Common phrases to use during your stay in UAE

If you are visiting UAE it you’ll get away with not being able to speak even a tiny bit of Arabic. English is widely spoke all around UAE but a couple of arabic terms are used in daily conversations and it will surely help you if you know these terms while you’re vacationing. Also, check out the offers to stay in the best hotel in sharjah, Hotel72! (https://www.hotel72.com)

Hello and Goodbye

As-salam alaykum is the phrase used to formally greet someone to which the response would be Wa’alaykum as-salam. Both the phrases translate to ‘Peace be on you’. However, there Is another way to greet people with the words ‘Salam’ or ‘Hala’ which are more informal ways to say hello.

When arriving in UAE, you may also be greeted with a ‘Marhaba’ or even ‘Ahlan wa Sahlan’ both translating to welcome.

How are you?

You may hear a lot of this phrase ‘Kayf Halak’ or ‘Kayfa Halik’ which translates to how are you for male and female. The response to this phrase would be ‘Ana Bekhair’ meaning I’m fine. Adding a ‘shukran’ meaning Thank you is a more polite way to answer.

Good-bye in arabic is commonly said with the phrase ‘Ma’a as-salamah which does not exactly translate to goodbye but ‘go with peace’.

Everyday conversational terms

Let’s give some scenarios:

You left hotel72 in the morning to go shop at a local souk and find something that caught your eye. You like this item but are not sure of the price. You can ask the shopkeeper ‘Kam Yukalif’ translating to how much does this cost?

Yes and No are two very commonly used words and it is essential to know the arabic versions of these. ‘Na’am’ is yes in arabic and ‘La’ means no.

Min Fadlak (male) or Min Fadlik (Female) is used to say please in Arabic

If you want to grab the attention of someone or maybe if you just bumped into them, you can say ‘Alma’derah’ for excuse me and ‘Asef’ for Sorry.

As mentioned earlier, ‘Shukran’ is the arabic word for Thank you.

Some other popular terms

Habibi/Habibti: Used for both male and female, the word literally translates to beloved but over the years its evolved as a more friendly term like how we say dude in English to refer to someone who is close to us. Don’t be afraid, you can use this to call anybody you feel comfortable around.

Maafi mushki: Probably the most common term you will come across as it is used by pretty much every nationality. The phrase translates to No Problem or No worries and can be used at various different situations.

Inshallah Ior Insha’allah: This phrase translates to ‘If God Wills’. It used for things that you plan for the future. For example, you meet a friend and he invites you to his place for dinner. You can say Yes I’ll be there In Sha Allah meaning you are confirming to be there if nothing goes wrong.

Khallas: This has a few different meanings like done, finished or enough.  If you are dining at our restaurant in hotel72 and the waiter approaches you to offer dessert but you are done eating. You can just respond with Khalas, specifying that you are done eating.

Yallah: A very widely used word accepted by all nationalities living in the UAE is an expression that can be translated to Hurry up or Move quickly or Let’s go. The most common people you’ll hear saying this are parents their children.

Shu hadha?:  This term literally translates to ‘What is this?’. Same like how it is in english, it can be used as a simple question inquiring what it actually is or can be used with more aggressive tone when you are angry about something.

So there it is, a few arabic words you can use while you stay in UAE. You should definitely visit Sharjah which is known as the cultural capital of UAE and stay in our best hotel in sharjah!