Ownership
There are several different ways to indicate ownership and belonging. These are:
Egyptian | Meaning | Egyptian | English |
possessive pronoun | my/your/his | 'ismuhiicsm-uh إسم ُه | his name |
simple genitive | of | ism ilwaladiism iil-walad ا ِسم ا ِلو َلـَد | the name of the boy |
bitaaAbitaaA بـِتا َع | belonging | ilbasboor bitaaAiiil-basbwr bitaaA-y ا ِلبـَسبور بـِتا َعي | my passport |
AandAand عـَند | ownership | Aandi biytAand-y biyt عـَندي بـِيت | I have a house |
maAamaAa مـَعَ | have with you | maAaak kabreet?maAaak kabryt? مـَعا َك كـَبريت؟ | Do you have matches (on you)? |
lily لي | having for a purpose intended for attached | fi boosTa leekfy bwsTao ly-k في بوسطـَة ليك | there is some post for you |
milkmilk مـِلك | (my/your/his) property | ilbiyt dah milkuhiil-biyt dah milk-uh ا ِلبـِيت د َه مـِلكـُه | that house is his property |
possessive pronoun
In both English and Egyptian, the most common way of expressing ownership is with a posessive pronoun (my, your... etc). In Egyptian, this is a suffix attached to the noun. Here are some examples:
English | Arabic |
my name | 'ismiiicsm-y إسمي |
your(m) name | 'ismakiicsm-ak إسم َك |
your(f) name | 'ismikiicsm-ik إسم ِك |
my house | biytibiyt-y بـِيتي |
his house | biytuhbiyt-uh بـِيت ُه |
my father | 'abwyaaacbwyaa أبويا َ |
your(f) father | 'aboohaaacbwhaa أبوها َ |
his father | 'aboohaacbwh أبوه |
our god | rabbinarabb-inaa ر َبّ ِنا َ |
The posessive pronouns themselves are pretty easy to learn, but when the pronouns are attached to nouns, the vowels do a little dance to make sure that you don't get three consonants in a row. See pronouns for more information.
simple genitive
In English, the simple genitive can take two forms: both are expressed in the same way in arabic.
English | Egyptian |
the man's name | 'ism ilraagiliicsm iil-raagil إسم ا ِلرا َجـِل |
the name of the man | 'ism ilraagiliicsm iil-raagil إسم ا ِلرا َجـِل |
il-iil_ ا ِلـ can be attached to the second noun if required, but must never be attached to the first noun. If the first noun is feminine, the -a_ao ــَة ending changes to -it_it ــِت. Nothing must be placed between the two nouns. Adjectives go after the second noun, but must agree in gender and number with the first noun. If a possessive suffix is required, it must go on the second word (or use bitaaAbitaaA بـِتا َع). Here are some examples:
English | Egyptian |
the boy's name is strange | 'ism ilwalad Gareebiicsm iil-walad Garyb إسم ا ِلو َلـَد غـَريب |
I have her telephone number | Aandi nimrit tileefoonhaAandy nimrio tilyfwn-haa عـَندي نـِمر ِة تـِليفونها َ |
Where is the railway station? | mahaTit il'aTr feen?maHaTio iil-qaTr fyn? مـَحـَطـِة ا ِلقـَطر فين؟ |
Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) | 'inta Aaarif 'ibn Aammy?iicnta Aaarif iicbn Aamm-y? إنت َ عا َر ِف إبن عـَمّي؟ |
Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) | tiAarif 'ibn Aammy?tiAarif iicbn Aamm-y? تـِعـَر ِف إبن عـَمّي؟ |
Have you seen the boss's new car? | 'inta shooft Aarabiyit ilmudeer ilgideeda?iicnta shwft Aarabiyio iil-mudyr iil-gidydao? إنت َ شوفت عـَر َبـِي ِة ا ِلمـُدير ا ِلجـِديد َة؟ |
Have you seen the new boss's car? | 'inta shooft ilAarabiya 'illi maAa ilmudeer ilgideed?iicnta shwft iil-Aarabiyao iiclly maAa iil-mudyr iil-gidyd? إنت َ شوفت ا ِلعـَر َبـِيـَة إلّي مـَعـَ ا ِلمـُدير ا ِلجـِديد؟ |
I want a bottle of water | Aaayiz 'izzaazit mayaahAaayiz iiczzaazio mayaah عا َيـِز إزّا َز ِة مـَيا َه |
give me this bottle of water | iddeeni 'izzaazit ilmayaahiiddyny iiczzaazio iil-mayaah ا ِدّيني إزّا َز ِة ا ِلمـَيا َه dyh |
Belonging- bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع
bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع is used in several ways:
- noun + bitaA + possessive suffix, to indicate ownership
- noun + bitaA + possessive suffix, as an alternative to a genitive
- bitaA + product (milk, onions, tyres etc), to indicate somebody who sells the product
- bitaA + possessive suffix, to refer to a man's or woman's private parts
bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع is always used for ownership when the noun ends in -yn_yn ـين and for imported words (my villa). It is not used for parts of the body (my leg).
