|
How do you say . . . in Arabic? |
/ Chayf tegool . . . bil’arabi?/ |
The most efficient way to please a society and get integrated into it is to know a couple of expressions and most used words in their native language.
Should you plan a trip to Dubai, you’d better not have a blind belief that everybody in Dubai is a master of English. What if you get lost? But if seriously, though almost everything is conducted bilingually here– both in English and Arabic, being armed with useful phrases does bring lots of advantages, especially when business meetings with your Arab colleagues.
The first phase of any communication is usually the greeting part. So, let’s first start with most common “Welcome!” expressions.
Greetings
|
Hello, Welcome (Reply) |
/Márhaba, ahlan/ /áhlan/ |
|
How do you do (Reply) |
/As-salám aláykum/ (peace be with you) /Waláykum as-salám/ (and to you peace) |
|
Good morning (Reply) |
/Sabáh al-kháyr/ Sabáh an-núr |
|
Good evening (reply) |
/Misá al-kháyr/ /Misá an núr/(a morning of light) |
|
Goodbye |
/Máa Saláma/ |
|
My name is… |
/Ismi… |
|
Where are you from? |
/Min wáyn inta?/ (male) /Min wáyn inti?/ (female) |
|
I am from: England |
/ána min Ingíltra/ |
|
Thank you very much |
shukran jaziilan. |
|
You’re welcome |
’ahlan wa sahlan |
|
God willing(hopefully) |
/Inshá allá/ |
Then you most probably make your language preferences clear when asking …
|
Do you speak English? |
hal tatakallam ’ingilizi? |
|
I don’t speak Arabic. |
anaa la ’atakallam al- xarabiyya/ |
|
I speak English. |
/Bíhki inglízi / |
Should you ask …
|
What time is it? |
/Kam as saa? / |
|
What? |
/Shu? / |
|
Where…? |
/Wáyn…?/ |
|
How much? |
/Bikaim? / |
|
How many? |
/Cham? / |
|
How long, how many hours? |
/Kam sáa? / |
|
Do you have…? |
/ándkum…? |
Transport- When you want to find a
|
street |
/sharia/ |
|
car |
/sayára/ |
|
taxi |
/taxi/ |
|
bus |
/bas |
|
downtown |
/wást al bálad/ |
|
airport |
/matár/ |
|
aeroplane |
/tayára/ |
|
Where is the subway? |
’ayna metro al-’anfaaq? |
Eating – It’s time to eat something, but have to find a restaurant?
|
Where is a good restaurant? |
/hal hunaaka maTxamun jayyidun/ |
|
How much does it cost? |
/Adáysh?/Bikaim?/ |
|
restaurant |
/máta’am/ |
Meals and Food
|
breakfast |
/futour/ |
|
lunch |
/ghadaa/ |
|
dinner |
/ashaa/ |
|
food |
/ákl/ |
|
the bill |
/al-hisáb/ |
|
coffee |
/káhwa/ |
|
tea |
/shay/ |
