التعريف بالنفس واستخدام عندي في اللهجة المصرية

How do you say “I have” in Arabic?

Arabic commonly expresses possession with عند + pronoun rather than a verb: عندي (ʕandi), literally “at me,” means “I have.” عندي أخ وأخت is “I have a brother and a sister.” This speaker says no with ما عنديش عربية, “I don’t have a car.” Age works the same way: عندي عشرين سنة, “I’m twenty.”

The ending changes with the owner: عندك (you), عنده (him), عندها (her). So أخويا عنده خمستاشر سنة (“my brother is fifteen”) and مامتي عندها شنطة (“my mum has a bag”). Questions need no extra word, just a rising voice: أنت عندك عربية؟ (“do you have a car?”), answered with أيوه or لأ.