	il'usbwaA illigaaiiil-uucsbwaA iil-li-gaay	ا ِلأ ُسبو َع ا ِلّـِجا َي	we will go home next week hanrawwah il'usbwaA illigaaihanrawwaH iil-uucsbwaA iil-li-gaay هـَنر َوّ َح ا ِلأ ُسبو َع ا ِلّـِجا َي
this week	il'usbwaA dihiil-uucsbwaA dih	ا ِلأ ُسبو َع د ِه	we are on holiday this week ihna fi 'agaaza il'usbwaA dihiiHnaa fy aacgaazao iil-uucsbwaA dih ا ِحنا َ في أجا َز َة ا ِلأ ُسبو َع د ِه
last week	il'usbwaA 'illi faatiil-uucsbwaA iiclly faat	ا ِلأ ُسبو َع إلّي فا َت	I saw her last week shuftaha il'usbwaA 'illi faatshuft-ahaa iil-uucsbwaA iiclly faat شـُفتـَها َ ا ِلأ ُسبو َع إلّي فا َت
early	badribadry	بـَدري	we must get up early tomorrow laazim ni'oom badri bukrahlaazim niqwm badry bukrah لا َز ِم نـِقوم بـَدري بـُكر َه
evening	biilleelbi-iil-lyl	بـِا ِلّيل	there is a party this evening fi hafla biilleelfy Haflao bi-iil-lyl في حـَفلـَة بـِا ِلّيل
later	baAdeenbaAdyn	بـَعدين	see you later hashoofak baAdeenHashwf-ak baAdyn حـَشوفـَك بـَعدين
again	kamaan marrahkamaan marrah	كـَما َن مـَرّ َه	play that song again Ganni il'aGniya dih kamaan marrahGanny iil-aacGniyao dih kamaan marrah غـَنّي ا ِلأغنـِيـَة د ِه كـَما َن مـَرّ َه
afterwards	baAd kidabaAd kidao	بـَعد كـِد َة	we will eat and afterwards we will sit in the garden hanaakul wa baAd kida hani'Aad fyilgineenahanaakul wa baAd kidao haniqAad fy-iil-ginynao هـَنا َكـُل و َ بـَعد كـِد َة هـَنـِقعـَد فيا ِلجـِنينـَة
ago	minmin	مـِن	I have lived here for a long time (lit. since a long time ago sikint hina min zamaansikint hinaa min zamaan سـِكـِنت هـِنا َ مـِن ز َما َن

frequency

This group of adverbs specifies how frequently you do something. Here are some examples:

English	Egyptian		Example
usually	AaadatanAaadataaN	عا َد َتاً	I usually take a nap after lunch baaKud Aadatan taAseella baAd ilGada'baaKud AadataaN taAsyllao baAd iil-GadaaC با َخـُد عـَد َتاً تـَعسيلّـَة بـَعد ا ِلغـَدا َء
always	daymandaymaaN	د َيماً	his office is always neat maktabuh mitsattif daymanmaktab-uh mitsattif daymaaN مـَكتـَبـُه مـِتسـَتّـِف د َيماً
rarely	nadrannaadiraaN	نا َد ِراً	I rarely see Ahmed 'ana bashoof ahmad nadranaacnaa baashwf aaHmad naadiraaN أنا َ با َشوف ا َحمـَد نا َد ِراً
regularly	bi'intiZaambi-iicntiZaam	بـِإنتـِظا َم	I go to the gym regularly barooh ilgeem bi'intiZaambarwH iil-gym bi-iicntiZaam بـَروح ا ِلجيم بـِإنتـِظا َم
recently	min 'urayibmin qurayib	مـِن قـُر َيـِب	somebody asked me about that recently hadd s'aalni Aanuh dih min 'urayibHadd saacal-ny Aan-uh dih min qurayib حـَدّ سأ َلني عـَنـُه د ِه مـِن قـُر َيـِب
never	'abadanaacbadaaN	أبـَداً	I will never speak to him again 'abadan mish hakallimuh thaeniaacbadaaN mish hakallimuh thaeny أبـَداً مـِش هـَكـَلّـِمـُه ثا َني
again	thaanithaany	ثا َني	I would like to go there again Aaayiz 'arooh hinaak thaaniAaayiz aacrwH hinaak thaany عا َيـِز أروح هـِنا َك ثا َني
often	GalibanGalibaaN	غـَلـِباً	she is often tired hiya taAbaana Galibanhiya taAbaanao GalibaaN هـِي َ تـَعبا َنـَة غـَلـِباً
forever	lil'abadlil-aacbad	لـِلأبـَد	nobody lives for ever mahaddish biyiAish lil'abadmaHaddish biyiAish lil-aacbad مـَحـَدّ ِش بـِيـِعـِش لـِلأبـَد
all day	Tool ilyoomTwl iil-ywm	طول ا ِليوم	it rained all day maTTar Tool ilyoommaTTar Twl iil-ywm مـَطّـَر طول ا ِليوم
all (my/his/her) life	Tool ilAumrTwl iil-Aumr	طول ا ِلعـُمر	he smoked cigarettes all his life kaan biyishrib sagaayar Tool Aumruhkaan biyishrib sagaayar Twl Aumr-uh كا َن بـِيـِشر ِب سـَجا َيـَر طول عـُمر ُه
firstly	'awilanaacwilaaN	أو ِلاً
finally	'aKeeranaacKyraaN	أخيراً	he finally visited london zaar lundun 'aKeeranzaar lundun aacKyraaN زا َر لـُند ُن أخيراً
occasionally	min wa't lilthaanimin waqt lil-thaany	مـِن و َقت لـِلثا َني	I go to the park occasionally barooh ilgineena min wa't lilthaanibarwH iil-ginynao min waqt lil-thaany بـَروح ا ِلجـِنينـَة مـِن و َقت لـِلثا َني
hourly	biilsaaAabi-iil-saaAao	بـِا ِلسا َعـَة	you must check hourly laazim titammim biilsaaAalaazim titammim bi-iil-saaAao لا َز ِم تـِتـَمّـِم بـِا ِلسا َعـَة
sometimes	'ahyaananaacHyaanaaN	أحيا َناً	we sometimes see sharks here binishoof samak 'irsh 'ahyaanan hinabinishwf samak qirsh aacHyaanaaN hinaa بـِنـِشوف سـَمـَك قـِرش أحيا َناً هـِناَ
sometimes	'aoo'aataacwqaat	أوقا َت	it sometimes rains in Egypt 'aoo'aat bitmaTTar fi maSraacwqaat bitmaTTar fy maSr أوقا َت بـِتمـَطّـَر في مـَصر Note: always goes at beginning of sentence

