The Egyptian Arabic Alphabet

Q: What is Egyptian Arabic and how does it differ from Modern Standard Arabic?

Egyptian Arabic (Maṣri, ʿĀmmiyya Maṣriyya, ISO 639-3: arz) is the colloquial spoken form of Arabic used in Egypt by approximately 100 million native speakers [1] . It is distinct from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) , which is the formal written language used in official documents, news, and literature across the Arab world. Egyptian Arabic has its own grammar (shorter verb conjugations, different negation using مش), vocabulary (Coptic, Turkish, French, and English loanwords), and pronunciation — most distinctively, ج (jiim) = /g/ [2] . Egyptians typically write formally in MSA and speak in Egyptian Arabic colloquial (ʿĀmmiyya). This co-existence of two varieties for different social functions is called diglossia .

Q: Why is ج (jiim) pronounced as G in Egyptian Arabic?

The pronunciation of ج (jiim) as /g/ is the most distinctive feature of Egyptian Arabic [2] . It produces words like gamal (camel), gabal (mountain), gameel (beautiful) where other Arabic speakers say jamal , jabal , jameel . The origin of this shift may connect to the Coptic substrate language, Egyptian Bedouin dialects, or pre-Islamic linguistic features of the Nile Valley [1] . The Egyptian /g/ for Classical /dʒ/ is immediately recognisable and marks Egyptian Arabic as distinct from all other Arabic varieties.

Q: What is the Arabic abjad used for Egyptian Arabic?

Egyptian Arabic is written in the Arabic abjad — a consonantal alphabet of 28 letters, written right to left [1] . An abjad represents consonants primarily; short vowels are indicated by diacritics (tashkeel) typically omitted in everyday writing. Long vowels are encoded by alef (ا), waw (و), and yaa (ي). Most Arabic letters have four forms depending on position: isolated, initial, medial, and final [2] . The Arabic abjad is also used for Modern Standard Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Urdu, and several other languages.

Q: How many people speak Egyptian Arabic?

Egyptian Arabic has approximately 100 million native speakers in Egypt, making it the most widely spoken Arabic variety in the world [2] . Beyond Egypt, Egyptian Arabic is the most widely understood colloquial variety across the Arab world. This broad comprehension stems from Egypt's dominant role in Arabic-language cinema, television, and music since the early 20th century [1] . Arabic speakers from Morocco to Iraq who do not natively speak Egyptian Arabic can usually understand it — a position unique among all Arabic varieties.

Q: What is the Coptic influence on Egyptian Arabic?

Coptic — the last stage of the Ancient Egyptian language — was spoken in Egypt alongside Arabic for centuries after the Arab conquest (641 CE) [1] . As Coptic speakers shifted to Arabic, they left phonological and lexical traces in Egyptian Arabic. Coptic substrate influence includes vowel qualities /e/ and /o/ in colloquial phonology, vocabulary items for local customs and domestic life, and possibly some morphological features [2] . Coptic was the direct descendant of Ancient Egyptian — connecting Egyptian Arabic uniquely to the world's oldest written literary tradition.

Q: What other languages have influenced Egyptian Arabic?

Egyptian Arabic has absorbed vocabulary from multiple contact languages beyond Coptic [2] : • Ottoman Turkish : government, military, and household vocabulary from the Ottoman period (1517–1798 CE) • French : food, fashion, and technology vocabulary from the Napoleonic era and Khedivate period • Italian : vocabulary from 19th–20th century Alexandrian cosmopolitanism • English : technology, business, and youth culture vocabulary from the British colonial period (1882–1952) and continuing globalisation [1]

Q: What is the ISO code for Egyptian Arabic?

The ISO 639-3 code for Egyptian Arabic is arz [1] . The language is also called "Egyptian Spoken Arabic," "Masri," "ʿĀmmiyya Maṣriyya," or simply "Egyptian." SOAS University of London and the American University in Cairo (AUC) are major centres for Egyptian Arabic academic study.

