Languages
Native
Arabic (Jordanian)
98%
Secondary languages
English
40%
Language Samples
مرحبا، كيفك؟
Marhaba, kifak?
Hello, how are you?
تمام، شكراً.
Tamam, shukran.
Fine, thank you.
واحد، اثنين، تلاتة، أربعة، خمسة، ستة، سبعة، تمانية، تسعة، عشرة.
Wahad, ithnayn, tlata, arba'a, khamsa, sitta, sab'a, tmania, tis'a, 'ashara.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Linguistic History
Jordanian Arabic belongs to the Levantine Arabic branch and shares close ties with Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese dialects. The region that is now Jordan was part of the Nabataean kingdom — whose script directly evolved into modern Arabic script — before Roman, Byzantine, and finally Arab rule. Jordan hosted the ancient city of Petra, carved by the Nabataeans, and has been a linguistic crossroads for millennia. English was introduced during the British Mandate period (1921–1946) and remains widely taught and spoken in business and education.
Similar Languages
Hebrew
58%
Aramaic
35%
Amharic
22%
Maltese
30%
Media
The Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at Petra, carved by the Nabataeans whose script gave rise to the Arabic alphabet
Photo: Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0
Did You Know
01
The Nabataean script used in ancient Jordan is considered the direct ancestor of the modern Arabic alphabet.
02
Jordanian Arabic includes many loanwords from English due to the British Mandate and modern education system.
03
Wadi Rum in Jordan has been inhabited by Bedouin tribes for thousands of years, and Bedouin dialects preserve very old Arabic features.