Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic→English

Translate Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic to English the way locals mean it.

Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic often uses small words and idioms such as ترى, أبيك, and صج to signal attitude or intent that a textbook reader may take literally.

Going the other way? English to Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Arabic varieties

What locals actually say

ترى ما نسيتك، بس انشغلت.

I haven't forgotten you, I just got busy.

ترى is an attention or stance marker meaning “just so you know” or “actually,” not the literal “you see.”

أبيك بموضوع.

I need to talk to you about something.

أبيك literally means “I want you,” but in Kuwaiti أبي means “I want” or “I need,” and the phrase commonly introduces a private matter or request.

من صجك؟

Are you serious?

من صجك literally refers to someone’s truth, but صج is used to question whether the person genuinely means what they said.

عطني رقم حسابك، أحوّل لك الحين.

Send me your account number and I’ll transfer it now.

الحين means “now” in Kuwaiti Gulf speech and signals an informal Gulf register.

شلون أروح للأفنيوز من هني؟

How do I get to the Avenues from here?

شلون means “how,” while هني means “from here,” both marking conversational Kuwaiti Gulf usage.

أبي مجبوس دياي، بس لا تحط كزبرة.

I want chicken machboos, but leave out the coriander.

دياي is the Kuwaiti Gulf word for “chicken,” distinguishing it from the more widely used دجاج.

يمّه، عيالي يبون يروحون الحديقة.

Mum, the kids want to go to the park.

يمّه is a familiar Kuwaiti vocative for “Mum,” and يبون is the Gulf plural form of “they want.”

خلنا نمر الديوانية عقب العشا.

Let’s drop by the diwaniya after dinner.

عقب means “after” in Gulf colloquial speech, and الديوانية refers to the Kuwaiti social gathering space.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic differs

Kuwaiti Gulf Arabic for conversational registers (shlonik, wayed, chethi for like this); MSA for formal documents.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way