Western Asia
Video Chat with People from Saudi Arabia
On a chat with someone from Saudi Arabia, you might be talking to a person in Riyadh, the capital, in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, in Dammam or Khobar in the east, or up in the cooler mountain air of Abha. Arabic is the language of daily life, and the Najdi, Hejazi and Gulf dialects sound noticeably different from one another. English is widely studied and used in business, so many people can switch between the two. Saudi Arabia keeps Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3) all year, and the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday.
Summer heat pushes a lot of social life into the evening, so 9 PM in Riyadh, which is early afternoon in New York and early evening in London, is a natural time to say hello. Football is a huge talking point, gaming and esports have a big following, and food opens doors: kabsa, mandi, dates and cardamom-spiced Arabic coffee all have fans. Travel is a growing topic too, from the desert rock formations of AlUla to diving in the Red Sea. Want a few phrases first? Try our Arabic practice page.
Saudi Arabia at a glance
| Flag | 🇸🇦 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Capital | Riyadh |
| Region | Asia · Western Asia |
| Official language | Arabic |
| Currency | Saudi riyal (ر.س, SAR) |
| Calling code | +966 |
| Time zone | Arabian Standard Time (Asia/Riyadh) |
How to say hello
A few words of Arabic make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | مرحبا | MAR-ha-ba | Hello |
| Arabic (Saudi) | يا هلا! | yaa HA-la | Hey, welcome! (warm and casual) |
| Arabic | كيف الحال؟ | kayf al-HAAL | How are you? |
| Arabic | مساء الخير | ma-SAA al-KHAYR | Good evening |
Tips for chatting with people from Saudi Arabia
- If someone says "مساء الخير" (good evening), the classic reply is "مساء النور" (ma-SAA an-NOOR), literally "evening of light."
- Many people type Arabic in Latin letters, using numbers for sounds English lacks, like 3 for ع and 7 for ح, so "mar7aba" is simply "marhaba." Ask if a word looks puzzling.
- Thursday evening is the start of the weekend, which makes it a relaxed time to say hello.
- Ask which city they're in: Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province each have their own dialect, food and pace, and comparing them makes for an easy conversation.
Only meet people from Saudi Arabia
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Saudi Arabia, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Saudi Arabia and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Saudi Arabia, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Saudi Arabia are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Saudi Arabia borders 7 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: