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What Language is Spoken in Dubai?

What Language is Spoken in Dubai | The Vacation Builder

Many new discoverers of Dubai may wonder What Language is Spoken in Dubai?

The official language in the United Arab Emirates is Arabic. Gulf Arabic also exists which many Emirati’s speak. This is a very similar language to standard Arabic.

However you’d be surprised to know that English is actually the most common language spoken in Dubai.

Aside from Arabic and English you will find a mixture of languages spoken throughout the city ranging from Hindi to Chinese. This is somewhat due to the expansive exponential growth of the business sector and many expatriates emigrating here.

Now that we’ve answered that simple question we can take a look at some language basics to help you on your visit to Dubai and the UAE.

Language Basics for Travelling to Dubai

Although you can get about your business and vacation speaking English, it’s courteous to learn at least some common Arabic phrases.

How to Say Hello in Arabic

Formally, “Hello” is “as-salam alaykum”; however, to say “Hi” casually you can choose to say “sallam” or “hala”.

How to Say Goodbye in Arabic

“Goodbye” in Arabic also means “go with peace”. To say “Goodbye” we say “ma’a as-salamah”.

How to Say Thank You in Arabic

“Thank You” in Arabic is “Shukraan”. Furthermore, another common phrase in reply is “Welcome” which is “Hayakoom”.

Other Useful Phrases to be Used in Dubai

Now we’ve established some basics check out the below table for more useful terms to learn for your travels to Dubai.

EnglishArabic
How Are You?Kayf Halik
I am Good‘ana bikhayr
How Much?kam althaman
Excuse MeEfu
SorryAsif
Pleaseraja’
YesNam
NoLa
Please Repeatarjwk ‘aead
I Don’t Understand‘ana la ‘afham

Common Questions in Arabic

EnglishArabic
Where is the Burj Khalifa?Wein Burj Khalifa?
Where is the Nearest Metro?Wein Mahatat el Metro?
Sorry I Don’t Speak ArabicAfwan, ma ahki Arabi
Can I Have a Lower Price?Akher Se’er
Where is the Nearest Cash Machine?Ayna aqrab Saraf aalee
Where is the Bathroom?ayn alhamam
Do You Speak English?hal tatakalam allughat al’iinjlizia
Good Morningsabah alkhyr
Good Eveningmasa’ alkhayr
I’d Like a Beer‘urid bira

What Other Languages are Spoken in Dubai?

Due to the influx of foreign workers and expatriats the below are also common means of communication in Dubai.

  1. Malayalam
  2. Hindi
  3. Urdu
  4. Gujarati
  5. Persian
  6. Sindhi
  7. Tamil
  8. Punjabi
  9. Pashto
  10. Bengali
  11. Balochi
  12. Tulu
  13. Kannada
  14. Sinhala
  15. Marathi
  16. Telugu
  17. Tagalog
  18. Chinese

Most of the phrases above in Arabic are not always pronounced as they seem so it is worth ‘brushing up’ on your pronunciation before you visit.

You can type in any of the phrases above into Google Translate or better still check out the YouTube video below which I find very helpful.

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