Q: What is the difference between qaaf in Egyptian Arabic and Classical Arabic?

In Classical Arabic , ق (qaaf) is a voiceless uvular stop /q/ — produced at the very back of the throat, further back than /k/ [2] . In urban Cairene Egyptian Arabic , ق is typically pronounced as a glottal stop /ʔ/ — the same catch-in-throat sound as Cockney English "bu'er" (butter). The Classical Arabic قلب (qalb, heart) becomes ʾalb in Cairo colloquial, and قاهرة (Qāhira, Cairo) becomes ʾāhira [1] . In Upper Egypt (Sa'idi Arabic), the Classical /q/ pronunciation is retained — the glottal stop realisation is specifically an urban Cairo feature.

Egyptian Arabic Language at a Glance

Egyptian Arabic (Maṣri / ʿĀmmiyya Maṣriyya, ISO 639-3: arz) is the most widely spoken Arabic variety in the world, with approximately 100 million native speakers in Egypt ^[1]
The most distinctive phonological feature of Egyptian Arabic is ج (jiim) = /g/ — unlike all other Arabic varieties which pronounce it /dʒ/ or /ʒ/; the Egyptian word for "camel" is gamal (جَمَل) not jamal ^[2]
In urban Cairo speech, ق (qaaf) — /q/ in Classical Arabic — is typically realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/; this is the defining marker of the prestige Cairene Arabic dialect ^[1]
Egyptian Arabic descends from the Arabic spoken after the Arab conquest of Egypt (641 CE) and has been shaped by the Coptic substrate, Ottoman Turkish, Italian, French, and English ^[2]
The Arabic abjad — 28 consonantal letters written right to left — is used for Egyptian Arabic in writing, though informal written Egyptian Arabic often uses a Roman-script "Arabizi" system ^[1]
SOAS University of London and the American University in Cairo (AUC Press) are leading centres for Egyptian Arabic linguistics research and publication ^[2]

Consonants (Arabic Letters):

[ʔ / aː]

[b]

[t]

[s/t]

[g]

[ħ]

[x]

[d]

[z/d]

[r]

[z]

[s]

[ʃ]

[sˤ]

[dˤ/zˤ]

[tˤ]

[zˤ/dˤ]

[ʕ]

[ɣ]

[f]

[ʔ/q]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[h]

[w/uː]

[j/iː]

[ʔ / aː]

Alef — the first letter of the Arabic alphabet; represents the glottal stop /ʔ/ or the long vowel /aː/; the base of several hamza forms

[b]

Baa — voiced bilabial stop /b/; B as in "book"; has one dot below in its isolated form

[t]

Taa — voiceless alveolar stop /t/; T as in "time"; has two dots above

[s/t]

Thaa — in Classical Arabic /θ/ (as in "think"); in Egyptian Arabic usually pronounced /s/ or /t/; three dots above

[g]

Jiim — in Egyptian Arabic pronounced as voiced velar stop /g/ (as in "go") — the most distinctive Egyptian Arabic consonant; Classical Arabic /dʒ/

[ħ]

Ħaa — voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/; a heavy H produced deep in the throat; distinct from ه which is a lighter H

[x]

Khaa — voiceless velar fricative /x/; like "ch" in Scottish "loch"; a rasping sound from the back of the throat

[d]

Dal — voiced alveolar stop /d/; D as in "door"

[z/d]

Dhál — in Classical Arabic the voiced dental fricative /ð/ (as in "this"); in Egyptian Arabic usually pronounced /z/ or /d/ in colloquial speech

[r]

Raa — alveolar trill /r/; rolled R; does not connect to the following letter on its left

[z]

Zay — voiced alveolar fricative /z/; Z as in "zebra"; one dot above; similar shape to Raa

[s]

Seen — voiceless alveolar fricative /s/; S as in "sun"; has three teeth-like strokes and a long horizontal tail

[ʃ]

Sheen — voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/; SH as in "shoe"; three dots above Seen shape

[sˤ]

