Prepositions

Prepositions define a relationship (in time, space,etc) between a noun and something else. In both English and Egyptian, the preposition goes before the noun that it defines the relationship to. Here are some examples:

Domain EnglishEgyptianExample
time afterbaAdbaAd
بـَعد
she came after dinner
hiya gaat baAd ilAasha'hiya gaat baAd iil-AashaaC
هـِي َ جا َت بـَعد ا ِلعـَشا َء
spacebehindwarawaraa
و َراَ
the garden is behind the house
ilgineena wara ilbiytiil-ginynao waraa iil-biyt
ا ِلجـِنينـَة و َرا َ ا ِلبـِيت
qualitylikezayizayy
ز َيي
I need another pen like this
mihtaag 'alam thaani zayi dahmiHtaag qalam thaany zayy dah
مـِحتا َج قـَلـَم ثا َني ز َيي د َه
referenceaccording tohasabHasab
حـَسـَب
according to the police, the riot started at 2am
hasab kalaam ilboolees, ilshaGab 'ibtada ilsaaAa ithneenHasab kalaam iil-bwlys, iil-shaGab iicbtadY iil-saaAao iithnyn
حـَسـَب كـَلا َم ا ِلبوليس، ا ِلشـَغـَب إبتـَدى ا ِلسا َعـَة ا ِثنين
ownershiphaveAandAand
عـَند
I have a house in Cairo
Aandi biyt fi il'ahraAandy biyt fy iil-qaahirao
عـَندي بـِيت في ا ِلقا َهـِر َة

The noun can be one of the following:

Element ExampleSentence
proper noun Ahmedshe is with Ahmed
hiya maAa 'ahmadhiya maAa aacHmad
هـِي َ مـَع َ أحمـَد
simple nounthe housethe cat is inside the house
il'uTTa guwwa ilbiytiil-quTTao guwwaa iil-biyt
ا ِلقـُطّـَة جـُوّا َ ا ِلبـِيت
compound nouna plastic bagI don't want a plastic bag
aana mish Aaayiz kees blastikaancaa mish Aaayiz kys blastik
ا َنا َ مـِش عا َيـِز كيس بلـَستـِك
noun phrasethe man who...I arrived after the man who delivered the carpet
waSalt baAd ilraagil illi waSal ilsigaadawaSalt baAd iil-raagil iil-ly waSal iil-sigaadao
و َصـَلت بـَعد ا ِلرا َجـِل ا ِلّي و َصـَل ا ِلسـِجا َد َة
object pronounherI arrived after her
waSalt baAdahawaSalt baAd-aha
و َصـَلت بـَعد َهـَ
demonstrative pronounthisI need another pen like this
mihtaag 'alam thaani zayi dahmiHtaag qalam thaany zayy dah
مـِحتا َج قـَلـَم ثا َني ز َيي د َه

Be careful! If it's not a noun, but a complete clause (ie it has a verb), you have to use a conjunction. In English, it's confusing because the preposition and conjunction are often the same word: in Egyptian it is necessary to insert the word mamaa ماَ to convert a preposition ot a conjunction. See more about this below.

Prepositions of time

English EgyptianExample
after baAdbaAd
بـَعد
we will start after the feast
hanibtidi baAd ilAiydhanibtidy baAd iil-Aiyd
هـَنـِبتـِدي بـَعد ا ِلعـِيد
before 'ablqabl
قـَبل
I must paint the house before summer
laazim 'adhin ilbiyt 'abl ilSeeflaazim aacd-hin iil-biyt qabl iil-Syf
لا َز ِم أدهـِن ا ِلبـِيت قـَبل ا ِلصيف
during athna'aathnaaC
ا َثنا َء
smoking is forbidden during dinner
iltadKeen mamnooA 'athna' ilAasha'iil-tadKyn mamnwA aacthnaaC iil-AashaaC
ا ِلتـَدخين مـَمنوع أثنا َء ا ِلعـَشا َء
till lihaddliHadd
لـِحـَدّ
I will be here till dinner
'ana mawgood lihadd ilAasha'aacnaa mawgwd liHadd iil-AashaaC
أنا َ مـَوجود لـِحـَدّ ا ِلعـَشا َء
till liGaayitliGaayio
لـِغا َيـِة
they are busy until 8pm
humma mawgoodeen liGaayit saaAa tamanyahumma mawgwdyn liGaayio saaAao tamaanyao
هـُمّ َ مـَوجودين لـِغا َيـِة سا َعـَة تـَما َنيـَة

