This original Cairo street exchange shows how a traveler asks for the metro, follows a route, catches one uncertain detail, and repairs it. The useful language is a sequence: polite opener, فين question, commands روح and لف, location قدام, clarification, confirmation, and thanks.
Complete dialogue
لو سمحت، محطة المترو فين؟
law samaḥt, maḥaṭṭit il-mitro fēn?
Excuse me, where is the metro station?
روح على طول، وبعد البنك لف يمين.
rūḥ ʿala ṭūl, wi-baʿd il-bank loff yamīn.
Go straight, and after the bank turn right.
بعد البنك ولا قبله؟
baʿd il-bank walla ʾablu?
After the bank, or before it?
بعده على طول. المحطة قدام الصيدلية.
baʿdu ʿala ṭūl. il-maḥaṭṭa ʾuddām iṣ-ṣēdaliyya.
Immediately after it. The station is opposite the pharmacy.
معلش، الصيدلية على اليمين؟
maʿlēsh, iṣ-ṣēdaliyya ʿal-yamīn?
Sorry—Is the pharmacy on the right?
لأ، على الشمال. حتشوفها من هنا.
laʾ, ʿash-shimāl. ḥatshūfha min hina.
No, on the left. You'll be able to see it from here.
تمام، متشكر جدا.
tamām, motshakkir giddan.
Got it. Thank you very much.
العفو، توصل بالسلامة.
il-ʿafw, tiwṣal bis-salāma.
You're welcome. Have a safe journey.
The traveler does not merely receive vocabulary. He actively repairs the point most likely to cause a wrong turn, and the other speaker answers with a shorter landmark plus a future visual check.
Line 1: politeness plus an in-place question word
لو سمحت gets attention politely before asking a stranger. محطة المترو فين؟ is literally “the metro station where?” Egyptian does not insert a present copula and does not require English-style inversion. فين occupies the place of the missing location.
موقف الأتوبيس فين من هنا؟
mawʾif il-ʾotobīs fēn min hina?
Where is the bus stop from here?
The فين guide also distinguishes location فين from source منين. Formal أين محطة المترو؟ is MSA-oriented (formal); it is grammatical Arabic, but not the ordinary Cairo production model here.
Line 2: commands and route order
روح is the masculine singular command “go.” على طول means “straight ahead” in directions. بعد البنك establishes a landmark boundary, then لف يمين tells the traveler what to do there. The order of clauses mirrors the physical route.
امشي لحد الإشارة، وبعدين لف شمال.
imshi laḥadd il-ʾishāra, wi-baʿdēn loff shimāl.
Walk as far as the traffic light, then turn left.
To one woman, روح becomes روحي and لف becomes لفي. Egyptian commands therefore track the addressee even when no pronoun is spoken.
Lines 3–4: repair with an alternative
The traveler repeats بعد البنك and contrasts it with قبله. This is a repair initiator: it identifies exactly what was uncertain. The suffix ـه in قبله refers to masculine البنك. The reply بعده uses the same suffix and resolves the contrast efficiently.
جنب الكشك ولا وراه؟ ـ وراه بخطوتين.
gamb il-koshk walla warāh? — warāh bikhoṭwitēn.
Beside the kiosk or behind it? — Two steps behind it.
This is more useful than saying only مش فاهم “I don't understand.” A focused alternative lets the giver repair one relation without repeating the whole route.
The next sentence, المحطة قدام الصيدلية, is a zero-copula location sentence. In Egyptian directions, قدام can mean “in front of” or “opposite/facing,” depending on the layout. The visible relation and gesture disambiguate it.
Lines 5–6: checking a landmark and anchoring it visually
معلش softens the interruption before a yes/no check. The traveler proposes على اليمين. The answer begins with لأ, replaces it with على الشمال, then adds حتشوفها من هنا.
In حتشوفها, future حـ and object ـها both join the verb. The suffix refers to feminine الصيدلية. This clause turns the pharmacy from an abstract instruction into a visual confirmation: if the traveler cannot see it, he knows the route has not yet been understood.
