Survival Arabic – Part 1

Here I’m starting a series of article on surviving with that much of Arabic speaking where it will get your necessary work done in your daily life activities. Of course this is collected from my daily learning process. I’m going to present this in a tabular form. The first column presents the English word or the sentence, second column the Arabic writing (which might not be up to the standard of well written Arabic but I’ll try my best) and the third column in the transliteration (Roman Language for Indians and Pakistanis) of the same Arabic word or sentence from the second column. I will also try to put in some proper pronunciation help.

Some words/sentences that can be used at a Grocery store (بقالة -> Baqala) or in any store:

This is not a challenge for South Asian people as 90% chances that you will be dealing with an Indian, Pakistani and/or a Bangladeshi person at the counter. This will help you in places like Makkah and Madinah and some bigger departmental stores (Like Panda, CenterPoint, etc) where a quite a number of Arabs work.

English Word or Sentence	Arabic Word or Sentence	Transliteration (Roman Language)
How much?	كم؟	Kam?
How much is this?	كم هو هذا؟	Kam haza?
How are you my friend?	كيف حالك يا صديقي؟	Kaifa Halak Ya Sadeeq?
How much is the book?	كم هو الكتاب؟	Kam Hua Al-Kitaab?*
How much is the milk?	كم هو الحليب؟	Kam Hua Al-Haleeb?
How much is the weight?	كم هو وزنك؟	Kam Waznak?
Is this new? Is this fresh?	هذا هو الجديد؟	Haza Jadeed?
This is so cheap!	هذا هو رخيص	Haza Raqeesa

*I mentioned ‘Hua’ in some sentences “Kam Hua Al-Kitaab?”, it is not all that necessary to say it when speaking.

I will keep adding some more conversational Arabic from time to time.

- Touseefuddin Syed

About Saudi Arabia

Facts:


   - Largest country in the Middle East
   - Was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud and hence named Saudi Arabia
   - Current capital of Saudi Arabia is Ar-Riyadh
   - Current King of Saudi Arabia is King Abdullah and first Crown Prince Sultan
   - Largest oil producing country in the world with 40% supply with largest hydrocarbon reserves
   - Population: 28,686,633 as of 19/01/2010
   - Area: 2,149,690 Sq. Km with mostly uninhabited desert area
   - State Language is Arabic
   - Currency is called Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR). Monetary unit: 1 Riyal = 100 halalah
   - Saudi Arabia is the fastest growing economy in the Middle East and was recently ranked 13th out of
     183 countries for "Ease of Doing Business" according to the World Bank
   - Main exports: Oil, gas, cereals
   - Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar are some of bigger and more famous

     cities with large expatriates population
Expatriates population is about eight million from countries all around the world (including non-Muslims):

                                                                     

Nationalities	Approximate Population Size
Indian	1.4 million
Bangladeshi	1 million
Filipino	950,000
Pakistani	900,000
Pakistani	900,000
Egyptian	900,000
Yemeni	800,000
Indonesian	500,000
Sri Lankan	350,000
Sudanese	250,000
Syrian	100,000
Turkish	80,000
US, UK, Other Westerner	100,000

Telecommunication Information:

   - Internet domain: .sa
   - International dialing code: +966
   - Largest telecom company: Saudi Telecom Company → http://www.stc.com.sa/cws/portal/en/
   - 2nd Largest telecom company: Mobily Telecom → http://www.mobily.com.sa/
   - Newest telecom company and also fastest growing: Zain telecom → http://www.zain.com/

Major Airlines that serve domestic and international travel need:

   - Air Arabia → http://www.airarabia.com/index.php
   - Al-Khayala Airlines → http://www.kayala.com/  (this website is under construction) ,
   - British Airways → http://www.britishairways.com/
   - Emirates Airlines → http://www.emirates.com/
   - Etihad Airways → http://www.etihadairways.com/
   - Gulf Air → http://www.gulfair.com/English
   - KLM Royal Dutch Airlines → http://www.klm.com/
   - Nas Airlines → http://www.flynas.com/en
   - Qatar Airways → http://www.qatarairways.com/
   - Sama Airlines → http://www.flysama.com/Sama/English/
   - Saudi Arabian Airlines → http://www.saudiairlines.com/

