Arabic Compliments

Egyptian Compliments

Arabic compliments tend to be lengthy because it is generally considered that the longer a compliment is, the more sincere.

Egyptian compliments often utilize similes and metaphors in reference to marriage or Allah: shaklak ’ariis in-naharda (you look like a bridegroom today); maa shaa’a Allaah ’aleek (God’s grace be upon you) (Nelson, El-Bakary, & Al-Batal, 1993 [©]).

Four Arabic adjectives are commonly used: hilw (pretty), kwayyis (good), shiik (chic), and tayyib (kind).

Egyptians mainly compliment others on their appearance, personality traits, and skills. Perhaps half of the Egyptian compliments on appearance are likely to praise natural attributes.

Most Egyptian compliments are given directly, but they also offer compliments in a kidding or joking way (Nelson, et. al, 1993). The third most common Egyptian response utilizes formulaic expressions such as: eeh l-Halaawa di! Eeh sh-shiyaaka di! (What is all this beauty! What is all this chicness!).

Accept
- Appreciation Token (shukran [thank you])
- Agreement (kill tasaamiimi naajha [All my designs are successful])
- Return (w-inti heek yaa Sawsan [And you and the same, Sasan])
- Acceptance + Formula (m’addame [it is presented to you])
Mitigate
- Deflecting or Commenting on History (A: Your body has filled out. B: I used to work out a long time ago. )
- Questioning or Request Reassurance/Repetition (Is that really me?)
Reject
- Syrians prefer acceptance or mitigation of the compliment to rejection.
- Agreement + Formula tends to be the most common response type in Syrian compliments. For example, one can say: m’addam ([It is] presented [to you]), offering the object of the compliment to the complimenter. This offer comes in a formulaic expression and is not likely to be accepted. It is an expected polite response to certain compliments. The complimenter typically says: shukran! Ala saahibtu ahiaa (Thank you! It looks much nicer on its owner) or Tithanni fiiha. InshaaLLaah tihriiha bi-l-hanaa (May you enjoy it. May you, God willing, wear it out in happiness).