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Questions & Answers about مين هو؟
How is مين هو؟ pronounced in Egyptian Arabic?
Usually as mīn huwwa?
A lot of learners also hear it as mīn howwa? because the vowel in هو can sound a bit like o in Egyptian speech.
- مين = meen
- هو = huwwa / howwa
So the whole thing is roughly meen HUW-wa?
Where is the word is in this sentence?
There is no separate word for is here.
In Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually not said in sentences like this. So the structure is more like:
who + he
Even though English needs who is he?, Egyptian Arabic can simply say مين هو؟
Why is هو there? Does it really mean he?
Yes. هو is the masculine pronoun he.
So the sentence is literally built around مين + هو = who + he.
It does not mean is by itself. It is there because you are asking about the identity of a male person.
Can I just say مين؟ instead?