Living Egyptian
The “Method” course by Ksenia Usacheva
Module 4 · Home: a flat with a sea view
Draft — native-speaker review in progress
How to work through this module
A simple route — go top to bottom and it all clicks.
- 1Listen to the scenes: tap the speaker on every line and follow the transcription. Play each phrase at least twice.
- 2Repeat OUT LOUD after the voice — from the very first scene. Nobody's listening, and your mouth learns only by sound.
- 3Run the trainer: keep doing rounds until it feels easy. Every word in it comes from this module.
- 4Take the module test — 75% or higher means you're ready to move on.
- 5Record your voice assignment — a real teacher will listen and give you personal pronunciation feedback.
- The module takes 2–3 hours. No need to do it in one sitting — come back in chunks, your progress stays.
Don't know the Arabic letters? Perfect — that's by design. You can even switch the script off below and study with transcription only.
What you'll be able to do after this module
After this module you can view a flat and ask about everything that matters (“is there AC? a lift?”), say what's missing, agree the rent, name your floor — and call the landlady when something breaks. Home turf, in Egyptian.
How to read our transcription
This is the Method's signature transcription — the same one as in the video transcripts: colours mark the special sounds, and you can read it without knowing a single Arabic letter.
- CAPITALthe stressed vowel — lean on it with your voice: mazbUt, shUkran
- s d t zص ض ط ظred — the “heavy” sounds: big round mouth, dense sound
- ghغa gargled sound, like the French r: ghAli
- hحblue — breathy, a warm sigh from deep in the throat: hAder
- khخraspy, like clearing your throat: khAmsa
- aa / 3عthe deep throaty sound — the signature “Ayn”
- 'ق ءa short catch-pause in the throat: 'Ahwa
- wوa lippy “w”, as in English: wAhed
- shشa soft “sh”: shAy, shUkran
- gجin Egypt this letter is a hard “g”: ginEh
Scene
Viewing the flat
Anya has decided to move closer to the sea. Madame Samia shows her a flat; Mona has come along for support.
🇪🇬 How it's done in Egypt: Flats in Egypt are usually rented “mafrUsha” — furnished, appliances included, so the first question is always “fI …?” (“is there…?”). Asking in detail isn't rude — the landlady expects it.
Madame Samia
اتفضلوا! دي الشقة.
etfAddalu! di esh-shA''a.
Come in! Here's the flat.
💡 etfAddalu — “please come in” to SEVERAL people (the -u ending = “you all”)
Anya
الشقة حلوة أوي! فيه بلكونة؟
esh-shA''a hElwa Awi! fI balakOna?
The flat is lovely! Is there a balcony?
Madame Samia
أيوة، فيه بلكونة كبيرة على البحر.
Aywa, fI balakOna kibIra 3Ala l-bAhr.
Yes, a big balcony over the sea.
Anya
وفيه تكييف في أوضة النوم؟
wi-fI takyIf fi Odet en-nOm?
And is there AC in the bedroom?
💡 Odet en-nOm — “the room of sleep”: hear how Oda turned into OdeT!
Madame Samia
طبعا! فيه تكييف، وفيه تلاجة جديدة كمان.
TAb3an! fI takyIf, wi-fI tallAga gidIda kamAn.
Of course! There's AC, and a brand-new fridge too.
💡 TAb3an — “of course”: an everyday word
Anya
المطبخ فين؟
il-mATbakh fIn?
Where's the kitchen?
Madame Samia
المطبخ هنا، جنب الحمام.
il-mATbakh hEna, ganb il-hammAm.
The kitchen is here, next to the bathroom.
Anya
ومافيش سرير في الأوضة دي؟
wi-mafIsh sirIr fil-Oda di?
And there's no bed in this room?
Madame Samia
فيه سرير ودولاب، بس مافيش ترابيزة.
fI sirIr wi-dulAb, bass mafIsh tarabEza.
There's a bed and a wardrobe, but no table.
Anya
مش مشكلة!
mish mushkEla!
Not a problem!
Scene
Floor, lift and price
Anya likes the flat. Now the essentials: the floor, the lift — and of course the price.
