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Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: why ج is a "g" and ق disappears
Egyptian Arabic uses the same letters as other Arabic, but a few of them sound different. Knowing these makes Cairo much easier to understand.
ج is a hard "g"
In most of the Arab world ج is "j". In Egypt it is a hard g, as in "go". So "beautiful" is gameel, not jameel, and "hungry" is ga'an.
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| جميل | Gameel | Beautiful |
| جعان | Ga'an | Hungry |
| جنيه | Gineih | Pound (money) |
ق often becomes a catch in the throat
In Cairo, ق is usually not a "q". It turns into a little stop in the throat, like the break in "uh-oh". Transliterations write it with an apostrophe.
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| قهوة | Ahwa | Coffee |
| دلوقتي | Dilwa'ti | Now |
| الأقصر | Il-'Uṣur | Luxor |
"th" becomes "t"
The formal "th" sound (ث) usually becomes t in everyday Egyptian.
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| تلاتة | Talata | Three |
| اتنين | Itnein | Two |
| تمانية | Tamanya | Eight |
ع: the sound deep in the throat
ع ('ein) has no English equivalent: a squeezed sound deep in the throat, written with an apostrophe, as in 'ayez ("I want") and 'eish ("bread"). Listening to native speakers is the best way to learn it.
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