An Egyptian imperative does not always tell someone to perform a concrete action. High-frequency forms such as بص، شوف، اسمع، تعالى، قول can organize a conversation: they claim attention, introduce a correction, invite joint reasoning, set up a hypothetical, or dramatize disbelief. Intonation, relationship, and what follows determine whether “look” is literal, conversational, warm, impatient, or sarcastic.
These uses retain imperative morphology. They agree with the addressee, take attached clitics, and form negatives with ما...ش around the second-person imperfect. What changes is their discourse function, not their grammar.
The literal morphology is introduced on the basic imperative page; here the focus is what speakers do with that morphology in conversation.
The practical بص paradigm
The positive imperative distinguishes masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural addressees. Its negative uses the second-person imperfect inside ما...ش.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| one man | بص | ماتبصش | boṣṣ / ma-tiboṣṣsh |
| one woman | بصي | ماتبصيش | boṣṣi / ma-tiboṣṣīsh |
| several people | بصوا | ماتبصوش | boṣṣu / ma-tiboṣṣūsh |
بص، أنا فاهم اعتراضك، بس الحل التاني أخطر.
boṣṣ, ʾana fāhim iʿtirāḍak, bass il-ḥall it-tāni ʾakhṭar.
Look, I understand your objection, but the other solution is riskier. (informal discourse opener, to one man)
بصي، إحنا ممكن نختلف من غير ما نتخانق.
boṣṣi, ʾiḥna mumkin nikhtalif min ghēr ma nitkhāniʾ.
Look, we can disagree without arguing. (informal, to one woman)
بصوا، النقطة دي هي أساس المشكلة.
boṣṣu, in-nuʾṭa di hiyya ʾasās il-moshkila.
Look, this point is the basis of the problem. (informal presentation to a group)
Agreement matters even after بص has become a discourse marker. English look is invariant; Egyptian still identifies who is being addressed.
Diagnostic 1: literal looking versus attention management
The same imperative can direct the eyes or direct the conversation. This context minimal pair keeps بص but changes the complement and situation:
بص على الشاشة دلوقتي؛ الرقم اتغير.
boṣṣ ʿala sh-shāsha dilwaʾti; ir-raʾam itghayyar.
Look at the screen now; the number changed. (literal instruction)
بص، الموضوع محتاج وقت، مش قرار سريع.
boṣṣ, il-mawḍūʿ meḥtāg waʾt, mish ʾarār sarīʿ.
Look, the issue needs time, not a quick decision. (discourse management)
The pause after discourse بص is important. A warm falling contour can signal patient explanation; a sharp contour may sound confrontational. The words alone do not encode politeness.
اسمع similarly ranges from literal hearing to a bid for the floor:
اسمع، خلينا نراجع الأرقام قبل ما نرد.
ismaʿ, khallīna nirāgiʿ il-ʾarʾām ʾabl ma nirodd.
Listen, let's check the numbers before we respond. (informal turn-management)
Diagnostic 2: imperatives can invite joint reasoning
تعالى/تعالي/تعالوا + bare imperfect often means “let's...” rather than demanding physical movement. The imperative recruits the addressee into a shared mental or conversational activity.
تعالى نشوف كل اختيار حيكلف كام.
taʿāla nishūf koll ikhtiyār ḥayikallif kām.
Let's see how much each option will cost. (informal, to one man)
تعالي نفترض إن الاجتماع اتأجل؛ نعمل إيه؟
taʿāli niftariḍ inn il-igtimāʿ itʾaggal; niʿmil ʾēh?
Let's suppose the meeting has been postponed; what do we do? (informal reasoning, to one woman)
تعالوا نقارن النسختين سطر سطر.
taʿālu niʾārin in-nuskhtēn saṭr saṭr.
Let's compare the two versions line by line. (collaborative, to a group)
The following first-person plural is bare: نشوف، نفترض، نقارن. It is licensed by the invitation frame; adding بـ would turn it into an independently asserted habit or process.
Diagnostic 3: rhetorical imperatives stage a possibility or challenge
قول can set up a hypothetical approximation: “say/suppose X.” اعمل اللي... can grant a choice while challenging its usefulness. These clauses are not predictions, so forcing an English tense label onto the imperative misses their function.
قول إننا وفرنا عشرة في المية؛ ده كفاية؟
ʾūl innina waffarna ʿashara fi l-miyya; da kifāya?
Suppose we've saved ten percent; is that enough? (hypothetical framing)
اعمل اللي إنت عايزه، بس النتيجة مش حتتغير.
iʿmil illi ʾinta ʿāyzo, bass in-natīga mish ḥatitghayyar.
Do whatever you want, but the result won't change. (challenging/concessive)
شوف مين بيتكلم!
shūf mīn biyitkallim!
Look who's talking! (sarcastic; potentially face-threatening)
Sarcastic examples require caution: prosody and relationship can turn a playful formula into an insult. This use is (informal) and should not be presented as a neutral workplace strategy.
