# Marhaba / Ahlan / Salaam مرحبا - أهلاً - سلام



## Bunni

I'm having trouble understanding the contextual differences between merhaba, ahlan, and salaam. I was told that ahlan has something to do with family and I read that salaam means peace, but I do not really understand what the literal meaning of "merhaba" is or what word should be used when and where. Does it have more to do with local dialect or politeness or both? Is there anyone who can explain it a little more thoroughly?


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## Abu Rashid

*Merha**ba* comes from the verb رَحِبَ originally, or if not, then one of its derivatives. Which means to be wide, open, spacious, and therefore also welcoming. For instance if you wanted to say "he doesn't welcome the idea of that" you would say لا يرحب بالفكرة (la yu*r*a*h*i*b*u bil-fikrah). So perhaps that can give you some kind of context to the word. It literally means to welcome, from the verb meaning to be "open and warm and welcoming" to someone or something (as in my example above).

Merhaba is not often used by Muslims as a greeting, mostly by Christians (from my experience anyway), as Muslims have a specific greeting they should use (mentioned below). Also note that Merhaba has been borrowed into Turkish (and perhaps other languages) and means simply "hello".

*Ahlan *I will leave for someone else, as I don't know much about it (but would enjoy to find out) but I think you're right that it has something to do with family (ahl) and I have heard that before. I am also interested to know its relation to the alternate greeting "hela" if anyone is able to elaborate.

*Salaam* certainly does mean peace, and is mostly used by Muslims. "as-salaamu alaykum" is the required greeting of all Muslims (even non-Arabic speakers).


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## SofiaB

ahlan wa sahlan was answered here:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=170419&highlight=ahlan+wa+sahlanhttp://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.phpt=170419&highlight=ahlan+wa+sahlan
assalaamu alaykum here:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=319496


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## cherine

Thank you Sofia for your help with finding older similar threads  I appreciate it  


Abu Rashid said:


> *Marha**ba* comes from the verb رَحّبَ ra77aba ....


Good explanations Abu Rashid. (Welcome to the forum by the way )
I have few comments.


> Merhaba is not often used by Muslims as a greeting, mostly by Christians (from my experience anyway)...


This is not correct, to my knowledge. Mar7aba is used by Arab speakers, regardless of their faith.
The only difference is that it's not used in colloquial Arabic of Egypt. But you can find it on signs in hotels or touristic sites, maybe.
*



			Ahlan
		
Click to expand...

*


> I will leave for someone else, as I don't know much about it (but would enjoy to find out) but I think you're right that it has something to do with family (ahl) ...


See the thread posted by Sofia. To sum  it up, the word ahlan means something like : "[with us] you're with your family". Longer versions is ahlana wa sahlan.
And it's religiously neutral as well. And used in both colloquial and MSA.


> *Salaam* certainly does mean peace, and is mostly used by Muslims. "as-salaamu alaykum" is the required greeting of all Muslims (even non-Arabic speakers).


Salam, alone, can be used by both Christians and Muslims. It's as-salaamu... that's considered an Islamic greeting.



Bunni said:


> [...] but I do not really understand [...] what word should be used when and where. Does it have more to do with local dialect or politeness or both? Is there anyone who can explain it a little more thoroughly?


You can use the word you prefer. You will be understood by all.
Using "salaam" (alone, not the long version) is more usually used as "bye". So you better not use it as "hi, hello...".
Ahlan and Mar7aban is more used by those who receive, than those who enter a place (if you understand what I mean  ). Though in some dubbed cartoon, I hear them use mar7abaa as a greeting, so I guess it can be fine too.

You want a neutral greeting ? use the equivalent of Good morning, good afternoon 
Sabaa7 el kheir/khayr
Masaa2 el kheir/khayr


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## Nunty

Of course I know just about nothing, but I can quote my teachers, who are all Christians from Palestine, Israel or Lebanon, quite accurately. They tell me that Muslims (around here, at least) prefer the greeting as-salaamu alaykum and Christians, mer7abaa.

Another regional difference?


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## MarcB

Marhaba and Merhaba spelling reflects regional pronunciation in colloqial speech. Also in non-Arabic languages which have adopted the word Merhaba seems more popular. as-salaamu alaykum as in the link posted by Sofia shows it is an Islamic expression. The religion neutral phrases can be used by anyone,they are "especially" used by non-muslims I would included here forsa sai'da in lieu of as-salaamu alaykum.


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## Abu Rashid

SofiaB,



> ahlan wa sahlan was answered here:




Thanks for the links, but this one seems to be incorrect, or at least not valid anymore. I get a 404 (page not found) error when I open it. Is it still valid for you?

Cherine,




> Good explanations Abu Rashid. (Welcome to the forum by the way )



Thank you & thank you, Ahlan biki.

Also thank you for noting that the correct verb is على وزن فعّلI knew it was probably one of the derivatives but wasn't sure  which one.



