قرا / بيقرا ʾara / biyʾara is the everyday mainstream Cairene verb “read,” historically from the root ق-ر-ء. Its spelling and sound require two separate observations. Initial ق is ordinarily pronounced /ʾ/ in Cairo, while the historical final hamza visible in formal قرأ is absent from the colloquial forms قرا، قريت، بيقرا used on this page.
That makes قرا a final-weak-style paradigm in living Cairene. The unsuffixed perfect has قرا ʾara, first and second persons use قريت ʾarēt, and the feminine third person is قرت ʾarit. Memorize those alternations rather than pronouncing the formal spelling without its final consonant. The historical analysis is developed in قرأ and final-hamza verbs.
Complete practical paradigm
These are ordinary urban Cairo forms (informal/neutral). The table uses the house colloquial spelling without final hamza. The romanization ʾ at the beginning of the root reflects Cairene ق, not the deleted historical root-final hamza.
| Person | Perfect | Bare imperfect | b-imperfect | ḥa-future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | قَرِيتْ ʾarēt | أَقْرَا ʾaʾra | بَقْرَا baʾra | حَقْرَا ḥaʾra |
| إنت | قَرِيتْ ʾarēt | تِقْرَا tiʾra | بِتِقْرَا bitʾara | حَتِقْرَا ḥa-tiʾra |
| إنتي | قَرِيتِي ʾarēti | تِقْرِي tiʾri | بِتِقْرِي bitʾari | حَتِقْرِي ḥa-tiʾri |
| هو | قَرَا ʾara | يِقْرَا yiʾra | بِيِقْرَا biyʾara | حَيِقْرَا ḥa-yiʾra |
| هي | قَرِتْ ʾarit | تِقْرَا tiʾra | بِتِقْرَا bitʾara | حَتِقْرَا ḥa-tiʾra |
| إحنا | قَرِينَا ʾarēna | نِقْرَا niʾra | بِنِقْرَا binʾara | حَنِقْرَا ḥa-niʾra |
| إنتوا | قَرِيتُوا ʾarētu | تِقْرُوا tiʾru | بِتِقْرُوا bitʾaru | حَتِقْرُوا ḥa-tiʾru |
| هم | قَرُوا ʾaru | يِقْرُوا yiʾru | بِيِقْرُوا biyʾaru | حَيِقْرُوا ḥa-yiʾru |
قرت الخبر مرتين قبل ما تبعته لصحابها.
ʾarit il-khabar marratēn ʾabl ma tibʿato li-ṣḥābha.
She read the news item twice before sending it to her friends.
بقرا شوية قبل ما أنام عشان أبعد عن الموبايل.
baʾra shuwayya ʾabl ma ʾanām ʿashān ʾabʿad ʿan il-mobāyl.
I read a little before bed so I can stay off my phone.
حيقروا التعليمات سوا قبل ما يشغلوا الجهاز.
ḥa-yiʾru t-taʿlīmāt sawa ʾabl ma yishaghghalu l-gihāz.
They’ll read the instructions together before turning on the device.
What can follow قرا
Written material is normally a direct object: قرا الكتاب، قرا الرسالة، قرا الاسم. Use عن for the topic investigated through reading: قرا عن تاريخ القاهرة “read about Cairo’s history.” Use لـ for a beneficiary or listener: قرا للبنت القصة “read the girl the story/read the story to the girl.”
قريت عن المشروع قبل المقابلة وكتبت تلات أسئلة.
ʾarēt ʿan il-mashrūʿ ʾabl il-moʾābala wi-katabt talāt ʾasʾila.
I read about the project before the interview and wrote three questions.
كل ليلة بيقرا لبنته حكاية قبل النوم.
koll lēla biyʾara li-binto ḥikāya ʾabl in-nōm.
Every night he reads his daughter a story before bed.
اقرا الرقم بصوت عالي عشان أتأكد إني سمعته صح.
iʾra r-raʾam biṣōt ʿāli ʿashān ʾatʾakked inni simiʿto ṣaḥḥ.
Read the number aloud so I can make sure I heard it correctly. (to one man)
English read to someone makes the listener sound like a direct object. Egyptian keeps the text as the direct object and normally marks the listener with لـ. English read about and Egyptian قرا عن align more closely.
Commands and final-weak forms
The positive commands are اقرا iʾra, اقري iʾri, and اقروا iʾru. The final ا of the masculine form alternates with ي and وا under feminine and plural agreement. Negative commands use ماتقراش، ماتقريش، ماتقروش.
اقري العقد كله قبل ما تمضي أي ورقة.
iʾri l-ʿaʾd kollo ʾabl ma timḍi ʾayy waraʾa.
Read the entire contract before signing any paper. (to one woman)
ماتقروش التعليقات قبل ما تتفرجوا على الحلقة.
ma-tiʾrūsh it-taʿlīʾāt ʾabl ma titfarragu ʿala l-ḥalaʾa.
Don’t read the comments before watching the episode. (to several people)
The written formal command اِقْرَأْ preserves the historical final hamza (formal/MSA). It is not the ordinary pronunciation of colloquial اقرا.
Clitics expose two stems
With a third-person masculine perfect, the final vowel lengthens before an object: قراه ʾarāh، قراها ʾarāha. First- and second-person perfects keep the قريتـ ʾarēt- stem: قريته ʾarēto، قريتها ʾarētha. Imperfect and command forms likewise lengthen before many vowel-initial clitics: يقراه yiʾrāh، اقراها iʾrāha.
سامح قراها بسرعة وبعدين طلب نسخة أوضح.
