Do you speak Arabic as an expat in the UAE?

Dear Priscilla.

When I entered United Arab Emirates I had no single word I knew in Arabic.
It really costed me alot its been tough for to upgrade my career because of Arabic language
I was forced to learn it when I got my transfer to the capital.
Good enough I got a school where am studying for free and it's near my work place.
Am happy to tell you that I feel there'career progress now because I can easily upgrade my career and serve in various sectors remember. it's a plus for Non -Arabic who can speak & read arabic.
Learn arabic before entering middleast it will be a huge score as far competition and job market is concerned in this region.

Ibrahim

Abudhabi-UAE

I speak Arabic language not fluent. But I can communicate with Arabic people. I learned this Oman

Good Morning.

To live in united Arab Emirate need to know Arabic Language and it is essential for day to day work.

I can speak Arabic , i learned it from Saudi Arabia .

Arabic Language is a very beautiful language and very interesting to learn it .

It's not essential to speak Arabic at all. You can get by just fine with English. Very few people here bother to learn Arabic beyond salaam aleykum, shukran, and afwan.

Good luck.

Arabic can help but it's no compulsion. English is enough. I don't speak arabic personnally. Hindi, Tagalog, Malayalam can help a lot too.....

Yes, agree with you.

I also want to learn Arabic, at least speaking.

I am Arabic , and I am teaching Arabic to non Arabic speakers.I am  in Abu dhabi , I have taught diferent nationalities. Most of them are interested and learn quickly .

Arabic Language very important in UAE. Most of learners they said it is nice and logic language.

if somebody need , I can arrange time for lessons.


Good luck

Thank you very much arabic 14.
Much as am studying it I would prefer to meet you.
Am also based in abudhabi centrum
How can I reach you sir.


Regards

Ibrahim

Well, speaking Arabic is definitely a privilege in UAE. it makes communication much easier, gives me an advantage in dealing with local clients who aren't able to speak English.
It is the same for people who can speak Swedish in Sweden or Spanish in Chili 

my phone available in profile picture , i am in hamdan center -hamdan street

I think if u can speak english thats enough arabic is advantange

Hello Priscilla,


Am glad to meet you here and to tell you that I speak little Arabic but fluents in English. I started learning Arabic in the course of my Job,though some of my colleagues at work that understood  little English normally interpreted for me in Arabic and I will use my logical  reasoning of English to balance the communication,though it was a bit difficult but now I can communicate with them with little Arabic I understood.
Regards to the issue of getting job or if you are not speaking Arabic is ambiguous but I can tell you categorically that is not compulsory  for you to be speaking Arabic before getting job. Employers usually stipulate what they needed in their advertisement some may say,only Arabic speaking or only English speaking or English little Arabic is needed,so it depends. Best Regards.

Hi Dear!

Though not quite fluent in speaking Arabic language but I can communicate with Arabic people easily since I have been here now in the UAE for almost ten years. Frankly speaking, I do not have any trouble to express myself in Arabic.

Dear,
I do speak Arabic but it is not must to speak  Arabic to work in UAE you can also use English.

As an expat it is not mandatory to speak Arabic, however speaking Arabic is an added advantage.  I speak fluent Arabic because i have been here for several years. Sometime you learn Arabic due to circumstance where you work and with whom you associated. But there are several dylac while speaking and local Arabic is different from other Arab Countries...so its important to understand and learn the best Arabic. There are several spoken Arabic classes conducted here and its not very expensive i presume. So the more you learn any language the more you feel comfortable to communicate to get your work done!!

Hi!
As a matter of fact I'm a native Arabic speaker. From Jordan!

