Directions

Right, left, straight, and the question that always seems to come back: do you know the area?

Asking directions in Arabic is one of the most reliably useful spoken skills. Even with a working GPS, you will end up asking a shopkeeper for the alley a map cannot find, or a taxi driver for the right side of a divided road. The vocabulary is small — left, right, straight, near, far, in front of, behind — and the structures repeat. Where dialect matters most is in the word for "straight ahead": MSA's ʿalaa Tuul is the Egyptian default, while Levantine speakers more often say dughri, a Turkish loan that does not appear in MSA at all.

One thing to watch: when you ask for directions, the response is rarely a clean turn-by-turn. People give landmarks ("at the mosque, turn right"), they assume you know the neighbourhood, and they often answer what they think you really need rather than the literal question. If you don't follow, ask once more — slower, and with the location named: fayn ish-shaariʿ haadha biZ-ZabT? ("where exactly is this street?").

The basic words

Right

يمين yamiin

Left

يسار / شمال yasaar / shimaal

shimaal ("north") is the more common spoken word for "left" in Egyptian and Levantine. yasaar is MSA and used everywhere in writing.

Straight ahead (MSA / Egyptian)

على طول ʿalaa Tuul

Straight ahead (Levantine)

دغري dughri

A Turkish loanword. Used pervasively in the Levant; not heard in Egypt or the Maghreb.

Straight ahead (Gulf)

سيدة / على طول siida / ʿalaa Tuul

Near / close

قريب qariib

Far

بعيد baʿiid

Here / there

هون / هناك hoon / hunaak (Lev.) / hina / hinaak (Eg.)

In front of / behind

قدّام / ورا quddaam / waraa

Above / below

فوق / تحت fawq / taHt

Next to / opposite

جنب / مقابل janb / muqaabil

Asking the question

Excuse me, where is…?

لو سمحت، وين…؟ law samaHt, wayn…? (Lev./Gulf) / law samaHt, fayn…? (Eg.)

Egyptian uses fayn; the Levant and Gulf use wayn; Maghrebi uses fiin. All four mean "where."

Where is the nearest…?

وين أقرب…؟ wayn aqrab…?

How do I get to…?

كيف أوصل لـ…؟ kiif uuSal li…?

Is it far?

بعيد؟ baʿiid?

How long does it take? (walking / driving)

قدّيش بياخد؟ مشي / بالسيّارة addaysh byaakhud? mashii / bi-s-sayyaara

Can I walk there?

ممكن أمشي على هناك؟ mumkin amshii ʿalaa hunaak?

I'm lost

أنا تايه / تايهة anaa taayih / taayiha

Giving and following directions

Turn right / left

لفّ يمين / شمال liff yamiin / shimaal

At the corner

عند الزاوية ʿind az-zaawiya

At the traffic light

عند الإشارة ʿind al-ishaara

At the roundabout

عند الدوّار / الميدان ʿind id-dawwaar (Lev./Gulf) / ʿind il-midaan (Eg.)

After the mosque / church

بعد الجامع / الكنيسة baʿd al-jaamiʿ / al-kaniisa

Cross the street

اقطع الشارع iqTaʿ ish-shaariʿ

The first / second street

أوّل شارع / ثاني شارع awwal shaariʿ / thaani shaariʿ

Common questions you'll be asked back

Do you have the address?

معك العنوان؟ maʿak il-ʿunwaan?

Do you know the area?

بتعرف المنطقة؟ btaʿrif il-manTiqa?

Almost guaranteed as a follow-up. Saying laa, anaa jadiid hoon ("no, I'm new here") signals the speaker should give landmark-heavy directions.

Are you on foot or driving?

ماشي ولّا بالسيّارة؟ maashii wallaa bi-s-sayyaara?

Useful place words

Street / road

شارع / طريق shaariʿ / Tariiq

Square

ميدان / ساحة midaan / saaHa

Bridge

جسر jisr

Market / souq

سوق suuq

Pharmacy

صيدليّة Saydaliyya

Hospital

مستشفى mustashfaa

Bank / ATM

بنك / صرّاف آلي bank / Sarraaf aalii

Police station

مركز الشرطة markaz ash-shurTa

Common mistakes

Using yasaar in conversation when shimaal is local. Both are correct, but shimaal is what most Egyptian and Levantine speakers will say to you. Recognising it matters as much as producing it.
Trusting the literal answer. A response of qariib ("close") can mean two minutes or twenty. Ask kam minuut? ("how many minutes") if it matters.
Forgetting that landmarks beat street names. Many Arab cities are organised by neighbourhood and landmark, not by street name. "Behind the green mosque" is more useful than the street address you have in your phone.