A study: “Where” in Egyptian Arabic

In this article we are going to study “Where” in Egyptian Arabic. (For the counterpart “What” article, see the IBL article: A study: “What” in Egyptian Arabic)

In Egyptian Arabic, “Where” is Fen / فين. There are no other reasonably common alternative spellings of this word amongst Egyptian Arabic speakers.

To see contrasts and similarities to other forms of Arabic:

• In Standard Arabic (Fos7a / فصحى) it’s Ayn / اين;
• In Lebanese Arabic, it’s Wayn / وين;
• In Tunisian Arabic, it’s Win / وين.

IBL Contributor, Samar A. pronounces Fen:

Compounding

Fen / فين will compounds in the instance of the phrase “From where” (As in asking someone where they are from, for instance)

In Egyptian Arabic, “From where” is Mnen / منين which is a compound of the phrase Mn fen? / من فين؟ (Mn / من means “from”)

Samar A. speaks Mnen:

Conjugating

In some instances Fen / فين will conjugate based on the subject.

You can see this list here: (the suffixes that are related to the gender and subject are bolded)

(I) Feni / فيني؟ = “Where am?”

(You) (m) Fenk? / فينك؟ = “Where are you?” (masculine)

(You) (f) Fenek? / فينك؟ = “Where are you?” (feminine)

(You, plural) Fenko? / فينكوا؟ “Where are you?” (plural)

(He) Feno? / فينه؟ (“Where is he?”)

(She) Fenha? / فينها؟ (“Where is she?”)

(We) Fenna? / فينا؟ (“Where are we?”)

(They) Fenhom? / فينهم؟ (“Where are they?”

Samar speaks the above list:

Fen in statements

Below you can see Fen / فين in five statements.

Where were the keys?

El mfate7 kant fen? / المفاتيح كانت فين؟

This phrase directly translates into English as “The keys (El mfate7) were (kant) where (fen)?”

Where did you find them?

(m) Enta l2ethom fen? / انت لقيتهم فين؟ (f) Enty l2etehom fen? / انتي لقيتيهم فين؟

This phrase would directly translate into English as “You (Enta/-y) found them (l2ethom) where (fen)?”

“Them” doesn’t change in Egyptian Arabic whether speaking about living or non-sentient objects.

Where are you from?

(m) Enta mnen? / انت منين؟ (f) Enty mnen? / انتي منين؟

This phrase directly translates into English as “You” (Enta/-y) “from where” (mnen)?

Where do you work?

(m) Btsht3’l fen? / بتشتغل فين؟ (f) Btsht3’ly fen? / بتشتغلي فين؟

This phrase directly translates to “You work (Btsht3’l/-y) where (fen)?”

Where do you want to go on vacation this year?

(m) 3ayzna nro7 nsyf fen el snady? / عايزنا نروح نصيف فين السنادي (f) 3ayzana nro7 nsyf fen el sandy? / عايزانا نروح نصيف فين السنادي

This phrase would directly translate into English as “You want us (3ayzna/-ana) to go (nro7) on vacation (tsyf/-y) where (fen) this year (el snady)?)

In closing

The word Fen / فين is fundamental in day-to-day speech in Egyptian Arabic. By integrating this word into your regular Egyptian vocabulary, you will strengthen your ability to form statements and express thoughts and ideas. Remember that IBL has written a counterpart article on “What” in Egyptian Arabic. If you want to go over the more common greetings in Egyptian Arabic there is the article How to say “How are you?” in Egyptian Arabic. And IBL also has a lengthy catalogue on English to Egyptian Arabic translations. (Over 700 pages with recordings along with over 3,500 statements translated) You can access this catalogue here.

We wish you continued enjoyment learning Egyptian Arabic.

And as always, we wish you a marvellous journey!