Prepositions of space

English EgyptianExample
from minmin
مـِن
he is from Cairo
huwwa min ilQahrahuwwa min iil-Qaahirao
هـُوّ َ مـِن ا ِلقا َهـِر َة
away from AanAan
عـَن
the dog ran away from me
ilkalb garri minniiil-kalb garry min-ny
ا ِلكـَلب جـَرّي مـِنني
at/toward AalaAalY
عـَلى
that man is looking at us
ilraagil dah baSS Aaleenaiil-raagil dah baSS Aaly-naa
ا ِلرا َجـِل د َه بـَصّ عـَليناَ
at fify
في
my husband is at home
goozi fi ilbiytgwzy fy iil-biyt
جوزي في ا ِلبـِيت
above foo'fwq
فوق
my apartment is above the laundry
sha''ati foo' ilmaGsalashaqqat-y fwq iil-maGsalao
شـَقّـَتي فوق ا ِلمـَغسـَلـَة
below tahttaHt
تـَحت
there are many many fish under the water
fi samak kiteer taht ilmayaahfy samak kityr taHt iil-mayaah
في سـَمـَك كـِتير تـَحت ا ِلمـَيا َه
opposite 'uSaadquSaad
قـُصا َد
the restaurant is opposite the railway station
ilmaTaAm 'uSaad mahaTTit il'aTaariil-maTaAm quSaad maHaTTio iil-qaTaar
ا ِلمـَطـَعم قـُصا َد مـَحـَطّـِة ا ِلقـَطا َر
opposite 'ubaalqubaal
قـُبا َل
facing fi wishshfy wishsh
في و ِشّ
the house is facing the desert
ilbiyt fi wishsh ilSahara'iil-biyt fy wishsh iil-SaHaraaC
ا ِلبـِيت في و ِشّ ا ِلصـَحـَرا َء
at AandAand
عـَند
the customs office is at the airport
maktab ilgamaarik Aand ilmaTaarmaktab iil-gamaarik Aand iil-maTaar
مـَكتـَب ا ِلجـَما َر ِك عـَند ا ِلمـَطا َر
at AandAand
عـَند
turn right at the pharmacy
Kushsh yimeen Aand ilSayidaliyaKushsh yimyn Aand iil-Sayidaliyao
خـُشّ يـِمين عـَند ا ِلصـَيـِد َلـِيـَة
behind warawaraa
و َراَ
the cat is behind you (f)
il'uTTa waraakiiil-quTTao waraa-ky
ا ِلقـُطّـَة و َرا َكي
beside gambgamb
جـَمب
there was an accident beside the mosque
kaan fi hadtha ganb ilgamAakaan fy Haadthao ganb iil-gaamAa
كا َن في حا َدثـَة جـَنب ا ِلجا َمعَ
in fify
في
the dog is in the garden
ilkalb fi ilgineenaiil-kalb fy iil-ginynao
ا ِلكـَلب في ا ِلجـِنينـَة
inside guwaguwaa
جـُواَ
we must stay inside the house
laazim ni'Aud guwa ilbiytlaazim niqAud guwaa iil-biyt
لا َز ِم نـِقعـُد جـُوا َ ا ِلبـِيت
outside barabaraa
بـَراَ
do you want anything from outside?
Aaayiz haga min baraa?Aaayiz Hagao min baraa?
عا َيـِز حـَجـَة مـِن بـَرا َ؟
on AalaAalY
عـَلى
the bread is on the table
ilAeesh Aala iltarabeezaiil-Aysh AalY iil-tarabyzao
ا ِلعيش عـَلى ا ِلتـَر َبيز َة
between beenbyn
بين
Hurghada is between the desert and the sea
ilGarda'a been ilSahara' wa ilbahriil-Gardaqao byn iil-SaHaraaC wa iil-baHr
ا ِلغـَرد َقـَة بين ا ِلصـَحـَرا َء و َ ا ِلبـَحر
along biilToolbi-iil-Twl
بـِا ِلطول
there are lamp posts all along the street
fi Aawameed noor biilTool ilshaariAfy Aawaamyd nwr bi-iil-Twl iil-shaariA
في عـَوا َميد نور بـِا ِلطول ا ِلشا َر ِع
surroundinghawaleenHawalyn
حـَو َلين
The view surrounding the house is very beautiful
ilmanZar hawaleen ilbiyt gameel 'awiiil-manZar Hawalyn iil-biyt gamyl qawy
ا ِلمـَنظـَر حـَو َلين ا ِلبـِيت جـَميل قـَوي

Note that you don't need a prepositional to after words like raahraaH را َح - go.

