Middle East · Egypt
Arabic (Egyptian) conversational speech dataset
2,000 hours of spontaneous Arabic (Egyptian) conversations recorded in Egypt across 200 vetted native speakers. Dual-channel audio with time-aligned transcripts, speaker metadata (age, gender, region, device), and full chain-of-consent documentation. Licensed for commercial ASR, TTS, and voice AI training.
Dataset specifications
| Language | Arabic (Egyptian) |
|---|---|
| Recorded in | Egypt |
| Speech type | Spontaneous two-person conversations |
| Volume | 2,000 hours |
| Speakers | 200 vetted native speakers |
| Audio | Dual-channel (one channel per speaker) |
| Transcripts | Time-aligned, human-verified |
| Metadata | Age, gender, region, recording device |
| License | Commercial (training & evaluation) |
| Price | $65 per hour of audio |
Need more hours, another dialect or your own recording setup? We collect speech data to spec.
Built for
Training and evaluating speech models that must handle real Arabic (Egyptian) speech:
- Automatic speech recognition (ASR / STT)
- Text-to-speech & voice synthesis prosody
- Voice agents and IVR for Egypt
- Speaker diarization & turn-taking models
- Speech LLM / audio-understanding fine-tuning
Why conversational data?
Models trained on read speech consistently underperform on spontaneous audio. Disfluencies, overlap, and natural speech rates aren’t in the training distribution. This dataset closes that gap for Arabic (Egyptian). Read more in our guide to conversational vs. scripted speech data.
Free samples
Audit the Arabic (Egyptian) data yourself
Share your company email and we’ll email you representative audio, matching transcripts, and the metadata schema. Check audio quality, transcript accuracy, and speaker diversity before you spend a dollar.
Public alternatives
Public Egyptian Arabic speech data vs. this dataset
| Source | What it is | License | Commercial training |
|---|---|---|---|
| CALLHOME Egyptian Arabic Speech (LDC97S45) (opens in a new tab)Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) | 120 unscripted telephone conversations in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, each up to 30 minutes, placed from North America to locations overseas (typically Egypt). | LDC User Agreement for Non-Members (fee applies; non-commercial research and education only); commercial use requires LDC for-profit membership | Paid license |
| MGB-3 (Egyptian Arabic) (opens in a new tab)MGB Challenge organizers (QCRI and partners) | 16 hours of Egyptian YouTube videos across seven genres, from comedy and cooking to drama and sports. | No published license | Unclear |
CALLHOME's 120 LDC phone calls were placed from North America, and MGB-3 is 16 hours of YouTube video. This dataset is two-person conversation recorded in Egypt with commercial consent.
Licenses as published by each source, checked October 2026. Check the current terms before use.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does the Arabic (Egyptian) speech dataset include?
2,000 hours of spontaneous two-person conversations from 200 vetted native speakers recorded in Egypt, delivered as dual-channel audio with time-aligned transcripts, speaker metadata (age, gender, region, device), and consent documentation.
What makes Egyptian Arabic hard for speech recognition?
Egyptian Arabic is the most widely understood Arabic dialect thanks to Egyptian film and TV, but it's far from Modern Standard Arabic. "Q" usually becomes a glottal stop, "j" becomes a hard "g", and much everyday vocabulary differs. There's no standard spelling either, so without consistent transcription conventions word error rates mean little.
Is there free Egyptian Arabic speech data?
None that is clearly free for commercial use: CALLHOME Egyptian Arabic Speech needs a paid license, and MGB-3 has unclear terms. This dataset is spontaneous two-person conversation recorded in Egypt, with speaker metadata, one channel per speaker and signed commercial-use consent.
Can I use this Arabic (Egyptian) dataset commercially?
Yes. The dataset is licensed for commercial use, including training ASR, TTS, and other voice-AI models. Every speaker has signed explicit commercial-use consent, and we provide the full consent chain for your legal review.
How much does the Arabic (Egyptian) speech dataset cost?
Pricing is $65 per hour of audio. Volume discounts are available for full-dataset and multi-language purchases. Contact us for a quote.
Can I evaluate samples before buying?
Yes. Request samples with your company email, and we'll email you representative audio files and matching transcripts so your team can audit quality before committing.
$90/hr