انا استلمت المرتب امبارح، لكن رصيد الحساب لسه اقل من اللي انا عايزه.

In Egyptian Arabic, استلمت already tells you the subject is I, so أنا is not strictly necessary. It is often added for emphasis, clarity, or natural rhythm.

So both of these are possible:

• أنا استلمت المرتب امبارح
• استلمت المرتب امبارح

The version with أنا can feel a little more explicit, especially before a contrast like لكن.

استلمت comes from استلم and means I received, I collected, or I got.

In this sentence, it means the speaker received their salary. With money, it can sound a bit like I received/got paid.

A very common Egyptian alternative is قبضت المرتب, which is especially common for I got my salary / I got paid.

Yes. المرتب is a very common Egyptian Arabic word for salary/pay.

You may also know راتب, which is more formal or closer to Modern Standard Arabic. In everyday Egyptian speech, مرتب is extremely common.

So:

• المرتب = everyday Egyptian
• الراتب = more formal / MSA-like

امبارح means yesterday. It is very common in Egyptian Arabic.

Compared with Modern Standard Arabic:

• Egyptian: امبارح
• MSA: أمس or البارحة

So if you are learning Egyptian, امبارح is the natural everyday word.

Because this is informal writing. In everyday typed Egyptian Arabic, people often leave out hamzas and other spelling details.

More careful spellings would be:

• أنا instead of انا
• أقل instead of اقل

With امبارح, spelling varies even more because it is a colloquial word, so you may see different versions in casual writing.

This is very normal in dialect writing. Learners should get used to recognizing both the careful and casual spellings.

Literally, it means the balance of the account.

This is an idaafa construction, where two nouns are linked:

• رصيد = balance
• الحساب = the account

Together, رصيد الحساب = the account balance.

Notice that even though رصيد itself does not have الـ, the whole phrase is definite because the second noun is definite.

Here لسه means still.

So لسه اقل من... means still less than...

This is a very common use of لسه in Egyptian Arabic. It often shows that a situation has not changed yet.

For example:

• لسه تعبان = he is still tired
• لسه بدري = it is still early

In other contexts, لسه can also relate to yet, especially in negative expressions.

Because Arabic comparatives normally use من for than.

So:

• أكبر من = bigger than
• أصغر من = smaller than
• أقل من = less than

That is why the sentence says أقل من اللي أنا عايزه = less than what I want.

اللي is a very common Egyptian relative word. Depending on context, it can mean that, which, who, or what.

In this sentence, it is best understood as what or the thing/amount that.

So:

• اللي أنا عايزه = what I want / the amount I want

This is one of the most important everyday words in Egyptian Arabic.

Not necessarily.

In this sentence, عايزه is most naturally understood as عايز + ه, meaning want it, where -ه refers to an implied thing such as the amount, the balance, or the level.

So اللي أنا عايزه means something like:

• what I want
• what I want it to be
• the amount I want

This can confuse learners because informal Arabic writing does not show short vowels, and colloquial spelling can be loose. So the form on the page may look ambiguous at first.

Because Egyptian Arabic often leaves out words that are understood from context.

English prefers less than I want it to be, but Egyptian can simply say أقل من اللي أنا عايزه and let the listener understand the missing idea.

In other words, the sentence does not need to say every word explicitly if the meaning is already clear. This kind of omission is very common and natural in spoken Arabic.

لكن is correct and natural, especially in writing or in slightly more careful speech.

In very everyday conversation, many Egyptians would also say بس.

So both are possible:

• لكن رصيد الحساب...
• بس رصيد الحساب...

The version with بس often sounds more conversational, while لكن can sound a little more formal or written.