Blog
Longer pieces on the things a phrasebook leaves out - what people actually say, why they say it that way, and what to do when the conversation switches to English.
Yes - most younger Saudis in the cities speak some English, and offices, malls and apps run on it. But English thins out with age, outside the cities, and in every conversation that is not a transaction.
Read itArabic is harder than Spanish and easier than its reputation. The script and the sounds are the real work; spoken Saudi grammar is simpler than the textbook kind. What is actually hard, and what is not.
21 October 2026
Arabic - and specifically Saudi spoken Arabic, not the formal Arabic in textbooks. How much English you will find, and whether you actually need Arabic to live there.
21 October 2026
Most jobs in Saudi Arabia need spoken Saudi Arabic for the human side of work, not formal Arabic. The phrases to learn first, and the few roles that need Fusha.
16 September 2026
About three months to get by, six to twelve to hold real conversations, a couple of years to feel fluent — if you live in Saudi and use it daily.
16 September 2026
No, you can speak Saudi Arabic without reading it. But the alphabet is a smaller job than it looks and pays back fast: here is when to add it and how.
16 September 2026
Saudi dialect, for almost everyone living in Saudi Arabia. Here is when Egyptian or Fusha is the better choice, by situation, and how each sounds in Riyadh.
15 September 2026
What to say when visiting a Saudi home: the arrival, the coffee, the food, the refusal and the leaving. Twelve sentences that carry an entire evening.
22 August 2026
Why Saudis switch to English when you speak Arabic: your Arabic is not bad, the conversation just has a job to do. Six things that keep it in Arabic.
18 August 2026
Ten basic Arabic phrases for Saudi Arabia, in the order you will need them. Not the most beautiful sentences in Arabic: the ones you will use before Friday.
14 August 2026
Najdi and Hejazi Arabic side by side: the sounds, the small words, the same five sentences in both, and which to learn for Riyadh, Jeddah or Khobar.
11 August 2026
How to order coffee in Arabic, Saudi style: one sentence pattern, five drinks, the replies you will hear, and the gahwa ritual that catches every guest out.
8 August 2026
Modern Standard Arabic is a real language with real uses. It is just not the one spoken at the desk next to you. How to choose between MSA and Saudi dialect.
6 August 2026
Wesh lonak (wesh lonk, wish lonak, shlonak) is how Saudis say how are you. Why kayf halak sounds slightly off in Riyadh, plus six replies that keep it going.
4 August 2026
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