I have an internet friend that calls me on occasion to co-ordinate moves in an online game.
He’s from Egypt, living in Egypt.
What could I say to surprise him when I pick up?
I usually just say “Hello?”, but I added his # to my phone, so now when he calls I can see it’s Shamel.
Thanks all!
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh, Talk like an Egyptian …
Apparently “Em Hotep” is “hello” in Egyptian. I don’t know if they answer phones that way or not, and I don’t know what the nuances of pronunciation are for that.
For some odd reason, I’m having a hard time swallowing this one… 
Salam Alaikum
Pyramid Repair Service,
Sphinxter here.
I’ve lived in Saudi now in Qatar. Most Arabic speaking people answer their phones 'Allo, or Mar ha bah or A Slama laikum. ( I tried to assist in pronoucation of the last two by the separation of syllables :))
**eenerms ** has it right. *"'Allo?" * is the most common phone greeting, closely follwed by “Ah-leyn?”. *Mar-ha-bah * is used more often in Syria nd Lebanon than in Egypt.
If you really want to surprise him, say “Meen Ma’ah-Yah?”, which means “Who’s with me”, or “Who’s There?”
Tell him you’re pregnant and he’s the father.
Huh? 
That sounds vaguely similar to ancient Egyptian, but today Egyptians speak the Egyptian dialect of Arabic.
As others have said, they generally say Allo, which is a throwback to the influence of the French occupation.
I hear *aHlan * as an in-person greeting but I don’t know if it’s used for the phone.