Afro-Asiatic · ISO 639-3 ayn
Sanaani Arabic Language
Sanaani Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by about 13 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Sanaani Arabic is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Sanaani Arabic
Language family
- Afro-Asiatic
- Semitic
- West Semitic
- Central Semitic
- Arabian
- Arabic
- Arabian Peninsula Arabic
- Judeo-Muslim Sanaani Arabic
- Sanaani Arabic
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Sanaani Arabic language
Sanaani Arabic is spoken by about 13 million people, which makes it the 95th most spoken language in the world — just behind Kazakh (13 million) and ahead of Chittagonian (13 million). It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and, more precisely, to the Judeo-Muslim Sanaani Arabic group within the West Semitic branch.
Where is Sanaani Arabic spoken?
Sanaani Arabic is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Yemen (13 million).
Sanaani Arabic is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Sanaani Arabic is written in the Perso-Arabic script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic, Hijazi Arabic, Hadrami Arabic, Omani Arabic, Najdi Arabic, Standard Arabic and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 ayn.
Frequently asked questions about Sanaani Arabic
How many people speak Sanaani Arabic?
Where is Sanaani Arabic spoken?
What language family does Sanaani Arabic belong to?
Is Sanaani Arabic an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.