🇪🇬 How it's done in Egypt: Rent in Egypt is haggled over as calmly as halva at the market. “kitIr shwAyya…” (“a bit much…”) + a counter-figure — and the landlady will almost always move, especially for months paid up front.
Anya
الشقة في الدور الكام؟
esh-shA''a fid-dOr il-kAm?
Which floor is the flat on?
💡 il-kAm after a noun = “number what?”
Madame Samia
في الدور التالت.
fid-dOr et-tAlet.
On the third floor.
Anya
وفيه أسانسير؟
wi-fI asansEr
And is there a lift?
💡 asansEr — a hello from French: Egypt is full of such loanwords
Madame Samia
أيوة فيه. والإيجار ستة آلاف جنيه في الشهر.
Aywa fI. wil-igAr sItta talAf ginEh fish-shAhr.
Yes, there is. And the rent is six thousand pounds a month.
Anya
ستة آلاف؟ كتير شوية... خمسة، ماشي؟
sItta talAf? kitIr shwAyya… khAmsa, mAshi?
Six thousand? A bit much… Five, deal?
Madame Samia
ماشي يا ستي، عشان خاطرك.
mAshi ya sItti, 3ashAn khAtrik.
All right, my lady — just for you.
Anya
اتفقنا! والمفتاح؟
ittafA'na! wil-muftAh?
Deal! And the key?
Madame Samia
اتفضلي المفتاح. مبروك يا حبيبتي!
etfAddali il-muftAh. mabrUk ya habIbti!
Here's the key. Congratulations, my dear!
💡 mabrUk! — “congrats”: said for any piece of good news
Scene
The AC isn't working
First evening in the new flat. It's hot — and the AC is silent. Anya calls Madame Samia.
🇪🇬 How it's done in Egypt: The bawwAb — doorman and guardian spirit of every Egyptian building: he has the keys, the tools and the answers. Befriend your bawwAb and half your comfort is sorted. And “en-nUr” (“the light”) also means electricity in general.
Anya
ألو، مدام سامية؟ معلش، فيه مشكلة صغيرة.
alO, madAm sAmya? ma3lEsh, fI mushkEla SughAyyara.
Hello, Madame Samia? Sorry — there's a small problem.
💡 ma3lEsh here is a soft “sorry to bother you”
Madame Samia
خير؟ إيه المشكلة؟
khIr? E il-mushkEla?
What's up? What's the problem?
💡 khIr? — “what's wrong?” (literally “good?”)
Anya
التكييف مش شغال.
et-takyIf mish shaghghAl.
The AC isn't working.
Madame Samia
والنور شغال؟
win-nUr shaghghAl?
And is the power on?
Anya
أيوة، النور شغال والمية كويسة.
Aywa, en-nUr shaghghAl wil-mAyya kwayyIsa.
Yes, the power's on and the water is fine.
Madame Samia
ماشي. البواب عنده المفتاح، وهو جاي دلوقتي.
mAshi. il-bawwAb 3AndU il-muftAh, wa-hUwwa gayy dilwA'ti.
All right. The doorman has the key — he's coming right now.
💡 gayy — “coming, on his way”: a cousin of rAyih
Anya
متشكرة أوي يا مدام!
mutshAkkera Awi ya madAm!
Thank you so much, madame!
Madame Samia
العفو يا حبيبتي، ولا يهمك!
il-3Afw ya habIbti, wa-la yihImmik!
You're welcome, dear — don't worry about a thing!
Module vocabulary
Tap the speaker and repeat out loud — native-voice audio. To test yourself, hide the translation or the word itself: tap anything hidden to peek.
House and flat
Furniture and appliances
There is and there isn't
Where things are
Rent and the deal
Floors
Handy little words
First letters — just recognise them
You already say these words. See how they're written — no writing needed yet.
Why does a letter have four shapes?
Arabic letters are written joined-up — like cursive handwriting: a letter holds hands with its neighbours and changes shape at the start, middle and end of a word. It is the SAME letter, just with different “tails”. No European language does this, so it feels strange at first. Watch the letter Meem (“m”, in red) live inside three words:
مِن
мин
initial
تَمام
тамЭм
medial
اِسْم
исм
final
No need to worry: you'll learn to recognise the shapes gradually, word by word — no handwriting required at this stage.
