Sudanese Arabic→English

Translate Sudanese Arabic to English the way locals mean it.

Sudanese Arabic often turns words such as يا زول, شديد, and أها into casual address, intensifiers, and conversational cues that a textbook reader may mistake for their literal meanings.

Going the other way? English to Sudanese Arabic

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Arabic varieties

What locals actually say

يا زول، أمشِ جيب لينا موية كدا.

Hey, could you go get us some water?

يا زول is a familiar way to address someone, not literally “person,” while كدا softens the request and makes it sound casual.

الجو حر شديد اليوم.

It’s really hot today.

In Sudanese Arabic, شديد can follow an adjective as an intensifier meaning “very” or “really,” rather than only “severe” or “strong.”

أها، إنت مالك؟

So, what’s up with you?

أها is a conversational cue that shifts attention or opens a question, while إنت مالك is an idiomatic way to ask what is wrong or happening.

القروش دي ما بتكفّي حق المواصلات.

This money won’t cover the transport fare.

القروش is the Sudanese colloquial word for money, while بَـ in بتكفّي marks the conversational imperfective.

أمشي طوالي لحدّي السوق، بعد داك لفّ يمين.

Go straight to the market, then turn right.

طوالي means straight ahead in Sudanese directions, and بعد داك is a characteristic colloquial connector meaning then.

أدّيني فول بزيت، وما تكتر البصل.

Give me fava beans with oil, and don’t add too much onion.

أدّيني is a casual Sudanese request form, and فول بزيت evokes a familiar Sudanese breakfast order.

أهلنا ديل جوّنا أمس.

Our folks came over yesterday.

ديل is a Sudanese demonstrative meaning these or those, and أهلنا signals familiar talk about one’s extended family.

الليلة ماشيين نتونس في الحوش، جاي معانا؟

We’re going to hang out in the courtyard tonight. Are you coming with us?

نتونس is a distinctly Sudanese social verb meaning chat or spend time together, while الحوش commonly refers to a home courtyard or compound.

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

How Sudanese Arabic differs

Sudanese Arabic for conversational registers (keif, zol for person, shadid for very); MSA for formal documents.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way