موقف مضحك مع الاسانسير والباب

What does “asanseer” (أسانسير) mean in Egyptian Arabic?

Egyptians don’t take the مصعد the textbook promises — they take the أسانسير, straight from French ascenseur. It’s a relic of the era when French was Egypt’s language of modern city life, and it never left: buildings, signs, and daily complaints all use it. Say مصعد in Cairo and you’ll be understood; say أسانسير and you’ll sound like you actually live there.

The clip milks the word for comedy — a tour of a very strange أسانسير whose door behaves impossibly, capped with a deadpan سبحان الله (“glory to God,” here doing its everyday job of “would you look at that”). French left Egyptian Arabic a whole domestic wordlist: أباجورة (bedside lamp, from abat-jour), جاتوه (cake, from gâteau), ديكور (décor). Listen for ما تقلقوش — “don’t worry” — with the Egyptian ش-negation wrapped around it.