بص ناحية الكوبري؛ حتشوف الإشارة جنبه.
boṣṣ nāḥyit il-kubri; ḥatshūf il-ʾishāra gambu.
Look toward the bridge; you'll see the traffic light beside it.
Lines 7–8: confirmation and leave-taking
تمام here means “Got it / all right,” confirming that the repair succeeded. Masculine متشكر agrees with the male traveler. العفو answers the thanks, and توصل بالسلامة wishes him a safe arrival. The last formula is natural closure, not another route instruction.
كده فهمت الطريق، شكرا على المساعدة.
kida fihimt iṭ-ṭarīʾ, shokran ʿal-musāʿada.
Now I understand the route; thank you for the help.
Four diagnostics for real directions
- Locate the question word. Neutral فين follows the place being sought.
- Follow the timeline. Route clauses should normally match the order of actions.
- Track reference. In قبله، بعده، حتشوفها, suffix gender and number identify the landmark.
- Repair one relation. Repeat the uncertain landmark and contrast two options.
These diagnostics also help with fast speech. You do not need to recognize every word if you can identify the landmark, action, direction, and suffix reference.
Register, variation, and code choice
This is mainstream urban Cairene (informal/neutral). Cairo قدام، فين، لأ contrast with formal MSA أمام، أين، لا (formal). They are different repertoire choices, not careless versions of the formal words.
Regional varieties may use different motion verbs, place terms, pronunciations, or landmarks (regional). Age and neighborhood familiarity affect how much detail a speaker supplies (social). A performed comic scene may give deliberately rapid, contradictory directions (performance language); do not use that pacing as the neutral model. A speaker may insert an English place name or app name (code-switching) while keeping Egyptian sentence grammar.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying an English present copula
❌ محطة المترو تكون فين؟
Incorrect as the intended neutral present-location question — no copula is needed.
✅ أقرب محطة مترو فين؟
ʾaʾrab maḥaṭṭit mitro fēn?
Where is the nearest metro station?
2. Using a masculine command for a woman
❌ روح على طول وبعدين لف يمين.
Incorrect when giving these commands to one woman — both imperatives need feminine marking.
✅ روحي لآخر الشارع وبعدين لفي شمال.
rūḥi li-ʾākhir ish-shāriʿ wi-baʿdēn loffi shimāl.
Go to the end of the street, then turn left. (to a woman)
3. Separating a reference suffix
❌ لف بعد ه عند الإشارة.
Incorrect segmentation — ـه attaches to بعد and refers back to the landmark.
✅ عدي الكوبري ولف بعده عند أول شارع.
ʿaddi l-kubri wi-loff baʿdu ʿand ʾawwil shāriʿ.
Pass the bridge and turn after it at the first street.
4. Replacing Egyptian with MSA without labeling the switch
❌ أين المحطة أمام الصيدلية؟
Mismatched mixture for this casual Cairo exchange — it replaces the taught question and place terms with formal ones.
✅ المحطة فين، قدام الصيدلية ولا جنبها؟
il-maḥaṭṭa fēn, ʾuddām iṣ-ṣēdaliyya walla gambaha?
Where is the station, opposite the pharmacy or beside it?
Key Takeaways
- Ask محطة المترو فين؟ without a present copula or English inversion.
- Route order is روح... وبعد... لف...: landmark first, then action.
- Use focused repair such as بعد البنك ولا قبله؟.
- Joined suffixes maintain reference: بعده، قبله، حتشوفها.
- Close the exchange by confirming understanding, thanking, and responding.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- فين: WhereA2 — Ask about location, destination, and source with Cairene فين and منين, keeping question words near the place relation they replace.
- Basic Positive CommandsA1 — Form everyday Cairene commands for masculine, feminine, and plural addressees, with natural clitics and complements.
- Movement CollocationsA2 — Learn Cairene motion verbs together with their usual destinations, sources, vehicles, aspect, and underway forms.
- في — in, at, and withinA1 — Use Cairene في for location, containment, time, and lexical frames, with its complete attached-pronoun paradigm.
- Word Order in QuestionsB2 — Place Egyptian question words according to their grammatical role, focus, and resumptive structure without copying English inversion.