شرب is the ordinary Cairene verb “drink”: perfect شرب shirib, imperfect يشرب yishrab. It is a strong Form I verb from ش-ر-ب, but its internal vowel changes between perfect i-i and imperfect -a-. That vowel class is lexical: the three consonants alone do not tell a learner which imperfect vowel to choose.
English drink can be transitive (“drink the water”) or omit its object (“I don't drink”). Egyptian شرب behaves similarly, but the particular noun, attached pronoun, or idiom determines the natural translation. The causative شرّب sharrab “give/make someone drink” is a separate derived verb with an extra participant.
Complete practical paradigm
| Person | Perfect | Bare imperfect | b-imperfect | ḥa-future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | شِرِبْتْ shiribt | أَشْرَبْ ashrab | بَشْرَبْ bashrab | حَشْرَبْ ḥa-shrab |
| إنت | شِرِبْتْ shiribt | تِشْرَبْ tishrab | بِتِشْرَبْ bitishrab | حَتِشْرَبْ ḥa-tishrab |
| إنتي | شِرِبْتِي shiribti | تِشْرَبِي tishrabi | بِتِشْرَبِي bitishrabi | حَتِشْرَبِي ḥa-tishrabi |
| هو | شِرِبْ shirib | يِشْرَبْ yishrab | بِيِشْرَبْ biyishrab | حَيِشْرَبْ ḥa-yishrab |
| هي | شِرِبِتْ shirbit | تِشْرَبْ tishrab | بِتِشْرَبْ bitishrab | حَتِشْرَبْ ḥa-tishrab |
| إحنا | شِرِبْنَا shiribna | نِشْرَبْ nishrab | بِنِشْرَبْ binishrab | حَنِشْرَبْ ḥa-nishrab |
| إنتوا | شِرِبْتُوا shiribtu | تِشْرَبُوا tishrabu | بِتِشْرَبُوا bitishrabu | حَتِشْرَبُوا ḥa-tishrabu |
| هم | شِرْبُوا shirbu | يِشْرَبُوا yishrabu | بِيِشْرَبُوا biyishrabu | حَيِشْرَبُوا ḥa-yishrabu |
The third-person plural perfect reduces to شربوا shirbu in connected Cairene speech; it is not shiribu. Bare imperfect follows a modal or linker, b-imperfect makes a neutral current/habitual assertion, and future حـ joins the imperfect.
شربنا عصير قصب وإحنا راجعين من السوق.
shiribna ʿaṣīr ʾaṣab wi-iḥna rāgʿīn min is-sūʾ.
We drank sugarcane juice on our way back from the market.
بشرب كوباية مية أول ما أصحى.
bashrab kubāyit mayya awwil ma ʾaṣḥa.
I drink a glass of water as soon as I wake up.
عايزين نشرب قهوة بعد الاجتماع.
ʿāyzīn nishrab ʾahwa baʿd il-igtimāʿ.
We want to have coffee after the meeting.
Imperative and prohibition
Use اشرب ishrab, اشربي ishrabi, and اشربوا ishrabu. The initial vowel supports the consonant cluster; it is not part of the root. Prohibition uses ماتشربش، ماتشربيش، ماتشربوش.
اشرب المية واحدة واحدة عشان معدتك ماتتعبش.
ishrab il-mayya wāḥda wāḥda ʿashān miʿditak ma-titʿabsh.
Drink the water slowly so your stomach doesn't hurt.
ماتشربوش القهوة دي؛ بقالها من الصبح.
ma-tishrabūsh il-ʾahwa di; baʾālaha min iṣ-ṣobḥ.
Don't drink this coffee; it's been sitting since this morning.
Objects, clitics, and negation
The liquid is a direct object with no preposition: شرب المية، شرب الدوا. An object pronoun attaches, and negative ـش closes after it. The b-prefix remains inside a habitual negative.
العصير كان ساقع، فشربته كله.
il-ʿaṣīr kān sāʾiʿ, fa-shiribto kollo.
The juice was cold, so I drank all of it.
ماشربتهاش عشان طعمها كان غريب.
ma-shiribthāsh ʿashān ṭaʿmaha kān gharīb.
I didn't drink it because it tasted strange.
هو مابيشربش مشروبات غازية خالص.
huwwa ma-biyishrabsh mashrūbāt ghāziyya khāliṣ.
He doesn't drink soft drinks at all.
English take medicine often corresponds to خد الدوا, while liquid medicine can also be شرب الدوا when drinking is foregrounded. The physical form and conversational perspective choose the verb; there is no single word-for-word rule.
شارب and مشروب
The active participle is شارب، شاربة، شاربين. It commonly presents a result—someone has drunk something—or appears with an explicit substance. The b-imperfect is safer for the activity currently unfolding.
إنت شارب قهوة كتير النهارده، صح؟
inta shārib ʾahwa ktīr in-naharda, ṣaḥḥ?
