What does “asanseer” (أسانسير) mean in Egyptian Arabic?
موقف مضحك مع الاسانسير والباب
B1 Arabic listening practice · Egyptian Arabic · Picked for people who know some
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.
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How common are the words in this B1 Arabic listening practice video?
How common in Arabic
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Harder words in this video
These words are harder than B1. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.