Mainstream Cairene عايز/عايزة/عايزين presents a current want, intention, or request. When the desired content is an action, the following verb is a bare imperfect: it keeps its person and gender prefix but does not take verbal بـ or future حـ. English want to hides that agreement; Egyptian shows who is meant to perform the second action.
This page treats the complement frame, not every lexical use of عايز. For its contrast with بحب and نفسي, see liking and wanting.
Rule 1: عايز agrees with the wanter
عايز behaves like an agreeing predicate. Use masculine singular عايز, feminine singular عايزة, and plural عايزين. The following bare verb then agrees with the performer of the desired action.
| Wanter | Frame with كتب / يكتب | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| أنا, man | أنا عايز أكتب | I want to write |
| أنا, woman | أنا عايزة أكتب | I want to write |
| إنت, man | إنت عايز تكتب | you want to write |
| إنت, woman | إنت عايزة تكتبي | you want to write |
| هو | هو عايز يكتب | he wants to write |
| هي | هي عايزة تكتب | she wants to write |
| إحنا | إحنا عايزين نكتب | we want to write |
| إنتوا / هما | عايزين تكتبوا / يكتبوا | you all / they want to write |
منى عايزة تراجع العقد قبل ما تمضيه.
Mona ʿāyza tirāgiʿ il-ʿaʾd ʾabl ma timḍīh.
Mona wants to review the contract before signing it.
Feminine عايزة agrees with Mona, while تراجع has the third-person feminine prefix. تمضيه is also feminine and carries masculine object ـه for the contract.
Rule 2: remove verbal بـ from the action complement
Start from the person-marked imperfect, not from an MSA mood paradigm. Compare a real routine with desired action:
أنا بكلم أمي كل يوم بعد الشغل.
ʾana bakallim ʾommi koll yōm baʿd ish-shoghl.
I call my mother every day after work. (actual routine)
أنا عايز أكلم أمي قبل ما تسافر.
ʾana ʿāyiz ʾakallim ʾommi ʾabl ma tsāfir.
I want to call my mother before she travels. (desired action)
The first verb uses بـ because it presents a real routine. After عايز, bare أكلم names the desired event. Bare does not mean “present” or “subjunctive” by itself; the licensing frame supplies its modal value.
Same subject and different subject
With the same subject, no extra pronoun appears: أنا عايز أروح “I want to go.” When one person wants another person to act, the second subject normally appears as an object clitic on عايز, followed by a bare imperfect agreeing with that person.
أنا عايزك تيجي بدري عشان نلحق نتكلم.
ʾana ʿāyizak tīgi badri ʿashān nilḥaʾ nitkallim.
I want you to come early so we have time to talk. (male addressee)
هي عايزانا نخلص الشغل قبل الضهر.
heyya ʿāyzāna nikhallaṣ ish-shoghl ʾabl iḍ-ḍohr.
She wants us to finish the work before noon.
In عايزك, ـك identifies the desired actor; تيجي agrees with singular “you.” In عايزانا, ـنا identifies “us,” and نخلص agrees with that embedded subject. The clitic stays joined.
The more explicit عايز إنك... occurs under MSA influence and in some speakers' styles (formal/mixed), but عايزك تيجي is the productive mainstream Cairene baseline.
Time comes from context and larger predicates
The bare imperfect after عايز does not carry an independent tense label. Current desire can target now, later, or a general change. Past desire uses كان with عايز.
أنا عايز أقابلها دلوقتي قبل ما تمشي.
ʾana ʿāyiz ʾaʾābilha dilwaʾti ʾabl ma timshi.
I want to meet her now before she leaves.
كنت عايز أقابلها امبارح، بس الوقت ماكفاش.
kont ʿāyiz ʾaʾābilha imbāriḥ, bass il-waʾt makaffāsh.
I wanted to meet her yesterday, but there wasn't enough time.
The complement stays bare in both. دلوقتي، امبارح, and كنت locate the wanting and intended meeting.
Negation: desire versus desired negative event
Independent مش before عايز negates the desire or presents refusal. Negative ما...ش on the bare complement keeps the desire positive but makes the desired event negative.