> This is not correct, to my knowledge. Mar7aba is used by Arab speakers, regardless of their faith



I think this perhaps true in places like Lebanon, where there's a fairly large Christian minority, but I think you'd rarely hear it said in somewhere like Saudi Arabia for instance. As I said, just from my experience, and since I'm a Muslim, I guess other Muslims mostly would only greet me with as-salaamu 3alaykum.



> The only difference is that it's not used in colloquial Arabic of Egypt



Yes I have noticed this. During my time in Masr I don't think I ever heard the word uttered, even from Christians. I did see it written on some signs though. Is there another greeting Christians there commonly use?


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## SofiaB

Abu Rashid said:


> SofiaB,
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the links, but this one seems to be incorrect, or at least not valid anymore. I get a 404 (page not found) error when I open it. Is it still valid for you?


I fixed the link!


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## cherine

Nun-Translator said:


> [...] I can quote my teachers, who are all Christians from Palestine, Israel or Lebanon, quite accurately. They tell me that Muslims (around here, at least) prefer the greeting as-salaamu alaykum and Christians, mer7abaa.
> Another regional difference?


It's true, Sister. A Christian wouldn't start a greeting with "as-salaamu 3alaykum", but he/she would answer it, except of course if (s)he's too.. "fanatic" to refuse to answer a muslim greeting.
As for Mer7aba/Mar7aba, as I said, it's religion-neutral. It's just that we don't use it in colloquial Arabic of Egypt.


Abu Rashid said:


> I think this perhaps true in places like Lebanon, where there's a fairly large Christian minority, but I think you'd rarely hear it said in somewhere like Saudi Arabia for instance. As I said, just from my experience, and since I'm a Muslim, I guess other Muslims mostly would only greet me with as-salaamu 3alaykum.


Maybe it's the same in Saudi Arabia as in Egypt : they don't use it in their colloquial speech. Besides, Saudi being a majority muslim country, I imagine they prefer using Islamic greetings.
I don't know about other Arab countries.


> Yes I have noticed this. During my time in Masr I don't think I ever heard the word uttered, even from Christians. I did see it written on some signs though. Is there another greeting Christians there commonly use?


 Yes, it's only used on signs.
Christians and Muslims of Egypt have other greetings which are not related to religion, as I said, like : Saba7 el-kheir, masaa2 el kheir صباح الخير، مساء الخير  =good morning, good night (though generally masaa2 el kheir has also the meaning of good evening, at least here).


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## Nunty

cherine said:


> It's true, Sister. A Christian wouldn't start a greeting with "as-salaamu 3alaykum", but he/she would answer it, except of course if (s)he's too.. "fanatic" to refuse to answer a muslim greeting.
> As for Mer7aba/Mar7aba, as I said, it's religion-neutral. It's just that we don't use it in colloquial Arabic of Egypt.



Thank you, Cherine, and here's a practical question, and of course I'm referring to Jerusalem. I walk into a small shop where the owner and most of the customers are surely or almost surely Muslim. Is it insulting if I say Mar7haba? Should I say as-salaamu 3alaykum or would that "sound funny" from me, given my very obvious and traditional nun's habit?

Same question for getting into a minibus or jitney.

(I'm assuming that, as in Hebrew, a greeting is called for in these situations.)

Thanks!


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## cherine

Dear Nun (I loved your question),

I think maybe Elias can give you a better answer regarding the usage in Jerusalem. But if the case there is like it is here (in Egypt), I think it's fine, or more precisely "normal", if a nun uses a non-muslim greeting.
Of course, if you choose to say "as-salaam 3alaykum", that would be considered like a very tolerant nun  but I don't imagine that anyone with brains would be offended by a nun saying mar7aba instead of an "as-salaam 3alaykum".


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## Nunty

Thanks, Cherine. I loved your answer. 

It's kind of amazing how easily people can get offended around here, so I do try to do my best to avoid the most obvious _faux_ pas.

Hoping that Elias hasn't frozen his typing fingers off in Poland, I'll look forward to hearing his input, too.

Thanks again!


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## Bunni

Abu Rashid said:


> *Merha**ba* comes from the verb رَحِبَ originally, or if not, then one of its derivatives. Which means to be wide, open, spacious, and therefore also welcoming. For instance if you wanted to say "he doesn't welcome the idea of that" you would say لا يرحب بالفكرة (la yu*r*a*h*i*b*u bil-fikrah). So perhaps that can give you some kind of context to the word. It literally means to welcome, from the verb meaning to be "open and warm and welcoming" to someone or something (as in my example above).
> 
> Merhaba is not often used by Muslims as a greeting, mostly by Christians (from my experience anyway), as Muslims have a specific greeting they should use (mentioned below). Also note that Merhaba has been borrowed into Turkish (and perhaps other languages) and means simply "hello".
> 
> *Ahlan *I will leave for someone else, as I don't know much about it (but would enjoy to find out) but I think you're right that it has something to do with family (ahl) and I have heard that before. I am also interested to know its relation to the alternate greeting "hela" if anyone is able to elaborate.
> 
> *Salaam* certainly does mean peace, and is mostly used by Muslims. "as-salaamu alaykum" is the required greeting of all Muslims (even non-Arabic speakers).


