Egyptian Arabic translator
Egyptian Arabic translator: type English in the box below and get the Egyptian (Masri) version, not textbook Arabic. Under the result you see full harakat, the Standard Arabic line, a transliteration you can read aloud and a Listen button. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Translations are generated by an AI model and can be wrong; the Standard Arabic line is there so you can compare. Up to 1000 characters at a time.
What you get on this page
- Egyptian is already selected, so you type and press Translate. Swap the direction to read a message from Cairo.
- Every result comes with harakat, the MSA version underneath, chat-style transliteration (3 for ayn, 7 for the hard h) and a Listen button that uses your device's Arabic voice.
- Up to 1,000 characters at a time, a daily free limit for the whole site, no sign-up and no text kept.
How Egyptian Arabic differs from Standard Arabic
Egypt writes in fusha and speaks Masri, and the gap is wide enough that a Google sentence sounds like a news anchor at a family dinner. Question words are the first thing you notice: MSA maadhaa is eeh in Cairo, kayfa is izzaay, limaadhaa is leeh. The letter qaf turns into a glottal stop ('alb for heart, not qalb), jeem is a hard g (gameel, beautiful) and the th sounds become s, t or z. Present-tense verbs take a b- prefix (ba7ibb, I love) and the negative wraps the verb in ma-...-sh (ma3rafsh, I don't know).
Because Cairo made the films and songs the whole region grew up on, Egyptian is the dialect most Arabs understand without effort. That makes it a safe pick when you are not sure which variety the other person speaks. The table shows the words every learner meets first, in both forms.
| English | MSA (harakat) | MSA, how it reads | Dialect (harakat) | Dialect, how it reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How? | كَيْفَ | kayfa | إِزَّاي | izzaay |
| What? | مَاذَا | maadhaa | إِيه | eeh |
| I want | أُرِيدُ | ureedu | عَايِز (m.) / عَايْزَة (f.) | 3aayiz / 3ayza |
| Why? | لِمَاذَا | limaadhaa | لِيه | leeh |
| Good, fine | جَيِّد | jayyid | كُوَيِّس (m.) / كُوَيِّسَة (f.) | kuwayyis / kuwayyisa |
Common Egyptian phrases
Fourteen lines you will hear on any street in Cairo. Masculine and feminine forms are given where they differ; the one you need depends on who you are talking to, not on you. Paste any of them into the box above and press Listen to hear the rhythm.
| English | Arabic (harakat) | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | أَهْلًا | ahlan |
| Good morning | صَبَاح الخِير | sabaa7 il-kheer |
| How are you? | إِزَّيَّك (m.) / إِزَّيِّك (f.) | izzayyak / izzayyik |
| I'm fine, thank God | كُوَيِّس الحَمْدُ لِلّٰه (m.) / كُوَيِّسَة الحَمْدُ لِلّٰه (f.) | kuwayyis / kuwayyisa, il-7amdu lillaah |
| Thank you | شُكْرًا | shukran |
| Thanks a lot | مُتْشَكِّر أَوِي (m.) / مُتْشَكِّرَة أَوِي (f.) | mutshakkir / mutshakkira awi |
| Please | لَو سَمَحْت (m.) / لَو سَمَحْتِ (f.) | law sama7t / law sama7ti |
| Sorry | آسِف (m.) / آسْفَة (f.) | aasif / asfa |
| Where is the bathroom? | فِين الحَمَّام؟ | feen il-7ammaam? |
| How much is this? | بِكَام دَه؟ | bikaam da? |
| I don't understand | مِش فَاهِم (m.) / مِش فَاهْمَة (f.) | mish faahim / mish fahma |
| Yes / No | أَيْوَه / لَأ | aywa / la' |
| One, two, three | وَاحِد، اِتْنِين، تَلَاتَة | waa7id, itneen, talaata |
| Goodbye | مَعَ السَّلَامَة | ma3a s-salaama |
Does Google Translate support Egyptian Arabic?
No. Google Translate has one Arabic, and it is Modern Standard Arabic, the written language of newspapers and school. Type what are you doing and you get maadhaa taf3al, which nobody says in Cairo; an Egyptian says biti3mil eeh. Google also shows no vowel marks, so a learner cannot tell how the line is read. Most general translators output Standard Arabic only. If you need what a Cairene would say, keep Egyptian selected above; the MSA version still appears under it, with harakat on both, so you can see the written form and the spoken one together.
Egyptian Arabic translator: accuracy and limits
The translation is produced by an AI language model. It handles everyday messages well and can still be wrong, above all with slang, jokes, poetry and legal or medical text; Egyptian itself shifts between Cairo, Alexandria and Upper Egypt. That is why the MSA line sits under the dialect: when the two disagree, ask a native speaker. Do not use it for contracts, prescriptions or official paperwork.
Up to 1,000 characters per translation, about 150 words, and a daily free limit for the whole site; when it is reached the page says so and asks you to come back tomorrow. Text only: no documents, photos, OCR or microphone, no app, nothing to buy. Your text is not stored or logged; the only thing kept in your browser is the dialect you last chose. For the reverse direction use Egyptian Arabic to English; for formal written Arabic start at English to Arabic, and for a word-by-word reading aid see Arabic transliteration.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Google Translate for Egyptian Arabic?
No. Google Translate returns Modern Standard Arabic for every request and has no dialect setting. This page translates into Egyptian directly and shows the MSA line next to it for comparison.
What is Masri? Is a Masri Arabic translator the same thing?
Masri is simply the Arabic word for Egyptian, so a Masri translator and an Egyptian Arabic translator are the same tool. Pick Egyptian in the selector and you have it.
Is there an Egyptian Arabic translator app?
There is no app, extension or API; the page itself works in any browser on iPhone, Android and desktop. Add it to your home screen and it behaves like one.
How do you say apple in Egyptian Arabic?
تُفَّاحَة (tuffaa7a) is one apple and تُفَّاح (tuffaa7) is apples in general. The word is the same in Standard Arabic; only the pronunciation is lighter in Egypt.
How do you say handsome in Egyptian Arabic?
جَمِيل (gameel) with the hard Egyptian g, or وَسِيم (waseem). For a woman you would say جَمِيلَة (gameela), beautiful.
Sudanese Arabic vs Egyptian Arabic: are they the same?
They are close relatives and Sudanese listeners follow Egyptian without trouble, but they are not the same: Sudanese has its own sounds and everyday words. There is no Sudanese option yet; Egyptian is the nearest choice here.
How do I translate into Egyptian Arabic and check the result?
Type the English, press Translate, then read the MSA line under the dialect: if the two are close you have a neutral sentence, if they differ a lot the dialect version is the casual one. Press Listen to hear it before you send it.