How to Ask Someone to Speak More Slowly in Egyptian Arabic

If you're learning Egyptian Arabic, sooner or later someone will speak faster than you can follow.

Maybe your Egyptian friend is telling you a story. Maybe a taxi driver gives you directions. Maybe your teacher is using new vocabulary. You understand some of it, but the words are coming too quickly.

Instead of switching to English, learn a few simple phrases that let you keep the conversation in Arabic.

1. “Can you speak a little more slowly?”

ممكن تتكلم بالراحة شوية؟
Mumken tetkallem bel-rāḥa shwayya?

Can you speak a little more slowly?

This is one of the most useful phrases to memorize.

• ممكن — mumken — can / could

• تتكلم — tetkallem — you speak

• بالراحة — bel-rāḥa — slowly / at an easy pace

• شوية — shwayya — a little

If you're speaking to a woman:

ممكن تتكلمي بالراحة شوية؟
Mumken tetkallemi bel-rāḥa shwayya?

If you're speaking to more than one person:

ممكن تتكلموا بالراحة شوية؟
Mumken tetkallemu bel-rāḥa shwayya?

2. A shorter, more direct version

You can also simply say:

اتكلم بالراحة شوية.
Itkallem bel-rāḥa shwayya.

Speak a little more slowly.

This is natural with friends or people you're comfortable with.

Adding ممكن makes the request softer:

ممكن تتكلم بالراحة شوية؟

For someone you don't know well, this is usually the better choice.

3. “Can you speak slower?”

Another useful expression is:

ممكن تتكلم أبطأ شوية؟
Mumken tetkallem abṭa' shwayya?

Can you speak a little slower?

أبطأ means “slower.”

You may hear both بالراحة شوية and أبطأ شوية. As a learner, it's worth recognizing both.

4. If you didn't understand: “Can you repeat?”

Sometimes the problem isn't only speed. You simply missed what the person said.

Say:

معلش، ممكن تعيد؟
Maʿlesh, mumken teʿeed?

Sorry, can you repeat?

A very useful longer version is:

معلش، ممكن تعيد اللي قلته تاني؟
Maʿlesh, mumken teʿeed elli oltu tāni?

Sorry, can you repeat what you said?

Here:

• معلش — maʿlesh — sorry / excuse me

• تعيد — teʿeed — repeat

• اللي قلته — elli oltu — what you said

• تاني — tāni — again

5. If you don't understand a word

Don't ask someone to repeat the entire conversation if you only missed one word.

You can ask:

الكلمة دي يعني إيه؟
El-kelma di yaʿni eh?

What does this word mean?

Or simply:

يعني إيه؟
Yaʿni eh?

What does that mean?

These are especially useful when you're learning new Egyptian vocabulary.

6. If you need them to say it slowly

For a difficult sentence, name, address, or unfamiliar word, you can say:

ممكن تقولها بالراحة؟
Mumken teʾolha bel-rāḥa?

Can you say it slowly?

Or:

ممكن تقولها واحدة واحدة؟
Mumken teʾolha wāḥda wāḥda?

Can you say it one part at a time?

The second one is particularly useful when someone is giving you something you need to catch exactly, such as a name, address, or phone number.

Real-life examples

Talking to a friend

Your friend starts telling you a story very quickly.

Friend:
بكرة هنروح عند أحمد وبعد كده هنعدي على...

You:
معلش، اتكلم بالراحة شوية.

“Sorry, speak a little more slowly.”

Talking to your teacher

You hear a new sentence but can't keep up.

You:
ممكن تتكلم بالراحة شوية؟ أنا لسه بتعلم.

Mumken tetkallem bel-rāḥa shwayya? Ana lessa batʿallem.

“Can you speak a little more slowly? I'm still learning.”

This is completely normal to say during a lesson.

Getting directions

Someone gives you an address too quickly.

You:
معلش، ممكن تعيد بالراحة؟

“Sorry, can you repeat that slowly?”

If you still can't catch the name:

ممكن تكتبها؟
Mumken tektibha?

“Can you write it down?”

When you only missed one word

You:
معلش، الكلمة دي يعني إيه؟

“Sorry, what does this word mean?”

That's often better than asking the person to repeat everything.

Don't be afraid to ask

As a learner, you don't need to pretend that you understood.

In fact, asking someone to slow down is part of having a real conversation in Arabic.

You can start with just these three:

ممكن تتكلم بالراحة شوية؟
Can you speak a little more slowly?

معلش، ممكن تعيد؟
Sorry, can you repeat?

يعني إيه؟
What does that mean?

Once these become automatic, fast Egyptian conversations become much easier to handle.

You don't have to understand every word.

You just need enough Arabic to keep the conversation going.