Colloquial Egyptian Arabic expressions

Hassan

Here are some colloquial expressions used in Egyptian 3ammiyya (and only in 3ammiyya; I didn't list words that are also found in fuSHa with the same meanings). I focused on interesting idioms, very commonly-used words and phrases, and words that can have completely different meanings from the standard meaning. And I tried to list only expressions that I've actually heard used, ones that are relatively frequent or at least interesting.
حطّه على الرفّ (HaTTuh 3ala r-raff)
To put someone on the shelf (not make use of their abilities)

وجع راسه (waga3 raasu)
To annoy or inconvenience someone (lit. hurt their head)

ناس مابتجيش الا بالعين الحمرا (naas matbitgii illa bil-3ein il-Hamra)
People who only do things the hard way, like after being yelled at (lit. who only come by the red/evil eye)

مقطع السمكة وديلها (mi'aTTa3 is-samaka we-deilha)
A "player" or someone who commits lots of vices

نسوانجي (niswaangi)
A womanizer or philanderer

عنده وشّ (3andu wa)
Someone crazy (lit. who has a buzz/hum)

ماعندوش دمّ (ma3anduu damm)
He has no shame (lit. no blood)

كوسا (koosa)
A wasta (واسطة) - connections, someone you know who can grease the wheels for you

بين فكيّ الكمّاشة (bein fakkeiyy il-kammaaa)
Between a rock and a hard place (lit. between the plier's jaws)

خرجنا من الحفرة ووقعنا في الدحديرة (xaragna mil-Hofra wa wi'i3na fid-daHdiira)
We jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire (lit. we got out of the hole and fell down the slope)

نزل من عيني (nizil min 3eini)
He went down in my estimation, my opinion of him fell (lit. he fell from my eye)

على مهلك (3ala mahlak)
Slowly, take your time; you can say this to a driver to try and get him to slow down

مافيش فايدة (mafii fayda)
Its no use, its pointless

ماينفعش (mayinfa3)
It does no good, it's useless

مش معقول (mi ma3'uul)
No way; that's ridiculous! (lit. not reasonable)

زي الفل (zayy il-full)
Perfect (lit. like jasmine)

ولا يهمّك (walla yhimmak)
Don't worry

مافيش مشكلة (mafii mokila)
No problem

خللي بالك من (xalli baalak min)
Watch out for, take care of (s.t.)

في المشمش (fil-mimi)
Never; used to express skepticism about something happening (lit. in the apricot season)

اشمعنى (ima3na)
Why (especially, particularly)

يا سلام (ya salaam)
Wow! Expression of surprise (lit. oh peace)

يا خبر أبيض | اسود (ya xabar abyaD/iswid)
Expresses surprise about a piece of news; you can say just يا خبر! or يا خبر ابيض in reaction to any news; يا خبر اسود is used in reaction to bad news.

مالوش دعوى بـ (maluu da3wa bi)
He has nothing to do with (s.t.) or no right to interfere in it; you can tell someone مالكش دعوى بي (malak da3wa biyya) to tell them to leave you alone and stop meddling in your affairs.

زي القمر (zayy il-'amar)
Beautiful (lit. like the moon)

موت (moot)
A slangy intensifier.
صورة حلوة موت (Suura Helwa moot)
an awesome picture

صورة حلوة موت (baHebbak moot)
I love you so much.

انا تعبانة موت (ana ta3baana moot)
I'm really tired.

يموت في (yimuut fi)
To be crazy about something (lit. to die in)

مهووس بـ (mahwuus bi)
Crazy about s.t.

غاوي (ġaawi)
A fan, enthusiast or devotee
غاوي كورة (ġaawi kora)
a soccer fan

كييف (ج) كييفة (kayyiif (pl.) kayyiifa)
A buff or enthusiast; or a connoisseur or sophisticated devotee
كييفة كشري (kayyiifit koari)
a koshari fan

كييف مزيكا (kayyiif mazziika)
a music connoisseur

مالك؟ (maalak?)
What's wrong with you? What's with you?

ضحك على (DiHik 3ala)
To fool, trick (lit. to laugh at)

قد الدنيا ('add id-donia)
(1) world-class, very big and important, a big-shot
هو دكتور قد الدنيا (howwa doktoor 'add id-dunia)
He's a top-class doctor.

(2) very much
بحبك قد الدنيا (baHebbak 'add id-donia)
I love you a lot.

