Saudi Arabia is a country where locals typically do not speak English, the universal language which Filipinos are good at. That means it is of utmost importance to understand or even familiarize their language.
A foreigner’s quest to learn the local language should start with basic phrases: hello, goodbye or please.
[table caption=”Speak Arabic” width=”500″ colwidth=”120|120″ colalign=”left|left”]
English,Arabic
hello,as-salaam-alaikum
good morning,sa-bah al-khair
goodbye,ma’assalama
thank you,shokran
please, men fadlak (male) men fadlik (female)
yes/no,na’am/la
my name is,ismi
how much?,bikam?
where is?,fein?
you’re welcome,af-wan
do you speak English?,tatakallum Ingleezi?
I don’t understand,ana la afham
one,wahid
two,ithinin
three,talatha
four,arba’a
five,khamisa
house,beit
market,souq
mosque,masjid
pharmacy,sayee-da-lia
police station,ma-ha-ta al shur-ta
post office,al Ba-reed
hot,sukhon
cold,ba-rid
water,mo-ya
today,il-yawm
problem,mush-kill-a
[/table]