Arabic Learning Notes
Everyday yes/no phrases and spelling tips.
Common everyday words for “yes” and “no” across dialects.
| Arabic (Romanization) | English Meaning | Usage Context | Dialect |
|---|---|---|---|
| أيوه (aywa) | Yes | Informal نعم; common | Egyptian, Levantine |
| آه (āh) | Yes / Yeah | Casual shortened response | Egyptian, Levantine |
| إيه (ēh) | Yes / Yeah | Casual yes in some dialects | Levantine, Gulf |
| نعم (naʿam) | Yes | Formal standard Arabic | All regions |
| صح (sahh) | Correct / Right | Confirms a statement | All regions |
| تمام (tamām) | Okay / Fine | Agreement or “how are you” | All regions |
| مظبوط (maẓbūṭ) | Correct / Accurate | Emphasizes precision | Egyptian, Levantine |
| بالضبط (biḍ-ḍabṭ) | Exactly | Strong affirmation | All regions |
| أكيد (akīd) | Certainly | Strong agreement | All regions |
| طبعاً (ṭabʿan) | Of course | Confident agreement | All regions |
| ممكن (mumkin) | Maybe | Soft agreement | All regions |
| ماشي (māshi) | Okay / let’s go | Agreement to a plan | Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf |
| Arabic (Romanization) | Arabic Script | English | Usage | Dialect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| لا (lā) | لا | No | Universal “no” | All regions |
| لأ (la’) | لأ | No | Colloquial no | Egyptian, Levantine |
| غلط (ghalaṭ) | غلط | Wrong | Opposite of صح | All regions |
| مافي (māfi) | ما في | There is no… | Negative response | Levantine, Gulf |
| مش (mish) | مش | Not | Negates nouns/adjectives | Egyptian, Gulf |
| مو (mo) | مو | Not | Negates nouns/adjectives | Levantine, Gulf |
| ليس (laysa) | ليس | Not | Formal negation | All regions |
| ما (mā) | ما | Not | Past-tense negation | All regions |
Colloquial Arabic doesn’t have standardized orthography. Writers choose spellings that best capture the sound and avoid grammatical signals that don’t belong to the word.