Language/Standard-arabic/Vocabulary/How-to-Say-Hello-and-Greetings

🤗 Standard Arabic Greetings for Everyday Life

Hi Standard Arabic learners! 😃

Do you want to learn how to say “Hello” in Standard Arabic?

Greetings are an important part of any language because they allow you to connect and communicate with others.

If you’re planning a trip to the country or are trying to learn Standard Arabic, keep reading to discover some of the most important greetings.

Let’s get started! 🤗

Greetings

Let's start with the simplest. You might already know how to say "hello" in Arabic, but did you know that there are different ways to say it?

Say "hi"

When Yasmine meets her friend Jamila at the Sunday market, she usually says to him:

• "Salam o alekoume" (السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ)

She could also have said to him:

• "Salam" (سَّلام)
• "Sabah el hére" (صَبَاْحُ الْخَيْرِ)

If a person says "salam o alekoume" or "salam", you will have to answer him or her by saying:

• "O alekoume salam" (وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ)

Otherwise if this person told you "sabah el hére" (صَبَاْحُ الْخَيْرِ), you can answer him the same words.

say his/her first name

Jamila was accompanied by a friend, Fatima. Yasmine asks him his first name:

• "Ké ysmitlèke?"

• Another way to ask it would be "ké semèke Allah?".

Fatima responds as follows:

• "Ysmitlé Fatima".

Welcome

Yasmine had invited her friend Jamila for lunch. Arrived at home, Yasmine welcomes her:

• "Marhababeke"

If there was more than one person, they would have said "marhababékome".

Then she asks him:

• "Ke rake daira?"

Note that she would have said "ké rake daïre?" if she had spoken to a boy.

Jamila replies:

• "Rané labes el hamdoulilahe chokrane"

Goodbye

Then as they like to talk a lot, they talked until the evening before saying "goodbye".

By the way, "goodbye" translates to

• "Bslema"

Practice with these few marks of politeness in Arabic. These are often the most important words in a conversation.

Table: Other greetings

English	Standard Arabic	Comment
assalām aleikom: general greeting	السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ	Formal, academic and sometimes with a religious connotation.
Salam Alikom	سلام عليكم	Used between friends or family members. It has an egyptian arabic connotation.
salām: general greeting	سَّلام	We can always say salām (it's like saying "Hi" in English).
wa aleikom assalām: reply to السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ
wa aleikom assalām wa raḥmatullāhi:  reply to االسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
wa aleikom assalām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu:  reply to السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَركاتُه
assalām aleikom wa raḥmatullāh: general greeting	السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
wa aleikom assalām wa raḥmatullāhi:  reply toالسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
wa aleikom assalām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu:  reply to السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَركاتُه
assalām aleikom wa raḥmatullāh wa barakātuhu: general greeting (Peace be upon you)	السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَركاتُه
wa aleikom assalām wa raḥmatullāh wa barakātuhu: reply to السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَركاتُه (Peace be upon you)	وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَركاتُه
wa aleikom: reply to سلام	وَعَلَيْكُمُ
marḥaba: general greeting	مَرْحَبًاً	You can use marhaba as a friendly, casual greeting, commonly used in most Arabic countries. It can be used in both a formal and informal context.
marḥaban: general greeting	مَرْحَبًا
ahlan: informal greeting (Welcome)	أَهْلاً	اهلا has two usages: first and most common is when someone does you a favour and you say thank you' they reply with ahlan' (أهلاً) meaning you are welcome but it's only used in delegate speech (ameya عامية). the second usage for أهلا is to welcome someone it literally means welcome (to my house ..) it is accompanied with the word (سهلا) you'll see it a lot أهلا وسهلا to warmly welcome someone
ṣabāh al-khayr: morning greeting (good morning)	صَبَاْحُ الْخَيْرِ
ṣabāh an-nuur: reply to صَبَاْحُ الْخَيْرِ	صَبَاْحُ النور
im ṣabāḥan: morning greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمْ صَبَاْحًا
imta ṣabāḥan: morning greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمْتَ صَبَاْحًا
imī ṣabāḥan: morning greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمِيْ صَبَاْحًا
imti ṣabāḥan: morning greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمْتِ صَبَاْحًا
masā al-khayr: afternoon greeting (good afternoon)	مَسَاْءُ الْخَيْرِ
masā an-nūr: reply to مَسَاْءُ الْخَيْرِ	مساء النور
im masā'an: evening greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic (Good night)	عِمْ مَسَاْءً
imta masā'an: evening greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمْتَ مَسَاْءً
imī masā'an: evening greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمِيْ مَسَاْءً
imti masā'an: evening greeting spoken to a man in Classical Arabic	عِمْتِ مَسَاْءً
tuṣbiḥ alā-khayrin: nighttime greeting spoken to a man	تُصْبِحُ عَلَىْ خَيْرٍ
tuṣbiḥēn alā-khayrin: nighttime greeting spoken to a woman	تُصْبِحِيْنَ عَلَىْ خَيْرٍ
laylatan hāni'a: nighttime greeting	ليلَةً هَاْنِئَةً
kaif alhal: how are you?	کَيْفَ ٱلْحَال؟
alhamdulillah: reply to کَيْفَ ٱلْحَال	الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
kaifa haluk: how are you? spoken to a man	كَيْفَ حَاْلُكَ؟
kaifa haluki: how are you? spoken to a woman	كَيْفَ حَاْلُكِ؟
kaifa halkum: how are you? spoken to a group	كَيْفَ حَاْلكم؟
ana bikhayrin: reply to كَيْفَ حَاْلُكَ and  كَيْفَ حَاْلُكِ	أَنَاْ بِخَيْرٍ
ana bikhayrin shukran: reply to كَيْفَ حَاْلُكَ and  كَيْفَ حَاْلُكِ	أَنَاْ بِخَيْرٍ ، شُكْرًا
shukran: thank you	شُكْرًا
shukran jazilan: thank you very much	شُكْرًا جزيلا
ahlan wa sahlan: welcome greeting	أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً	Arabs love to give visitors a warm welcome to their home or work place. Note: this is different to “you’re welcome”, the phrase you’d use in response to someone thanking you
ahlan bek: reply to أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً spoken to a man	أَهْلاً بيكِ
ahlan beki: reply to أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً spoken to a woman	أَهْلاً بيك
Hayak allaah	حيَّاك الله	Formal way to say hello in Arabic that is used often in Gulf countries. It means may God give you a long life.

Sources

• https://polyglotclub.com/language/standard-arabic/question/36363
• http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhRKyWY_c-I
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WapYi3-j0xk

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