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 Hamraoكـِريز َ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 |