☰ Units · Egyptian Arabic A1

Daily routine: the present tense

Unit 13 · Part C · Egyptian Arabic A1 (Beginners)
1

I do, you do

Egyptian Arabic A1 · Unit 13
GoalSay what you eat and drink with the prefix ب-.
New words
بَشْرَب (bashrab) · I drinkبِتِشْرَب (bitishrab) · you drink (to a man)بِتِشْرَبِي (bitishrabi) · you drink (to a woman)بَاكُل (bākul) · I eatبِتَاكُل (bitākul) · you eat (to a man)بِتَاكْلِي (bitākli) · you eat (to a woman)شَاي (shāy) · teaقَهْوَة (ʾahwa) · coffee
Explanation

In Egyptian, the verb starts with a small prefix. It shows who does the action and that it happens now or often. For «I», put بَـ before the verb: بَشْرَب means «I drink». For «you», say بِتِـ to a man and add -ي at the end for a woman: بِتِشْرَب (man), بِتِشْرَبِي (woman). The verb «eat» is a little different: بَاكُل (I eat), بِتَاكُل (man), بِتَاكْلِي (woman). You can drop أَنَا: بَشْرَب is enough. The same form means «I drink» and «I am drinking».

WhoSayMeaning
أَنَابَشْرَبI drink
إِنْتَبِتِشْرَبyou (man) drink
إِنْتِيبِتِشْرَبِيyou (woman) drink
أَنَابَاكُلI eat
إِنْتَبِتَاكُلyou (man) eat
إِنْتِيبِتَاكْلِيyou (woman) eat
Worked examples
Mona

إِنْتَ بِتِشْرَب إِيه؟

Ali

بَشْرَب شَاي. وِإِنْتِي؟

Mona

أَنَا بَشْرَب قَهْوَة.

Ali

وِبِتَاكْلِي إِيه؟

Mona

بَاكُل عِيش وِجِبْنَة.

Mona and Ali talk about drinks. Press each line.
«I drink»: three forms to a friend. Press each card.
«Eat»: I, a man, a woman.
Class activity

Say aloud what you drink and eat on a normal day, for example بَشْرَب شَاي and بَاكُل عِيش. Then ask three friends: بِتِشْرَب إِيه؟ to a man and بِتِشْرَبِي إِيه؟ to a woman. Write four sentences.

Practice
1
How do you say «I drink»?
2
Ask a man what he eats.
3
The picture shows tea. Say «I drink tea».
4
Ask this woman what she drinks.
5
Press Listen. Is the speaker talking to a man or to a woman?