Word
بس بالليل بييجي صوت عالي من الشارع، وفيه ريحة مطر في الهوا.
Meaning
But at night, a loud sound comes from the street, and there is a smell of rain in the air.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about بس بالليل بييجي صوت عالي من الشارع، وفيه ريحة مطر في الهوا.
What does بس mean here? I thought it could mean only.
Yes — بس can mean both but and only/just in Egyptian Arabic.
In this sentence, it means but:
بس بالليل... = But at night...
You decide from context which meaning is intended.
Why is it بالليل instead of just ليل?
بالليل is the common Egyptian way to say at night.
It is made of:
- بـ = a preposition here, often giving a sense like in/at
- الليل = the night
So بالليل literally looks like in the night, but naturally means at night / during the night.
This kind of time expression is very common in Egyptian:
- بالنهار = in the daytime
- بالليل = at night
What is the function of بـ in بييجي?