LinguaThe greeting and its answer
The everyday greeting is السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (as-salāmu ʿalaykum, “peace be upon you”). It fits any time of day and anyone, and its answer is fixed: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ (wa-ʿalaykumu s-salām, “and upon you peace”). Lighter words are مَرْحَبًا (marḥaban, hello) and أَهْلًا (ʾahlan, hi). أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا (ʾahlan wa-sahlan) says “welcome”, and the guest answers أَهْلًا بِكَ (ʾahlan bika).
| You say | Reply | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ | وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ | peace be upon you |
| أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا | أَهْلًا بِكَ | welcome |
| صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ | صَبَاحُ النُّورِ | good morning |
| مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ | مَسَاءُ النُّورِ | good evening |
صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ (ṣabāḥ al-khayr) is literally “morning of goodness”, and the answer goes one better: صَبَاحُ النُّورِ (ṣabāḥ an-nūr), “morning of light”. In the evening مَسَاء (masāʾ) takes the place of صَبَاح.
Your name – and a “you” with a gender
اِسْمِي مُوسَى (ismī Mūsā) is “my name is Musa”: اِسْم (ism) is “name” and the ending ـِي (-ī) is “my”. To ask, Arabic chooses by who you talk to: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (mā smuka?) to a man, مَا اسْمُكِ؟ (mā smuki?) to a woman. Only the last vowel differs: -ka or -ki. When you meet someone, say تَشَرَّفْنَا (tasharrafnā), “pleased to meet you”.
مَا اسْمُكِ؟ اِسْمِي هُدَى.What is your name? (to a woman) – My name is Huda.
مَرْحَبًا! أَنَا مُوسَى. تَشَرَّفْنَا.Hello! I am Musa. Pleased to meet you.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ | peace be upon you (greeting) | السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ، أَنَا مُوسَى. Peace be upon you, I am Musa. |
| وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ | and peace be upon you (the reply) | وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ، أَنَا هُدَى. And peace be upon you, I am Huda. |
| مَرْحَبًا | hello | مَرْحَبًا، اِسْمِي هُدَى. Hello, my name is Huda. |
| أَهْلًا | hi; welcome | أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا! Welcome! |
| صَبَاح | morning | صَبَاح سَبْت a Saturday morning |
| مَسَاء | evening | مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ! Good evening! |
| خَيْر | good, goodness | صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ! Good morning! |
| نُور | light | نُورُ الْقَمَرِ moonlight |
| اِسْم | name | اِسْمٌ جَدِيدٌ a new name |
| اِسْمِي | my name | اِسْمِي مُوسَى. My name is Musa. |
| مَا | what (in questions) | مَا اسْمُكَ؟ What is your name? (to a man) |
| تَشَرَّفْنَا | pleased to meet you | تَشَرَّفْنَا، أَنَا مُوسَى. Pleased to meet you, I am Musa. |
| أَنَا | I | أَنَا مُدَرِّسٌ I am a teacher. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which is the reply to **السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ**?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.