How to Create Multilingual Content for the UAE Market (Without Losing Your Mind or Message)

Let me just say it—creating multilingual content isn’t just “translating stuff.” It’s like throwing a dinner party for twelve guests who all speak different languages, have different tastes, and oh—one of them is gluten-free and allergic to sarcasm.

Welcome to digital marketing in the UAE.

I learned this the hard way.

Back in 2018, I was managing a tiny e-commerce campaign for a Dubai-based skincare brand. We spent hours crafting the perfect homepage copy in English. Slick, warm, friendly—the kind of thing that makes you click “Add to Cart” before you realize your wallet’s crying.

Then came the Arabic translation.

We hired a translator off a freelancer site who delivered the copy in record time. Seemed like a win, right?

Except… nope.

The tone was all wrong. It read like a government warning, not a beauty brand. What was fun and inviting in English became stiff and cold in Arabic. Needless to say, conversions tanked.

Lesson learned: multilingual content isn’t about translating—it’s about connecting.

Problem: The UAE Isn’t Just Multilingual—It’s Hyper-Multilingual

Here’s something people outside the Emirates don’t always get: the UAE isn’t just a melting pot. It’s a pressure cooker of cultures, languages, and digital behavior.

You’ve got Emiratis. You’ve got South Asians. You’ve got Western expats, Filipinos, Levantines, North Africans, and more. And they’re all scrolling through their phones—often in different languages, with different cultural filters and expectations.

Just posting in English? It’s not enough.

Just translating into Arabic? Still not enough.

Hell, even having only English and Arabic is sometimes not enough. Depending on your audience, you might need Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, Russian—or even Chinese.

But wait. You can’t just dump everything into Google Translate and call it a day, right?

Right.

Agitation: Bad Multilingual Content Does More Harm Than Good

Okay, so imagine this.

You’re scrolling through Instagram. You see an ad for a trendy new food delivery app. The Arabic caption? It’s clearly just a machine translation. Words are jumbled. Gender agreements are off. One sentence literally translates to “Delicious fast bicycle from your mother’s kitchen.”

You laugh… and scroll right past.

That’s what bad multilingual content does. It makes people laugh at you, not buy from you. It erodes trust. It breaks the vibe. And worse, it signals laziness—or worse, disrespect.

Now picture this happening to your brand in a market where word-of-mouth and reputation matter so, so much.

Oof.

Solution: How to Actually Create Multilingual Content That Works in the UAE

Now, let’s get real. You don’t need to speak six languages or hire a $10,000 localization agency to get this right. But you do need to be intentional.

1. Start With Your Personas—Yes, All of Them

Before composing anything, identify the audience you are addressing.

You could be describing to a British English-speaking expat with a knack for witty sarcasm, as well as, a Syrian mother mindlessly scrolling Instagram while feeding her toddler or possibly, a Pakistani construction worker using an android phone with an Urdu setting.

Your content will not—and should not—address all of them in the same way:

Pro-Tip? Make mini personas based on language and cultural behavior. This will save you a great deal of stress in the long run.

2. Think Beyond “Translation”—Go for Localization

Let me repeat for you: translation != localization. 

Translation is just a straight word-for-word translation. Localization is an emotion-for-emotion, vibe-for-vibe translation. 

Take for example, your English slogan: “Get glowing, girl!” you can not translate that directly to Arabic or Hindi. It will come off awkward. Possibly offensive.

Instead, you should bring in native speaking copywriters from, or, who have a strong understanding of the UAE. They will help you understand intention but change the expresison.

3. Adapt Formats, Not Just Words

Here’s a small but huge thing: Arabic reads right to left.

That means your layout, CTA buttons, even your image placements might need to flip. Ever tried designing a carousel in Canva for Arabic and realized everything looks… off? Been there.

Also, don’t forget about font sizes. Arabic characters often take more space. Urdu even more so. Tiny design detail—but it affects everything.

4. Use Language Settings to Segment Audiences

Here’s a simple hack so many people let lapse: simply target by device language settings.

Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads – all of them let you filter like this. So instead of showing one big multilingual spaghetti mess, you show the Arabic ad to Arabic speakers, the English ad to English speakers, and so on. 

Neater. Sharper. More personal.

5. Review and Test Like a Maniac

Run your copy past native speakers before publishing. Better yet—test it with actual customers.

One time, we ran an Arabic Facebook ad for a women’s wellness brand and used a phrase that technically meant “confidence,” but in context? It sounded like we were bragging. People weren’t having it.

We rewrote it using a softer metaphor about “inner peace,” and boom—click-throughs doubled.

Little tweaks. Big difference.

Pro Tips to Make Multilingual Content Shine

Here’s some rapid-fire advice from the trenches:

• Don’t use flags to represent languages. Language ≠ nationality. Arabic isn’t just UAE. English isn’t just UK. You’ll offend someone.
  
• Invest in culturally relevant visuals. If you’re speaking to Arab moms, maybe skip the photo of a Western mom in yoga pants sipping green juice.
  
• Keep tone consistent, but flexible. Your brand voice should feel the same, even if it’s expressed differently.
  
• Use transliteration where it feels right. Arabic speakers occasionally enjoy seeing a Romanized version for effect—like “Habibi Burger” instead of “برجر حبيبي”. Use wisely and in a fun way.
  

Real Talk: It’s Not Always Perfect—And That’s Okay

I’ll admit something.

Even after all of these years, I screw up. I’m pretty sure I complicate things. I sent one email in Arabic with a call to action that said “Shop now” but accidentally said “Sheep now.”

Yup.

But the one thing that is exceptionally helpful for audiences here is that if they sense you have tried. If you show them care, respect, and curiosity, they will cheer you on.

What they will not tolerate? Sloppy. Cut and paste translation. Lazy content that pretends they don’t exist.

Multilingual content in the UAE is not a box to tick – it is a statement of “Hey, I see you.”

And in a place that is this diverse and dynamic, that is a message that genuinely cuts through the noise.

Final Sip: The UAE Doesn’t Need More Content. It Needs the Right Content—In the Right Language.

So yeah, building multilingual content here isn’t the easiest gig. But if you get it right? You don’t just sell. You connect. You build bridges.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t buy from brands—they buy from messages that make them feel something. That remind them they matter. That whisper, in their own language, “This was made for you.”

So go on. Create content that speaks.

And better yet—create content that listens.