في آخر الدنيا (fi aaxer id-donia)
At the ends of the earth; can be used to indicate great distance

في شمال خط السما (fi emaal xaTT is-sama)
Very far away

طويل الأمل (Tawiil il-amal)
Very long
كانت رحلة طويلة الامل (kaanit reHla Tawiilit il-amal)
It was a very long trip.

زي اللبلب (zayy il-liblib)
Fluently; used in reference to someone's language abilities

غصب عنه (ġaSb 3annu)
Forced on someone, against their will

بلّوه واشرب ميته (billuuh wirib mayyetu)
Wet it and drink its water; used to denigrate a worthless or useless piece of paper

ده كلام أي كلام (da kalaam ayy kalaam)
That's a bunch of nonsense

الكلام ده (il-kalaam da)
A state of affairs or condition (lit. that talk); حكاية (Hekaaya, lit. story) can also be used in a similar way to mean matter/affair.

عشان خاطرك (3aaan xaaTrak)
For your sake

بتلاتة مليم (bi-talaata milliim)
Worthless, poor-quality (lit. for three pennies)

طوّل بالك (Tawwal baalak)
Be patient

بلسان طويل (bi-lisaan Tawiil)
Rudely, insultingly (lit. with a long tongue)

طول بعرض (Tuul bi-3arD)
Can be used in reference to a man to refer to their muscular build (lit. height by breadth)

بالدراع (bid-diraa3)
By force (lit. by the arm)

حباله طويلة (Hibaalu Tawiila)
He takes a long time to get anything done (lit. his ropes are long)

زي سمن على عسل (zayy samn 3ala 3asal)
Used in reference to two people who get along really well (lit. like clarified butter on honey)

حرام عليك (Haraam 3aleik)
Shame on you

عالفاضي (3al faaDi)
For nothing
صرفت الفلوس دى عالفاضي (Saraft il-filuus di 3al-faaDi) I spent that money for nothing.

اتكل على الله (ittakil 3al allah)
Depend on God; you can tell someone اتكل على الله to mean "Go away!"

حاجة غريبة (Haaga ġariiba)
How strange!

دمّه خفيف (dammu xafiif)
He's fun to be around (lit. his blood is light). (The opposite expression would be دمّه تقيل dammu ti'iil, his blood is heavy.)

على حسابي (3ala Hisaabi)
On my bill; I'm the one who pays. Can be used to offer to pay for dinner, etc. (Lit. on my account)

على فكرة (3ala fikra)
By the way, incidentally

ضرب عليه بمبة (Darab 3aleih bomba)
To cheat s.o. of their money

مافيش حاجة اسمها (mafii Haaga ismaha)
There's no such thing as... (lit. there's nothing called...)

احطياطي (iHTiyaaTi)
A spare; can be used in the context of a spare tire etc. or can mean an understudy in the context of theater

نمر | لقيم (ج) لقماء (nimr/la'iim [pl.] lu'ma)
Somone cunning and sly (نمر literally means "tiger")

راجل اخطبوط (raagul axTabuuT)
A corrupt, ruthless businessman who accumulates a lot of money (lit. an octopus)

زي الحصان (zayy il-HiSaan)
Used to describe someone who is strong and active (lit. like a horse)

زي القطة تاكل وتنكر (zayy il-'uTTa taakul wa tinkir)
Like the cat who eats and denies (that she just ate). Used to describe someone ungrateful.

نمس (nims)
Used to describe someone clever and astute (lit. a weasel, but it's not used insultingly like it would be in English)

أظرط من ستي إلى سيدي (aZraT min sitti ila siidi)
Used to describe two people who are worse than each other

مخربش (mixarbi)
Describes someone who knows all the tricks of his trade

طلّع عينيها (Talla3 3eineiha)
To give someone a hard time

لعّبها على الشناكل (la33abha 3ala-anaakil)
To give someone a hard time

شيّب (ayyib)
Not just to give someone a hard time, to put them through the wringer. At the Military Academy, the non-commissioned officers say this to intimidate the cadets هشيّبكو النهارده! (haayyibku n-nahaarda!) It can also describe something really scary ده موضوع يشيّب (da mawDuu3 yiayyib) Lit. to make s.o.'s hair turn white.

احترم نفسك (iHtirim nafsak)
Behave yourself, be polite (lit. respect yourself)

تعبان (ta3baan)
In addition to "tired," it can mean "sick, ill" or "poor, of bad quality."
انا تعبانة من سهرة امبارح (ana ta3baana min sahrit imbaariH)
I'm tired from last night's party.

هو تعبان أوي اليومين دول (howwa ta3baan 'awi il-yoomein dool)
He's really sick these days.

