Abbreviations

This page explains the abbreviations used in the dictionary

Languages

abbreviation name	Description
EG Egyptian Arabic	A word that is only used in Egypt
MS Modern Standard Arabic	A word that is understood in Egypt and used throughout the arabic speaking world
CL Classical Arabic
EN English
US American English

Usages

The usage is a star indicating how frequently the word is used: the options are

• - daily
• - regularly
• - occasionally
• - understood but rarely used
• - not always understood
• no star - unrated

Elements

The element type indicates how a word is used in a sentence. Some words can be used in more than one way: for example 'name' can be either a noun or a verb.

For more information about elements, consult the Egyptian Arabic Grammar pages by following the links in this table.

abbreviation	name	Description
expr	expression	a complete phrase,	good morning
part	participle	a participle is derived from a verb.	active: watching passive: watched
v	verb	describes what is happening	make, think
vi	intransitive verb	a verb that does not have a direct object	sleep
n	noun	a thing or abstract concept	thing: brick concept: equality
det	determiner	explains which noun you are talking about	a, the, this
pro	pronoun	something used in place of a noun	I, he, nothing
adj	adjective	describes or qualifies a noun	big, orange
adv	adverb	describes a verb or adjective	quickly, very
prep	preposition	defines the relationship, for example in space or time, between two things	to, with, after
conj	conjunction	links two phrases together	because, but
comp	comparative	derived from an adjective, used to compare two things	bigger, smarter
q	query	turns a sentence into a question	what, why
modal	modal	qualifies a verb	must, might, could

Forms

Most words exist in more than one form (for example, knife and knives). The dictionary provides all of the forms necessary to work out the rest.

abbreviation	name	Used with	Usage	Example
m	masculine	adj	one male person
f	feminine	adj	one female person many things
s	singular	n,adj,part	one person or thing
pl	plural	n,adj,part	many persons or things
coll	collective	n	foods and materials	fish, water, cloth
dual	dual	n	'a couple of'	minutes
p	perfect	v	a completed action
imp	imperfect	v	an action in progress
pair	pair	n	'a pair of'	shoes
invar	invariable	adj,part,modal		must
part	participle
inf	infinitive	v	in english, preceded by 'to'
act	active participle	v	in english, -ing
pass	passive participle	v	in english, -ed