مش كويس
mish kwayyis
The English phrase "no good" can be expressed in Arabic as مش كويس (mish kwayyis).
مش كويس is used to describe someone or something that is not of a high quality or is behaving badly.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the negation particle mish (not) and the adjective kwayyis (good).
Which one should you use?
مش كويس describes quality or behavior, but it is distinct from sayyi, which is a more direct way to say "bad" in formal Arabic.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
مش كويس is a colloquial expression. In formal settings, you might use غير جيد for "not good", ليس مناسبًا for "it is not suitable", غير مقبول for "not acceptable" or even the polite phrase لا يناسبني to mean "it doesn't suit me" when expressing disapproval.
Is it said differently in some regions?
مش كويس is part of the spoken Levantine and Egyptian dialects rather than Modern Standard Arabic.
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe a feminine noun, the adjective changes from kwayyis to كويسة.
How do you pronounce it?
mish kwayyis
Did you know?
- In many Arabic dialects, calling a person مش كويس can carry a heavy moral judgment. It does not just mean they are 'not good' at a task, but can imply they are a person of bad character or unreliable.
- The word kwayyis is actually an adjective for 'well' or 'healthy' in many contexts. When you say someone is مش كويس, you might be implying they are feeling unwell or sick, not just that they are 'bad'.
- While مش كويس works in Egypt and the Levant, using it in a formal business meeting in Morocco or Tunisia might result in confusion. In those regions, speakers would prefer different colloquial structures or formal Modern Standard Arabic.
Examples in context
- غير جيد، يجب أن نبحث عن تصميم آخر.No good, we should look for another design.
- مش حلو على الإطلاق، مضيعة للوقت.Not good at all, a waste of time.
- الأكل ده مش كويس.al-akl dah mish kwayyes.This food is no good.
- الوضع هنا مش كويس خالص.al-wad' hina mish kwayyes khalis.The situation here is not good at all.
- الولد ده مش كويس.al-walad dah mish kwayyes.This boy is no good.
Example conversation
Mariam and Omar are discussing a broken electronic device.
- مريم Maryamعمر، التليفون ده مش كويس.Omar, al-tilifun dah mish kwayyes.Omar, this phone is no good.
- عمر Omarفعلاً، هو باين عليه بايظ.Fe'lan, huwa bayen 'aleih bayez.Indeed, it looks broken.
- مريم Maryamلازم نشتري واحد جديد.Lazim nishtiri wahid gedid.We must buy a new one.
- عمر Omarأنا موافق يا مريم.Ana muwafiq ya Mariam.I agree, Mariam.
