Egyptian Arabic A1, Unit 2: Hello and how are you

Hello and how are you

Egyptian Arabic A1 · Unit 2

GoalGreet someone and ask how they are, to a man and to a woman.

New words

أَهْلًا (ahlan) · hello, welcomeالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم (is-salāmu ʿalēkum) · peace be upon you (hello)وَعَلَيْكُم السَّلَام (wa ʿalēkum is-salām) · and upon you peace (the reply)إِزَّيَّك (izzayyak) · how are you? (to a man)إِزَّيِّك (izzayyik) · how are you? (to a woman)عَامِل إِيه (ʿāmil ēh) · how are you doing? (to a man)عَامْلَة إِيه (ʿāmla ēh) · how are you doing? (to a woman)

Explanation

Egyptians greet with أَهْلًا, “hello”, or with السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم. The reply to the second one is وَعَلَيْكُم السَّلَام. To ask “how are you?” you must know if you speak to a man or a woman. إِزَّيَّك is for a man and إِزَّيِّك is for a woman: only the last vowel changes. عَامِل إِيه (to a man) and عَامْلَة إِيه (to a woman) are just as common. Both are Egyptian: standard Arabic says كَيْفَ حَالُكَ.

Question	To a man	To a woman
How are you?	إِزَّيَّك	إِزَّيِّك
How are you doing?	عَامِل إِيه	عَامْلَة إِيه

Worked examples

Ahmed

أَهْلًا. إِزَّيِّك؟

Maryam

أَهْلًا. إِزَّيَّك؟

Ahmed meets Maryam. He speaks to a woman, she speaks to a man. Press each line.

The same question in the second form: first to a man, then to a woman.

A greeting and its reply.

Class activity

Greet three people today in Arabic: a family member, a friend, and yourself in a mirror. Say إِزَّيَّك to men and إِزَّيِّك to women. Write both forms on a sticky note and put it on your phone.

Practice

You meet this person. Do you say إِزَّيَّك or إِزَّيِّك?

Ask this person “how are you doing?”.

Listen. A girl says her name. Which name do you hear: Salma, Sara or Hana?

What do you answer to السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم?

Why does Egyptian have two forms of “how are you?”

Greetings and politeness

Hello and how are you