Saad — pharyngealised emphatic sibilant /sˤ/; a heavy S produced with the tongue root retracted; distinct from س (plain S)

[dˤ/zˤ]

Daad — originally a pharyngealised lateral /dˤ/; in Egyptian Arabic typically pronounced as /zˤ/ or /dˤ/; Arabic is historically known as "lughat al-daad" (language of the Daad)

[tˤ]

Ṭaa — pharyngealised emphatic stop /tˤ/; a heavy T; distinct from ت (plain T); produced with tongue root retracted

[zˤ/dˤ]

Ẓaa — pharyngealised /zˤ/ or /dˤ/ in Egyptian Arabic; Classical Arabic /ðˤ/ (emphatic voiced dental fricative); often merged with ض in Egyptian colloquial

[ʕ]

ʿAyn — voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/; a unique Semitic sound produced by constricting the pharynx; one of the most characteristic Arabic consonants

[ɣ]

Ghayn — voiced velar fricative /ɣ/; like a French R from the back of the throat; the voiced counterpart of Khaa

[f]

Faa — voiceless labiodental fricative /f/; F as in "fun"; one dot above

[ʔ/q]

Qaaf — Classical Arabic /q/ (voiceless uvular stop); in Egyptian Arabic colloquial speech, typically pronounced as a glottal stop /ʔ/ in urban Cairo; two dots above

[k]

Kaf — voiceless velar stop /k/; K as in "kite"

[l]

Lam — alveolar lateral approximant /l/; L as in "lamp"; famous for the combination الله (Allāh) where it has a dark/velarised quality

[m]

Meem — bilabial nasal /m/; M as in "mother"; a circular stroke with a small tail

[n]

Noon — alveolar nasal /n/; N as in "night"; one dot above

[h]

Haa — voiceless glottal fricative /h/; H as in "house"; the lighter H, distinct from ح (pharyngeal H)

[w/uː]

Waw — serves as both the consonant /w/ (W as in "water") and the long vowel /uː/ (as in "moon"); a non-connecting letter

[j/iː]

Yaa — serves as both the consonant /j/ (Y as in "yes") and the long vowel /iː/ (as in "machine"); two dots below in isolated form

Long Vowels:

[aː]

[uː]

[iː]

[a]

[u]

[i]

[e]

[o]

[aː]

Long open vowel /aː/ — written as ا (alef) in Arabic script; A as in "father"

[uː]

Long close back rounded vowel /uː/ — written as و (waw) in Arabic script; OO as in "moon"

[iː]

Long close front unrounded vowel /iː/ — written as ي (yaa) in Arabic script; EE as in "machine"

[a]

Short open vowel /a/ — written as Fatha (َ) diacritic; typically omitted in everyday writing

[u]

Short close back vowel /u/ — written as Damma (ُ) diacritic; typically omitted in everyday writing

[i]

Short close front vowel /i/ — written as Kasra (ِ) diacritic; typically omitted in everyday writing

[e]

Mid front vowel /e/ — a vowel quality present in Egyptian Arabic colloquial phonology; not represented by a single Arabic letter but appears in transliteration of Egyptian Arabic words

[o]

Mid back rounded vowel /o/ — present in Egyptian Arabic colloquial phonology; reflects Coptic substrate language influence and historical sound changes

◌َ

[a]

◌ُ

[u]

◌ِ

[i]

◌ّ

[doubled]

◌ْ

[no-vowel]

[a/at]

[ʔa]

[ʔi]

◌َ

[a]

Fatha — Arabic diacritic for the short vowel /a/; written as a small mark above the consonant

◌ُ

[u]

Damma — Arabic diacritic for the short vowel /u/; a small curl above the consonant

◌ِ

[i]

Kasra — Arabic diacritic for the short vowel /i/; a small mark below the consonant

◌ّ

[doubled]

Shadda — marks gemination (doubling) of a consonant in Arabic; important for distinguishing word meanings

◌ْ

[no-vowel]

