Egyptian Arabic Negation: ma...sh & mesh
Practice the two core Egyptian negation tools and when to use each.
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Questions Covered in This Set
10 cards to master
What are the two main negation tools in Egyptian Arabic?
ما...ش (ma-...-sh), a circumfix for verbs, and مش (mesh), placed before non-verbs.
Golden rule for choosing between ma...sh and mesh?
Verbs get wrapped in ma-...-sh; everything else (nouns, adjectives, prepositional phrases, future) gets mesh in front.
Negate: katabt (I wrote)
makatabtesh — I didn't write (helping vowel -esh after a consonant cluster).
Negate the future: hansafer (we'll travel)
mesh hansafer — the ha- future NEVER takes ma...sh.
How do you negate a command like kol (eat!)?
Use the imperfect with ma...sh: matakolsh (don't eat!); eshrab → mateshrabsh.
Negate: 3andi felous (I have money)
ma3andeesh felous — 3and is a pseudo-verb, so it takes ma...sh.
What does mafeesh mean and how is it formed?
From fih (there is) + ma...sh = mafeesh, 'there isn't'. E.g. mafeesh moshkela = no problem.
Difference between la2 and mesh?
la2 = 'no' as an answer; mesh = 'not' inside a sentence. La2, ana mesh gay = No, I'm not coming.
What does balaash mean?
'Let's not / don't bother': balaash el-mat3am da = let's skip that restaurant.
How do you say 'neither good nor bad'?
mesh 7elw wala we7esh — using mesh ... wala for neither/nor.
