The United Arab Emirates has one official language and, in practice, another that runs the day. Arabic is the official tongue, spoken by Emiratis in the Gulf dialect and written in Modern Standard Arabic on documents, in newspapers and on formal signage. But because roughly nine in ten residents come from somewhere else, English is the working lingua franca: the shared language of shops, hotels, taxis, offices and airports. A visitor can arrive, get around and enjoy the whole country without a single word of Arabic.
That does not mean Arabic sits in the background. It is written across the country in a beautiful cursive script, spoken warmly by Emiratis proud of their heritage, and celebrated most of all in Sharjah, the emirate crowned capital of Arab culture. Learn a handful of Arabic words and you will find doors open a little wider, and the welcome, already generous, grows warmer still.
Arabic, the official language
Arabic is the constitutional language of the UAE, and it comes in two registers that a visitor will meet side by side. In conversation, Emiratis speak the Gulf dialect (Khaleeji Arabic), the everyday spoken form shared across the Arabian Peninsula. For anything written or formal, from government documents and school textbooks to television news and the Arabic on road signs, the country uses Modern Standard Arabic, the pan-Arab written standard understood from Morocco to Oman.
The script is the first thing most visitors notice: a flowing, connected run of letters that reads from right to left, the opposite direction to English. Because it is cursive, individual letters change shape depending on where they fall in a word, which is part of what gives Arabic calligraphy its grace. You will see it everywhere, on shopfronts and mosque walls, number plates and menus, usually paired with an English version directly beside it.
English, the working lingua franca
For the traveller, the practical headline is simple: the UAE runs on English. It is the common language between a Filipino hotel receptionist, a Pakistani taxi driver, a British tourist and an Emirati official, the neutral ground where the country’s many nationalities meet. Signs, menus, airport announcements, mall directories, museum captions and business dealings are almost always in English as well as Arabic.
You will never struggle to be understood. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, English is so dominant in daily commerce that some long-term expatriates get by with barely any Arabic at all. This makes the UAE one of the easiest countries in the region to visit: booking a taxi, ordering a meal, checking into a hotel or asking directions all happen effortlessly in English. For a wider sense of how safe and straightforward the country is to travel, see our guide on whether the UAE is safe.
The languages of a nation of expatriates
Because expatriates make up around 90 per cent of residents, the UAE’s soundscape stretches far beyond Arabic and English. Walk through a Dubai souq or an Abu Dhabi shopping street and you will hear Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Tagalog and a dozen other languages, reflecting the large communities from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and beyond who live and work here.
This mix shapes daily life. A shop assistant may greet you in English, chat to a colleague in Malayalam and take a call in Hindi, all in the same minute. Restaurants serve food from every corner of Asia and the Arab world, and it is common for a single household of workers to share three or four mother tongues. To understand the communities behind this remarkable variety, read about the people of the UAE.
A traveller’s Arabic phrasebook
You need nothing more than English to get around, but a few words of Arabic are always welcomed. The pronunciations below are rough English guides, with the stressed syllable in capitals. To a man you would say min fadlak; to a woman, min fadlik, a small adjustment Arabic makes for gender.
| English | Arabic (transliteration) | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Marhaba | The everyday greeting, any time |
| Peace be upon you | As-salamu alaykum | A warmer, traditional greeting |
| And peace be upon you too | Wa alaykum as-salam | The set reply to the above |
| Thank you | Shukran | For any kindness or service |
| Please | Min fadlak / min fadlik | When asking for something |
| Yes | Na’am | Agreement |
| No | La | Refusal |
| How much? | Bikam? | In shops, souqs and taxis |
| You are welcome / excuse me | Afwan | Reply to thanks, or to get attention |
| Welcome | Ahlan wa sahlan | A warm greeting to a guest |
| God willing | Inshallah | Talking about anything future |
| Thank God | Alhamdulillah | Relief, thanks, “how are you? fine” |
| No problem | Mafi mushkila | Reassurance, “it’s fine” |
Names, the article “al”, and place-name spellings
Arabic names carry meaning, and one small word appears again and again: al, the definite article, meaning “the”. It threads through personal names and, especially, place names. Ras Al Khaimah means roughly “the headland of the tent”, Umm Al Quwain means “mother of two powers”, and Al Ain, the garden city inland, means “the spring”. The word bin (“son of”) and bint (“daughter of”) turn up in full names, as in the many streets and landmarks named after members of the ruling families.
Because Arabic sounds do not map cleanly onto the Latin alphabet, English spellings vary. You will see the same emirate written as Ras Al Khaimah, Ras al-Khaimah or Ras Al-Khaima, and Umm Al Quwain with or without the spaces and capitals. None is more correct than another. If a map, a road sign and a hotel booking spell a place three different ways, they almost certainly mean the same spot.
Reading a few Arabic numerals
Numbers are one area where the traveller has a quiet advantage. The digits used across the West, 1, 2, 3 and so on, are called Arabic numerals because they reached Europe through the Arab world, and they appear on most UAE price tags, number plates and receipts. So a marked price is usually easy to read.
You may, however, meet the classical Eastern Arabic numerals on official documents, older signage and some banknotes. They look quite different: ٠ is zero, ١ is one, ٢ is two, ٣ is three. It is worth a glance to recognise a few, though you will rarely need them, and prices in shops and restaurants are almost always given in familiar Western figures.
Sharjah and the Arabic heart of the UAE
While English runs the country’s commerce, Arabic remains its cultural soul, and nowhere celebrates that more than Sharjah. The emirate has been named capital of Arab culture and world book capital, and it wears the honour proudly, with museums of Islamic art and calligraphy, a restored heritage quarter and a calendar of literary festivals. Its rulers made a deliberate choice to champion Arabic language and heritage rather than let them fade behind the glass towers next door.
For the visitor, this is where the written and spoken word comes alive: calligraphy on gallery walls, poetry recitals, and the unhurried cadence of Gulf Arabic in the old town. The language is also inseparable from faith, since Arabic is the language of the Quran and the call to prayer that sounds five times a day. To go deeper into the culture behind the words, read about the religion of the UAE and plan a visit to Sharjah itself.
Travel the Emirates in English and you will be perfectly understood from the moment you land. But open with marhaba, close with shukran, and drop an easy inshallah into your plans, and something shifts: you stop being just another visitor and become a guest who cared enough to try. To carry on exploring, read about the people and religion of the UAE, or how easy and safe the country is to get around and visit.