Greetings and goodbyes in Arabic
9 words in Arabic on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: مرحبا — hi, نهارك سعيد — good day, مع السلامة — goodbye, كيف حالك؟ — how are you?
9 words on the topic
- مرحباмархабаhithe h here is the breathy throat one (ح) — marhaba on an audible breath out of the throat
- نهارك سعيدнахарак саʿидgood dayLiterally "your day [be] happy". Arabic has no plain "good day" — it is said as a wish, and the answer is expected in the same shape
- مع السلامةмаа ас-салямаgoodbyeLiterally "go with safety". Salama here is being safe: a wish to arrive whole, not a farewell forever
- كيف حالك؟кейфа хаалюк؟how are you?Literally "how is your state?". The -uk on the end is "your": to a man haaluk, to a woman haaluki
- كيف حالكم؟кейфа хаалюкум؟how are you all?The plural you. To one respected person the plural is heard too — haalukum serves as the polite form
- إلى اللقاءиля аль-ликааsee youLiterally "to the meeting". Warmer than maa as-salama, and among friends it lives on its own
- صباح الخيرсабаах аль-хейрgood morningLiterally "morning of goodness". The answer is sabah an-nur, "morning of light": the wish is returned in the same shape
- مساء الخيرмасаа аль-хейрgood eveningLiterally "evening of goodness". It lives after sunset; the border with good morning runs somewhere near noon
- تصبح على خيرтусбих аля хейрgood nightLiterally "may you wake in goodness". The answer is wa anta min ahli, "and you among the good" — worth memorizing too
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- مرحبا, من زمان!мархаба, мин заман!Hi, long time no see!
- نهارك سعيد, كيف حالك؟нахарак саʿид, кейфа хаалюк؟Good day, how are you?
- مع السلامة, إلى اللقاء!маа ас-саляма, иля аль-ликаа!Goodbye, see you!
- مرحبا, كيف حالك؟мархаба, кейфа хаалюк؟Hi, how are you?
- صباح الخير, كيف حالكم؟сабаах аль-хейр, кейфа хаалюкум؟Good morning, how are you all?
- إلى اللقاء, مع السلامة!иля аль-ликаа, маа ас-саляма!See you, goodbye!
What is worth knowing about these words
مرحبا (мархаба) — hi. The all-purpose hello from Morocco to Oman: right at any hour, friendly and polite at once. For everyday talk this one word is enough.
نهارك سعيد (нахарак саʿид) — good day. Literally "your day [be] happy". Arabic has no plain "good day" — it is said as a wish, and the answer is expected in the same shape.
مع السلامة (маа ас-саляма) — goodbye. Literally "go with safety". Salama here is being safe: a wish to arrive whole, not a farewell forever.
كيف حالك؟ (кейфа хаалюк؟) — how are you? Literally "how is your state?". The -uk on the end is "your": to a man haaluk, to a woman haaluki.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Arabic?
The all-purpose hello from Morocco to Oman: right at any hour, friendly and polite at once. For everyday talk this one word is enough
- How do you say “good evening” in Arabic?
Literally "evening of goodness". It lives after sunset; the border with good morning runs somewhere near noon
- How do you say “see you” in Arabic?
Literally "to the meeting". Warmer than maa as-salama, and among friends it lives on its own
- How do you say “how are you?” in Arabic?
Literally "how is your state?". The -uk on the end is "your": to a man haaluk, to a woman haaluki
- How do you say “good day” in Arabic?
Literally "your day [be] happy". Arabic has no plain "good day" — it is said as a wish, and the answer is expected in the same shape
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hi” in Arabic?
«مرحبا», read “мархаба”. The h here is the breathy throat one (ح) — marhaba on an audible breath out of the throat. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 9 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.