Diagnostic 4: clitics and complement frames remain grammatical
Discourse bleaching does not free an imperative from its complement frame. قوللي “tell me” joins recipient ـلي; اسمعني “hear me out” joins object ـني; خلي بالك takes the lexical frame “keep your attention.”
قوللي بصراحة، إنت مقتنع بالخطة؟
ʾulli bi-ṣarāḥa, ʾinta moʾtaniʿ bil-khoṭṭa?
Tell me honestly: are you convinced by the plan? (informal, to one man)
اسمعني للآخر، وبعدها احكم.
ismaʿni lil-ʾākhir, wi-baʿdaha uḥkum.
Hear me out, then judge. (informal, to one man)
Separating لي or ني as if they were English object pronouns misrepresents the Egyptian word.
Positive and negative discourse moves
The positive imperative invites attention; the negative imperative can block an inference or dramatize disbelief. Negative ما...ش wraps the second-person imperfect, not the positive imperative stem.
قول رأيك من غير مجاملة.
ʾūl raʾyak min ghēr mugāmala.
Tell me what you think—no flattery. (direct invitation)
ماتقوليش إنك نسيتي المعاد تاني!
ma-tiʾūlīsh innik nisīti l-miʿād tāni!
Don't tell me you forgot the appointment again! (disbelief, to one woman)
The second can be literal prohibition, but with surprised intonation it means “surely you didn't...” This positive-to-negative contrast shows that discourse force comes from context on top of regular morphology.
A two-turn Cairo dialogue
أ: بص، لو غيرنا المعاد الناس كلها حتعرف تيجي.
A: boṣṣ, law ghayyarna l-miʿād in-nās kollaha ḥatiʿraf tīgi.
A: Look, if we change the time, everyone will be able to come. (informal proposal)
ب: اسمع، خلينا نسألهم الأول بدل ما نفترض.
B: ismaʿ, khallīna nisʾalhom il-ʾawwil badal ma niftariḍ.
B: Listen, let's ask them first instead of assuming. (informal counterproposal)
Neither speaker commands looking or hearing. Each marks a turn and frames an argument.
Register and variation
بص، شوف، اسمع، تعالى are mainstream Cairene (informal). Professional speech can use them warmly among colleagues, but hierarchy and tone matter. Formal presentations may prefer خلينا نشوف in Egyptian or code-switch toward MSA لننظر (formal). Alexandrian, Delta, Upper Egyptian, Bedouin-associated, age, and community repertoires differ in preferred attention markers and contours. Performance language often exaggerates بص بقى or sarcastic شوف مين بيتكلم for characterization.
Common Mistakes
❌ بصي، خلينا نفكر بهدوء.
Incorrect when addressing one man — Egyptian imperative agreement tracks the addressee even in discourse uses.
✅ بص، خلينا نفكر بهدوء.
boṣṣ, khallīna nifakkar bi-hudūʾ.
Look, let's think calmly. (to one man)
❌ مش تقول كده.
Incorrect as a negative command — use ما...ش around the second-person imperfect.
✅ ماتقولش كده.
ma-tiʾūlsh kida.
Don't say that. (to one man)
❌ قول لي رأيك.
Incorrect under the joined-clitic spelling used here — recipient ـلي attaches to the imperative.
✅ قوللي رأيك.
ʾulli raʾyak.
Tell me your opinion. (to one man)
بص، الفكرة محتاجة تعديل.
boṣṣ, il-fikra meḥtāga taʿdīl.
unẓur, al-fikratu muḥtājatun ʾilā taʿdīlin
Register error — an MSA imperative and case endings are not the reading of this Cairene discourse marker.
✅ بص، الفكرة محتاجة تعديل.
boṣṣ, il-fikra meḥtāga taʿdīl.
Look, the idea needs revising. (informal Cairo)
Key Takeaways
- Imperatives can manage discourse without commanding a literal action.
- Addressee agreement and attached clitics remain active after a form becomes a discourse marker.
- تعالى + bare imperfect recruits joint reasoning; قول can stage a hypothetical; negative forms can express disbelief.
- Interpret force from construction, prosody, relationship, and register—not from the dictionary gloss alone.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Basic Positive CommandsA1 — Form everyday Cairene commands for masculine, feminine, and plural addressees, with natural clitics and complements.
- Strong Prohibitions with إوعى and ما...شA2 — Choose between ordinary negative commands and forceful Cairene warnings with إوعى, with full addressee agreement.
- Polite Egyptian Requests beyond the Bare ImperativeA2 — Choose natural Cairene request frames with ممكن, لو سمحت, من فضلك, and ياريت according to relationship and force.
- Commands with Object PronounsA2 — Attach direct and recipient pronouns to Egyptian commands in the right order, including agreement and negative -ش.
- Interrupting, Holding, and Yielding the FloorB1 — Manage conversational turns in Cairene Arabic with معلش, استنى, كمل, اتفضل, prosody, and explicit repair.
- Extended-Discourse Signposting in Educated EgyptianC1 — Organize presentations and long explanations with natural Egyptian signposts for staging, reformulation, topic movement, and summary.