45 Sa'idi (Upper Egyptian Arabic) Curse Words & Insults

Sa’idi (صعيدي) is the Arabic dialect of Upper Egypt.

I know it’s confusing (😕), but Upper Egypt is actually Southern Egypt (from the villages south of Cairo all the way down to Aswan).

While it’s mutually intelligible with Cairene Arabic (the Egyptian dialect spoken in Cairo), Sa’idi is also quite distinct.

The most obvious examples are the letter jeem/geem, which is usually pronounced as a ‘J’ (in Cairo it’s a ‘G’), and the letter qaf, which is pronounced as a ‘G’ in Sa’idi.

But they also have unique expressions.

The expressions that Sa’idi people use - particularly insults - are quite colorful, and often the subject of great amusement in Egyptian media. Sa’idi people are stereotypically depicted as less intelligent and a bit backward, so many of their insults poke fun at this.

Below are some of the most popular Sa’idi slang words and lighthearted insults along with their meanings.

List of Sa’idi insults

Insult someone’s intelligence in Sa’idi (Egyptian) Arabic (stupid, useless, etc.)

1. خرج

Meaning: A useless person

Listen: 5urug

2. خيخة

Meaning: A useless person

Listen: 5ee5a

3. عبيط

Meaning: A naive/stupid person

Listen: 3abeet

4. چحش

Meaning: A donkey

Listen: ja7sh

5. مرمطان - (مرمطة)

Meaning: A person who is always in a state of humiliation

Listen: marmaTan marmaTa

6. اهبل

Meaning: A naive/stupid person

Listen: ahbil

7. هلاس

Meaning: A person with a clown personality

Listen: halaas

8. ابن المركوب

Meaning: A “son of a shoe”

Listen: ibn ilmarkoob

9. متخلف

Meaning: A retarded person

Listen: mit5alif

Insult a person’s character or ethics in Sa’idi (Egyptian) Arabic

10. لكع

Meaning: A slow/lazy person

Listen: lika3

11. متوول

Meaning: A distracted person (unable to focus)

Listen: matawul

12. شلق

Meaning: A person with a foul mouth

Listen: shalag

13. رداحة

Meaning: A woman with a high voice who argues a lot

Listen: rada7a

14. اوباش

Meaning: A bastard

Listen: awbash

15. تنح

Meaning: A careless person

Listen: tina7

16. مدهول

Meaning: A disorganized/careless person

Listen: midahwil

17. مهيص

Meaning: A person who isn’t serious

Listen: muhayis

18. نمرود

Meaning: An arrogant person

Listen: namrud

19. يا جالوص الطين

Meaning: A piece of mud (refers to a boring person)

Listen: jaloos i-Teen

20. مقطران

Meaning: A person covered in tar (someone who attracts problems)

Listen: mugaTran

21. معنجر

Meaning: An arrogant person

Listen: ma3njir

22. سكع

Meaning: A person who doesn’t care about time

Listen: saka3

23. نطع

Meaning: A person who depends on others to get work done

Listen: naTa3

24. لطخ

Meaning: A person who can’t be taken seriously

Listen: laT5

25. عونق

Meaning: A person who depends on others to get work done

Listen: 3awnaq

26. متلحم

Meaning: A person who depends on others to get work done

Listen: mitla7im

27. قنزوح

Meaning: A person who brags about themselves

Listen: ganzu7

28. ملسلس

Meaning: A boring person

Listen: mlaslis

29. متعنطز

Meaning: A stiff person

Listen: mita3anTiz

30. عنج

Meaning: A provocative person

Listen: 3anij

31. مدلدل

Meaning: A disorganized person

Listen: midaldil

32. منيل

Meaning: A person covered in Nile River mud (lots of bad luck)

Listen: minayil

33. نچس

Meaning: A dirty (bad) person

Listen: nijis

34. مكحرت

Meaning: A poor person

Listen: mka7arit

35. رطراط

Meaning: A person who talks too much

Listen: riTraT

Insult a person’s appearance or smell in Sa’idi (Egyptian) Arabic

36. عوجة

Meaning: An ugly person

Listen: 3awja

37. بلط

Meaning: A lazy person

Listen: bilaT

38. نتن

Meaning: A person who smells bad (also stingy)

Listen: nitin

39. مقلحف

Meaning: A person who smells bad

Listen: mugal7if

40. عفشه

Meaning: An ugly person

Listen: 3afsha

41. شينه

Meaning: An ugly person

Listen: sheena

42. امعفلط

Meaning: A filthy person

Listen: ima3afliT

43. امعطن

Meaning: A filthy person covered in fungus

Listen: ima3atun

44. ملكوم

Meaning: A sick person

Listen: malkoom

45. زراط

Meaning: A person who farts a lot (also refers to someone who frequently breaks promises)

Listen: zaraT

Any more that I should add to this list? 😊

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