Lonely Planet Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook

 (21 customer reviews)

I lived in Egypt for nine months, studying Arabic intensively. I have bought probably twenty or so textbooks and phrasebooks on Arabic, both Standard and Colloquial Egyptian. Briefly, let me provide an overview of this book's strong and weak points:
1. Excellent for someone who is genuinely interested in Egyptian Arabic, but perhaps too much for a week-long interest.
2. Excellent vocabulary resource with a variety of subjects. I always used it as my first reference in everyday conversation. As far as I know, no one has written such a comprehensive yet approachable book for Egyptian Arabic.
3. Weak on teaching Egyptian Arabic grammar. It gives an overview. If you have already had an introduction, you will be able to extrapolate grammar through common sense but this book does not explicitly break down sentence structure or conjugation.I gave this book five stars, despite its weaknesses, because it far superior to other Egyptian Arabic books-text books or phrase...Read more

Perfect for those really interested in Egyptian Arabic!

Few grammar, but it's a prasebook. Great variety of subjects and very good vocabulary.

I also have Colloquial Arabic of Egypt they make a perfect couple!

I love this book!!! When in Egypt this June, I used it to my heart's content. Thanks to this book, I have learned very much in speaking the Arabic language. Being a student of Arabic, I found this small phrasebook even more efficient in teaching me than my textbook from school! It is simply awesome. Although the grammar could have been talked about more, I found this book a life-saver in many situations while being in North Africa. This book will teach you pronunciation, the Arabic alphabet, numbers, and thousands of useful phrases whilst in Egypt. The best Arabic-learning tool out there!