عنزة
ʿanzaeveryday, female goat
In Egyptian Arabic a goat is عنزة (ʿanza), the word for a single female goat. ماعز (māʿez) names goats as a group and تيس (tīs) is a male goat.
Meaning: farm animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Egyptian | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| عنزة | ʿanza | everyday, female goat |
| ماعز | māʿez | collective |
| تيس | tīs | male goat |
People say عنزة for one animal, as in عنزتين (ʿanzetēn), "two goats". ماعز fits milk, meat or herds in general.
Which one should you use?
تيس is only for the male. Egyptians also use تيس as a mild insult for a stubborn man, so avoid it as a joke with strangers.
How do you pronounce it?
The letter ع is a throat sound, so عنزة starts with a sound close to a tight "a" from the back of the throat: "AN-za".
Did you know?
- ماعز is a collective noun, so it names the animal as a species, while عنزة counts one female.
Examples in context
- عندنا عنزة في الغيط.ʿandina ʿanza fil-ġēṭ.We have a goat in the field.
- الفلاح عنده عنزتين.el-fallāḥ ʿandu ʿanzetēn.The farmer has two goats.
- اللبن ده من لبن الماعز.el-laban da min laban el-māʿez.This milk is goat milk.
Example conversation
Karim and his sister Mona visit their uncle's farm in the Egyptian countryside.
- Karimشوفي العنزة دي.šūfi el-ʿanza di.Look at this goat.
- Monaدي صغيرة أوي.di ṣuġayyara awi.She is very small.
- Karimأيوه، اتولدت امبارح.aywa, itwaladit imbāreḥ.Yes, she was born yesterday.
- Monaممكن أمسكها؟mumken amsikha?Can I hold her?
