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 happeningmake, think
vi intransitive verb a verb that does not have a direct objectsleep
n noun a thing or abstract conceptthing: brick
concept: equality
detdeterminer explains which noun you are talking about a, the, this
pro pronoun something used in place of a nounI, he, nothing
adjadjective describes or qualifies a noun big, orange
advadverb describes a verb or adjective quickly, very
prep preposition defines the relationship, for example in space or time, between two things to, with, after
conjconjunction links two phrases together because, but
comp comparative derived from an adjective, used to compare two things bigger, smarter
q queryturns 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 nameUsed withUsageExample
m masculineadjone male person
f feminineadjone female person
many things
s singularn,adj,partone person or thing
pl pluraln,adj,partmany persons or things
coll collectivenfoods and materialsfish, water, cloth
dual dualn'a couple of'minutes
p perfectva completed action
imp imperfectvan action in progress
pair pairn'a pair of'shoes
invar invariableadj,part,modalmust
part participle
inf infinitivevin english, preceded by 'to'
act active participlevin english, -ing
pass passive participlevin english, -ed