Arabic dialects / How to say
How to say “When” in Arabic dialects
“When” changes from one Arabic dialect to the next: fokash in Morocco, emta in Egypt, mita in Saudi Arabia, shwakit in Iraq.
| Dialect | Say it | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇦 Moroccan Arabic | fokash | فوقاش؟ |
| 🇩🇿 Algerian Arabic | waqtash | وقتاش |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisian Arabic | wa9tech | وقتاش |
| 🇱🇾 Libyan Arabic | amta | امتى |
| 🇪🇬 Egyptian Arabic | emta | إمتى؟ |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanese Arabic | emta | إمتى؟ |
| 🇯🇴 Jordanian Arabic | mata | متى؟ |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabic | mita | متى؟ |
| 🇦🇪 Emirati Arabic | mitā | متى؟ |
| 🇮🇶 Iraqi Arabic | shwakit | شوكت |
Arabic often changes with who you are talking to. These are the forms taught in each Lahja course. In the spelling, 3 is the letter ayn, 7 is a breathy h, 2 is a glottal stop, 5 is kh and 9 is qaf.
There is no single Arabic word for most everyday things. Modern Standard Arabic has its own formal version, but in conversation people use their local dialect. Lahja teaches each dialect as its own course, so you learn the version people around you really say.
More phrases
- How are you
- What's your name
- Hello
- Thank you
- Please
- Sorry
- I love you
- How much
- Money
- Let's go
- Come here
- What's this
- Delicious
- Beautiful
- No problem
- Okay
- I'm cold
- Why
- Now
- Because
- Cheap
- Cold
- Expensive
- Fast
- Hot
- Maybe
- My friend
- No
- Slow
- Tired
- Wait
- Where
- Who
- Yes
- Hungry
- Bill
- Correct
- Enough
- Food
- Freezing
- I'm warm
- In a bit
- Rain
- Snow
- Water
- Where are you going