How To Say Yes In Arabic (Egyptian Dialect)

Today’s guide will walk you through the simplest ways of how to say “Yes” in Egyptian Arabic, as well as the different expressions you can use to imply excitement, certainty, and agreement.

You’ll also learn how to verbalize the varying degrees of your enthusiasm to do something.

Yalla, let’s dive in!

How to say "yes" in Arabic

1. Aywa

Aywa is the easiest and simplest way to say yes.

Example:

In this example, Mariam’s friend asks her if she’s going to the outing on Thursday, and Mariam confirms.

2. Ah

Ah is short and sweet. It’s also informal. It is the same sound when someone is in pain and says “Ahhhh”

Example:

3. Mhm- Aha

This is even shorter and still works. But it doesn’t really indicate a lot of attention or enthusiasm on the end of the speaker. You would want to follow up with another word from the list, such as “Tamam” or “Mashy”

4. Wesh

Now, onto more enthusiastic expressions in Egyptian Arabic:

“Wesh” is very informal and used between younger generations. If you use it with a middle aged person or someone older in general, they might not even understand what you mean. Save it to your millennial and Gen-Z friends.

Example:

In this example, two friends are making plans and thinking aloud if they are going to Marwan Pablo’s concert. Marwan Pablo is one of the most famous and well-known Egyptian Rappers in Egypt. Egyptian Hip Hop and Rap music is the newest trend in the Egyptian music scene.

And so, as readers, we can deduce that this conversation is between young people, and so, “Weshhhh” or “Wesh” is suitable to use.

5. Akeed

This is another neutral and regular equivalent for “wesh”. This could be used in all contexts.

Example:

6. Tab‘an

Tab‘an is quite similar to Akeed. Both are used in general and in all contexts.

Example:

Let’s take a look at another example:

In these two examples, you would find that both Mohamed and Ahmed are being asked questions that they think are ridiculous, and so they follow “Tab‘an” up with another emphasis such as “Akeed” or “don’t worry”

7. Tamam

Tamam is an essential word to learn in Egyptian Arabic. It literally means “All good” but is used in many different contexts.

Example:

In this example, you can see Ghada has used “Tamam” as an answer to “How are you?” as well as in expression form: “Kolo Tamam”

“Kolo Tamam” meaning “All good” is a useful expression in Egyptian Arabic to indicate everything is great, everything is running smoothly.

7. Mashy

Here is an interesting one. “Mashy” literally means walking or going. It’s the Egyptian way of saying “Okay” but in certain cases, it means: “Okay. Moving on.”

Example:

It is also a good way to make someone shut up if they’re nagging you to do something.

8. Ok - Okay

Plain and simple and borrowed from English.

This is not contingent on a specific social class and all Egyptians understand the term because it’s quite simple and easy.

9. Fol

This is an informal expression that you can use to indicate your enthusiasm about an upcoming event or a future plan. It literally means Jasmin flowers which is quite interesting because this is just a way to indicate “sweetness”. Foll is suitable to use with friends and friendly colleagues.

10. Eshta

Eshta is quite similar to foll. It’s informal and is used between friends and people of the same age group. This is also used by young people - mostly younger millennials.

Eshta literally means “Cream”, sweet-tasting food to indicate enthusiasm.

Example:

11. Gamed

If Eshta is mostly used by younger millennials, then Gamed is mostly used by people in their early to mid-twenties. The word “Gamed” means: Tough. It is usually also used to describe someone as hot.

Example:

12. Halawa

Another interesting and informal term. Instead of picking a sweet-smelling flower or tasty cream, you can just say “Halawa”. This is used in the same context as Eshta and Foll to indicate enthusiasm.

In the last example, you can exchange “Gamed” with Halawa and it would still indicate the same level of enthusiasm about future plans. This would be your way of saying you’re excited about plans.

13. Hassal

I like this one. When someone asks you for a favor, “Hassal” is such a perfect reply. It’s reassuring to the listener because it means “It already happened” so don’t worry about the task anymore.

Example:

15. Insha’llah

Well well well, did you think we were not going to include Insha’allah in the article?

Insha’alla is the perfect way to officially say yes but not really. Want to postpone this conversation? Say Insha’allah. It’s the official secret weapon used by all Egyptian fathers.

Egyptians have a running joke that whenever mothers say Insha’allah, they mean yes, while when fathers use the same expression, they mean quite the opposite and they are just postponing the eventual disappointing “No”.

16. Leeh La’?

Leeh la’ is the curious yes. It’s when you are contemplating doing something and you are thinking aloud with a friend, then someone hopefully says “Why not?”

Example:

17. Etafa’na

Etfa’na is what you use to seal the deal. This is your official agreement word to finalize plans.

Example:

18. Hader

Finally, we have “Hader”, a term meaning “Will do”. If someone asks you to do something and there is no room for negotiation, you would use “Hader”. If you also want to make someone stop nagging about something, Hader is the magic word.

Example:

Hager’s mum is telling her to bring medicine from the pharmacy on the way back from university.

Before we wrap up our guide, the following short note is for our readers who initially started their Arabic learning journeys with learning Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). You have learned the word _Na‘am _to mean yes. In Egyptian however, the word Na‘am means “Excuse me” in the sense that you did not correctly hear what the speaker said, and you are asking them to repeat what they had just said again.

Na‘am?

Do not confuse the Modern Standard Arabic Na‘am with the Egyptian Na‘am because they do have different meanings. The Egyptian Na‘am is always phrased in question form, never as an affirmative.

Let’s look at an example:

Here is a conversation between two strangers in the subway

In Egyptian Arabic, sometimes women repeat the word Na‘am and it becomes “Na‘am Na‘am Na‘aaaam?” which is a slightly vulgar way of saying “Take what you just said back.”

Check the first minute of the following video to understand better:

It has been played on television by actresses to depict characters of Alexandrian origin who are of a specific working class who were not perceived as highly educated.

I hope this guide has helped you express the different ways and varying levels of saying yes. What's your favorite word today?

Make sure to check our next two related guides on How To Say No In Arabic and How To Say Maybe In Arabic.

Until then: مع السلامة 😊