Hi
I have been in the M East for just over 2 years (in Saudi and the UAE) and I can't speak Arabic and it's not a problem. In fact most European expats can't speak Arabic, including those who have lived here for 10 or 20 years.
The fact that there's no need for many European expats to learn Arabic doesn't mean that one shouldn't or that it's not recommended. Quite the contrary. Arabic is a rich language and to speak it would benefit anybody. It's just that I don't need to learn it so I don't. My loss perhaps. It doesn't help that my first language is English, because everyone speaks English. Or maybe I'm lucky. It depends which way you look at it.
Inevitably you do pick up some phrases of course. The first three words I learn't were left, right, and straight on. Very useful in Saudi. I can say good morning; how are you; hello; goodbye, and one or two others.
If you have the spare time to learn Arabic then I suggest you do. It can only add to your outlook, understanding, and importantly, your job prospects if you are not some highly skilled rare type .
Bye   

If you are staying in UAE or doing job you should speak Arabic because its necessary for certain places speaking arabic its very easy if you are doing work with arabic person until you don't speak arabic you cannot anything easily see guys wherever you are working in the world you have to learn there language and learning language its not a shameful its useful and important.

I can teach Arabic language for those interested! Arabic is nice and easy to learn if taught properly and systematically!

Thanks,
Ghassan

Arabic language is not so important in Dubai anymore.. if you speak english then it's enough for you.

Hi hello there!

I speak basic Arabic and just learn from my co workers and mix English language language .

If you want to learn Arabic there is training school for Arabic language and you can study also by writing Arabic.

So have a wonderful evening, take care.

It's me hope glory.

Hi ....No i dont speak Arabic...Dubai is very westernized...english is a very strong language here...maybe in other parts of middle east ...yes Arabic is essential....but hey its my opinion i am sure others might beg to differ...

Hi.yes i knoe arabic language i taught it when i was a teacher assistant from ministry of education elementary school,other students dont know how to speak english language well so i was eager to learn how to speak arabic so i can communicate them easily..teachers also teaches me in each word that i couldn't understand. .so by now i can talk to arabic peaople but not totally the accent.

Arabic is a nice language. ...

First of all the business language in UAE is English, however; you hold more value if you speak the language of the land. It will be easier to get around and be more trusted.
I speak 5 languages fluently:
English, Arabic, Italian, French, and Spanish.
I used to teach Arabic and French in San Francisco. If you need help just let me know.

As i read the Holy Quran it helps me too much to understand arabic
and i try to speak with my friends / colleagues etc

its very good language

its language of Holy Quran

Its language of paradise

its language of m beloved Hol Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم

its language in which question/answers session in Grave will be held

we should learn it

www.dawateislami.net this website is also helpful as arabic and many other language literature is available in it

YES,  I can speak Arabic

not at all

English language commonly used in market, offices, schools.  So Speak in Arabic in not an important matter in UAE

No I don't speak much of Arabic but very little which I learnt from my colleagues at the office, I speak mostly broken English most of the times and its been easy to communicate with an Arabic person that way.

Cheers
Orezzy

This Great Country is not like Georgia or Azerbaijan or Armenia etc...People here are from more than 175 countries. The local people we meet in government offices and other areas , surely speak English fluently. And here we do not need to mingle much with the local people since stores, malls, petrol stations, jewellery all , managed by Asian or African or English speaking GCC or Russian staff.
You will face no difficulty in living here not speaking Arabic but have to mention its such a beautiful language , listen to the arabic music, songs all very romantic...
I am here for 14 years now. Trust me...Knowledge of Arabic language is not  a must but learning is always nice...

Arabic is not mandatory, I never use Arabic at work and any place I go too.
I even forgot how to speak it...

Hi everyone, since you guys living in an Arab country, would be recommended to learn the local language (local does differs little from the Official Arabic). It might not be useful for your career path, however it is bonus to add in your CV additional language. Besides, engaging with "Emiratis" and showing them the desire to learn would be great. If anyone is interested to learn the Emirati language, do contact me, it is for free! I would love to teach non Arabic speakers the beauty of our language.

Thank you very much Mr.saeed it's really wonderful to have your opinion regarding this subject.


Regards

Ibrahim

HI brother, I am so much interested to learn Arabic. Basically I am a poet and Writer in Indian language. Kindly let me know how to learn Arabic from you
Nandu

Write to me in private message your Skype id. Thanks!

yes i do

Yes offcourse working knowledge of arabic is but essential for surviving as an expat in UAE

Hindi is the main language in Dubai now a days.

gooood thatmakes things easier