Boiling Down Arabic: From the Gulf — Abdulla Alshahri
47-page beginner book for spoken Saudi / Najdi Arabic. English-letter transliteration, workplace + daily phrases, written by a teacher in Riyadh. This is the one on this site.
Saudi Arabic books
Best books to learn Saudi Arabic in 2026
The shelf is thin. Most “Arabic” books teach Modern Standard Arabic or the wrong Gulf dialect for Riyadh. Here is what actually exists if you want spoken Saudi.
Nahjj — Saudi dialect book
A real book, longer than this guide. Worth a look if you want more pages. Still not a 260-lesson course.
FSI Hijazi Arabic (1975)
Serious course, public domain, and 50 years old. Hijazi (Jeddah / Mecca), not Najdi. Useful history, not what your Riyadh colleagues speak.
Nitzany Saudi / Gulf phrase books
A few hundred words. Fine as a pocket list. Not grammar, not culture, no path to actually speaking.
Ingham, Najdi Arabic
The reference grammar. For linguists. Not a beginner expat book.
Do not confuse a book with a course. If you want 260 step-by-step video lessons, that is a different product. This page is for people searching for a book.
Start with the Riyadh dialect
Boiling Down Arabic is the short beginner book aimed at expats who will actually live or work in Saudi Arabia.