Arabic Language Requirements for UAE Restaurant Menus

## The Legal Requirement UAE Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and subsequent consumer protection regulations, establish Arabic as the **mandatory primary language** on all consumer-facing materials, including restaurant menus. This means: - Arabic text must appear **first** (before English or any other language) - Arabic text must be **equal or larger in font size** compared to other languages - All menu items, descriptions, allergen warnings, and pricing must be available in Arabic - Digital menus displayed on screens or accessed via QR codes must also comply ## Common Violations Inspectors from Dubai Municipality, Abu Dhabi DCT, and other emirate authorities regularly check for: 1. **English-only menus** — the most common violation, especially in expatriate-heavy areas 2. **Arabic as secondary text** — Arabic present but in smaller font or below English 3. **Incomplete Arabic translation** — item names translated but descriptions or allergen info left in English only 4. **Machine-translated Arabic** — Google Translate output that reads unnaturally ## How Qaima Handles This Qaima is built Arabic-first. The platform: - Uses a bilingual menu builder where Arabic and English fields sit side by side - Defaults to Arabic-primary display in the UAE locale - Ensures Arabic text is never smaller than English text - Provides professional Arabic menu terminology (not machine translation) - Supports right-to-left layout natively throughout the menu