فيلم تعبان أوي (film ta3baan 'awi)
a lousy movie

كرش (kir)
Potbelly; you can call someone with a potbelly ابو كرش (abu kir).

اتصرّف (itSarraf)
To cope or manage, to find a way to deal with something. (The more standard meaning is "to act or behave.")
ماعرفش اتصرف ازاي لو جوزي مات (ma3raf atSarraf izzaay law goozi maat)
I don't know how I'd cope if my husband died.

اعمل ايه في المشكلة دى؟ - اتصرف (a3mil eih fil-mukila di? - itSarraf)
What should I do about this problem? - Find your way out of it.

عينه صفرا (3einu Safra)
His eye is yellow; used to describe someone jealous

حرارة (Haraara)
In addition to the usual meaning of "heat," Haraara can also mean an electric current in the context of a phone line. If someone is checking to see if there's a ring tone, you can ask them, في حرارة (fii Haraara?).
ماقدرتش اتصل بيك, ماكانش فيه حرارة (ma'dirti attiSil biik; makan fii Haraara)

I couldn't call you, the line was dead.

الخط طار (il-xaTTe Taar)
The (phone) line went dead. Lit. "The line flew."

حطّ النقط على الحروف (HaTT il-no'aT 3ala l-Horuuf)
To clarify something, make everything crystal-clear and precise. Lit. "to put the dots on the letters."
ماقدرتش اتصل بيك, ماكانش فيه حرارة (wa dilwa'ti haHoTT il-no'aT 3ala l-Horoof) - A lecturer could say this at the end of his talk to mean:
Now I'm going to explain everything and make it all clear.

خده تحت باطه (xaduh taHt baaTu)
To take someone under one's wing, be a friend to someone (lit. to take s.o. under one's armpit)

حتّة (ج) حتت (Hetta (pl.) Hetat)
Several meanings: (1) a piece or bit, like a piece of food or material; (2) place or neighborhood.

طلع - يطلع (Tili3 - yiTla3)
Aside from meaning "to go up," it can also mean "to turn out (to be s.t.)."
فكرته راجل كويس بس طبع كداب (fakkartu raagil kwayyis bass Tili3 kaddaab)
I thought he was a good man but he turned out to be a liar.

الاكل طلع حلو (il-akl Tili3 Helw)
The food turned out good.

يسرق الكحل من العين. (yisra' il-kuHl mil-3ein.)
He could steal the eyeliner from your eye. (Used to describe a big thief.)

حطّه في جيبه (HaTTuh fi geibu)
To put someone in one's pocket, have them at your beck and call

يفتح الله (yiftaH alla)
Said between a seller and buyer, if one doesn't accept the other's price; the meaning is like "May God open (another opportunity)."

نام - ينام (naam - yinaam)
Aside from meaning "to sleep," in the context of a tire or battery, naam can mean "to go flat," as in العجلة نايمة (il-3agala nayma), The tire is flat.

جدع (ج) جدعان (gada3 (pl.) gid3aan)
Gada3 can have several different meanings: (1) smart and hard-working; (2) someone with integrity and nobility of character; (3) a manly tough guy. A general, vague translation could be "a good guy." It can also be used to address a young man (يا جدع). It's not always used to describe men, but it often is; if a woman displays one of these characteristics, she can also be called a جدعة.

نضيف (ج) نضاف (niDiif (pl.) nuDaaf)
In addition to meaning "clean/free of impurities," نضيف can mean (1) presentable or neat and proper-looking; (2) honest, upright, morally decent; (3) high-quality, excellent.

بلدي (baladi)
Baladi can mean (1) local, traditional Egyptian (as in رقص بلدي ra'S baladi, local Egyptian-style dancing, or عيش بلدي 3ei baladi, local coarse whole-meal bread); (2) common or garden, ordinary; (3) of the more rural or lower class; upper middle-class Cairenes often refer to something as being "baladi" in a condescending way; (4) vulgar

الله (alla)
Often used as an interjection of annoyance, surprise, or frustration

على الله (3al-alla)
Can be used (1) when refusing alms to a beggar (as in "God will provide") or (2) to imply misgivings about an outcome.
السباك قال لي انه جاي على طول - على الله يجي دلوقتي (is-sabbaak 'aalli innu gayy 3ala Tuul - 3al-alla yiigii dilwa'ti)
The plumber told me he's coming right away - Let's hope so.

