Egyptians speak Egyptian Arabic at home and in their films and songs. The news and most books use Modern Standard Arabic, so a lot of the Egyptian Arabic you can follow is audio and video. This kind of Egyptian Arabic, where you follow most of what you hear, is called comprehensible input.
When someone asks how the week went and the answer is نص نص with a shrug, the shrug tells you it means "so-so." That's the kind of scene to start with, where only one word is new. A longer argument in a series gives you time to work out كفاية, "that's enough." For courses and tutors, see our Egyptian Arabic guide.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Egyptian Arabic. You learn from Egyptian Arabic you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Ask for a lesson about a felucca ride on the Nile or a family dinner, and Poppy, your AI tutor, writes it in Egyptian Arabic. When a line stops you, Poppy explains it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't open a series or a book you found yourself. For those, use Shahid, Language Reactor, or LingQ below.
- Lessons, news, and stories written in Egyptian Arabic, about things you like.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you read them again in new contexts.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons and audio are made with AI, so also listen to Egyptians on the channels and podcasts below.
- You cannot add a film or a book of your own.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic
- Teaches the Arabic Alphabet
Mobile
Read Egyptian Arabic Stories With Audio
Lingualism
Lingualism publishes readers in Egyptian Arabic, from beginner stories to short news. A learner on Reddit (r/learn_arabic) recommends its readers to anyone learning Egyptian Arabic, because the Arabic and the English sit on facing pages.
- Level Up! tells each of its six stories four times, from A1 up to B2.
- Every story has audio and an English translation.
- Interactive editions play the audio with the text and let you hide the translation.
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic
- Doesn't teach the Arabic Alphabet
Web
LingQ
Its Egyptian Mini Stories suit beginners, and they make good review later on.
- Its Mini Stories course has 62 short Egyptian Arabic stories with lots of repetition.
- Bring in a transcript or subtitles from Egypt and read them while you listen.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic (partly)
MobileWeb
Watch and Hear People From Egypt
Talk In Arabic
Watch a clip from its Egyptian section once, then read the transcript for the words you missed.
- Video and audio of Arabic as people really speak it, with Egyptian Arabic as one of its dialects.
- Every video and recording comes with a transcript and subtitles.
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic
Web
ArabicPod101
Pick the paths marked Egyptian Arabic, such as its three-minute lessons, so you hear the dialect from the start.
- Its Level 1 Egyptian Arabic path has 78 short audio lessons for A1 learners.
- The path teaches 347 words along the way.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic
MobileWeb
Watch Egyptian Series and Films
Egyptian films and series are mostly in Egyptian Arabic, so they give you hours of real speech once lessons feel easy.
MBC Shahid
MBC Shahid is a streaming service for Arabic TV. A learner on Reddit suggests it for Egyptian movies and series, old and new.
- A shelf of Egyptian series and films, from classics to new shows.
- Series such as Family Matter have subtitles in many languages.
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic (partly)
- Doesn't teach the Arabic Alphabet
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Learners report that Paranormal, Netflix's first Egyptian Arabic series, has subtitles in Egyptian Arabic.
- See Arabic subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Filter its Arabic Netflix catalog by how hard the words are.
- Doesn't teach the Arabic Alphabet
Browser extension
Free Egyptian Arabic to Watch and Hear
All of these are free. If you're new to Egyptian Arabic, start with the first row.
| What | Why It Helps | Try It When |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensible Egyptian Arabic | Esraa's beginner series starts from zero, all in Egyptian Arabic | You're just starting |
| Egyptic | Lessons in order from the very beginning, taught with comprehensible input | You know a few words |
| Easy Arabic | Numbered Easy Egyptian Arabic episodes with slow conversations | Short chats feel easy |
| Learn Egyptian Arabic with Eslam Badawy | Conversations and stories in Egyptian Arabic, and you can slow the audio down | You follow simple talk |
| Linguamid | Videos for people who are new to spoken Egyptian | You follow simple talk |
| Bilmasri | Standard Arabic texts retold in Egyptian Arabic and read slowly, then explained in English | You know some Modern Standard Arabic |
| Maspero | Egypt's state broadcaster streams its channels and keeps old drama, radio plays, and cartoons | Longer scenes feel easy |
| El-Podcasters | Long Egyptian interviews with people who built careers and businesses | Most Egyptian speech feels easy |
Watch a video once without subtitles, then again with them if it has them.
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- KaleelaCourses for Egyptian Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic, with video and audio in the lessons.
- ReelangShort videos of real Arabic speech, where you can choose Egyptian Arabic and tap words in the captions. It is new and growing.
- Parallel ArabicStories and lessons in Egyptian, Levantine, and Moroccan Arabic, with English beside the Arabic. It is new and growing.
- ReadlangA reader for Arabic web pages and texts you bring, where you tap a word to see its meaning.
- Learn Egyptian Arabic with MIMOVideos and paid courses in Egyptian Arabic, made for foreigners.
- Masri LingoLessons, stories, and podcasts in Egyptian Arabic. It is new and growing.
Common Questions
Which Egyptian Arabic app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Egyptian Arabic, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Lingualism's Level Up! stories if you want a reader that begins at A1.
Is Egyptian Arabic ever written down?
Yes. It shows up in novels, plays, comics, ads, and song lyrics, and the first novel written fully in Egyptian Arabic came out in 1966.
How many people speak Egyptian Arabic?
About 119 million people speak it, including about 35 million who speak it as a second language.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Egyptian Arabic (mainly spoken; news uses Modern Standard Arabic; first novel in 1966; sample words نص نص and كفاية)
- Wikipedia: Paranormal (Netflix's first original Egyptian Arabic-language series)
- Lingualism: Level Up! Egyptian Arabic Stories (Book 1)
- Lingualism: Egyptian Arabic Readers, Interactive Edition
- LingQ: Mini Stories, Egyptian Arabic
- LingQ: free and premium plans
- Talk In Arabic: Egyptian Arabic
- Talk In Arabic: pricing
- ArabicPod101: Level 1 Egyptian Arabic
- MBC Shahid on the App Store
- Language Reactor: Arabic titles on Netflix
- Arabic learner discussion: Movies and shows with Egyptian Arabic subtitles on Netflix
- Arabic learner discussion: Intermediate Egyptian stories (Lingualism readers)
- Arabic learner discussion: Egyptian movies and series (Shahid)
- Arabic learner discussion: Is most television that Arabs watch in Egyptian or MSA?
- MBC Shahid: Family Matter (subtitles)
- Comprehensible Egyptian Arabic on YouTube
- Egyptic on YouTube
- Easy Arabic on YouTube
- Learn Egyptian Arabic with Eslam Badawy on Apple Podcasts
- Linguamid on YouTube
- Bilmasri on YouTube
- Maspero (Egypt's National Media Authority)
- El-Podcasters on YouTube
- Bubblegum
- ArabicPod101
Checked on October 15, 2026 against each app's own pages.
