برا
barra
In Egyptian Arabic, 'outside' is برا (barra).
برا means outside a building or outside the country, depending on context, such as ساكن برا, 'living abroad'.
Meaning: outdoors or away from home (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is distinctly Egyptian, shorter and more frequent in speech than the Standard Arabic خارج.
Which one should you use?
There is no separate casual form, برا is simply what Egyptians say.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
It is used in every register of daily speech.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The word is standard across Egypt.
How does it change in a sentence?
برا does not change form for gender or number.
How do you pronounce it?
Said 'BAR-ra', with a doubled r sound.
When do people say it?
هو عايش برا, 'he lives abroad', is a very common way Egyptians describe relatives who emigrated for work.
Did you know?
- Egyptians use برا both for stepping outside a room and for living abroad, letting one short word cover two very different distances.
Examples in context
- الجو كويس برا دلوقتي.el-gaw kwayyes barra dilwa'ti.The weather is nice outside right now.
- الأولاد بيلعبوا برا.el-awlad beyel'abu barra.The kids are playing outside.
- أخويا عايش برا من سنتين.akhooya ayesh barra min sentein.My brother has been living abroad for two years.
Example conversation
Mervat asks her husband Sami whether to eat at home or go out.
- Mervatنتعشى في البيت ولا برا؟neta'sha fi el-beit wala barra?Shall we have dinner at home or outside?
- Samiيلا نتعشى برا النهاردة.yalla neta'sha barra en-naharda.Let's eat out today.
- Mervatطيب هات جاكيت، الجو برد برا.tayyib hat jacket, el-gaw bard barra.Okay bring a jacket, it's cold outside.
- Samiماشي، أنا جاهز خلاص.mashi, ana gahiz khalas.Ok, I'm already ready.
