Ownership
There are several different ways to indicate ownership and belonging. These are:
| Egyptian | Meaning | Egyptian | English |
| possessive pronoun | my/your/his | 'ismuhiicsm-uhإسم ُه | his name |
| simple genitive | of | ism ilwaladiism iil-waladا ِسم ا ِلو َلـَد | the name of the boy |
bitaaAbitaaAبـِتا َع | belonging | ilbasboor bitaaAiiil-basbwr bitaaA-yا ِلبـَسبور بـِتا َعي | my passport |
AandAandعـَند | ownership | Aandi biytAand-y biytعـَندي بـِيت | I have a house |
maAamaAaمـَعَ | have with you | maAaak kabreet?maAaak kabryt?مـَعا َك كـَبريت؟ | Do you have matches (on you)? |
lilyلي | having for a purpose intended for attached | fi boosTa leekfy bwsTao ly-kفي بوسطـَة ليك | there is some post for you |
milkmilkمـِلك | (my/your/his) property | ilbiyt dah milkuhiil-biyt dah milk-uhا ِلبـِيت د َه مـِلكـُه | that house is his property |
possessive pronoun
In both English and Egyptian, the most common way of expressing ownership is with a posessive pronoun (my, your... etc). In Egyptian, this is a suffix attached to the noun. Here are some examples:
| English | Arabic |
| my name | 'ismiiicsm-yإسمي |
| your(m) name | 'ismakiicsm-akإسم َك |
| your(f) name | 'ismikiicsm-ikإسم ِك |
| my house | biytibiyt-yبـِيتي |
| his house | biytuhbiyt-uhبـِيت ُه |
| my father | 'abwyaaacbwyaaأبويا َ |
| your(f) father | 'aboohaaacbwhaaأبوها َ |
| his father | 'aboohaacbwhأبوه |
| our god | rabbinarabb-inaaر َبّ ِنا َ |
The posessive pronouns themselves are pretty easy to learn, but when the pronouns are attached to nouns, the vowels do a little dance to make sure that you don't get three consonants in a row. See pronouns for more information.
simple genitive
In English, the simple genitive can take two forms: both are expressed in the same way in arabic.
| English | Egyptian |
| the man's name | 'ism ilraagiliicsm iil-raagilإسم ا ِلرا َجـِل |
| the name of the man | 'ism ilraagiliicsm iil-raagilإسم ا ِلرا َجـِل |
il-iil_ ا ِلـ can be attached to the second noun if required, but must never be attached to the first noun. If the first noun is feminine, the -a_ao ــَة ending changes to -it_it ــِت. Nothing must be placed between the two nouns. Adjectives go after the second noun, but must agree in gender and number with the first noun. If a possessive suffix is required, it must go on the second word (or use bitaaAbitaaA بـِتا َع). Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian |
| the boy's name is strange | 'ism ilwalad Gareebiicsm iil-walad Garybإسم ا ِلو َلـَد غـَريب |
| I have her telephone number | Aandi nimrit tileefoonhaAandy nimrio tilyfwn-haaعـَندي نـِمر ِة تـِليفونها َ |
| Where is the railway station? | mahaTit il'aTr feen?maHaTio iil-qaTr fyn?مـَحـَطـِة ا ِلقـَطر فين؟ |
| Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) | 'inta Aaarif 'ibn Aammy?iicnta Aaarif iicbn Aamm-y?إنت َ عا َر ِف إبن عـَمّي؟ |
| Do you know my cousin? (uncle's son) | tiAarif 'ibn Aammy?tiAarif iicbn Aamm-y?تـِعـَر ِف إبن عـَمّي؟ |
| Have you seen the boss's new car? | 'inta shooft Aarabiyit ilmudeer ilgideeda?iicnta shwft Aarabiyio iil-mudyr iil-gidydao?إنت َ شوفت عـَر َبـِي ِة ا ِلمـُدير ا ِلجـِديد َة؟ |
| Have you seen the new boss's car? | 'inta shooft ilAarabiya 'illi maAa ilmudeer ilgideed?iicnta shwft iil-Aarabiyao iiclly maAa iil-mudyr iil-gidyd?إنت َ شوفت ا ِلعـَر َبـِيـَة إلّي مـَعـَ ا ِلمـُدير ا ِلجـِديد؟ |
| I want a bottle of water | Aaayiz 'izzaazit mayaahAaayiz iiczzaazio mayaahعا َيـِز إزّا َز ِة مـَيا َه |
| give me this bottle of water | iddeeni 'izzaazit ilmayaahiiddyny iiczzaazio iil-mayaahا ِدّيني إزّا َز ِة ا ِلمـَيا َه dyh |
Belonging- bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع
bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع is used in several ways:
- noun + bitaA + possessive suffix, to indicate ownership
- noun + bitaA + possessive suffix, as an alternative to a genitive
- bitaA + product (milk, onions, tyres etc), to indicate somebody who sells the product
- bitaA + possessive suffix, to refer to a man's or woman's private parts
bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع is always used for ownership when the noun ends in -yn_yn ـين and for imported words (my villa). It is not used for parts of the body (my leg).