Sukun — indicates absence of a vowel after a consonant in Arabic script; used in formal and educational texts

[a/at]

Taa Marbouta — marks feminine nouns and adjectives in Arabic; pronounced as /a/ in isolation or /at/ in construct state

[ʔa]

Alef with Hamza — represents a glottal stop followed by a short vowel /ʔa/

[ʔi]

Alef with Hamza below — represents a glottal stop followed by /ʔi/

[wāħid]

[itnēn]

[talāta]

[ʾarbaʕa]

[xamsa]

[sitta]

[sabʕa]

[tamanya]

[tisʕa]

١٠

[ʕašara]

[wāħid]

One in Egyptian Arabic: وَاحِد (wāħid) — cognate with Hebrew אחד (eħad) and Tigrinya ሓደ (ħadä)

[itnēn]

Two in Egyptian Arabic: اتنين (itnēn) — from Classical Arabic اثنان (ithnayn); colloquial Egyptian form

[talāta]

Three in Egyptian Arabic: تلاتة (talāta) — from Classical Arabic ثلاثة (thalātha); /th/ → /t/ in colloquial Egyptian

[ʾarbaʕa]

Four in Egyptian Arabic: أربعة (ʾarbaʕa) — same root as Classical Arabic أربعة (arbaʿa); ق in qaaf position becomes glottal stop /ʔ/

[xamsa]

Five in Egyptian Arabic: خمسة (xamsa) — from Classical Arabic خمسة (khamsa); the /x/ is retained from Arabic

[sitta]

Six in Egyptian Arabic: ستة (sitta) — same as Classical Arabic ستة (sitta); consistent form

[sabʕa]

Seven in Egyptian Arabic: سبعة (sabʕa) — from Classical Arabic سبعة (sabʿa); the ʕayn consonant is retained

[tamanya]

Eight in Egyptian Arabic: تمانية (tamanya) — from Classical Arabic ثمانية (thamāniya); /th/ → /t/ in colloquial Egyptian

[tisʕa]

Nine in Egyptian Arabic: تسعة (tisʕa) — from Classical Arabic تسعة (tisʿa); same ʕayn retained

١٠

[ʕašara]

Ten in Egyptian Arabic: عشرة (ʕašara) — from Classical Arabic عشرة (ʿashara); ʕayn retained, /š/ (sh) in Egyptian Arabic

[ʔ/aː]

[b]

[t]

[s/t]

[g]

[ħ]

[x]

[d]

[z/d]

[r]

[z]

[s]

[ʃ]

[sˤ]

[dˤ/zˤ]

[tˤ]

[zˤ]

[ʕ]

[ɣ]

[f]

[ʔ/q]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[h]

[w/uː]

[j/iː]

Expand All Collapse All

What is Egyptian Arabic and how does it differ from Modern Standard Arabic?

Why is ج (jiim) pronounced as G in Egyptian Arabic?

What is the Arabic abjad used for Egyptian Arabic?

How many people speak Egyptian Arabic?

What is the Coptic influence on Egyptian Arabic?

What other languages have influenced Egyptian Arabic?

What is the ISO code for Egyptian Arabic?

What is the difference between qaaf in Egyptian Arabic and Classical Arabic?

References:

[1] SOAS University of London — Department of the Languages of Africa and the Middle East. "Egyptian Arabic Linguistics and Language Documentation — SOAS University of London" — SOAS is a leading UK centre for Arabic linguistics, covering Egyptian Arabic (Maṣri, ISO 639-3: arz) — the most widely spoken Arabic variety (~100 million speakers). Retrieved from SOAS University of London
[2] AUC Press — The American University in Cairo Press. "Egyptian Arabic Language and Literature — AUC Press" — AUC Press publishes resources on Egyptian Arabic (ISO 639-3: arz), covering its distinctive phonology: ج/g/, ق/ʔ/ (glottal stop) in Cairo speech, and Coptic substrate influence. Retrieved from AUC Press — The American University in Cairo Press