انا لسه مستني تحويل من صاحبتي على حساب التوفير.

I am still waiting for a transfer from my female friend to the savings account.

Breakdown of انا لسه مستني تحويل من صاحبتي على حساب التوفير.

• انا: I
• ال: the
• من: from
• صاحبة: female friend

Questions & Answers about انا لسه مستني تحويل من صاحبتي على حساب التوفير.

Why is there no separate word for am in this sentence?

Because Egyptian Arabic normally does not use a present-tense form of to be.

So أنا مستني literally looks like I waiting, but it naturally means I am waiting or I’m in a waiting state.

That is very normal in Arabic:

• أنا تعبان = I’m tired
• هو موجود = he’s here / he is present
• أنا مستني = I’m waiting

What does لسه mean here?

Here لسه means still.

So:

• أنا مستني = I’m waiting
• أنا لسه مستني = I’m still waiting

In other contexts, لسه can also relate to yet, especially with negatives:

• لسه ما وصلش = he hasn’t arrived yet

Why is مستني used instead of a present-tense verb like بستنى?

مستني is the active participle of استنى and is very commonly used in Egyptian Arabic to describe a current state.

So أنا لسه مستني sounds like:

• I’m still waiting
• I’m still in a waiting state

You could also say أنا لسه بستنى. That is also natural, but مستني is especially common and idiomatic here.

Why is it and not ?