Sāmiḥ ʾarāha bisorʿa wi-baʿdēn ṭalab noskha ʾawḍaḥ.
Sameh read it quickly and then asked for a clearer copy.
أنا قريته على التابلت وعلمت على الفقرات المهمة.
ʾana ʾarēto ʿala t-tāblit wi-ʿallimt ʿala l-faʾarāt il-mohimma.
I read it on the tablet and marked the important paragraphs.
ماقراهوش عشان الخط كان صغير قوي.
ma-ʾarāhūsh ʿashān il-khaṭṭ kān ṣughayyar ʾawi.
He didn’t read it because the print was very small.
ماقريتهاش كلها؛ وقفت عند الصفحة العشرين.
ma-ʾarēthāsh kollaha; waʾaft ʿand iṣ-ṣafḥa l-ʿishrīn.
I didn’t read all of it; I stopped at page twenty.
The negative suffix follows the object: ما + قريت + ها + ش. Do not copy English spacing or place ـش before the object.
Participles and reading states
The active participle قاري ʾāri, feminine قارية, plural قاريين, can mean “having read,” “well read,” or literate in context. It is not the normal way to describe the activity unfolding now; use بيقرا. The passive participle مقروء maʾrūʾ “read/readable” is formal-leaning and commoner in editorial or analytical language (formal/professional) than in relaxed family talk.
هي قارية الملف وعارفة كل التفاصيل.
hiyya ʾārya l-malaf wi-ʿārfa koll it-tafāṣīl.
She has read the file and knows all the details.
العنوان واضح ومقروء حتى على شاشة صغيرة.
il-ʿunwān wāḍiḥ wi-maʾrūʾ ḥatta ʿala shāsha ṣughayyara.
The heading is clear and readable even on a small screen. (professional)
The verbal noun قراية ʾirāya is ordinary Egyptian: بحب القراية “I like reading.” Formal قراءة qirāʾa belongs to MSA and formal compounds (formal/MSA).
A short dialogue
أ: قريت الملاحظات اللي سبتها على المكتب؟
A: ʾarēt il-molāḥaẓāt illi sibtha ʿala l-maktab?
A: Did you read the notes I left on the desk?
ب: قريت نصها، وحقرا الباقي بعد الغدا.
B: ʾarēt noṣṣaha, wi-ḥaʾra l-bāʾi baʿd il-ghada.
B: I read half of them, and I’ll read the rest after lunch.
Register and variation
Mainstream Cairo realizes ق as /ʾ/ in this ordinary verb (informal/neutral). Some Upper Egyptian, Bedouin, rural, and community varieties retain /q/ or use /g/ (regional: Upper Egypt/Bedouin and other communities). Learned recitation and formal MSA may also have /q/ and preserve the final hamza: قَرَأَ / يَقْرَأُ (formal/MSA). Those are real register and regional systems, not pronunciation mistakes. This page keeps colloquial spelling قرا and Cairo /ʾ/ consistently.
Common Mistakes
1. Using قرا for every perfect subject.
❌ أنا قرا المقال الصبح.
Incorrect—first-person perfect uses the suffixed stem قريت.
✅ أنا قريت المقال في القهوة قبل الشغل.
ʾana ʾarēt il-maʾāl fil-ʾahwa ʾabl ish-shoghl.
I read the article at the café before work.
2. Pronouncing ordinary Cairene ق as /q/.
بيقرا الجواب دلوقتي في الأوضة.
biyʾara l-gawāb dilwaʾti fil-ʾōḍa.
biyqara l-gawāb dilwaʾti fil-ʾōḍa.
Pronunciation mismatch—the page’s mainstream Cairo baseline realizes ق as /ʾ/.
✅ بيقرا الجواب دلوقتي في الأوضة بصوت واطي.
biyʾara l-gawāb dilwaʾti fil-ʾōḍa biṣōt wāṭi.
He’s reading the letter quietly in the room now. (mainstream Cairo)
3. Making the listener a direct object.
❌ قرا الطفل القصة قبل النوم.
Wrong for the intended ‘read the story to the child’ meaning—this instead makes الطفل the text’s reader or creates ambiguity.
✅ قرا للطفل القصة قبل ما النور يقطع.
ʾara liṭ-ṭifl il-ʾiṣṣa ʾabl ma n-nūr yiʾṭaʿ.
He read the child the story before the power went out.
4. Putting the object after negative ـش.
❌ ماقريتش ها قبل الاجتماع.
Incorrect—the object clitic must precede the closing negative suffix.
✅ ماقريتهاش قبل الاجتماع عشان وصلت متأخر.
ma-ʾarēthāsh ʾabl il-igtimāʿ ʿashān wiṣilt mitʾakhkhar.
I didn’t read it before the meeting because I arrived late.
5. Importing the full formal citation into a relaxed Cairo clause.
هو قرأ الرسالة الآن.
huwa qaraʾa r-risālata l-ʾāna.
He has now read the message. (formal MSA morphology and wording)
✅ هو قرا الرسالة من شوية ورد عليها.
huwwa ʾara r-risāla min shuwayya wi-radd ʿalēha.
He read the message a little while ago and replied to it. (ordinary Cairo)
Key Takeaways
- Keep قرا / قريت / بيقرا together as one colloquial paradigm.
- In mainstream Cairo, initial ق is /ʾ/; the historical final hamza is absent from these colloquial forms.
- Text is a direct object, عن introduces a topic, and لـ introduces the person being read to.
- Final-weak stems change before suffixes: قراها but قريتها, with clitics inside ما...ش.
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