بعت / بيبعت baʿat / biyibʿat is the basic Cairene verb “send.” It takes the thing sent as a direct object and a recipient with لـ: بعت الصورة لمريم “he sent the photo to Maryam.” In everyday speech, recipient لـ readily attaches to the verb: بعتلها الصورة.
Unvocalized بعت hides an unusually important contrast. بَعَتْ baʿat means “he sent,” بَعَتّْ baʿatt means “I/you sent,” and بِعْتْ biʿt means “I/you sold,” from باع. The spelling is identical, but the vowels, consonant timing, paradigm, and context are not. Learners must hear and produce the distinction rather than expect the script to resolve it.
Complete practical paradigm
The root-final t meets suffix-initial t in first and second singular perfect forms, producing a long consonant: بعت baʿatt. Pointing shows the doubling, but ordinary targets remain unvocalized. The forms below are mainstream urban Cairene (informal/neutral).
| Person | Perfect | Bare imperfect | b-imperfect | ḥa-future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | بَعَتّْ baʿatt | أَبْعَتْ ʾabʿat | بَبْعَتْ babʿat | حَبْعَتْ ḥa-bʿat |
| إنت | بَعَتّْ baʿatt | تِبْعَتْ tibʿat | بِتِبْعَتْ bitibʿat | حَتِبْعَتْ ḥa-tibʿat |
| إنتي | بَعَتِّي baʿatti | تِبْعَتِي tibʿati | بِتِبْعَتِي bitibʿati | حَتِبْعَتِي ḥa-tibʿati |
| هو | بَعَتْ baʿat | يِبْعَتْ yibʿat | بِيِبْعَتْ biyibʿat | حَيِبْعَتْ ḥa-yibʿat |
| هي | بَعَتِتْ baʿatit | تِبْعَتْ tibʿat | بِتِبْعَتْ bitibʿat | حَتِبْعَتْ ḥa-tibʿat |
| إحنا | بَعَتْنَا baʿatna | نِبْعَتْ nibʿat | بِنِبْعَتْ binibʿat | حَنِبْعَتْ ḥa-nibʿat |
| إنتوا | بَعَتُّوا baʿattu | تِبْعَتُوا tibʿatu | بِتِبْعَتُوا bitibʿatu | حَتِبْعَتُوا ḥa-tibʿatu |
| هم | بَعَتُوا baʿatu | يِبْعَتُوا yibʿatu | بِيِبْعَتُوا biyibʿatu | حَيِبْعَتُوا ḥa-yibʿatu |
بعت الملف للمحاسبة قبل آخر اليوم.
baʿatt il-malaff lil-moḥāsaba ʾabl ʾākhir il-yōm.
I sent the file to accounting before the end of the day.
الشركة بتبعت الفواتير بالإيميل كل شهر.
ish-shirka bitibʿat il-fawātīr bil-ʾimēl koll shahr.
The company sends the invoices by email every month.
حنبعت عربية تاخدكم من المطار.
ḥa-nibʿat ʿarabiyya tākhodkum min il-maṭār.
We’ll send a car to pick you up from the airport.
Theme first, recipient with لـ
The sent theme is the direct object: بعت الرسالة. The recipient is introduced by لـ: بعت الرسالة لسارة. Egyptian can attach the recipient while leaving the full theme after the verb: بعتلها الرسالة. This resembles English “sent her the message” in meaning, but the Egyptian recipient is still structurally marked by لـ.
بعتلهم خريطة المكان قبل ما يتحركوا.
baʿattilhom kharīṭit il-makān ʾabl ma yitḥarraku.
I sent them a map of the place before they set off.
هي بعتت للمدرس النسخة اللي عليها التصحيح.
hiyya baʿatit lil-modarris in-noskha lli ʿalēha t-taṣḥīḥ.
She sent the teacher the corrected copy.
The medium can use على for a platform and بـ for a channel or means: على واتساب، بالإيميل. These choices are conventional and can overlap in digital speech.
Two pronominal objects form one chain
When both theme and recipient are pronouns, Cairene places the theme suffix before لـ + recipient: بعتهالك “I sent it to you,” بعتهالهم “I sent it to them.” With a feminine theme, the analysis is بعت + ها + لـ + هم. The entire chain is written solid.
الصورة عجبتهم، فبعتهالهم بجودة أعلى.
iṣ-ṣūra ʿagabithom, fa-baʿatt-hā-lhom bi-gōda ʾaʿla.
They liked the photo, so I sent it to them in higher quality.
العقد جاهز، حبعتهولك بعد ما المدير يمضي.
il-ʿaʾd gāhiz, ḥa-bʿat-hū-lak baʿd ma l-modīr yimḍi.
The contract is ready; I’ll send it to you after the manager signs. (to one man)
Under negation, final ـش closes the complete chain: مابعتهالكش. Nothing attached to the verb is stranded after it. The full ordering is explained on two-object clitics.
مابعتهالكيش عشان النسخة كان فيها خطأ.
ma-baʿatt-hā-lkīsh ʿashān in-noskha kān fīha khaṭaʾ.
I didn’t send it to you because the copy had an error. (to one woman)
The three readings hidden by بعت
The unvocalized sequence بعت can represent three high-frequency forms:
| Pointing | Reading | Analysis | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| بَعَتْ | baʿat | 3rd masculine singular of “send” | he sent |
| بَعَتّْ | baʿatt | 1st/2nd singular of “send” | I/you sent |
| بِعْتْ | biʿt | 1st/2nd singular of باع “sell” | I/you sold |
هو بعت الرسالة وأنا بعت العربية القديمة.
huwwa baʿat ir-risāla wi-ʾana biʿt il-ʿarabiyya l-ʾadīma.
