Najdi Arabic text to speech: the accent of Riyadh, Qassim and Hail
Najdi Arabic text to speech reads your script in the dialect of central Saudi Arabia, hard g and all, not in formal Arabic. In Samar you paste a line, pick the Najdi voice and hear it in seconds.
Tap the text to edit it and try your own line.
Listen to Fahad
And here's how local voices say city names from the region:
Where is it spoken?
Najdi is spoken across Najd: Riyadh, Diriyah and Al-Kharj, Qassim with Buraydah and Unaizah, and Hail to the north. Riyadh's urban speech is described as Saudi Arabia's prestige variety, so for the capital and the centre, Najdi is the local sound.
What makes Najdi dialect distinctive?
ق is a g, except in formal words
Everyday Najdi says ق like the g in "go": قال (he said) is gal. MSA loanwords and some names keep the q, as in قانون (law).
قَالْ لِي: الْقَانُونْ تَغَيَّرْ
gal li: al-qanun taghayyar. 'He told me the law has changed.'
th stays, and ض sounds like ظ
Najdi keeps th and dh: ثلاثة (three) is thalatha. ض has merged with ظ, so Riyadh ends in a heavy dh.
ثُوبْ جَدِيدْ مِنْ الرِّيَاضْ
thob jadid min ar-riyadh. 'A new thobe from Riyadh.' Hijazi speakers often say tob.
Clusters at the start of words
Many speakers add a vowel after h, kh, 'ayn or gh and drop the one before it, so قهوة (coffee) becomes g-hawa, and سعود (Saud) is S'ud.
تِشْرَبْ قْهَوَةْ؟
tishrab g-hawa? 'Will you have some coffee?'
Najdi question words
Listen for wish (what), wen (where), shlon (how) and wara (why), which takes endings, as in warak ('why did you').
وَرَاكْ مَا جِيتْ؟ وِشْ صَارْ؟
warak ma jit? wish sar? 'Why didn't you come? What happened?'
Small words that set the time
A b- prefix marks the future or an intention: barooh, 'I'll go'. taww means 'just', and ma ba'ad 'not yet'. In Hijazi, b- usually means 'happening now'.
تَوِّنِي طَالِعْ، وْبَوْصَلْ بُكْرَة الصُّبْحْ
tawwni tali', w-bawsal bukra as-subh. 'I've just left; I'll arrive tomorrow morning.'
Where this voice fits
- Retail ads in Riyadh and Qassim: Snapchat and TikTok spots for a Riyadh or Buraydah branch. For Jeddah, use Hijazi.
- Creator voiceovers: Cooking, travel and review clips for viewers in the centre.
- A Saudi-wide campaign: A neutral Najdi without the ts sound is a practical default; official and training content usually needs MSA.
- Phone greetings for a Riyadh business: A local welcome and hold message. For callers across the Gulf, a Gulf voice fits better.
Ready-to-copy scripts
Short scripts, fully vocalized as they're pronounced. Copy one and paste it into Samar to hear it.
أَبْشِرُوا يَا أَهَلْ بُرَيْدَة! فَتَحْنَا فَرْعْ جَدِيدْ، وْأَوَّلْ أُسْبُوعْ عِنْدَنَا خَصْمْ عِشْرِينْ بِالْمِيَّة عَلَى كُلّ شَيّ.
Good news, Buraydah! We've opened a new branch, and for the first week everything is 20% off.
حَيَّاكْ اللّه فِي مَكْتَبْنَا بِالرِّيَاضْ. لِلْمَوَاعِيدْ اضْغَطْ وَاحِدْ، وْلَوْ تِبِي تْكَلِّمْ الْمُوَظَّفْ اضْغَطْ صِفْرْ.
Welcome to our office in Riyadh. For appointments press 1, and to speak to a member of staff press 0.
السَّلَامْ عَلَيْكُمْ! الْيُومْ بَاخِذْكُمْ جَوْلَة فِي الدِّرْعِيَّة، وْبَعَلِّمْكُمْ وِشْ تْسَوُّونْ لَوْ هَذِي أَوَّلْ زِيَارَة لَكُمْ.
Hello everyone! Today I'll take you around Diriyah and tell you what to do on your first visit.
How to write your script so it's read right
- Write in dialect: وش، الحين، أبي, not ماذا، الآن، أريد, and keep Hijazi words like دحين out.
- Put a sukun (ْ) on word endings to avoid MSA case endings, and on a first letter for the Najdi cluster (سْعُود). Samar adds tashkeel automatically, and you can change any mark with a tap.
- Use a plain ك: the ts sound is fading among younger speakers.
- Vocalize names once (بُرَيْدَة) and save brand names in the pronunciation dictionary.
Frequently asked questions
How is Najdi different from Hijazi?
Najdi keeps th and says ض like ظ, while many Hijazi speakers say talata for 'three'. Coffee is g-hawa in Najdi but gahwa in Hijazi, and 'not yet' is ma ba'ad versus lissa.
Is Najdi the same in Riyadh, Qassim and Hail?
No. Linguists class Hail as northern, Riyadh as central and Qassim as a mix, each with its own sounds and words.
Can I try Najdi text to speech for free?
Yes. Samar's demo gives you 3 lines a day without signing up, and the free account adds 10,000 characters a month with MP3 downloads.
Can I use a Najdi voiceover in a commercial ad?
Not on the free account, which is personal use only. Social media ads need the Creator plan's commercial licence; radio, TV and phone systems need Business.