English | Egyptian |
I have lost my passport | 'ana DayAt ilbasboor bitaaAiaacnaa DaayAt iil-basbwr bitaaAy أنا َ ضا َيعت ا ِلبـَسبور بـِتا َعي |
how many rooms does your villa have? | Aandak kam 'uooDa fi ilveela bitaAtak?Aandak kam uucwDao fy iil-vylaa bitaaAtak? عـَند َك كـَم أ ُوضـَة في ا ِلڤيلا َ بـِتا َعتـَك؟ |
Where are your teachers? | feen ilmudarriseen bitwaAak?fyn iil-mudarrisyn bitwaAak? فين ا ِلمـُد َرّ ِسين بـِتو َعـَك؟ |
He is a vegetable seller | huwwa bitaaA KuDaarhuwwa bitaaA KuDaar هـُوّ َ بـِتا َع خـُضا َر |
He is a milk seller means he's a ladies' man | huwwa bitaaA labanhuwwa bitaaA laban هـُوّ َ بـِتا َع لـَبـَن |
Stop scratching yourself! | baTTal tuhrush fi bitaaAakbaTTal tuhrush fy bitaaA-ak! بـَطّـَل تـُهر ُش في بـِتا َعـَك |
bitaaA bitaaA بـِتا َع is like a participle, so it has to agree in gender and number with the noun. Here are all of the possible endings:
English | m | f | pl |
the book | the bag | the books | |
ilkitaab bitaaA-iil-kitaab bitaaA_ ا ِلكـِتا َب بـِتا َعـ | ilshanTa bitaAt-iil-shanTao bitaaAt_ ا ِلشـَنطـَة بـِتا َعتـ | ilkutoob bitooA-iil-kutwb bitwA_ ا ِلكـُتوب بـِتوعـ | |
belonging to me | bitaaAibitaaAy بـِتا َعي | bitaAtibitaaAty بـِتا َعتي | bitooAibitwAy بـِتوعي |
belonging to us | bitaAnabitaaAnaa بـِتا َعناَ | bitaaAitnabitaaAitnaa بـِتا َعـِتناَ | bitooAnabitwAnaa بـِتوعناَ |
belonging to you(m) | bitaaAakbitaaAak بـِتا َعـَك | bitaAtakbitaaAtak بـِتا َعتـَك | bitooAakbitwAak بـِتوعـَك |
belonging to you(f) | bitaaAikbitaaAik بـِتا َعـِك | bitaAtikbitaaAtik بـِتا َعتـِك | bitooAikbitwAik بـِتوعـِك |
belonging to you(pl) | bitaAkumbitaaAkum بـِتا َعكـُم | bitaaAitkumbitaaAitkum بـِتا َعـِتكـُم | bitooAkumbitwAkum بـِتوعكـُم |
belonging to him | bitaaAuhbitaaAuh بـِتا َعـُه | bitaAtuhbitaaAtuh بـِتا َعتـُه | bitooAuhbitwAuh بـِتوعـُه |
belonging to her | bitaAhabitaaAhaa بـِتا َعهاَ | bitaaAithabitaaAit-haa بـِتا َعـِتهاَ | bitooAhabitwAhaa بـِتوعهاَ |
belonging to them | bitaAhumbitaaAhum بـِتا َعهـُم | bitaaAithumbitaaAit-hum بـِتا َعـِتهـُم | bitooAhumbitwAhum بـِتوعهـُم |
Ownership - AandAand عـَند
AandAand عـَند means that you own something but don't necessarily have with you. It can also be used about members of your family. An object pronoun can be added to indicate who owns something. Here are some examples:
English | Egyptian |
I have a car | Aandi AarabiyaAandy Aarabiyao عـَندي عـَر َبـِيـَة |
he has two children | Aanduh waladeenAand-uh waladyn عـَند ُه و َلـَدين |
do you have any books? | Aandak kutub?Aand-ak kutub? عـَند َك كـُتـُب؟ |
Here are all of the possible forms.