He sent the message, and I sold the old car.
أنا بعت الرسالة بعد ما بعت المكتب القديم.
ʾana baʿatt ir-risāla baʿd ma biʿt il-maktab il-ʾadīm.
I sent the message after I sold the old desk.
The imperfect removes much of the ambiguity: بيبعت biyibʿat “he sends” versus بيبيع biyibīʿ “he sells.” The object also helps, but objects are not foolproof—a person can send or sell a book. Pronunciation and paradigm remain decisive.
Commands and negation
The commands are ابعت ibʿat, ابعتي ibʿati, and ابعتوا ibʿatu. A recipient suffix with لـ attaches naturally: ابعتلي، ابعتلها. Negative commands use ماتبعتش and keep all suffixes inside the verb word.
ابعتلي اللوكيشن أول ما توصل.
ibʿatli l-lokēshan ʾawwil ma tōṣal.
Send me the location as soon as you arrive. (to one man)
ماتبعتوش بيانات البطاقة في رسالة عادية.
ma-tibʿatūsh bayānāt il-biṭāʾa fi risāla ʿādya.
Don’t send the card details in a normal message. (to several people)
مابعتش الرد لسه عشان مستنية موافقة المدير.
ma-baʿattish ir-radd lissa ʿashān mistannya mowāfaʾit il-modīr.
I haven’t sent the reply yet because I’m waiting for the manager’s approval. (female speaker)
Sending a person, a task, and greetings
بعت can send a person somewhere or send someone to perform an action. The person is then the direct object, and a following bare imperfect supplies the purpose.
بعتنا مندوب يستلم الأوراق من الفرع.
baʿatna mandūb yistalim il-ʾawrāʾ min il-farʿ.
We sent a representative to collect the papers from the branch.
ابعتله سلامي وقوله يكلمني لما يفضى.
ibʿatlo salāmi wi-ʾūlo yikallimni lamma yifḍa.
Send him my regards and tell him to call me when he’s free.
These are lexical frames. “Send someone home” can use بعته البيت, while “send a message” uses a theme and recipient. Do not assume that every complement is the same semantic object.
باعت, مبعوت, and formal أرسل
The active participle باعت bāʿit, feminine باعتة, plural باعتين, can present an achieved result: “having sent.” The passive participle مبعوت mabʿūt means “sent” and is common for files, messages, and people dispatched somewhere.
أنا باعتلك النسخة من الصبح؛ راجع الإيميل.
ʾana bāʿitlak in-noskha min iṣ-ṣobḥ; rāgiʿ il-ʾimēl.
I sent you the copy this morning; check your email. (male speaker, resultative)
الطلب مبعوت للعنوان القديم بالغلط.
iṭ-ṭalab mabʿūt lil-ʿunwān il-ʾadīm bil-ghalaṭ.
The order was sent to the old address by mistake.
Formal أرسل / يرسل (formal/MSA/institutional) is common in official writing and can be code-switched into professional Egyptian. It is not the only correct verb. Ordinary conversation strongly favors بعت / بيبعت. Formal بعث with /th/ belongs to a different register and does not supply the everyday Cairene pronunciation.
A short dialogue
أ: بعتلكم صور الشقة؛ وصلت؟
A: baʿattilkum ṣowar ish-shaʾʾa; wiṣlit?
A: I sent you all the apartment photos; did they arrive?
ب: وصلت، بس ابعتلنا صورة المطبخ من قريب.
B: wiṣlit, bass ibʿatlana ṣūrit il-maṭbakh min ʾarīb.
B: They did, but send us a close-up photo of the kitchen.
Common Mistakes
1. Confusing sent with sold.
أنا بعت العقد امبارح.
ʾana baʿatt il-ʿaʾd imbāriḥ.
ʾana biʿt il-ʿaʾd imbāriḥ.
Pronunciation error—the intended meaning is ‘I sent the contract,’ with baʿatt.
✅ أنا بعت العقد امبارح وبعته تاني النهارده.
ʾana baʿatt il-ʿaʾd imbāriḥ wi-baʿatto tāni n-naharda.
I sent the contract yesterday and sent it again today.
2. Treating the recipient as an unmarked second object.
❌ بعت سارة الصورة الجديدة.
Incorrect in the neutral taught frame—the recipient needs لـ.
✅ بعت لسارة الصورة الجديدة بعد ما عدلتها.
baʿatt li-Sāra ṣ-ṣūra l-gidīda baʿd ma ʿaddaltha.
I sent Sara the new photo after editing it.
3. Reversing two clitics.
❌ بعتلهاها امبارح.
Incorrect—the theme suffix precedes لـ plus the recipient.
✅ بعتهالها امبارح قبل الاجتماع.
baʿatt-hā-lha imbāriḥ ʾabl il-igtimāʿ.
I sent it to her yesterday before the meeting.
4. Putting the recipient after negative ـش.
❌ مابعتهوشلك عشان كان ناقص.
Incorrect—final ـش closes the complete clitic chain.
✅ مابعتهولكش عشان كان ناقص صفحة.
ma-baʿatt-hu-lak-sh ʿashān kān nāʾiṣ ṣafḥa.
I didn’t send it to you because it was missing a page. (to one man)
Key Takeaways
- Distinguish baʿat “he sent,” baʿatt “I/you sent,” and biʿt “I/you sold,” even though all can be written بعت.
- The theme is direct; the recipient uses لـ, which can attach to the verb.
- In two-object chains, theme precedes recipient, and negative ـش comes last.
- Recognize resultative باعت, passive مبعوت, and formal أرسل as separate register-sensitive choices.
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