Egypt’s official language is Arabic, however, the Arabic spoken in Egypt, known as colloquial Arabic, differs from that of Classical Arabic, which is the lingua franca within the Arab world.

The colloquial Arabic that you'll hear in the streets has a completely different dialect, as well as an altered, more-simple vocabulary, from the written Classical Arabic. Although the Cairn dialect of colloquial Arabic is the one most commonly used in Egypt, regional areas have their own dialects, which differ in sound.

The Bedouins, who are the nomads of the western desert and Sinai, speak their own different dialect. Berber, on the other hand, is the language spoken by the people that inhabit some of the villages of the eastern desert.

As a second language, many Egyptians speak English as well as French, so communication should not be a problem. Maps and street signs are usually written in both Arabic and English.