| English | Egyptian |
| I have lost my passport | 'ana DayAt ilbasboor bitaaAiaacnaa DaayAt iil-basbwr bitaaAyأنا َ ضا َيعت ا ِلبـَسبور بـِتا َعي |
| how many rooms does your villa have? | Aandak kam 'uooDa fi ilveela bitaAtak?Aandak kam uucwDao fy iil-vylaa bitaaAtak?عـَند َك كـَم أ ُوضـَة في ا ِلڤيلا َ بـِتا َعتـَك؟ |
| Where are your teachers? | feen ilmudarriseen bitwaAak?fyn iil-mudarrisyn bitwaAak?فين ا ِلمـُد َرّ ِسين بـِتو َعـَك؟ |
| He is a vegetable seller | huwwa bitaaA KuDaarhuwwa bitaaA KuDaarهـُوّ َ بـِتا َع خـُضا َر |
| He is a milk seller means he's a ladies' man | huwwa bitaaA labanhuwwa bitaaA labanهـُوّ َ بـِتا َع لـَبـَن |
| Stop scratching yourself! | baTTal tuhrush fi bitaaAakbaTTal tuhrush fy bitaaA-ak! بـَطّـَل تـُهر ُش في بـِتا َعـَك |
bitaaA bitaaA بـِتا َع is like a participle, so it has to agree in gender and number with the noun. Here are all of the possible endings:
| English | m | f | pl |
| the book | the bag | the books | |
ilkitaab bitaaA-iil-kitaab bitaaA_ا ِلكـِتا َب بـِتا َعـ | ilshanTa bitaAt-iil-shanTao bitaaAt_ا ِلشـَنطـَة بـِتا َعتـ | ilkutoob bitooA-iil-kutwb bitwA_ا ِلكـُتوب بـِتوعـ | |
| belonging to me | bitaaAibitaaAyبـِتا َعي | bitaAtibitaaAtyبـِتا َعتي | bitooAibitwAyبـِتوعي |
| belonging to us | bitaAnabitaaAnaaبـِتا َعناَ | bitaaAitnabitaaAitnaaبـِتا َعـِتناَ | bitooAnabitwAnaaبـِتوعناَ |
| belonging to you(m) | bitaaAakbitaaAakبـِتا َعـَك | bitaAtakbitaaAtakبـِتا َعتـَك | bitooAakbitwAakبـِتوعـَك |
| belonging to you(f) | bitaaAikbitaaAikبـِتا َعـِك | bitaAtikbitaaAtikبـِتا َعتـِك | bitooAikbitwAikبـِتوعـِك |
| belonging to you(pl) | bitaAkumbitaaAkumبـِتا َعكـُم | bitaaAitkumbitaaAitkumبـِتا َعـِتكـُم | bitooAkumbitwAkumبـِتوعكـُم |
| belonging to him | bitaaAuhbitaaAuhبـِتا َعـُه | bitaAtuhbitaaAtuhبـِتا َعتـُه | bitooAuhbitwAuhبـِتوعـُه |
| belonging to her | bitaAhabitaaAhaaبـِتا َعهاَ | bitaaAithabitaaAit-haaبـِتا َعـِتهاَ | bitooAhabitwAhaaبـِتوعهاَ |
| belonging to them | bitaAhumbitaaAhumبـِتا َعهـُم | bitaaAithumbitaaAit-humبـِتا َعـِتهـُم | bitooAhumbitwAhumبـِتوعهـُم |
Ownership - AandAand عـَند
AandAand عـَند means that you own something but don't necessarily have with you. It can also be used about members of your family. An object pronoun can be added to indicate who owns something. Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian |
| I have a car | Aandi AarabiyaAandy Aarabiyaoعـَندي عـَر َبـِيـَة |
| he has two children | Aanduh waladeenAand-uh waladynعـَند ُه و َلـَدين |
| do you have any books? | Aandak kutub?Aand-ak kutub?عـَند َك كـُتـُب؟ |
Here are all of the possible forms.