على طول (3ala Tuul)
3ala Tuul has several meanings: (1) straight ahead, as e.g. a direction for a driver; (2) right away, immediately; (3) continuously, incessantly

بتاع (bitaa3)
Bitaa3 is a flexible word with different meanings: (1) it can indicate possession, particularly in situations where the normal iDaafa structure might cause confusion.
الكتاب بتاع الطالب الجديد (il-kitaab bitaa3 iT-Taalib il-gediid)
the new student's book

نضارة شمس بتاعته (naDDarit ams bita3tu)
his sunglasses

(2) In a more general sense, it can also indicate an association or a general tendency/inclination.
الراجل بتاع اللبن (ir-raagil bitaa3 il-laban)
the milkman

هو راجل بتاع الله (howwa raagil bitaa3 allaah)
He's a very religious man.

ده كلام بتاع ستات (da kalaam bitaa3 sittaat)
That's womanish talk.

انا مش بتاع جواز (ana mi bitaa3 gawaaz)
I'm not the marrying kind.

راجل بتاع نسوان (raagil bitaa3 niswaan)
a womanizer

(3) بتاع ايه (bitaa3 eih) can mean "Why, what for?" or "How come?"
بتاع ايه تاخد جنيه؟ (bitaa3 eih taaxud gineih?)
Why should you take a pound?

بتاع ايه ماقلتلوش؟ (bitaa3 eih ma'ultiluu?)
How come you didn't tell him?

(4) It can also indicate a genitive relationship.
الاثار بتاعة مصر (il-asaar bitaa3it maSr)
Egypt's historical monuments

بتاع زمان (bitaa3 zamaan)
of a long time ago, in the old days

(5) Or it can indicate approximation, like تقريبا (ta'riiban) or حوالي (Hawaali).
جبت بتاع كيلو (gibt bitaa3 kiilo)
I brought about a kilo.

(6) Especially with a "wa-" it can mean "and so on, and what not."
رحنا السوق وبتاع (ruHna s-suu' wi-btaa3)
We went to the market and so forth.

يمكن نلاقي حتة جلد وبتاع (yimkin nilaa'i Hettet gild wi-btaa3)
We may find a bit of leather or what not.

(7) And finally, I hear it used frequently to mean "the thingamajig, the whatchamacallit."
فين البتاع ده؟ (fein il-bitaa3 da?)
Where's that thingummy?

حطّ صوابعه في الشقّ من (HaTT Sawaaba3u fi-a'' min)
To give on s.t., be completely fed up with it. Lit. to put one's fingers in the crack.
حطيت صوابعي في الشق من الكدابين دول (HaTTeit Sawaaba3i fi-a'' mil-kaddaabiin dool)
I've had it with those liars.

روحي طلعت (ruuHi Til3et)
Another way of saying "I'm fed up."

وقع الفاس في الراس (wi'i3 il-faas fir-raas)
Things have gone past the point of no return, there's nothing that can be done about it now. The situation is ended. (Lit. the hoe has fallen on the head)

كذا مرة (kaza marra)
Many times

شرب - يشرب (irib - yirab)
Aside from meaning "to drink," شرب can also mean "to smoke" (ex. cigarettes or shisha), or "to absorb or soak in."
الحيطان بتشرب الشمس طول اليوم (il-HiTaan btirab i-ams Tuul il-yoom)
The walls absorb the sun all day.

على ما يرام (3ala mayraam)
Okay, decent.

مش ولا بدّ (mi wala bodd)
So-so, not very good.

مش بطال (mi baTTaal)
Not bad.

عرف - يعرف (3irif - yi3raf)
In addition to meaning "to know s.t.," 3araf can mean: (1) to have the ability to do s.t.
تعرف تعوم؟ (ti3raf ti3uum?)
Can you swim?

(2) to manage to
ماعرفتش انام امبارح (ma3arefti anaam imbaariH)
I couldn't manage to get to sleep yesterday.

(3) to discover or find out s.t.
فضلت رايح وجاي من غير فايدة لحد ما عرفت انه عايز فلوس (fiDilt raayiH gayy min ġeir fayda l-Hadd ma 3reft innu 3aayiz filuus)
I kept coming and going to no avail until I realized he wanted some money.

(4) to recognize or distinguish s.t.
ماعرفتكيش وانتى لابسة نضارة (ma3reftikii winti labsa naDDaara)
I didn't recognize you in your glasses.

(5) to show consideration for
العالم هنا مايعرفوش بعض (il-3aalam hina mayi3rafuu ba3D)
People here show no consideration for one another.

ضربه على قفاه (Darabu 3ala 'afaah)
To fool someone, make a fool of him (lit. to hit someone on the back of the neck). To literally slap a man on the back of his neck is a huge insult in Egypt; it's seen as humiliating and degrading to one's manhood.