10 words only Egyptians will understand

Egypt is not only the most populated Arab country, it also has the weirdest of colloquial nouns and verbs that only an Egyptian can understand...

Let's take a look at 10 of them:

Well-renowned Arabic song by superstar Nancy Ajram "Ya Tabtab," which was released back in 2006, certainly rings a bell for most of her fans. The word "tabtab" is of Coptic origin and it means patting or stroking. 

Example: Lazm atbtb aleki ashan tebatali eyat? (Do I have to pat your back in order for you to stop crying?)

Egyptians are known to be loud and bubbly, however, when someone wants to tell a friend a secret, they usually have to say it in the form of a "washwasha"(whispering or speaking softly.)

Example: Kfaya washwasha, mish same' haga. (Stop whispering, I can’t hear anything).

"Estabena?" (Do we have a deal?) is a rhetorical question of an Italian origin, asked to make sure that those who are having the conversation are both on the same page. 

Example: Hashofk bokra w tooli ala kol haga. Estabena? (I will see you tomorrow and you'll tell me everything? Do we have a deal?)

Ok, this one is really easy to explain. The word "shibshib" is mostly used by Egyptians to refer to a flipflop.

Example: Elbes el shibshib fl bait. (Wear the flipflops at home).

Looks and sounds weird, right? "Sabbooba" means a reward and it usually refers to a monetary one.

Example: Saedni alai shoghl w leek sabbooba. (Help me find a job and I will reward you).

Believe it or not, "seeka" is a unit of time according to Egyptians. It does not necessarily mean a minute or a second. When someone tells you "seeka," it means a short while.

Example: Edeeni seeka w harod alek. (I will reply back to you in a short while).

When someone wants to insinuate ignoring a certain action or subject, they say "fakes." This one is really simple to understand because "fakes" means forget it or let it go. 

Example: Fakes yabni matdayesh nfsk. (Let it go man and do not bother yourself).

Do you know the feeling of happiness that makes you jump around on your feet? This is what "mezaqtat" means, being "on cloud nine" or "extremely happy."

Example: El yshofk mezaqtat kda, yeol enk ksbt million geneh! (If anyone sees you that happy, they'll start thinking you won a million pounds!)

This might be a bit tricky to understand. "Horokrok" literally means the edge of something. However, it is a colloquial word that means "barely."

Example: Ana adet el sanadi ala el horokrok! (I barely passed my courses this year).

Like many other Egyptian words, this one is of an Italian origin. It's nativally spelled as Roba Vecchia, and Egyptians just replaced the V with a B, since there is no Arabic letter equivalent to the letter V. 

"Robabekya" refers to the old items that can be sold or replaced with other items. It is completely normal to find men or hawkers roaming around the Egyptian streets with a cart filled with old items for sale shouting out "Robabekya."

Example: Ma termich l koursi da, w eddih li btaa' el robabekya. (Don't throw away this chair, you can give it to the guy with the old used items).