All the needful words for living in Dubai…
Dubai slang is a strange old patois. Part of the reason why is the incredibly diverse multicultural make up of the population. According to a 2024 survey, Dubai’s population is 88.5 per cent expat. That means along with English and Arabic, many other language roots are thrown into the semantic salad. This leaves the street vernacular with a distinctively international flavour and a thesaurus-busting number of ways to vocalise our love for the city. To help you navigate the living lexicon of Dubaisms, and nail your Dubai-lingo streak, we’ve compiled a list of some of the key slang phrases.
Click through the gallery for more Dubai slang terms
Abwabu tuglag
Doors closing. Taken from the Dubai Metro announcement which warns passengers of the carriage’s closing doors. It’s also used ironically in public spaces when, rather than being held open, doors are left to close in a persons face.
AC/PC
The closest desk to the office AC thermostat, usually manned by someone that prefers the meteorological aesthetic of the Polar regions, or the ambient temperature of an imploding neutron star.
And it’s only February/March/April
Common Instagram caption, usually accompanied by a thermometer check. 34 degrees… I’ve had worse Mondays. Selfie with your laptop on a restaurant terrace “Today’s office”.
Barracuda run
The drive of shame. Heading out to Umm Al Quwain’s famous beach resort and adult beverage shop. It’s the old school expat destination of choice for picking up discounted refreshments and experiencing gag reactions to niche European liquor youve not seen since Faliraki ’05.
Boss
Shawarma shop parlance for ‘friend’. See also chief, big-man, boss man
Brunch
Not to be confused by the portmanteau of breakfast and lunch. Dubai brunches are essentially Sultan-tier banquets with a heavily disproportionate lobster-to-human head count
Callas
How non-native Arabic speakers pronounce Khalas. Enough, finished, done, stop, whatever.
Chamak
It’s a regional variation of a British chav, or French racaille, a rascal, a delinquent, or abrasive youth. See also: permed mallrat.
Dizzas, dizz bucks, Ds
Synonyms for the UAE’s national currency, the dirham.
Dodgy box
A black market gadget that will allow you to access IPTV streams from international broadcasters. Commonly (though not exclusively) sold in the comment section of expat Facebook Groups by men named Keith, Nigel or Graham.
Dubai problems
Not the meme page, rather the concept the meme page was based on. Dubai problems are an extension of first world problems, but with more geographical relevance. “Its 40 degrees out and my poor driver just broke down whilst he was taking the nanny to pick up Mister Whiskers from the five-star cat hotel (we should really call them Chat-eaus, non?)”.
Fax Machine
Boomer technology. A prologue to the internet that allowed you to send pictures via the medium of robotic screeching down a phoneline. The numbers for which still inexplicably appear on a sizable quantity of business cards. Straight fax.
Full special (:special full)
Gas station forecourt lingo. “Would you like your tank filled with the lower cost leaded petrol option?” Whether you go for the premium tier Super or the Special, its still a fraction of the cost of most other countries’ fuel prices.
Globey Vs
Global Village. The long running theme park / fairground / market / street eat dine around. Beloved by residents for its nostalgic feels, weekly fireworks and huge theatrical stage shows. It’s also home to the largest community of honey salespeople Ive ever seen.
Frizztember
That September humidity that takes you all the way up to ‘Monica in Barbados’ on the buffon frizzometer.
Got the Alfreds
An earworm, a song or jingle that gets stuck in your head.
Hassan Mattar
The secret shawarma hack. Basically a shawarma with cheese. And they say you can’t build on perfection.
Hatt-over
Getting up at 4am for a weekend hike up the Hatta hills.
Hatta-wood sign
The big ‘HATTA’ you hike to on a Hatt-over
Habibi
Arabic for ‘my love’ or ‘darling’. Popularised by the viral ‘Habibi, come to Dubai’ TikTok sound.
Howzit
South African slang for ‘how’s it going?’ / ‘how are you?’
Karama Gucci
See ‘original fake’.
Kabayan
Borrowed from Tagalog, to mean kinsman or compatriot.
Karak?
An offer you can’t refuse. Unless you don’t like cardamon based tea.
Khalli walli
The anglophonic adaptation of an Arabic phrase which essentially means ‘fugget aboudit’ or ‘whatever’. Try throwing it in the mix next time you’re tempted to say ‘it is what it is’.
Last best price
A haggling technique used in online second-hand goods trading, that tends to leave vendors on their last best nerve.
Maamsir
A gender-neutral pronoun.
My Dubai
The personalisation of a profound love for our host city.
Needful
Dubai emailese for ‘necessary’.
Of Arabia
A common suffix for expat Instagram handles that seems less and less like a good idea the more time you spend in ‘Arabia’.
Old Lexus
Just keep an eye out for them on the roads.
Original Fake
The top tier of counterfeit goods.
Rakcident
What happens at the Ras Al Khaimah all-inclusive, stays at the Ras Al Khaimah all inclusive.
Same price as normal taxi sir
The claim of freelance taxi drivers, “same price as RTA taxi”. Spoiler alert, it isnt.
Same same
The same, but double.
Send location plz
A delivery driver salutation and request for a WhatsApp pin drop.
Squeeze Burja
The tourists standing in front of the Burj Khalifa trying to squeeze themselves into a photo they’ll later use in their profile.
Shifting
Moving house/apartment.
Sige-sige
Tagalog for OK or Ill do it. It’s an acknowledgement of a request. Best used sparingly and only when you really really really wanna sige-sige-hah.
Spritz Ninja
The perfume salespeople that work out of mall kiosks. If you’ve made even peripheral eye contact, it’s already too late.
SZR
The anachronym that abridges our much-loved Sheikh Zayed Road.
The Dubai stone
he extra body weight that’s often put on in the initial few months after arriving in Dubai and discovering how incredible the food is.
The sandpit
An overused though sincere term of endearment for Dubai.
Troppy storms
Contraction of ‘tropical storms’. Dubai’s winter storms literally do ‘hit different’.
VPN
Incognito mode pro max. Also see ‘illegal’.
Wasta
An Arabic term meaning clout or street cred. It’s the Mastercard of personal favour.
Yani
Filler phrase for a cognitive lull in conversation. It’s similar to “ummm”or “like”or “what I mean to say is”. Just be careful, as with all of these words, its use can be highly addictive. Over-Yaniing is rife.
Did we miss any? Tell us in the comments.
Images: What’s On archive
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