General Information » Culture & Lifestyle » Language

Arabic is the official national language, although English, Urdu and Hindi are spoken and, with some perseverance, understood. Arabic is the official business language, but English is widely used and most road and shop signs, restaurant menus, etc., are in both languages. The further out of town you go, the more Arabic you will find, both written and spoken, on street and shop signs. See page for a quick list of useful Arabic phrases to get you around town.

Arabic isn’t the easiest language to pick up – or to pronounce. But if you can throw in a couple of words of Arabic here and there, they will usually be warmly received, at least with a smile. Most people will help you out with your pronunciation – they’re happy you’re putting in the effort, so it certainly won’t hurt to try, and definitely helps when dealing with officials of any sort. It's really useful knowing the basic directions, especially if you travel by taxi!