Phone Calls in Arabic: Phrases & Etiquette

Phone conversations are different from face-to-face talks. This lesson teaches you the essential phrases for making calls, speaking on the phone, and handling phone-related situations in Arabic. Whether you’re calling a friend, making an appointment, or reaching a business, these phrases will help you communicate clearly.

Phone Vocabulary

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
هاتف	hātif	telephone / phone
مكالمة	mukālama	call / conversation
رسالة	risāla	message
اتصال	ittiṣāl	connection / call
رد	radd	reply / answer
رقم	raqm	number
الاتصال بالخطأ	al-ittiṣāl bil-khaṭa’	wrong number
مشغول	mashghūl	busy (line)
مفتوح	maftūḥ	open / available
مغلق	maghlūq	closed / unavailable
خارج الخدمة	khārij al-khidma	out of service
البريد الصوتي	al-barīd aṣ-ṣawtī	voicemail
رسالة نصية	risāla naṣṣiyya	text message
محادثة فيديو	muḥādatha fidiyū	video call
تطبيق	taṭbīq	app
شبكة	shabaka	network
إشارة	ishāra	signal
شحن	shaḥn	charge
بطارية	baṭāriyya	battery
سماعة	samā3a	headphones / earpiece

Phone Etiquette Phrases

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
ألو	allo	hello (on phone)
نعم	na3am	yes (answering phone)
مرحبا	marhaba	hello
من الممكن أن أعرف من يتكلم؟	min al-mumkin an a3rifu man yatakallam?	may I ask who is speaking?
هذا أحمد	haadha Aḥmad	this is Ahmed
أنا أتكلم	ana atakallam	I am speaking
هل يمكنني التحدث مع…؟	hal yumkinnee at-taḥadduth ma3…?	may I speak with…?
انتظر لحظة	intaẓir lahẓa	hold on a moment
سأعود حالاً	sa-a3ūdu ḥālan	I’ll be right back
هل يمكن أن تتصل لاحقاً؟	hal yumkin an tataṣil lāḥiqan?	can you call back later?
أنا في مؤتمر	ana fī mu’tamar	I’m in a meeting
أنا خارج	ana khārij	I’m out
سأعاود الاتصال	sa-a3ūd al-ittiṣāl	I’ll call back
شكراً لاتصالك	shukran li-ittiṣālik	thank you for calling
مع السلامة	ma3a s-salāma	goodbye

Making a Call

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
أريد أن أتصل بـ…	urīdu an aataṣil bi…	I want to call…
هل يمكنني الاتصال بـ…؟	hal yumkinnee al-ittiṣāl bi…?	can I call…?
رقمه…	raqamuhu…	his number is…
رقماً من فضلك	raqaman min faḍlak	a number please
هل أتصل بالخطأ؟	hal ataṣil bil-khaṭa’?	am I calling the wrong number?
عذراً، أتصل بالخطأ	3udhran, ataṣil bil-khaṭa’	sorry, I’m calling the wrong number
هل يمكنك توصيلني بـ…؟	hal yumkinuk tawṣīleenee bi…?	can you connect me to…?
هل تريد أن تتحدث مع شخص معين؟	hal turīdu an tataḥaddath ma3 shakhs ma3ayn?	do you want to speak with a specific person?

During the Call

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
أسمعك	asma3ak	I can hear you
لا أسمعك	lā asma3ak	I can’t hear you
الصوت واطئ	aṣ-ṣawtu wāṭi’	the voice is low
الصوت مرتفع	aṣ-ṣawtu murtafi3	the voice is loud
كرر من فضلك	karrir min faḍlak	repeat please
بوضوح	buwūḍūḥ	clearly
ببطء	bi-buṭ’	slowly
فهمت	fahimt	I understood
لم أفهم	lam afham	I didn’t understand
هل يمكنك التكرار؟	hal yumkinuk at-takrīr?	can you repeat?
دقيقة من فضلك	daqeeqa min faḍlak	one moment please
أنت مشغول	anta mashghūl	you’re busy
سأتصل لاحقاً	sa-aataṣil lāḥiqan	I’ll call later

Leaving a Message

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
هل يمكنني ترك رسالة؟	hal yumkinnee tark risāla?	can I leave a message?
أريد ترك رسالة لـ…	urīdu tark risāla li…	I want to leave a message for…
رسالتي هي…	risālatī hiya…	my message is…
أخبره أنني اتصلت	akhbirhu annanī ittaṣaltu	tell him I called
أخبرها أنني اتصلت	akhbirhā annanī ittaṣaltu	tell her I called
سأعاود الاتصال	sa-a3ūd al-ittiṣāl	I’ll call back
شكراً جزيلاً	shukran jazeelan	thank you very much
مع السلامة	ma3a s-salāma	goodbye

