El Qahira
- proper noun
- Many Egyptians refer to their capital as El Qahira rather than Cairo.
Examples
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She dreamed of visiting El Qahira to see the ancient pyramids and bustling markets.
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The flight from London landed in El Qahira early in the morning.
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I visited El Qahira last summer.
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Have you ever been to El Qahira?
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Many Egyptians refer to their capital city as El Qahira, reflecting their rich cultural heritage.
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The vibrant streets of El Qahira are filled with history, making it a fascinating destination for travelers.
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As the largest city in Africa, El Qahira offers a unique blend of modernity and ancient traditions.
Synonyms
136
1.6
A large capital city of Egypt on the Nile near the pyramids
1
8.1
The capital and largest city of Egypt where the Nile meets the sea
Surface Forms
Morphology
El + Qahira
This is an Arabic proper name (a transliteration of al-Qāhirah) whose referent is the city Cairo. Even if a learner recognised 'El' as a definite article and guessed a literal meaning for 'Qahira', that would not allow a B1 learner to derive the referent 'the capital of Egypt' from the parts; as a toponym its referential meaning is language-specific and not compositionally predictable.
Etymology
El Qahira comes from an Arabic word meaning 'the conqueror' or 'the victorious'. One popular story says the city was named when the bright red planet Mars was rising as the new city began, so people called it El Qahira, which is why Egyptians still use a name that means a strong, victorious capital today.