Geem
in Egypt — a hard “g”: the signature Egyptian sound (elsewhere this letter is “j”)
ج
isolated
ـج
final
ـجـ
medial
جـ
initial
- جِنيهginEh— pound
- جَنْبganb— next to
- جِديدgidId— new
Ha (the light one)
a light breathy “h” — as in “hEna”; softer than module 2's ح
ه
isolated
ـه
final
ـهـ
medial
هـ
initial
- هِناhEna— here
- هِناكhinAk— there
- أَهْلاًAhlan— hi
Qaf
in Cairo and Hurghada it sounds like a glottal stop — “'” ('Ahwa!); in the south — “g”
ق
isolated
ـق
final
ـقـ
medial
قـ
initial
- قَهْوة'Ahwa— coffee
- قُرَيِّب'urAyyib— close
- السوقes-sU'— the market
Magic text
The Method's signature trick: this is a normal English text, but the letters you already know are ARABIC — shown in the shape they would take inside a real word. Read as usual — your eyes get used to the script by themselves. The “which letter = which sound” cheat sheet is on the panel above. Tap an Arabic word and it speaks, with its transcription written right next to it.
16 of 16 letters enchanted
Each chip is a cheat sheet: the Arabic letter = the sound it replaces. Tap a chip to switch that letter on or off in the text. Inside the text the letter changes shape — it looks different at the start, middle and end of a word (hover it and it introduces itself).
اـنــيــا حــاـس ا نـeـو نـoـو — تــحـiـرـد فــلـooـر, بــاـلـcoـنــي oveـر تــحـe سـeـا. Iـن تــحـe بـeـدـرooـم اC اـنــد ا بـiـج ; iـن تــحـe كـiـتـcـحـeـن — ا بــرـاـنــد-نـeـو . تــرue, تــاـبــلـe يـeـت — بـuـت تــحــاـت iـس نـo pـرoـبــلـeـم: دـاـلـiـا كــنـoـوـس ا cـاـرpeـنــتـeـر, اـنــد تــحـe cـاـرpeـنــتـeـر كــنـoـوـس وـحـeـرe تــحـe مــاـرـكـeـت كـeepـس iـتــس pـرeـتــتـieـســت وooـد. Iـن تــحـe eveـنـiـنــج اـنــيــا سـiـتــس oـن تــحـe بــاـلـcoـنــي اـنــد لـiـســتـeـنــس تـo تــحـe سـeـا.
- shA''a— flat
- fI— there is
- dulAb— wardrobe
- tallAga— fridge
- mafIsh— there is no
Phrase bricks
An Egyptian phrase is a builder's kit: words simply stand next to each other, in the same order you say them. Read the bricks left to right: each shows a word and its literal meaning. Tap a brick to hear the word, tap the speaker on the right for the whole phrase.
Is there a balcony?
💡 fI + a thing = “there is”. The question is the same phrase with a rising tone.
There's no bed.
The AC isn't working.
💡 mish — “not” before a describing word. Three bricks — a complete complaint.
The bedroom is big.
💡 Two nouns side by side = “of”: the room of sleep. Hear how Oda became OdeT.
How it works
fI / mafIsh — “there is” and “there isn't”
fI + anything = “there is”: fI balakOna — there's a balcony. The question is the same phrase with rising intonation: fI way fAy? The negative is mafIsh: mafIsh tarabEza. Compare with 3Andi from module 1: 3Andi — “I have”, fI — “there is (in this place)”. Two patterns — and you can describe any flat, café or town.
- فيه تكييف وتلاجةfI takyIf wi-tallAga— there's AC and a fridge
- فيه أسانسير؟fI asansEr?— is there a lift?
- مافيش مية سخنة!mafIsh mAyya sOkhna!— there's no hot water!
shaghghAl — “working”: your third state word
The collection grows: Ayz (want), rAyih (going) — and now shaghghAl (“working”). With masculine words — shaghghAl, with feminine ones (ending in -a) — shaghghAla: et-takyIf shaghghAl, il-ghassAla shaghghAla. Broken — mish shaghghAl. This word fixes fridges faster than any repairman.
