Greetings and goodbyes in Persian
8 words in Persian on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: سلام — hi, صبح بخیر — good morning, خداحافظ — goodbye, حالت چطوره؟ — how are you?
8 words on the topic
- سلامsalâmhithe final long a reads "o": salaam, never "sa-lyam"
- صبح بخیرsâbh bekheyrgood morningLiterally "morning [be] without grief". Wishes are built as time word + bekheyr, and the answer comes back in the same shape
- خداحافظkhâdâhâfezgoodbyeLiterally "God [be your] keeper" — khoda is God, hafez protects. In speech it wears down to khodafez
- حالت چطوره؟hâlet châtâre؟how are you?Literally "your state, how is it?" The -et on the end is "your"; to someone respected it becomes haale shoma, your state
- خوبمkhubamI am wellLiterally "well-I": the link verb -am glues straight onto the word, no separate "am" needed. The full answer runs khubam, mamnun
- میبینمتmi-binemetsee youLiterally "I see you" — subject, verb and object in one word. A warm sign-off between friends, lighter than khodahafez
- عصر بخیرasr bekheyrgood eveningThe evening slot of the bekheyr family. Asr stretches through the late afternoon, so it opens the post-work hour too
- شب بخیرshab bekheyrgood nightSaid when parting for the night, not when meeting at ten. Shab is night; the same word runs through shab-e mahtab, a moonlit night
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.
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.
- سلام، دوست من!salâm, duste man!Hi, my friend!
- صبح بخیر! حالت چطوره؟sâbh bekheyr! hâlete châtâre؟Good morning! How are you?
- خداحافظ، تا دیدار!khâdâhâfez, tâ didâr!Goodbye, see you!
- سلام! حالت چطوره؟salâm! hâlete châtâre؟Hi! How are you?
- خوبم، ممنون!khubam, memnun!I am well, thank you!
- فردا میبینمت!fardâ mi-binemet!See you tomorrow!
What is worth knowing about these words
سلام (salâm) — hi. The all-purpose hello, morning or night, to friends and strangers alike. Kin of the greeting that means "peace" across the whole region.
صبح بخیر (sâbh bekheyr) — good morning. Literally "morning [be] without grief". Wishes are built as time word + bekheyr, and the answer comes back in the same shape.
خداحافظ (khâdâhâfez) — goodbye. Literally "God [be your] keeper" — khoda is God, hafez protects. In speech it wears down to khodafez.
حالت چطوره؟ (hâlet châtâre؟) — how are you? Literally "your state, how is it?" The -et on the end is "your"; to someone respected it becomes haale shoma, your state.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Persian?
The all-purpose hello, morning or night, to friends and strangers alike. Kin of the greeting that means "peace" across the whole region
- How do you say “good night” in Persian?
Said when parting for the night, not when meeting at ten. Shab is night; the same word runs through shab-e mahtab, a moonlit night
- How do you say “good evening” in Persian?
The evening slot of the bekheyr family. Asr stretches through the late afternoon, so it opens the post-work hour too
- How do you say “see you” in Persian?
Literally "I see you" — subject, verb and object in one word. A warm sign-off between friends, lighter than khodahafez
- How do you say “I am well” in Persian?
Literally "well-I": the link verb -am glues straight onto the word, no separate "am" needed. The full answer runs khubam, mamnun
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 Persian?
«سلام», read “salâm”. The final long a reads "o": salaam, never "sa-lyam". It is one of 8 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 8 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.