Banks that serve the banking needs:

   - Al Rajhi Bank → http://www.alrajhibank.com.my/
   - Arab National Bank (Alwatani) → http://www.anb.com.sa/
   - Bank Al Bilad → http://www.bankalbilad.com.sa/en/
   - Bank Al Jazira → http://www.baj.com.sa/default.asp?lng=eng
   - Banque Saudi Fransi Bank (Alfaransi) → http://www.alfransi.com/
   - National Commercial Bank (Alahli)→ http://www.alahli.com/en-US/Pages/NCBHomePage.aspx
   - Riyadh Bank → http://www.riyadbank.com/index_en.html
   - Samba Bank → http://www.samba.com/english/index_01_01_en.html
   - Saudi British Bank (SABB) → http://www.sabb.com/home/home_en.shtml
   - Saudi Hollandi Bank → http://www.shb.com.sa/vEnglish/default.asp
   - Saudi Investment Bank → http://www.saib.com.sa/english/home.aspx

Government Offices:

   - Ministry of Foreign Affairs → http://www.mofa.gov.sa/
   - Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs → http://www.mol.gov.sa/
   - Ministry of Civil Services → http://www.mcs.gov.sa/
   - Ministry of Education → http://www.moe.gov.sa/
   - Ministry of Higher Education → http://web.mohe.gov.sa/
   - Ministry of Information → http://www.saudinf.com/
   - Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources → http://www.mopm.gov.sa/

Universities and Educational Centers:

   - King Abdullah University → http://kaust.edu.sa/
   - King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals → http://www.kfupm.edu.sa/
   - King Faisal University → http://www.kfu.edu.sa/
   - King Saud University → http://www.ksu.edu.sa/
   - Arab Open University → http://www.arabou.org/
   - Institute of Public Administration → http://www.ipa.edu.sa/
   - King Abdulaziz University → http://www.kau.edu.sa/
   - Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University → http://www.pmu.edu.sa/
   - Umm Al-Qura University → http://www.uqu.edu.sa/

Major Newspapers and Publications:

   - Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper → http://www.asharqalawsat.com/
   - Alyaum Newspaper → http://www.alyaum.com/
   - Al Hayat Newspaper → http://www.alhayat.com/
   - Al-Jazirah Newspaper → http://www.al-jazirah.com/
   - Alriayadh Newspaper → http://www.alriyadh.com/
   - Alwatan Newspaper → http://alwatan.com.sa/
   - Arab News Newspaper → http://www.arabnews.com/

References:
Of course www.google.com
http://www.saudiembassy.net/,
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.geohive.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.aramco.com/

Introduction to this Blog

Assalamu Alaykum,

 

Welcome One and All

 

This is my first blog and I intend to fill this space with all sorts of information regarding Saudi Arabia and life here.

 

To tell the truth, I’m blesses to be in this holy land. The immediate benefits I saw when I came here

1. One has easy access to perform Umrah (minor Pilgrimage to house of Allah SWT in Makkah) and visitation to Beloved Nabi’s Mosque in Madinah Munawwara.
2. To visit all the historical places Islam has been associated with.
3.  Meet and the stay with the blessed people of this area often.
4. Eat some fresh dates and drink Arabic Kahva (Arabic tea)
5. Eat Arabic foods, so delicious.
6. Meet some of the Muslims who rarely sin (disobedience to the commandments of Allah SWT). Of course you never who is that but you are among those people.
7. Some of the best practicing Muslims with loads of knowledge.
8. Meet Muslims and non-Muslims from around the world.

1. Last but not the least; one gets to work with some of the best companies in the world with good benefits.

 

Well I will keep on adding more information as I prepare it.