What does “وحياة ربنا” mean in Egyptian Arabic?

وحياة ربنا (wi-ḥayāt rabbina) is a very common Egyptian oath, literally “by the life of our Lord.” It is used to add weight to a promise or a statement: وحياة ربنا هجيبه is “I swear I’ll bring it.” Egyptians swear by many lives (وحياة أمك, وحياتك), but ربنا is the everyday form and is not a solemn one. والله is the plain “I swear to God.”

A young boy is asked whether he wants to act again, and he answers with a burst of enthusiasm: معاكي أنا بحياة ربنا... والله العظيم لازم أمثل معاكي (roughly “with you, I swear... by God Almighty, I have to act with you”). The host answers with a joke: عايز نعمل مسلسل ولا فيلم؟ (“shall we make a series or a film?”). عايز is “want” (see the عايز / عايزة blurb).