English | Arabic |
I have | AandiAandy عـَندي |
we have | AandinaAandinaa عـَند ِناَ |
you(m) have | AandakAandak عـَند َك |
you(f) have | AandikAandik عـَند ِك |
you(pl) have | AandukumAandukum عـَند ُكـُم |
he has | AanduhAanduh عـَند ُه |
she has | AandahaAandahaa عـَند َهاَ |
they have | AanduhumAanduhum عـَند ُهـُم |
Having with you maAamaAa مـَعَ
maAamaAa مـَعَ means that you have something or somebody with you. It takes an object suffix to say who it is with.
English | Egyptian |
Do you have the keys? | maAak ilmafateeh?maAak iil-mafaatyH? مـَعـَك ا ِلمـَفا َتيح؟ |
I will go with you | 'ana harooh maAaakaacnaa haarwH maAa-ak أنا َ ها َروح مـَعـَـَك |
Do you have any change? | maAak fakka?maAak fakkao? مـَعـَك فـَكّـَة؟ |
Here are all of the possible forms:
English | Egyptian |
I have | maAaayamaAaayaa مـَعا َياَ |
we have | maAaanamaAaanaa مـَعا َناَ |
you(m) have | maAaakmaAaak مـَعا َك |
you(f) have | maAaakimaAaaky مـَعا َكي |
you(pl) have | maAaakummaAaakum مـَعا َكـُم |
he has | maAaahmaAaah مـَعا َه |
she has | maAaahamaAaahaa مـَعا َهاَ |
they have | maAaahummaAaahum مـَعا َهـُم |
intended for - ly-ly_ ليـ
lily لي can be used for parts of the body, members of your family, for something that is attached, and for something that is intended for somebody or something. It is also used when an inanimate object has something. Here are some examples:
English | Egyptian |
he has only one leg | leeh rigl wahda baslyh rigl waaHdao bas ليه ر ِجل وا َحد َة بـَس |
she has two children | leeha waladeenly-haa waladyn ليها َ و َلـَدين |
there is mail for you (f) | fi boosTa leekify bwsTao lyky في بوسطـَة ليكي |
I owe you five pounds Lit: I have five founds for you(m) | Aandi Kamsa gineet leekAandy Kamsao ginyo ly-k عـَندي خـَمسـَة جـِنية ليك |
this present is for (all of) you(pl) | ilhidaya di leekumiil-hidayao dy lykum ا ِلهـِد َيـَة دي ليكـُم |
I want a garden seat A seat intended for the garden | Aaayiz kursi lilginiynaAaayiz kursy li-l-giniynao عا َيـِز كـُرسي لـِلجـِنـِينـَة |
the flat has a garage | ilsha''a leeha garaajiil-shaqqao lyhaa garaaj ا ِلشـَقّـَة ليها َ جـَرا َچ |
the flat has two bedrooms use fify في because rooms are inside | ilsha''a feeha'uooDteeniil-shaqqao fyhaauucwDtyn ا ِلشـَقّـَة فيها َأ ُوضتين |
Here are all of the possible forms:
English | m |
I have | liyaliya لـِيَ |
we have | leenalynaa ليناَ |
you(m) have | leeklyk ليك |
you(f) have | leekilyky ليكي |
you(pl) have | leekumlykum ليكـُم |
he has | leehlyh ليه |
she has | leehalyhaa ليهاَ |
they have | leehumlyhum ليهـُم |
Possession property milkmilk مـِلك
Ownership of real estate - houses, land etc, can be expressed with milk-milk_ مـِلكـ plus a suffix.
English | Egyptian |
He has his own house | Aanduh biyt milkuhAanduh biyt milk-uh عـَند ُه بـِيت مـِلكـُه |
I own land in Hurghada | Aandi 'arD milk fi ilGarda'aAandy aacrD milk fy iil-Gardaqao عـَندي أرض مـِلك في ا ِلغـَرد َقـَة |