I am going to Cairo
aacnaa raayiH iil-Qaahirao

Miscellaneous Prepositions

English EgyptianExample
concerning 'amaa... fa...aacmaa... fa...
أما َ٫٫٫ فـَ٫٫٫
like zayizayy
ز َيي
do you have something like this?
Aandak haaga zayi dih?Aandak Haagao zayy dih?
عـَند َك حا َجـَة ز َيي د ِه؟
there is fify
في
there is a stain on this shirt
fi bu'Aa Aala il'ameeS dihfy buqAao AalY iil-qamyS dih
في بـُقعـَة عـَلى ا ِلقـَميص د ِه
about AanAan
عـَن
I am reading a book about the revolution
ba'ra kitaab Aan ilthoorabaqraa kitaab Aan iil-thwrao
بـَقرا َ كـِتا َب عـَن ا ِلثور َة
according to hasabHasab
حـَسـَب
according to Ahmed, it will be windy tomorrow
hasab kalaam 'ahmad, haykoon fi hawa' kiteer bukrahHasab kalaam aacHmad, Haykwn fy hawaaC kityr bukrah
حـَسـَب كـَلا َم أحمـَد، حـَيكون في هـَوا َء كـِتير بـُكر َه
contrary AaksAaks
عـَكس
my opinion is contrary to yours
r'ayi Aaks r'ayakraacy-y Aaks raacy-ak
رأيي عـَكس رأيـَك
except 'ilaiiclaa
إلاَ
there is no food except this bread
mafish akl 'ila ilAayshsh dahmafish aakl iiclaa iil-Aayshsh dah
مـَفـِش ا َكل إلا َ ا ِلعـَيشّ د َه
except maAadamaAadaa
مـَعـَداَ
instead of baddalbaddal
بـَدّ َل
give us chicken instead of beef
'ideena firaaK baddal illahmaiicdy-naa firaaK baddal iil-laHmao
إدينا َ فـِرا َخ بـَدّ َل ا ِلّـَحمـَة
despite biilraGm minbi-iil-raGm min
بـِا ِلر َغم مـِن
he succeeded despite his injuries
nigih biilraGm min ziraaAuh ilmaksoornigiH bi-iil-raGm min dhiraaA-uh iil-makswr
نـِجـِح بـِا ِلر َغم مـِن ذ ِرا َعـُه ا ِلمـَكسور
plus zaa'idzaaycid
زا َئـِد
there are ten guests plus two staff
fi Aashara Duyoof zaa'id 'ithneen muwaZafeenfy Aasharao Duywf zaaycid iicthnyn muwaZafyn
في عـَشـَر َة ضـُيوف زا َئـِد إثنين مـُو َظـَفين

Prepositions of ownership

This important group is discussed in more detail in the section on ownership.

English EgyptianExample
own AandAand
عـَند
I own a car
Aandi AarabiyaAandy Aarabiyao
عـَندي عـَر َبـِيـَة
have with youmaAamaAa
مـَعَ
I have a cigarette lighter
maAayah walaaAamaAayah walaaAao
مـَعـَيـَه و َلا َعـَة
have got lily
لي
I have two legs
li rigleenly riglyn
لي ر ِجلين
forAalashaenAalashaen
عـَلـَشا َن
there was a phone call for you
kaan fi mukalma Aalashaenakkaan fy mukalmao Aalashaenak
كا َن في مـُكـَلمـَة عـَلـَشا َن َك

Subordinate clauses: maa

A preposition connects a noun to a sentence. If you want to connect a clause (something with a verb) to a sentence, you need to use a conjunction.

In English, many conjunctions are the same as prepositions: In Egyptian, some prepositions can be converted to a conjunction by adding the word mamaa ماَ. Here are some examples:

PrepositionConjunction
wash your hands before dinner
'iGsil ieedeek 'abl ilAasha'iicGsil iiydy-k qabl iil-AashaaC
إغسـِل ا ِيديك قـَبل ا ِلعـَشا َء
wash your hands before you eat
'iGsil ieedeek 'abl ma taakuliicGsil iiydy-k qabl maa taakul
إغسـِل ا ِيديك قـَبل ما َ تا َكـُل
she arrived after the bus
hiya waSalit baAd ilmasarahiyahiya waSalit baAd iil-masaraHiyao
هـِي َ و َصـَلـِت بـَعد ا ِلمـَسـَر َحـِيـَة
she arrived after the bus had gone
hiya waSalit baAd ma ilmasrahiya 'ibtadithiya waSalit baAd maa iil-masraHiyao iicbtadit
هـِي َ و َصـَلـِت بـَعد ما َ ا ِلمـَسر َحـِيـَة إبتـَد ِت
he acts like the owner
biyitSarraf zayi ilmaalikbiyitSarraf zayy iil-maalik
بـِيـِتصـَرّ َف ز َيي ا ِلما َلـِك
he acts as if he owns the place
biyitSarraf zayi ma yikoon ilmakaan bitaaAuhbiyitSarraf zayy maa yikwn iil-makaan bitaaAuh
بـِيـِتصـَرّ َف ز َيي ما َ يـِكون ا ِلمـَكا َن بـِتا َعـُه

yikoonyikwn يـِكون is added in the last example because it is something that is unlikely to happen. See kaan for more details.