Essential Arabic phrases

The universal greeting; reply 'wa alaykum as-salaam'. Kuwaiti social protocol is formal and unhurried — the greeting is the beginning of the conversation, not a preface to it.

'How are you?' — the Kuwaiti and Bahraini form. The feminine 'shlonich' with a 'ch' is a defining feature of Kuwaiti Arabic and is not used in Saudi or Emirati dialect.

The Civil ID, issued by PACI. Everyone calls it 'the civil ID' in English. Nothing in Kuwait — bank, lease, clinic, phone, driving licence — happens without it.

Your residence. In everyday Kuwaiti speech people still say 'Article 18' for a private-sector residence and 'Article 17' for a government one — labels inherited from the old law that everyone still uses.

The sponsor — your employer. In Kuwait this word carries more practical weight than anywhere else in the Gulf, because your residence, your family's residence and your ability to change jobs all run through them.

The evening gathering, held in a room attached to a Kuwaiti family's house, where men meet to talk politics and business. It is the central institution of Kuwaiti social and political life and an invitation is significant.

Souq Al-Mubarakiya — the old market in the city centre, the last piece of pre-oil Kuwait still functioning as a market rather than a museum.

Salmiya — the dense coastal district where much of Kuwait's expatriate professional population lives, built around Salem Al Mubarak Street.

One thousandth of a dinar. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest-valued currency unit in the world at roughly USD 3.25, so prices carry three decimals and small numbers are very large.

Kuwait's national dish — spiced rice with fish or lamb. The 'ch' sound written with a modified kaf is characteristic Kuwaiti; Saudis write and say the same word with a hard k.

Emergencies — Kuwait uses 112 as its unified line for police, ambulance and fire, unlike most of its neighbours, which use 999 or a four-digit code.