Expat Life in the UAE: Getting Understood in Arabic, English and Hindi

English will often get you through the day in the UAE, but not every conversation: your landlord may reply in Arabic, the building technician may be more at ease in Hindi, and your child’s school may write in two languages. With Piou, each person writes in their own language and, with Premium, reads the other person’s messages in theirs, across 20 languages that include Arabic, English and Hindi. Two limits to know from the start: Piou translates Modern Standard Arabic, not dialects, and several languages you’ll hear every day, such as Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog, are not supported.

Housing: landlord, property manager, maintenance

Your tenancy contract and anything attached to it should be read with a professional, not a machine translation; Piou doesn’t translate PDFs or photos anyway. For rental rules and official procedures, rely on the UAE authorities’ official sources.

For everyday requests, translated chat saves real time. Here’s an exchange with your landlord, Khalid, who reads in Arabic:

• You write: “Hi Khalid, the bedroom AC stopped cooling last night. Could a technician come tomorrow between 9 a.m. and noon?”
• Khalid reads: “مرحبًا خالد، توقف مكيّف غرفة النوم عن التبريد الليلة الماضية. هل يمكن أن يأتي فنيّ غدًا بين الساعة 9 صباحًا والظهر؟‏”
• Khalid replies: “سأرسل الفني غدًا الساعة 10 صباحًا إن شاء الله‏”
• You read: “I’ll send the technician tomorrow at 10 a.m., God willing.”

The phrase “inshallah,” translated literally as “God willing,” is an everyday way of talking about plans and doesn’t necessarily signal doubt. If you need a firm time, just ask for a quick confirmation that morning.

When the technician shows up without Piou, switch to Face to face mode: one phone is enough, placed between you, and the app shows the translation and reads it aloud. It works offline once the languages are downloaded, which helps in a basement utility room with no signal.

Household staff: in writing, with respect, within working hours

If you employ a nanny, housekeeper or driver, the basics don’t change: a contract translated by a human translator, short written instructions, and working hours and a day off that also apply to messages. Their phone and their documents stay with them.

Ask which language they read most comfortably instead of guessing from their nationality. If it’s Hindi, Indonesian, English or Arabic, Piou translates your chats:

• You write: “Could you take the kids to school at 7:15 tomorrow?”
• Sunil reads: “क्या आप कल 7:15 बजे बच्चों को स्कूल ले जा सकते हैं?”

If it’s Tagalog, Malayalam, Nepali, Sinhala, Bengali, Urdu or Amharic, Piou won’t translate it. Keep a simple shared language for daily life, and use an interpreter for anything that matters.

School: teachers, class groups and polls

At many schools, communication happens in English, sometimes with messages in Arabic too. The class parents’ group is where Piou helps most: every parent with Premium reads messages in their own language, and polls are translated too. “Which date works for the end-of-year picnic: Saturday the 14th or Sunday the 15th?” shows up in Arabic, Hindi, English or Russian depending on who’s reading.

For a meeting with a teacher, you have two options. In person, Face to face mode is enough. Remotely, a Piou video call with translated subtitles works if the teacher agrees to use Piou; for each of you to read the other in your own language, each of you needs Premium.

Report cards, permission slips and school policies often arrive as PDFs, which Piou doesn’t translate. Ask the school for a version in a language you read, or ask a bilingual parent for help.

Neighbors and community life

A building group can bring ten nationalities together in no time. A few habits keep things smooth:

• write short sentences, with no abbreviations or wordplay;
• give times and numbers as digits: “Water shutoff on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, Tower B, floors 3 to 8”;
• Arabic typed in Latin letters (“Arabizi”) or Hindi typed in Latin letters may not be recognized, so if a translation makes no sense, “Show original” shows what was actually written;
• during Ramadan, many people’s schedules shift, so don’t expect a fast reply around iftar.

Keep in mind that translation carries words, not always tone: humor, sarcasm and double meanings rarely survive the trip from one language to another.

What Piou covers, and what it doesn’t

Piou translates between 20 languages, including Arabic, English, Hindi, French, Russian and Chinese. Urdu, Malayalam, Tagalog, Bengali, Nepali, Sinhala and Amharic are not on the list, so a message written in one of them won’t be translated.

The Arabic Piou translates is Modern Standard Arabic. A message in Gulf or Egyptian dialect may come out wrong, and Arabizi may not be recognized at all. Likewise, Hindi typed in Latin letters may not be recognized as Hindi.

For a lease, an official procedure, a medical appointment or a dispute, use a professional translator or interpreter. In an emergency, call the local emergency numbers directly: Piou calls only connect Piou users and never reach regular phone numbers.

Getting started

1. Install Piou on iPhone (iOS 18 or later), on Android (8.0 or later) or as a web app at app.piou.chat.
2. Choose your language in Settings → Language & translation, then download the language packs you need, ideally over Wi-Fi.
3. Invite the people you deal with regularly by link or QR code: to exchange messages, both of you need Piou.
4. Start the 7-day free trial: a card is required, nothing is charged for 7 days, then the subscription starts at the displayed price unless you cancel before the trial ends.

Messaging stays free. Piou Premium costs AED 21.99 a month or AED 174.99 a year in the UAE, and the exact price is shown before you subscribe. Translation is personal: if your nanny wants to read your messages in Hindi, she needs Premium too, and you can gift it to her from the app or the website.

Chat between Arabic and English with Piou