أحتاج إلى كابل يو إس بي

You start with the word محتاج (mehtaj) which means "I need." Then you simply name the object. In this case, it is كابل يو إس بي. You can point to your phone if you are feeling shy. Adding من فضلك (please) at the end makes you sound much more polite. It works like a charm in almost any setting.

Use it when your screen goes dark at a cafe. Use it at the office when you forget your charger. It is perfect for airports when you see a charging station but no cord. You can even use it when buying one at a tech shop. It is a functional, everyday sentence for modern life.

Do not use this if you are looking for a wall plug. That is a شاحن (shahin). Also, avoid using it in very formal written letters. It is a spoken request, not a literary masterpiece. Don't say it to a stranger without a greeting first. That might seem a bit too blunt or demanding.

Technology has unified Arabic dialects more than almost anything else. Technical terms like كابل and يو إس بي are used everywhere. They are borrowed from English but fit perfectly into Arabic sentences. In many Arab cultures, helping someone charge their phone is seen as a small act of hospitality. You might even be offered a coffee while you wait for your battery to hit 10%!

If you are a woman, you say محتاجة (mehtaja) because of gender agreement. In Egypt, you might hear عاوز كابل (awez kabel). In the Levant, they might say بدي كابل (baddi kabel). However, محتاج is understood by everyone, everywhere. It is the safe, middle-ground choice for any traveler.