The Arabic spoken
all around you
Do you live in the Gulf, or are you moving there? With Majlis, you learn to read Arabic from scratch, then to speak it. The explanations are in English or French, your choice.
In the app, you get 14 days of full access with no card details needed. Until 31 January 2027, lifetime access costs €59.99 instead of €99.99 (AED 259.99 instead of AED 429.99), and anyone who buys it at that price becomes a Trailblazer.
You can start right away in your browser, with no account and no card details. The reading lessons are free, and so is the first level of Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha), the Arabic used in the press. The rest is in the iPhone app.The rest is in the app, on iPhone and Android.The rest is in the iPhone app.The rest is in the app, on iPhone and Android.
- 80Fusha lessons, from beginner to upper-intermediate (A1–B2)
- 17Gulf Arabic lessons, the first one free
- 2,292words in 83 topics, all spoken aloud
- 12reading lessons, starting from scratch
In the Gulf, people don't say “how are you?” the way books do
Choose “Gulf” or “Fusha” to hear the difference.
How are you?
Who it's for
Majlis is made for people who live in the Gulf or are moving there.
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If you can't read Arabic yet
You learn to read in 12 short lessons. You trace the letters with your finger as you hear them, until you can read your first words. A thirteenth lesson, on the road to Nizwa, in Oman, has you read your first polite phrases again.
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Standard Arabic
80 Fusha lessons, covering A1 to B2, from your first greetings to newspaper articles. If you already know some Arabic, take the placement test (24 questions, 4 to 5 minutes) and start at the right level.
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The Arabic spoken in the Gulf
The 17 lessons teach Arabic as it is spoken in the Gulf, particularly in the Emirates. They start as soon as you know the alphabet, with greetings and everyday phrases.
Replying without offending anyone
A refusal that's too blunt, or a polite phrase left unanswered, can come across as rude. In Majlis, you practise exactly that, as in the scene below.
A dinner invitation
FushaDuring a coffee break, a colleague comes up to you and says:
What tone do you reply in?
Choose the reply you would give.
Several possible endings
The conversations in the lessons work like this one. Depending on what you reply, the other person relaxes or takes offence, and the conversation ends differently.
Set phrases that come in pairs
Many greetings have a set reply, and getting it wrong makes things awkward. You learn them in pairs, the way you hear them.
At the majlis and at the souk
The majlis is the room where guests are received. Several lessons take place there, others at the souk, where you learn to haggle.
What it looks like
A few screens from the app.
What's in the app
Travel across the map
Your lessons are laid out on a map, and you move forward with each lesson you finish. The scenery is drawn from real places, like the fort in Muscat or the pyramids near Cairo.
A city for your vocabulary
Vocabulary is arranged in a city, district by district, and every word has its own picture.
Exercises where you write and speak
You write in Arabic with the app's keyboard, for dictation or to fill in a sentence. For speaking, you answer into the microphone, and if the app doesn't understand you after two tries, it moves on.
The voices
Every word and every sentence is spoken aloud, in synthetic voices that native speakers have approved. You can replay sentences slowly.
Remembering without cramming
Words come back just as you're about to forget them, and it's up to you to recall them, in writing or out loud. Your mistakes go into a notebook that empties as you correct them.
Writing to the team
A question, an idea? Go to Profile, then “Write to us”. If you leave your email address, we'll get back to you.
Majlis and other ways to learn
| Criterion | Majlis | Major language apps | Lessons with a teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf Arabic | Yes, a 17-lesson path | Rarely, it's mostly standard Arabic | Yes, if the teacher is from the Gulf |
| Manners and etiquette | Yes, you choose the tone of your replies | Little or none | Yes, that's their strength |
| Learning to read from scratch | Yes, in 12 free lessons | Often a separate alphabet module | Yes |
| Standard Arabic, from A1 to B2 | Yes, 80 lessons | Yes, often very thorough | Yes |
| Talking with someone | No | No | Yes |
| Price | Free demo, then 14 days of full access in the app. After that, reading and the first level of Fusha stay free, and for the rest you need a subscription or lifetime access. | Free with ads, or a subscription | More expensive, but often what works best |
If you can afford a teacher from the Gulf, get one. Majlis is for daily practice, between lessons, or for getting started on your own. This table reflects what we knew in September 2026; other apps may have changed since.
The project
Majlis is an independent app, developed in Abu Dhabi. We're French speakers, and we're learning Arabic too. The lessons and the scenery are original.
- On the App Store
- Live since 27 October 2026. Until 31 January 2027, lifetime access costs AED 259.99 instead of AED 429.99 (€59.99 instead of €99.99). View on the App StoreLive since 27 October 2026. Until 31 January 2027, lifetime access costs AED 259.99 instead of AED 429.99 (€59.99 instead of €99.99). View on the App Store
- Privacy
- The app has no ads and no ad trackers, and we don't sell any data. We keep anonymous usage statistics in our own database, without any third-party tool. You can opt out. Privacy policy.
For teachers and institutions
If Majlis could be useful to your students or your audience, write to us. We can show you the app or talk about a partnership.
Frequently asked questions
Is the demo really free?
And in the iPhone app?
I can't read Arabic at all. Is this for me?
Which devices does it work on?
What about other dialects, like Egyptian or Moroccan?
Are you on Android?
The Android version is in testing. Leave your email and we'll write to you the day it comes out. In the meantime, the demo works in your browser.
Your first Arabic word in a few minutes
To learn to read, you travel through Muscat, in Oman, on the app's map. These lessons are free.