Learn Arabic as it is really spoken. Listen to and read Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.

Mostafa tells us about a bad day he had. Was it really the worst day of his life??

امبارح كان من اسوأ ايام حياتى. اليوم ابتدا بإن امى صحتنى من النوم و قالتلى اصحى علشان تجيب العيش، الجمله اللى دايماً مبحبش اسمعها، لكن صحيت و خدت قفص العيش و الجنيه فى جيبى، و نزلت رحت للاقرب فرن، جنب بيتنا. لقيت الطابور كبير شويه، حوالى خمستاشر واحد. قلت مش مشكله. اقف و خلاص اهى كلها ساعه و اجيب العيش و اطلع اكمل نوم. و بعد ما عدت ساعه كنت خلاص اول واحد فى الطابور. و فجأه الكهربا قطعت فى الفرن. و صاحب المحل قال مفيش عيش غير لما الكهربا ترجع. و الجمله دى كانت زى الصفاره اللى بيبدأ بيها الماراثون. جريت فى سباق مع الناس اللى كانت واقفه فى الفرن علشان نروح الفرن التانى اللى فى الشارع اللى بعده. و لحسن الحظ على بعد ميت متر لقيت الفرن التانى فاضى. زودت من سرعتى و وقفت اول واحد. و كنت فى منتهى السعاده كإنى كسبت سباق فى الاولمبيات. و لكن حطيت ادى فى جيبى، ملقيتش الجنيه اللى مكنتش نازل بغيره. يعنى كل المجهود و السباق اللى انا كسبته راح على الفاضى. و مكانش قدامى غير حل واحد–ملوش تانى– انى ارجع البيت و فعلاً  رجعت البيت  و اخدت جنيه تانى و نزلت وقفت فى الطابور من اوله. و اتعلمت انى لازم اصحى بدرى علشان اجيب عيش يا إما اخد معايا اكتر من جنيه.

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. The day started when my mother woke me up and said, “Wake up and go get the bread.”–a sentence I never like to hear, but I got up and grabbed the bread basket, and [put] a pound in my pocket. I went downstairs to the nearest bakery, next to our house. I found that the line was a bit long–about fifteen people. I thought, “No problem. I’ll just wait for an hour to get the bread and go back upstairs to finish sleeping.” After an hour had passed, I was finally at the front of the line. And suddenly the electricity went out in the bakery. And the shop owner said there wouldn’t be any more bread until the electricity came back on. And this sentence was like the whistle that starts a marathon. I ran in a race with the other people waiting at the bakery to get to the other bakery, which is on the next street. And luckily, from about a hundred meters away, I saw that the second bakery was empty. I increased my speed, and I was the first in line. I was over the moon, as if I had won an Olympic race. But I put my hand in my pocket and didn’t find the only pound I had brought. So, all the effort and the race I won were all for nothing. There was only one thing I could do–go back home, so go back home I did. I went back and got another pound and went to the bakery and stood in line all over again. And I learned that I have to get up early in order to buy bread, or take more than one pound with me.

One Comment

  1. I love these Arabic diaries! They are engaging, authentic, easy enough to learn from yet challenging enough to require dedicated study. I am starting with the oldest and will work my way forward. Thank you for making these diaries available in Egyptian Arabic, English and Audio!

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