Abdullah Al Rushud

RIYADH: While many people think Japanese and Arabic are completely unrelated languages, there are surprisingly common words that are used routinely. There are also words with similar pronunciations but with different meanings. 

First, here are the areas Arabic is spoken on the map.

Arabic originated from Saudi Arabia, but there are vast regions that speak Arabic. The areas also include the Sahara Desert in North Africa and vast deserts in Saudi Arabia, where few people live. In terms of population, there is a total of about 300 million Arabic speakers in the world.

Saad and his friends love Japanese video games and Arabic dubbed anime series aired on TV. Their relationship with the Japanese language started when they were teenagers, and then they learned the words used in games and anime to learn the basics of Japanese.

When Saad was in high school, one of the teachers asked him what he wanted to do after graduating from high school in guidance counseling involving students, parents, and teachers.

He said he wanted to visit Japan to study but didn’t know how. The teacher then advised him to study at King Saud University, located in Riyadh.

The advice intensely motivated Saad to study, and he graduated high school with excellent grades and entered King Saud University. He studied for another year so he could specialize in language and translation.

After studying for a year at the university, Saad got involved in doing activities at the Japanese embassy and also student activities by holding events related to Japanese culture. At the same time, he passed all tests and examinations at the university.

Later, Saad and his peers qualified for a scholarship program. His heart was filled with joy and passion.

Currently, Mr. Saad and his Saudi colleagues are famous for making videos that comically introduce the mysterious relationship between Japanese and Arabic.