قابل / بيقابل ʾābil / biyiʾābil is the everyday Cairene verb “meet” when one participant is the subject and the other is a direct object: قابلت منى “I met Mona.” It is a Pattern III verb with a stable long ā, but Pattern III does not automatically mean “each other.” Reciprocal اتقابل packages the participants differently: اتقابلنا “we met up.”
The citation form is ʾābil. Before suffixes, forms such as ʾābilt and ʾāblit show ordinary vowel deletion and adjustment. The consonants and long ā stay recognizable across the paradigm even when the short i is lost.
Complete practical paradigm
These are mainstream urban Cairene forms (informal/neutral). Bare imperfect occurs after a modal or another licenser; b-imperfect presents an ongoing or recurring meeting; joined حـ projects a future meeting.
| Person | Perfect | Bare imperfect | b-imperfect | ḥa-future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | قَابِلْتْ ʾābilt | أَقَابِلْ ʾaʾābil | بَاقَابِلْ baʾābil | حَقَابِلْ ḥa-ʾābil |
| إنت | قَابِلْتْ ʾābilt | تِقَابِلْ tiʾābil | بِتِقَابِلْ bitiʾābil | حَتِقَابِلْ ḥa-tiʾābil |
| إنتي | قَابِلْتِي ʾābilti | تِقَابِلِي tiʾābili | بِتِقَابِلِي bitiʾābili | حَتِقَابِلِي ḥa-tiʾābili |
| هو | قَابِلْ ʾābil | يِقَابِلْ yiʾābil | بِيِقَابِلْ biyiʾābil | حَيِقَابِلْ ḥa-yiʾābil |
| هي | قَابْلِتْ ʾāblit | تِقَابِلْ tiʾābil | بِتِقَابِلْ bitiʾābil | حَتِقَابِلْ ḥa-tiʾābil |
| إحنا | قَابِلْنَا ʾābilna | نِقَابِلْ niʾābil | بِنِقَابِلْ biniʾābil | حَنِقَابِلْ ḥa-niʾābil |
| إنتوا | قَابِلْتُوا ʾābiltu | تِقَابِلُوا tiʾābilu | بِتِقَابِلُوا bitiʾābilu | حَتِقَابِلُوا ḥa-tiʾābilu |
| هم | قَابْلُوا ʾāblu | يِقَابِلُوا yiʾābilu | بِيِقَابِلُوا biyiʾābilu | حَيِقَابِلُوا ḥa-yiʾābilu |
قابلت مديرة الفرع واتفقنا على ميعاد جديد.
ʾābilt modīrit il-farʿ wittafaʾna ʿala mīʿād gidīd.
I met the branch manager, and we agreed on a new date.
هو بيقابل عملاء بره المكتب يومين في الأسبوع.
huwwa biyiʾābil ʿomala barra l-maktab yōmēn fil-ʾusbūʿ.
He meets clients outside the office two days a week.
حنقابلك قدام البوابة قبل بداية العرض.
ḥa-niʾābilak ʾoddām il-bawwāba ʾabl bidāyit il-ʿarḍ.
We’ll meet you in front of the gate before the show starts. (to one man)
قابل takes the person directly
The person met is a direct object: قابل الدكتور، قابلها، قابلني. Do not insert مع after plain قابل merely because English can say “meet with.” A location follows separately with في، عند، قدام, or another place expression.
قابلنا المحامي في مكتبه قبل الجلسة.
ʾābilna l-moḥāmi fi maktabo ʾabl il-galsa.
We met the lawyer in his office before the hearing.
قابلتها صدفة عند محطة المترو.
ʾābiltaha ṣodfa ʿand maḥaṭṭit il-mitro.
I ran into her by chance at the metro station.
With an institution or event, قابل still normally profiles a person encountered, not attendance itself. English “meet a deadline” does not use قابل; Egyptian says يلحق الميعاد or يسلم في الميعاد, depending on meaning. Learn the collocation, not the gloss.
Plain قابل versus reciprocal اتقابل
Plain Pattern III قابل creates a subject–object relation: أنا قابلته “I met him.” Pattern VI اتقابل presents a shared encounter: plural اتقابلنا “we met up,” or singular اتقابلت معاه “I met up with him.” The co-participant after اتقابل takes مع, not a direct object.
قابلت حسام عشان أسلمه المفتاح.
ʾābilt Ḥosām ʿashān ʾasallimo l-miftāḥ.
I met Hossam so I could give him the key.
اتقابلنا بعد الشغل وقعدنا في قهوة هادية.
itʾābilna baʿd ish-shoghl wi-ʾaʿadna fi ʾahwa hādya.
We met up after work and sat in a quiet café.
اتقابلت معاها أونلاين عشان نراجع العقد.
itʾābilt maʿāha ʾōnlāyn ʿashān nirāgiʿ il-ʿaʾd.
I met with her online so we could review the contract.
The wider pattern relationship is covered under Pattern III and Pattern VI. These labels help organize known verbs; they do not generate meanings automatically.
Commands, clitics, and negation
The commands are قابل ʾābil, قابلي ʾābili, and قابلوا ʾābilu. They are natural for arranging where one person should meet another. Object suffixes attach directly. In verbal negation, the suffix stays inside ما...ش: ماقابلتوش.
قابليني عند الاستقبال الساعة اتنين.
ʾābilīni ʿand il-istiʾbāl is-sāʿa itnēn.
