LinguaHow are you?
كَيْفَ (kayfa) is “how” and حَال (ḥāl) is “state”: كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ (kayfa ḥāluka?) to a man, كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ (ḥāluki) to a woman. The usual answer is بِخَيْرٍ (bi-khayr, fine) and الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (al-ḥamdu lillāh, “praise be to God”) – everyone says it, much like “thank God, fine”. Then ask back: وَأَنْتَ؟ or وَأَنْتِ؟ (“and you?”).
| Phrase | To a man | To a woman |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? | كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ | كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ |
| And you? | وَأَنْتَ؟ | وَأَنْتِ؟ |
| please | مِنْ فَضْلِكَ | مِنْ فَضْلِكِ |
Thanks, sorry and goodbye
To شُكْرًا (shukran, thank you) the answer is عَفْوًا (ʿafwan, you’re welcome). “Sorry” follows the one who speaks: a man says آسِفٌ (ʾāsif), a woman آسِفَةٌ (ʾāsifa) – like مُتْعَبٌ / مُتْعَبَةٌ (mutʿab, tired). To part: مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ (maʿa s-salāma, “with safety”, goodbye) or إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ (ʾilā l-liqāʾ, “until we meet”, see you).
| A man says | A woman says | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| آسِفٌ | آسِفَةٌ | sorry |
| أَنَا مُتْعَبٌ | أَنَا مُتْعَبَةٌ | I am tired |
كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ بِخَيْرٍ، الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ.How are you? (to a man) – Fine, thank God.
شُكْرًا! عَفْوًا. مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ!Thank you! – You’re welcome. Goodbye!
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| كَيْفَ | how | كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ How are you? (to a woman) |
| حَال | state, condition | كَيْفَ الْحَالُ؟ How are things? |
| بِخَيْر | fine, well | أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ. I am fine. |
| الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ | praise be to God; thank God | بِخَيْرٍ، الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ. Fine, thank God. |
| شُكْرًا | thank you | شُكْرًا، هُدَى! Thank you, Huda! |
| عَفْوًا | you’re welcome; excuse me | شُكْرًا! – عَفْوًا. Thank you! – You’re welcome. |
| مِنْ فَضْلِكَ | please (to a man) | شَايٌ، مِنْ فَضْلِكَ. Tea, please. |
| آسِف | sorry (said by a man) | آسِفٌ، أَنَا مُتْعَبٌ. Sorry, I am tired. |
| آسِفَة | sorry (said by a woman) | أَنَا آسِفَةٌ! I am sorry! (a woman) |
| مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ | goodbye | مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ وَشُكْرًا! Goodbye and thank you! |
| إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ | see you, until we meet | مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ، إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ! Goodbye, see you! |
| مُتْعَب | tired | مُوسَى مُتْعَبٌ. Musa is tired. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which is the reply to **كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟**?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.