In some Arab countries, like Egypt, it is not easy to find your way. This is basically because street signs are not very accurate and sometime non-existent. Moreover, it is not very easy to find up-to-date maps that can help you find your way. On the other hand, it is easy to find your way because people are very helpful, and they will gladly get out of their way to help you, in most instances.

In this post, I will present some of the expressions which you can use to find your way or a certain place you want to go to. I present the questions in both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Arabic (ECA). I present MSA because it is the formal variety which most learners of Arabic as a foreign language know and understand. I present ECA because it is an example of Arabic that people use in real life.

ECA expressions are presented second and are marked with * at the end

Excuse me

من فضلك

لو سمحت*

Where is the Egyptian Museum?

أين المتحف المصري؟

فين المتحف المصري؟*

How can I go to Safir Hotel?

كيف أذهب إلى فندق سفير؟

إزاي أروح فندق سفير؟*

Where is the nearest Metro station?

أين أقرب محطة للمترو؟

فين أقرب محطة مترو؟*

Is this Alexandria Street?

هل هذا شارع الإسكندرية؟

هوَّ ده شارع إسكندرية؟*

Where is the nearest hotel?

أين أقرب فندق؟

فين أقرب فندق؟*

Where is the train station?

أين محطة القطار؟

فين محطة القطر؟*

Do you know a good restaurant in this area?

هل تعرف مطعماً جيداً في هذه المنطقة؟

تعرف مطعم كويس في المنطقة دي؟*

Where can I buy mineral water?

أين يمكنني شراء المياه المعدنية؟

فين أقدر أشتري مياه معدنية؟*

Is the market nearby?

هل السوق قريب؟

هوَّ السوق قريب؟*

Below is a clip from my favourite movie (عسل اسود) about finding the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owF167cQAxE