A study: "When" in Egyptian Arabic

In this article we will study "When" in Egyptian Arabic. This article is part of the IBL Study series where we examine words and phrases across Mediterranean languages and dialects in depth. (For related articles in this series see A study: "What" in Egyptian Arabic and A study: "Where" in Egyptian Arabic. And for a counterpart article from a different Arabic dialect see A study: "When" in Tunisian Arabic)

As an adverb

In Egyptian Arabic, "When", as an adverb, is translated as:

Emta / امتي

In Standard Arabic (Fos7a / فصحى) "When" is translated as متى / Mata, so it is reasonable to think that the Egyptian Emta is a derivative of Fos7a. (Only change is the addition of the Alef (ا) as the first letter)

For example: "When do you want to meet?" is translated as: Emta te7b nt2abel? / امتي تحب نتقابل؟ (Te7b / تحب is "Want" in the You form and Nt2abel / نتقابل is "Meet" in the We form)

Listen to IBL Contributor, Ashraf H., pronounce Emta:

As a conjunction

"When", as a conjunctio (Like, "We'll leave when your father gets home."), is translated as:

Lama / لما

Ashraf pronounces Lama:

And unlike Tunisian Arabic that has three different synonymous words for "When" as a conjunction, the only common word used in this context in Egyptian Arabic is Lama / لما. (However, note that, albeit uncommon, some use the word 3ndma / عندما instead, which is based on Fos7a)

For example, "I'll call you when I arrive." is translated as: Ana haklemak lama 2wsal. / انا هكلمك لما اوصل

Examples & recordings as an adverb

Here are three examples with recordings of "When", as an adverb (using Emta):

"When do you want to meet?"

Emta te7b nt2abel? / امتي تحب نتقابل؟

Ashraf asks Emta te7b nt2abel?:

"When were you born?"

(m) Enta etwaladt emta? / انت اتولدت امتي؟

(f) Enty etwaladty emta? /انتي اتولدتي امتي؟

"When are they going to arrive?"

Homa hayewsalo emta? / هما هيوصلوا امتي؟

Examples & recordings as a conjunction

"I'll call you when I arrive."

Ana haklemak lama 2wsal. / انا هكلمك لما اوصل

(singular) "Tell me when you are ready to order."

3rfny lama tb2a gahez lltalab. / .عرفني لما تبقي جاهز للطلب

"Let's turn off the lights when the movie starts."

5elena netfy al anwar lama al film yebda2. / .خلينا نطفي الانوار لما الفيلم يبدأ

"When" something is due

The last use of "When" (which is still used as an adverb) is When something is due. (E.g., "When are the essays due?") And unlike Tunisian Arabic that uses a different word or phrase to communicate this context, in Egyptian Arabic, the base word Emta / امتي is used.

Here are three examples:

 "When are the essays due?"

El maqalat 7asalet emta? / المقالات حصلت امتي؟

"When are the books due back at the library?"

Al kotob haterga3 almktabah emta? / الكتب هترجع المكتبه امتي؟

In closing

Understanding how to communicate "When" as an adverb and conjunction are important in being able to construct and communicate many statements in Egyptian Arabic. For other IBL articles on Egyptian Arabic see How to say "Hello" in Egyptian Arabic and Responding to "How are you?" in Egyptian Arabic. And as you may know IBL is documenting Egyptian Arabic—Here is where you can access our catalogue of nearly 1000 pages with recordings and over 4000 statements translated — IBL: Egyptian Arabic.

Enjoy learning Egyptian Arabic, a very commonly understood dialect amongst Arabic speakers.

And as always, we wish you a marvellous journey!