Meet me at reception at two. (to one woman)
ماتقابلوش العميل قبل ما تقروا الملف.
ma-tiʾābilūsh il-ʿamīl ʾabl ma tiʾru l-malaff.
Don’t meet the client before reading the file. (to several people)
ماقابلتوش امبارح عشان الاجتماع اتلغى.
ma-ʾābiltūsh imbāriḥ ʿashān il-igtimāʿ itlagha.
I didn’t meet him yesterday because the meeting was canceled.
مقابلة: meeting or interview
The verbal noun مقابلة moʾābala can mean a meeting or, very commonly, an interview. مقابلة شغل is a job interview; مقابلة شخصية is the more institutional “personal interview” (professional/formal). Context determines whether the event is evaluative or simply face-to-face.
عندي مقابلة شغل بكرة، فحضرت أمثلة من خبرتي.
ʿandi moʾābalit shoghl bukra, fa-ḥaḍḍart ʾamthila min khibrti.
I have a job interview tomorrow, so I prepared examples from my experience.
المقابلة طولت ساعة، بس الأسئلة كانت واضحة.
il-moʾābala ṭawwilit sāʿa, bass il-ʾasʾila kānit wāḍḥa.
The interview lasted an hour, but the questions were clear.
Participles and lexicalized relatives
The formal Pattern III participle مقابل moʾābil exists, but its most frequent senses are lexicalized: “opposite,” “in exchange for,” “counterpart,” or “corresponding.” It is not the default conversational way to say “currently meeting someone”; use بيقابل or a scheduled future. قابل لـ can also mean “capable of/susceptible to,” as in قابل للتغيير (professional/formal). These meanings belong to the root family but are not tense forms of “meet.”
المكتب مقابل البنك، والميعاد قابل للتغيير.
il-maktab moʾābil il-bank, wi-l-miʿād ʾābil lit-taghyīr.
The office is opposite the bank, and the appointment is subject to change. (professional)
A short dialogue
أ: قابلت مسؤولة التوظيف ولا المقابلة اتأجلت؟
A: ʾābilt masʾūlit it-tawẓīf walla l-moʾābala itʾaggilit?
A: Did you meet the recruiter, or was the interview postponed?
ب: قابلتها، واتفقنا نتقابل تاني مع مدير الفريق.
B: ʾābiltaha, wittafaʾna nitʾābil tāni maʿ modīr il-farīʾ.
B: I met her, and we agreed to meet again with the team manager.
Register and pronunciation
These forms are mainstream Cairene (informal/neutral). Written ق is /ʾ/ here. /q/ can occur in formal performance and some learned styles; /g/ and /q/ belong systematically to several regional and community varieties (regional: Upper Egypt/Bedouin-associated communities). Formal MSA قَابَلَ / يُقَابِلُ (formal/MSA) uses different endings and vowel conventions. Professional vocabulary such as مقابلة شخصية can sit inside Egyptian syntax without making the entire clause MSA.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding مع after transitive قابل.
❌ قابلت مع المدير بعد الاجتماع.
Incorrect in the plain Pattern III frame—قابل takes the person directly.
✅ قابلت المدير بعد الاجتماع وسلمته التقرير.
ʾābilt il-modīr baʿd il-igtimāʿ wi-sallamto t-taʾrīr.
I met the manager after the meeting and handed him the report.
2. Giving reciprocal اتقابل a direct object.
❌ اتقابلت زميلي في الكافيه.
Incorrect for the reciprocal verb—use مع, or choose transitive قابل.
✅ اتقابلت مع زميلي في الكافيه واتكلمنا عن الشغل.
itʾābilt maʿ zamīli fil-kafēh witkallimna ʿan ish-shoghl.
I met up with my colleague at the café, and we talked about work.
3. Copying English “meet a deadline.”
❌ لازم نقابل ميعاد التسليم.
Incorrect collocation—قابل does not mean English ‘meet’ in ‘meet a deadline.’
✅ لازم نسلم الشغل في الميعاد المتفق عليه.
lāzim nisallim ish-shoghl fil-miʿād il-mottafaʾ ʿalēh.
We have to deliver the work by the agreed deadline.
4. Separating the object from negation.
❌ ماقابلتش ه امبارح.
Incorrect—the object suffix belongs inside the negative verb word.
✅ ماقابلتوش امبارح، بس حشوفه بكرة.
ma-ʾābiltūsh imbāriḥ, bass ḥa-shūfo bukra.
I didn’t meet him yesterday, but I’ll see him tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- Use direct قابل + person for “meet someone”; use اتقابل for a jointly organized or reciprocal meeting.
- Keep the long ā while respecting Cairo’s suffix-driven short-vowel adjustments.
- Attach direct-object suffixes to قابل and keep them inside ما...ش.
- Learn مقابلة “meeting/interview” and lexicalized مقابل separately from the finite verb paradigm.
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- Egyptian Pattern VI اتفاعل / تفاعلB2 — Recognize and use Cairene Pattern VI for reciprocal and shared events without treating reciprocity as an automatic meaning.
- Forms V and VI: Reflexive and Reciprocal NetworksC1 — Distinguish Cairene Forms V and VI by shape, participant structure, and lexical meaning instead of equating either pattern with a single reflexive or reciprocal rule.
- Direct-Object Suffixes on VerbsB1 — Attach Egyptian direct-object pronouns to past, imperfect, and negative verb hosts while preserving gender, clitic order, and discourse reference.
- Participles of Forms II–XB1 — Recognize and use Cairene active and passive participles from derived verb patterns without treating the grid as mechanically productive.