Greetings
As-salāmu ʿalaykum
as-sa-LAA-mu a-LAY-kum
Peace be upon you — the universal greeting. The reply is 'wa ʿalaykum as-salām'.
Ahlan wa sahlan
AH-lan wa SAH-lan
Welcome. 'Ahlan' alone is the everyday casual hello.
Izzayak / Izzayik
iz-ZAY-yak / iz-ZAY-yik
How are you? — masculine and feminine. Distinctly Egyptian rather than standard Arabic.
Social
Shukran
SHOOK-ran
Thank you. 'Alf shukr' — a thousand thanks — for something genuinely appreciated.
Maʿlesh
ma-LESH
Never mind / sorry / it can't be helped. Carries an enormous amount of social weight in Egypt.
Yalla
YAL-la
Let's go / come on / hurry up. You will hear it several hundred times a day.
Khalas
kha-LAS
Enough / finished / done. Useful, versatile and occasionally the only word you need.
Culture
In shāʾ Allāh
in-sha-ALLAH
God willing. Attached to any future plan, and sometimes a genuinely soft 'no'.
Daily life
Baksheesh
bak-SHEESH
A tip or gratuity, expected far more widely than in Europe — for parking, help with bags, small services.
Food
Ahwa
AH-wa
Both coffee and the traditional café where men sit for hours over shisha and backgammon.
Koshari
KO-sha-ree
Rice, lentils, pasta, chickpeas, tomato sauce and fried onions. The national dish and the best cheap meal in the city.
Emergency
122 / 123
—
Police and ambulance. Fire is 180, tourist police 126 — Egypt uses separate numbers.
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