Ways to say it
| Egyptian Arabic | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| أخت | ukht | |
| أختي | ukhti | my sister |
'My sister' is أختي (ukhti), and this possessive form is actually more common in daily speech than the bare أخت alone, since people usually talk about whose sister is meant.
What does it mean word for word?
أخت is the basic noun for 'sister', and the ending ي added to make أختي means 'my'.
Which one should you use?
أخت on its own usually appears with another possessor, as in أخت أحمد, 'Ahmed's sister'. أختي is the natural way to talk about your own sister.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Both are neutral and used at every level of formality, there is no separate casual version.
How does it change in a sentence?
With different possessive endings, it becomes أختك (ukhtak/ukhtik), 'your sister', or أختها (ukhtaha), 'her sister'.
How do you pronounce it?
The kh in أخت is a rough sound made at the back of the throat, and Egyptians often pronounce the initial vowel lightly, closer to 'okht'.
When do people say it?
Close female friends in Egypt often call each other يا أختي even without being related, similar to how men say يا أخويا.
Did you know?
- يا أختي, used between close female friends without any real family tie, mirrors how Egyptian men commonly say يا أخويا.
- أخت and أخويا share the same Arabic root for sibling, with Egyptian colloquial speech adding different endings for each gender.
Examples in context
- أختي الصغيرة في المدرسة.ukhti es-soghayyara fil-madrasa.My little sister is at school.
- ده رقم أخت صاحبي.da ra'am ukht sahbi.This is my friend's sister's number.
- إنتي زي أختي بجد.enti zay ukhti begad.You're really like a sister to me.
Example conversation
Mariam introduces her sister Nouran to her coworker Hany.
- Mariamده هاني زميلي، وده أختي نوران.da Hany zemeeli, w da ukhti Nouran.This is Hany, my coworker, and this is my sister Nouran.
- Hanyأهلا يا نوران، تشرفنا.ahlan ya Nouran, tasharafna.Hi Nouran, nice to meet you.
- Nouranتشرفنا، سمعت عنك كتير.tasharafna, sema't annak keteer.Nice to meet you too, I've heard a lot about you.
- Mariamنوران بتدرس طب كمان.Nouran bettedres tebb kaman.Nouran is also studying medicine.