- التكييف مش شغالet-takyIf mish shaghghAl— the AC isn't working
- الغسالة شغالة، الحمد للهil-ghassAla shaghghAla, il-hAmdu lillE— the washing machine works, thank God
- الواي فاي شغال؟il-way fAy shaghghAl?— is the wi-fi working?
Place prepositions — and the golden endings again
ganb (next to), 'uddAm (in front of), wAra (behind), fO' (above), taht (under). Put the place after them: et-tarabEza ganb esh-shubbAk. Now the magic: the SAME endings from module 1 attach to prepositions — ganb-i (next to me), 'uddAm-ak (in front of you), warA-ha (behind her). One set of endings — already on its third job.
- التلاجة في المطبخet-tallAga fil-mATbakh— the fridge is in the kitchen
- الدولاب جنب السريرed-dulAb ganb es-sirIr— the wardrobe is next to the bed
- تعالي، أنا قدام البابta3Ali, Ana 'uddAm il-bAb— come over, I'm in front of the door
Idafa: “the room of sleep” — and ta marbuta comes alive
To say “whose” or “of what”, Egyptian simply puts two nouns side by side: Odet en-nOm (the room of sleep = bedroom), bAb esh-shA''a (the door of the flat), muftAh il-bEt (the key of the house). Notice the sound: Oda turns into OdeT — the “ta tail” on feminine words wakes up and sounds like “t” inside this bond. On its own it sleeps: Oda, shA''a, balakOna.
- أوضة النوم كبيرةOdet en-nOm kibIra— the bedroom is big
- مفتاح الشقة عند البوابmuftAh esh-shA''a 3And il-bawwAb— the flat key is with the doorman
- بلكونة الشقة على البحرbalakOnet esh-shA''a 3Ala l-bAhr— the flat's balcony faces the sea
ed-dOr il-kAm? — “number what?”
Noun + il-kAm = “number what?”: ed-dOr il-kAm? (which floor?). Answer with ordinals: il-Awwel (first), et-tAni (second), et-tAlet (third). The familiar tAni (“again” — ta3Ali tAni!) and “second” are the same word: context does the work.
- الشقة في الدور الكام؟esh-shA''a fid-dOr il-kAm?— which floor is the flat on?
- في الدور الأولfid-dOr il-Awwel— on the first floor
- المطعم في الدور الأرضيil-mAT3am fid-dOr il-ArDi— the restaurant is on the ground floor
Build your story
Build the story of your home
Here's the skeleton for describing your home — plug in your own flat or house: what there is, what's missing, where things are and what is (not) working. Listen to each line, repeat out loud, then tell the whole thing. That's exactly your voice assignment.
- أنا عايشة في شقة صغيرة.Ana 3Aysha fi shA''a SughAyyara.— I live in a small flat.
- الشقة في الدور التاني.esh-shA''a fid-dOr et-tAni.— The flat is on the second floor.
- فيه أوضة نوم ومطبخ كبير.fI Odet nOm wi-mATbakh kibIr.— There's a bedroom and a big kitchen.
- فيه بلكونة حلوة على البحر.fI balakOna hElwa 3Ala l-bAhr.— There's a lovely balcony over the sea.
- التلاجة جنب البوتاجاز.et-tallAga ganb il-butagAz.— The fridge is next to the stove.
- بس مافيش غسالة.bass mafIsh ghassAla.— But there's no washing machine.
- التكييف شغال، والواي فاي شغال — تمام!et-takyIf shaghghAl, wil-way fAy shaghghAl — tamAm!— The AC works, the wi-fi works — all good!
Module trainer
Drill every word of the module: translation, transcription and listening, all mixed. Each round is a fresh dozen. Keep going until it feels easy — then take the test.
Question 1 of 30
Round 1
How do you say in Egyptian: «balcony»?
Module test
Question 1 of 20
Ask if the flat has wi-fi.
way fAy?
Voice assignment
Reviewed by a real teacherRecord a voice message (1–2 minutes) — describe your home using the “Build the story of your home” template: where you live, which floor, what there is (fI…) and what's missing (mafIsh…), where things stand (ganb/fO'/taht), what works and what doesn't. Finish with your favourite room and why it's hElwa. 8–10 phrases, peeking allowed. Your teacher will listen and review your pronunciation.
Voice submission opens in your account once the course launches.