Ways to say it
| Egyptian Arabic | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| انت | inta | to a man |
| انتي | inti | to a woman |
The pronoun changes depending on who you are addressing, used just before or after a verb or adjective, such as انت تعبان؟, 'are you tired'.
What does it mean word for word?
انت and انتي share the same root as Standard Arabic أنت and أنتِ, with Egyptian pronunciation smoothing the vowels.
Which one should you use?
انت is used for a man, انتي for a woman, and انتو (intu) for a group, a distinction Egyptian Arabic keeps strictly.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
None of these forms carry extra formality, Egyptian Arabic has no separate polite 'you' the way some languages do.
Is it said differently in some regions?
These forms are standard across Egypt.
How does it change in a sentence?
Verbs and adjectives that follow often also carry a matching gender ending, so انت كويس to a man becomes انتي كويسة to a woman.
How do you pronounce it?
انت is said 'EN-ta' and انتي is said 'EN-ti', with the final vowel marking the gender.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Mixing up انت and انتي when addressing a woman is a common early mistake for learners, since it affects agreement throughout the sentence.
Did you know?
- Egyptian Arabic marks gender directly on the pronoun 'you', انت versus انتي, a distinction English dropped from its own second person pronoun long ago.
Examples in context
- انت جاي امتى؟inta gay emta?When are you coming?
- انتي شاطرة جدا في الرسم.inti shatra giddan fi el-rasm.You are very good at drawing.
- انتو مستعدين للسفر؟intu musta'ddeen lel-safar?Are you all ready for the trip?
Example conversation
Aya checks with her friend Yousef about weekend plans.
- Ayaانت فاضي يوم الجمعة؟inta fady yom el-gom'a?Are you free on Friday?
- Yousefأه، انتي عايزة نعمل إيه؟aah, inti ayza na'mel eih?Yes, what do you want us to do?
- Ayaنخرج مع رنا، هي كمان فاضية.nekhrog ma'a Rana, heyya kaman fadya.Let's go out with Rana, she's also free.
- Yousefتمام، انتو حددوا مكان وقتي.tamam, intu haddedu makan w wa'ti.Ok, you all decide the place and time.