Receiving a Call

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
ألو	allo	hello (answering)
نعم، تفضل	na3am, tafaddal	yes, go ahead
من أنت؟	man anta?	who are you?
من الممكن أن أعرف من يتكلم؟	min al-mumkin an a3rifu man yatakallam?	may I ask who’s speaking?
انتظر لحظة	intaẓir lahẓa	hold on a moment
لا يوجد الآن	lā yūjad al-ān	not available now
يتكلم الآن	yatakallam al-ān	speaking now
هل تريد ترك رسالة؟	hal turīdu tark risāla?	do you want to leave a message?
سأناقله المكالمة	sa-anāqilhu l-mukālama	I’ll pass on the call
شكراً لاتصالك	shukran li-ittiṣālik	thank you for calling

Phone Dialogue: Making a Call

Calling a friend

A
allo, marhabanHello, hello
B
marhaban Aḥmad, kayfa ḥāluk?Hello Ahmed, how are you?
A
bi-khayr al-ḥamdu lillāh. anta kayfa ḥāluk?Fine praise God. How are you?
B
bi-khayr aydan. hal turīdu an nadhhab lil-3ashā'?Fine too. Do you want to go to dinner?
A
na3am, fikra mumtāza. fī ayy maṭ3am?Yes, excellent idea. Which restaurant?
B
fī l-maṭ3am al-jadīd fī sh-shāri3At the new restaurant on the street
A
mumtāz. fī as-sā3a kam?Excellent. At what time?
B
as-sā3a thamāniyyatan masā'anAt eight in the evening
A
tamaam, arāka hunākaPerfect, see you there
B
ma3a s-salāmaGoodbye

Phone Dialogue: Wrong Number

Calling the wrong number

A
alloHello
B
marhaban, urīdu at-taḥadduth ma3 SāraHello, I want to speak with Sarah
A
3udhran, lā tūjad Sāra hunāSorry, there is no Sarah here
B
hal ataṣil bil-khaṭa'?Am I calling the wrong number?
A
na3am, haadha laysa raqam SāraYes, this is not Sarah's number
B
3udhran 3ala l-iz3ājSorry for the disturbance
A
lā ba's, ma3a s-salāmaNo problem, goodbye

Phone Dialogue: Leaving a Message

Leaving a message

A
allo, marhabanHello, hello
B
marhaban, hal yumkinnee at-taḥadduth ma3 Khālid?Hello, may I speak with Khalid?
A
3udhran, Khālid mashghūl ḥāliyyanSorry, Khalid is busy now
B
hal yumkinnee tark risāla?Can I leave a message?
A
na3am, tafaddalYes, go ahead
B
akhbirhu annanī ittaṣaltu wa urīdu an ataḥaddath ma3ahu bi-khuṣūṣ al-mashru3Tell him I called and I want to speak with him about the project
A
tamaam, sa-anqil lahu risālatakPerfect, I'll pass on your message
B
shukran jazeelan, ma3a s-salāmaThank you very much, goodbye

Business Phone Calls

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
مرحباً، شركة…	marhaban, sharikat…	hello, …company
كيف يمكنني مساعدتك؟	kayfa yumkinnee musā3adatuk?	how can I help you?
أريد حجز موعد	urīdu ḥajz maw3id	I want to book an appointment
هل يمكنني معرفة مواعيد العمل؟	hal yumkinnee ma3rifat mawā3id al-3amal?	can I know working hours?
هل عندكم فرع في…؟	hal 3indakum far3un fī…?	do you have a branch in…?
ما هو رقم الحساب؟	mā huwa raqam al-ḥisāb?	what is the account number?
أريد التحدث مع المدير	urīdu at-taḥadduth ma3 al-mudīr	I want to speak with the manager
هل يمكنني ترك رسالة للمدير؟	hal yumkinnee tark risāla lil-mudīr?	can I leave a message for the manager?

Common Phone Problems

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
لا أسمعك جيداً	lā asma3ak jayyidan	I can’t hear you well
الخط سيء	al-khaṭṭ sayyi’	the line is bad
لا توجد إشارة	lā tūjad ishāra	there’s no signal
الهاتف مشغول	al-hātif mashghūl	the phone is busy
لا أستطيع الاتصال	lā astaṭī3 al-ittiṣāl	I can’t connect
هل يمكنك إعادة الاتصال؟	hal yumkinuk i3ādat al-ittiṣāl?	can you redial?
الرقم غير صحيح	ar-raqam ghayr ṣaḥīḥ	the number is incorrect
لا يوجد جواب	lā yūjad jawāb	no answer

Cultural Notes

Phone etiquette is important in Arab culture — always greet before asking for someone
It’s polite to ask “how are you?” even on business calls
Leaving messages is common — people often call back later
Video calls are increasingly popular for family connections
Many people use WhatsApp as their primary communication method
Business calls should be formal and respectful
It’s okay to call back if someone doesn’t answer — persistence is not considered rude
Friday is a rest day in many Arab countries — avoid business calls

Practice

How do you answer the phone in Arabic?

hint: It's the standard phone greeting

What does 'مشغول' mean?

hint: Used to describe a busy phone line or person

How do you say 'can I leave a message?' in Arabic?

hint: Use 'هل يمكنني' for 'can I'

What is 'اتصال بالخطأ' in English?

hint: When you call the wrong person

Match each pair — start with Arabic (left)

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Arabic

English

← Select an Arabic word, then tap its meaning →

Ready for restaurant? Continue to At the Restaurant.

Making Phone Calls