| English | Arabic |
| I have | AandiAandyعـَندي |
| we have | AandinaAandinaaعـَند ِناَ |
| you(m) have | AandakAandakعـَند َك |
| you(f) have | AandikAandikعـَند ِك |
| you(pl) have | AandukumAandukumعـَند ُكـُم |
| he has | AanduhAanduhعـَند ُه |
| she has | AandahaAandahaaعـَند َهاَ |
| they have | AanduhumAanduhumعـَند ُهـُم |
Having with you maAamaAa مـَعَ
maAamaAa مـَعَ means that you have something or somebody with you. It takes an object suffix to say who it is with.
| English | Egyptian |
| Do you have the keys? | maAak ilmafateeh?maAak iil-mafaatyH?مـَعـَك ا ِلمـَفا َتيح؟ |
| I will go with you | 'ana harooh maAaakaacnaa haarwH maAa-akأنا َ ها َروح مـَعـَـَك |
| Do you have any change? | maAak fakka?maAak fakkao?مـَعـَك فـَكّـَة؟ |
Here are all of the possible forms:
| English | Egyptian |
| I have | maAaayamaAaayaaمـَعا َياَ |
| we have | maAaanamaAaanaaمـَعا َناَ |
| you(m) have | maAaakmaAaakمـَعا َك |
| you(f) have | maAaakimaAaakyمـَعا َكي |
| you(pl) have | maAaakummaAaakumمـَعا َكـُم |
| he has | maAaahmaAaahمـَعا َه |
| she has | maAaahamaAaahaaمـَعا َهاَ |
| they have | maAaahummaAaahumمـَعا َهـُم |
intended for - ly-ly_ ليـ
lily لي can be used for parts of the body, members of your family, for something that is attached, and for something that is intended for somebody or something. It is also used when an inanimate object has something. Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian |
| he has only one leg | leeh rigl wahda baslyh rigl waaHdao basليه ر ِجل وا َحد َة بـَس |
| she has two children | leeha waladeenly-haa waladynليها َ و َلـَدين |
| there is mail for you (f) | fi boosTa leekify bwsTao lykyفي بوسطـَة ليكي |
| I owe you five pounds Lit: I have five founds for you(m) | Aandi Kamsa gineet leekAandy Kamsao ginyo ly-kعـَندي خـَمسـَة جـِنية ليك |
| this present is for (all of) you(pl) | ilhidaya di leekumiil-hidayao dy lykumا ِلهـِد َيـَة دي ليكـُم |
| I want a garden seat A seat intended for the garden | Aaayiz kursi lilginiynaAaayiz kursy li-l-giniynaoعا َيـِز كـُرسي لـِلجـِنـِينـَة |
| the flat has a garage | ilsha''a leeha garaajiil-shaqqao lyhaa garaajا ِلشـَقّـَة ليها َ جـَرا َچ |
| the flat has two bedrooms use fify في because rooms are inside | ilsha''a feeha'uooDteeniil-shaqqao fyhaauucwDtynا ِلشـَقّـَة فيها َأ ُوضتين |
Here are all of the possible forms:
| English | m |
| I have | liyaliyaلـِيَ |
| we have | leenalynaaليناَ |
| you(m) have | leeklykليك |
| you(f) have | leekilykyليكي |
| you(pl) have | leekumlykumليكـُم |
| he has | leehlyhليه |
| she has | leehalyhaaليهاَ |
| they have | leehumlyhumليهـُم |
Possession property milkmilk مـِلك
Ownership of real estate - houses, land etc, can be expressed with milk-milk_ مـِلكـ plus a suffix.
| English | Egyptian |
| He has his own house | Aanduh biyt milkuhAanduh biyt milk-uhعـَند ُه بـِيت مـِلكـُه |
| I own land in Hurghada | Aandi 'arD milk fi ilGarda'aAandy aacrD milk fy iil-Gardaqaoعـَندي أرض مـِلك في ا ِلغـَرد َقـَة |