أنا عايز أروح الاجتماع.
ʾana ʿāyiz ʾarūḥ il-igtimāʿ.
I want to go to the meeting.
أنا مش عايز أروح الاجتماع.
ʾana mish ʿāyiz ʾarūḥ il-igtimāʿ.
I don't want to go to the meeting.
أنا عايز ماروحش الاجتماع المرة دي.
ʾana ʿāyiz marūḥsh il-igtimāʿ il-marra di.
I want not to attend the meeting this time.
The last form is more deliberate and marked: the desired outcome is nonattendance. In many contexts مش عايز أروح is the natural way to decline. Treat the two as different scope readings, not spelling variants.
Requests and interpersonal force
عايزك + bare verb makes a direct request. It can be appropriate among colleagues or family, but authority, tone, and additions such as لو سمحت determine whether it sounds cooperative or demanding. A ممكن question is often softer.
عايزك تبعتلي النسخة النهائية لو سمحت.
ʿāyizak tibʿatli n-noskha n-nihāʾiyya law samaḥt.
I'd like you to send me the final version, please. (male addressee)
ممكن تبعتلي النسخة لما تفضى؟
momkin tibʿatli n-noskha lamma tifḍa?
Could you send me the version when you're free? (softer request)
Both are grammatical. Their difference is pragmatic force, not correctness.
Two-turn dialogue
عايزة تعملي إيه بعد الكورس؟ ـ عايزة أشتغل شوية وبعدين أسافر.
ʿāyza tiʿmali ʾēh baʿd il-kōrs? — ʿāyza ʾashtaghal shwayya wi-baʿdēn ʾasāfir.
What do you want to do after the course? — I want to work for a while and then travel. (two women speaking)
The question has feminine عايزة، تعملي. The answer keeps feminine عايزة, but first-person أشتغل، أسافر do not encode speaker gender.
Register and variation
This frame is mainstream Cairene (informal/neutral). Formal MSA أريد أن... uses a different complement system (formal); do not add MSA أن or mood endings to the Egyptian frame. Alexandrian, Delta, Upper Egyptian, Bedouin, class, age, and community repertoires vary in pronunciation and preference among desire expressions (regional/social). Performance can make عايزك sound comic, commanding, or intimate through delivery (performance language).
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping verbal بـ after عايز
❌ أنا عايز بروح بدري النهارده.
Incorrect for the intended desired action — عايز licenses a bare imperfect.
✅ أنا عايز أروح بدري عشان أزور خالي.
ʾana ʿāyiz ʾarūḥ badri ʿashān ʾazūr khāli.
I want to leave early so I can visit my uncle.
2. Adding future حـ inside the complement
❌ هي عايزة حتبدأ بكرة.
Incorrect — future time does not override the bare complement selected by عايزة.
✅ هي عايزة تبدأ بكرة بعد الفطار.
heyya ʿāyza tibdaʾ bokra baʿd il-fiṭār.
She wants to start tomorrow after breakfast.
3. Losing gender agreement
❌ إنت عايز تكتبي الاسم هنا.
Agreement mismatch for one female addressee — عايزة and تكتبي must align.
✅ إنت عايزة تكتبي اسمك هنا ولا تحت؟
ʾinti ʿāyza tiktibi ismik hina walla taḥt?
Do you want to write your name here or below? (to a woman)
4. Separating the different-subject clitic
❌ أنا عايز إنت تيجي بدري.
Non-baseline for the neutral different-subject frame — attach the addressee to عايز.
✅ أنا عايزك تيجي قبل ما الضيوف يوصلوا.
ʾana ʿāyizak tīgi ʾabl ma ḍ-ḍuyūf yiwṣalu.
I want you to come before the guests arrive. (male addressee)
Key Takeaways
- عايز/عايزة/عايزين agrees with the wanter.
- Its action complement is a person-marked bare imperfect without verbal بـ or future حـ.
- A different desired actor appears as a joined clitic: عايزك تيجي، عايزانا نخلص.
- مش عايز أروح negates desire; عايز ماروحش makes non-going the desired outcome.
- Direct عايزك... requests are grammatical, but relationship and tone determine their force.
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