Learn how to apologize
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| INTRODUCTION |
| In this lesson, we'll cover phrases used for apologizing. Since you haven’t quite mastered Egyptian Arabic, it's probably a good idea to go over the phrases for apologizing, as they’ll likely come in handy. |
| GRAMMAR POINT・ |
| One of the most common ways of saying “I’m sorry,” in Egyptian Arabic is |
| ana aasef |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) ana aasef. |
| Once more: |
| ana aasef. |
| The first word, ana, means “I”. As you’ve probably noticed, Arabic does not need the verb “to be”. |
| The second word, aasef, is an adjective that means “sorry”. |
| (slow) aasef |
| aasef |
| Altogether, we have |
| (slow) ana aasef. |
| ana aasef. |
| ・ |
| If you are a woman, you have to replace aasef with aasefa. |
| ana aasefa. |
| (slow) ana aasefa. |
| ana aasefa. |
| You can also omit ana and just say aasef or aasefa. This works the way “excuse me” does in English. |
| Let’s hear it once again: |
| (slow) aasef |
| aasef |
| If you are a women, you have to replace aasef with aasefa. |
| (slow) aasefa |
| aasefa |
| If you are in the city, you will hear many people use the English “sorry” as it is, with a little bit of an Egyptian accent. |
| Lets hear it one more time: |
| (slow) sorry |
| sorry |
| It is polite, yet it is used for minor apologies. |
| ・ |
| ana aasef giddan! is another way to say you're sorry. It is used only for deeper apologies, meaning “I am very sorry.” |
| Let’s read it one more time: |
| (slow) ana aasef giddan. |
| ana aasef giddan. |
| As we learned at the beginning of this lesson, ana aasef means “I’m sorry”. Adding the word giddan, which means “so” or “very”, emphasizes the apology. |
| (slow) giddan |
| giddan |
| Let’s hear the whole expression one more time: |
| (slow) ana aasef giddan. |
| ana aasef giddan. |
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