ضيق الياقة بالخيط.

It can be either one in normal unvoweled writing.

• As a command in Egyptian: Tighten / narrow the collar with thread
• As a past tense sentence: He tightened / narrowed the collar with thread

Arabic often leaves out short vowels, so ضيق can represent:

• ضيّق = past he tightened
• ضيّق = imperative tighten!

In real life, context tells you which one is meant. If this appears in instructions, it is most likely a command.

The fuller spelling is ضيّق, with a shadda on ي, which shows that the y sound is doubled.

In everyday Arabic writing, people often leave out:

• short vowels
• the shadda
• other pronunciation marks

So learners should understand that ضيق here is very likely standing for ضيّق.

This verb comes from the root ض ي ق, which is connected with the idea of narrowness or tightness.
So ضيّق means to make narrow, to tighten, or to make tighter.

If it is a command, a good Egyptian-style pronunciation is:

ḍayyeʔ el-yāʔa bil-khēṭ

A few important points:

• ض is an emphatic d
• ق in Egyptian is often pronounced as a glottal stop ʔ
• خ sounds like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• ال is usually pronounced el- or il- in Egyptian speech

So:

• ضيّق → ḍayyeʔ
• الياقة → el-yāʔa
• بالخيط → bil-khēṭ or bel-khēṭ

الياقة means the collar.

It usually refers to the collar of a shirt, dress, coat, or similar piece of clothing.

In Egyptian pronunciation, it is usually said as el-yāʔa, because the letter ق is commonly pronounced as ʔ.

بالخيط means with the thread, with thread, or using thread.

The بـ is a preposition meaning:

• with
• by
• by means of
• using

In Arabic, short prepositions like بـ are normally attached directly to the following word in writing.

So:

• ب + الخيط → بالخيط

This is completely normal Arabic spelling.

Because both nouns are definite:

• الياقة = the collar
• الخيط = the thread

Arabic often uses the definite article in places where English may sound more natural with a less definite translation.

So although بالخيط literally looks like with the thread, in natural English it may simply be translated as:

• with thread
• using thread

That does not mean the Arabic is wrong. It is just a normal difference between the two languages.

It is built into the verb.

If the sentence is a command, the subject is an understood you:

• ضيّق الياقة بالخيط = Tighten the collar with thread

If the sentence is past tense, the subject is an understood he:

• ضيّق الياقة بالخيط = He tightened the collar with thread

Arabic very often leaves the subject pronoun unstated when the verb already makes it clear.

The sentence follows a very common Arabic pattern:

• verb
  • direct object
    • prepositional phrase

So here we have:

• ضيّق = tighten / make narrower
• الياقة = the collar
• بالخيط = with thread / using thread

This kind of order is very common in both Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic.

It is understandable in Egyptian Arabic, especially in a sewing, tailoring, or clothing context.

At the same time, it can feel a little neutral or instruction-like, because it is very short and context-free.

In everyday speech, someone might add more context, for example by specifying which collar or which garment. But as a short instruction, ضيّق الياقة بالخيط is perfectly understandable.

In Egyptian Arabic, the imperative changes depending on who you are speaking to.

• to one man: ضيّق الياقة بالخيط
• to one woman: ضيّقي الياقة بالخيط
• to more than one person: ضيّقوا الياقة بالخيط

Approximate Egyptian pronunciations:

• ḍayyeʔ
• ḍayyeʔi
• ḍayyeʔu

So the ending changes, but the rest of the sentence stays the same.