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Making requests in MSA and ECA Posted by on Nov 24, 2012 in Arabic Language, Culture, Grammar, Pronunciation, Vocabulary

To learn a diaglossic language like Arabic, you need to know both the formal variety (Modern Standard Arabic) and a colloquial variety. In Arabic, there are many colloquial dialects that differ geographically!

In this post, I will give you some expressions which you can use to make requests in both Standard Arabic and Colloquial Arabic.

English

MSA

ECA

Is it possible?

هل من الممكن؟

مُمكن؟

I want

أريد

عايز (masc)   / عايزة (fem)

Please

من فضلِك

لو سمحت

Give me

هات

هات

Give me

أعطني

إديني

 

Here are some examples on how to use each of these expressions in sentences. The first sentence in each group is in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, and the second one is in Modern Standard Arabic:

ممكِن أستخدم  التليفون؟

هل من الممكن أن أستخدم التليفون؟

Can I use the phone?

لو سمحت، عايز أستخدم التليفون

من فضلك، أريد أن أستخدم التليفون

I want to use the phone please!

هات القلم

هات القلم

Give me the pen!

إديني المفتاح

أعطني المفتاح

Give me the key!

The following section includes a short dialogue in Egyptian Arabic that involves making a request. The dialogue is about buying a magazine and a newspaper and paying for them. Use the following words to understand it:

أشتري = buy

طبعاً = of course

الباقي = change

 

صباح الخير

– صباح النور

لو سمحت، ممكن أشتري مجلة؟

– طبعاً

إديني لو سمحت مجلة “الشباب”.

– اتفضل المجلة

وعايز كمان جريدة الأخبار.

– اتفضل، المجلة والجريدة بستة جنيه.

اتفضل عشرة جنيه وهات الباقي.

– اتفضل الباقي.

شكراً

– عفواً

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