You've had a lot of coffee today, right?
مشروب is historically the passive participle “drunk,” but in everyday Egyptian it is strongly lexicalized as the noun “a drink/beverage.” Its plural مشروبات is routine on menus and in shops (neutral/commercial). Do not assume every passive form functions freely as an English passive sentence.
المكان عنده مشروبات سخنة وباردة طول اليوم.
il-makān ʿando mashrūbāt sokhna wi-bārda ṭūl il-yōm.
The place serves hot and cold drinks all day.
The causative شرّب adds a drinker
شرّب sharrab / يشرّب yisharrab means “give someone something to drink” or “make someone drink.” Its subject is the causer; the affected drinker is a direct object, and the liquid follows as another complement. The doubled ر distinguishes it in pronunciation even though ordinary unvocalized spelling may hide the shadda.
أمه شربته الدوا وبعدها نام.
ommo sharrabito d-dawa wi-baʿdaha nām.
His mother gave him the medicine to drink, and afterward he slept.
الممرضة بتشرب المريض شوية مية كل ساعة.
il-momarriḍa bitisharrab il-marīḍ shuwayyit mayya koll sāʿa.
The nurse gives the patient a little water every hour.
This causative is productive for established senses, not permission to derive any imagined Form II meaning. Learn its participant frame through Form II.
Lexicalized extensions
In colloquial Egyptian, شرب سجارة / بيشرب سجاير can mean “smoke a cigarette/cigarettes” (informal). The object changes the conventional interpretation even though no liquid is involved. With alcohol, a bare بيشرب can mean “he drinks alcohol” when that topic is established, just as English drink can.
بطل يشرب سجاير في البيت عشان الأطفال.
baṭṭal yishrab sagāyir fi l-bēt ʿashān il-aṭfāl.
He stopped smoking cigarettes at home because of the children. (informal lexicalized use)
A short dialogue
تشرب إيه؟ عندنا شاي وقهوة وعصير.
tishrab ʾēh? ʿandina shāy wi-ʾahwa wi-ʿaṣīr.
What would you like to drink? We have tea, coffee, and juice.
حشرب شاي خفيف، ومن غير سكر لو سمحت.
ḥa-shrab shāy khafīf, wi-min ghēr sokkar law samaḥt.
I'll have weak tea, without sugar please.
The first bare form belongs to an offer formula; the answer uses future حـ for the speaker's choice.
Register and variation
Formal شَرِبَ / يَشْرَبُ shares the root but adds formal inflection (formal/MSA). Everyday Cairo has شرب / بيشرب without case or mood endings. Regional varieties may shift short vowel quality or prefix realization (regional). Formal menus may favor مشروبات, while intimate speech often names the actual drink; neither is incorrect when its setting fits.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying the perfect vowel into the imperfect.
هو بيشرب القهوة بعد الغدا كل يوم.
huwwa biyishrab il-ʾahwa baʿd il-ghada koll yōm.
huwwa biyishrib il-ʾahwa baʿd il-ghada koll yōm
Pronunciation error—the Cairene imperfect stem has a: He drinks coffee after lunch every day.
2. Adding a preposition before the liquid.
❌ شربت من الدوا كله.
Wrong for drinking the whole dose; من makes the object partitive.
✅ شربت الدوا كله زي ما الدكتور قال.
shiribt id-dawa kollo zayy ma d-doktōr ʾāl.
I drank the whole medicine dose as the doctor said.
3. Separating the object and negative suffix.
❌ ماشربتش ها.
Incorrect—the object suffix comes before final ـش in one written word.
✅ ماشربتهاش عشان كانت سخنة قوي.
ma-shiribthāsh ʿashān kānit sokhna ʾawi.
I didn't drink it because it was too hot.
4. Using the base verb when another person causes the drinking.
الأم شربت الطفل الدوا بالسرنجة.
il-omm sharrabit iṭ-ṭifl id-dawa bis-siringa.
il-omm shirbit iṭ-ṭifl id-dawa bis-siringa
Pronunciation error—the causative has doubled r: The mother gave the child the medicine with a syringe.
5. Importing formal endings into a Cairene sentence.
نحن نشرب الماء الآن.
naḥnu nashrabu l-māʾa l-ʾāna.
We are drinking water now. (valid formal MSA, not neutral Cairene)
✅ إحنا بنشرب مية دلوقتي قبل ما نمشي.
iḥna binishrab mayya dilwaʾti ʾabl ma nimshi.
We're drinking water now before we leave. (neutral Cairene)
Key Takeaways
- Memorize شرب shirib / يشرب yishrab; the imperfect stem vowel is lexical.
- Liquids are direct objects, object clitics attach, and negative ـش follows the clitic.
- شارب commonly presents a result, while lexicalized مشروب usually means “beverage.”
- Causative شرّب adds an affected drinker and must be distinguished by its doubled middle consonant.
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