Arabic for English speakers Bakery · Lesson 6

Asking "Where do you live"

Egyptian Arabic active participle — Where do you live? — masculine and feminine forms.

Conversation

  1. PX296 PX296

    إنتي ساكنة فين يا ميرا؟

    Inti sakna fen ya Meera?

    Where do you live, Meera?

    Tip: 1) "Saken" is used for singular male, "sakna" is singular female and "sakneen" is for the plural. 2) "Ya Meera" is similar saying "Hey Meera" or "O Meera", it’s generally an arabic vocative particle that helps us to gain the attention of a person by calling/addressing him/her

  2. Meera Meera

    أنا ساكنة في نيودلهي

    Ana sakna fi New Delhi

    I live in New Delhi

  3. PX296 PX296

    نيودلهي عاصمة الهند؟

    New Delhi 3asimet el hind?

    New Delhi, the capital of India?

    Tip: El is the definite article "The" in the Egyptian dialect

  4. Meera Meera

    أيوه مظبوط

    Aiwa mazbout

    Yes, that's correct

    Tip: Mazbout has many meansing like "accurate" or "correct"

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

What is the active participle in Egyptian Arabic?

Ongoing or current state form. ساكن (sakin — living, masc.), ساكنة (sakna — living, fem.). Often replaces present tense.

How do you ask 'where do you live?' in Egyptian Arabic?

ساكن فين؟ (Sakin fein?) — masc. ساكنة فين؟ (Sakna fein?) — fem. 'You-live where?'.

Common Egyptian Arabic neighborhoods?

وسط البلد (downtown), مدينة نصر (Nasr City), الزمالك (Zamalek), المعادي (Maadi), هليوبوليس (Heliopolis), الجيزة (Giza).

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Arabic lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.