How do you ask “how much” in Egyptian Arabic?

To ask a price in Egypt, say بكام؟ (bekām?). It is the preposition ب (“for, at”) plus كام (kām), the Egyptian word for “how many” or “how much,” which is كم in Standard Arabic. So الكتاب ده بكام؟ means “how much is this book?” The seller answers with the same ب: بـ 200 جنيه, “for 200 pounds.”

The shop dialogue here runs the whole loop: ممكن أستعير الكتاب ده؟ (“can I borrow this book?”), لا، ممكن تشتريه بس (“no, you can only buy it”), الكتاب ده بكام؟, ممكن أدفع فيزا؟ (“can I pay by card?”) and لا، كاش بس (“no, cash only”). كام also counts things: كام واحد؟ (“how many?”), كام يوم؟ (“how many days?”).