Degree

The following adverbs can be placed after an adjective or another adverb to indicate the degree:

English	Egyptian
slightly	shuwayashuwayao	شـُو َيـَة
reasonably	maA'oolamaAqwlao	مـَعقولـَة
very	'awiqawy	قـَوي
extremely	KaaliSKaaliS	خا َلـِص
	giddangiddaaN	جـِدّاً
	Aail'aKirAa-iil-aacKir	عـَا ِلأخـِر
too	'awiqawy	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, "I like you too much"" when they mean "I like you very much".

Derived adverbs

Most adjectives in English can be converted to an adverb by adding the letters -ly, for example nice becomes nicely. In Egyptian, the adjective can be converted to an adverb by adding the ending -an_aaN ـاً

English	adjective		adverb
officially	rasmirasmy	ر َسمي	rasmyanrasmyaaN	ر َسمياً
theoretically	naZarinaZary	نـَظـَري	naZariyannaZariyaaN	نـَظـَر ِياً
naturally	TabeeAiTabyAy	طـَبيعي	TabeeAyanTabyAyaaN	طـَبيعياً
literally	harfiHarfy	حـَرفي	harfyanHarfyaaN	حـَرفياً
generally	AumoomiAumwmy	عـُمومي	AumoomanAumwmaaN	عـُموماً
normally	AaadiAaady	عا َدي	AadatanAadataaN	عـَد َتاً
slightly	'ulayilqulayil	قـُلـَيـِل	'alayalanqalayalaaN	قـَلـَيـَلاً

Similarly, a noun can be converted to an adverbal phrase by adding the word with, for example with care. In Egyptian, the same can be achieved by adding bi-bi_ بـِ at the start of the word.

English	Egyptian		Example
with care	bihazarbi-Hadhar	بـِحـَذ َر	he opened the box carefully fatah ilAalba bihazarfataH iil-Aalbao bi-Hadhar فـَتـَح ا ِلعـَلبـَة بـِحـَذ َر
with speed	bisurAabi-surAao	بـِسـُرعـَة	Ahmed drives very fast 'ahmad biyisoo' bisurAa 'awiaacHmad biyiswq bi-surAao qawy أحمـَد بـِيـِسوق بـِسـُرعـَة قـَوي
with calm	biilraahabi-iil-raaHao	بـِا ِلرا َحـَة	play (pl) quietly! 'ilaAbu biilraahaiiclaAboo bi-iil-raaHao إلـَعبو ا بـِا ِلرا َحـَة
with precision	biilZabTbi-iil-ZabT	بـِا ِلظـَبط	the meeting took exactly one hour il'igtimaaA 'aKad saaAa biilZabTiil-iicgtimaaA aacKad saaAao bi-iil-ZabT ا ِلإجتـِما َع أخـَد سا َعـَة بـِا ِلظـَبط
with moderation	bi'iAatidaalbi-iicAatidaal	بـِإعـَتـِدا َل	eat moderately 'akul bi'iAatidaalaackul bi-iicAatidaal أكـُل بـِإعـَتـِدا َل
in the evening	biilleelbi-iil-lyl	بـِا ِلّيل	there is a party this evening fi hafla biilleelfy Haflao bi-iil-lyl في حـَفلـَة بـِا ِلّيل

Miscellaneous

English	Egyptian		Example
together (people)	sawasawaa	سـَواَ	we will travel together 'ihna misafreen sawaiicHnaa misaafiryn sawaa إحنا َ مـِسا َفـِرين سـَوا َ
together (people and things)	maAa baADmaAa baAD	مـَع َ بـَعض	we will travel together 'ihna misafreen maAa baADiicHnaa misaafiryn maAa baAD إحنا َ مـِسا َفـِرين مـَع َ بـَعض
alone (people)	liwahdali-waHdao	لـِو َحد َة	I live alone 'ana saakin liwahdaaacnaa saakin li-waHdao أنا َ سا َكـِن لـِو َحد َة
separately	kul wahid liwahduhkul waHid li-waHduh	كـُل و َحـِد لـِو َحد ُه	we will travel separately 'ihna misafreen kul wahid liwahduhiicHnaa misaafiryn kul waHid li-waHduh إحنا َ مـِسا َفـِرين كـُل و َحـِد لـِو َحد ُه
well	kuwayiskuwayis	كـُو َيـِس	he sings very well huwwa biyiGanni kuwayis 'awihuwwa biyiGanny kuwayis qawy هـُوّ َ بـِيـِغـَنّي كـُو َيـِس قـَوي

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