Thanks for making the distinctions. I've learned a lot from this thread.



SofiaB said:


> ahlan wa sahlan was answered here:
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=170419&highlight=ahlan+wa+sahlan
> assalaamu alaykum here:
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=319496


Thanks for the explanations. 




cherine said:


> Thank you Sofia for your help with finding older similar threads  I appreciate it
> 
> Good explanations Abu Rashid. (Welcome to the forum by the way )
> I have few comments.
> 
> This is not correct, to my knowledge. Mar7aba is used by Arab speakers, regardless of their faith.
> The only difference is that it's not used in colloquial Arabic of Egypt. But you can find it on signs in hotels or touristic sites, maybe.
> *
> See the thread posted by Sofia. To sum it up, the word ahlan means something like : "[with us] you're with your family". Longer versions is ahlana wa sahlan.
> And it's religiously neutral as well. And used in both colloquial and MSA.
> 
> Salam, alone, can be used by both Christians and Muslims. It's as-salaamu... that's considered an Islamic greeting.
> 
> 
> You can use the word you prefer. You will be understood by all.
> Using "salaam" (alone, not the long version) is more usually used as "bye". So you better not use it as "hi, hello...".
> Ahlan and Mar7aban is more used by those who receive, than those who enter a place (if you understand what I mean  ). Though in some dubbed cartoon, I hear them use mar7abaa as a greeting, so I guess it can be fine too.
> 
> You want a neutral greeting ? use the equivalent of Good morning, good afternoon
> Sabaa7 el kheir/khayr
> Masaa2 el kheir/khayr
> *


*
Thank you as well.

I'll keep note of this.*


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## elroy

I just got done warming up my typing fingers, so here I am.

Here's what the situation is like in Jerusalem - and generally everywhere else Palestinian Arabic is spoken: 

*Mar7aba* is used as an initial greeting by both Christians and Moslems.  I can't say there's a noticeable difference in the frequency with which it is used by Christians and Moslems.

*As-salaamu 3alaykom* is used as an initial greeting primarily by Moslems.  Occasionally, Christians use it, but it's rare - and when we do use it it's almost exclusively to address a Moslem.  The response is of course *wa 3alaykom is-salaam *(or sometimes just *wa 3alaykom*), used by anyone who has been greeted with_as-salaamu 3alaykom_.

*Ahlan* (or *ahleen*) is used as a response to _mar7aba_.  It is almost never used as an initial greeting.  A notable exception: If you are pleasantly surprised to see someone, you can say *Ahlán!* with the stress on the second syllable (the normal stress is on the first syllable).  This corresponds more or less to the English "Why, hel-ló there!"  The typical response in that case would be *ahlan (or ahleen) fiik(i)*. 

*Salaam* is only used as a farewell.  The response is identical.  A variation is *salamaat*.   

Of course, there are many more possibilities, but I've tried to address the ones that were specifically focused on in this thread.

Please also see my comments in post #23 of the second thread Sofia linked too.  I'd be happy to answer any questions that remain unanswered.


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## Abu Rashid

elroy,



> *Mar7aba* is used as an initial greeting by both Christians and Moslems


 
Perhaps the Muslims you know are fairly secular, or perhaps they adjust their greeting due to your presence. I have worked in a company with almost all Palestinians (Muslims) for the past 5-6 years, and I've barely ever heard any of them use Mer7aba as a greeting. Except when dealing with a Christian Arab. But I guess since all of them are fairly practising Muslims, that has something to do with it. Possibly in other less religious communities it's a different situation. As I said though, I think your being a Christian would probably effect the way they speak with you.


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## elroy

Abu Rashid said:


> Perhaps the Muslims you know are fairly secular, or perhaps they adjust their greeting due to your presence.


 Or perhaps it's just different in different places. 

Remember that Palestine, and Jerusalem in particular, boasts an almost unparalleled confluence of religions compared to most other parts of the Arab world.  Christians and Moslems interact on a daily basis, and this may have led to an increased usage of "Mar7aba" by Moslems (both to Christians and to other Moslems).  "As-salaamu 3alaykom" is still uncommon among Christians, but that's because it's an Islamic greeting.  "Mar7aba" is not associated with Christianity but is simply Arabic.  Of course, Palestinian Moslems do frequently use "as-salaamu 3alaykom"; all I'm saying is that they also use "mar7aba."


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## Beate

Nun-Translator said:


> Should I say as-salaamu 3alaykum or would that "sound funny" from me, given my very obvious and traditional nun's habit?
> 
> Same question for getting into a minibus or jitney.
> 
> (I'm assuming that, as in Hebrew, a greeting is called for in these situations.)
> 
> Thanks!


 
Hi,

if this greeting is understood as the muslim greeting may be people would take you for a muslim  

I remember when  I studied Arabic that we had textes where Muhammad was mentionned and there was kind of small callygraphy behind the name. Our teacher explained us how it had to be read. So we used to read it too. After years I realised the true meaning of it. It is used only be muslims and it means that God may send his blessings on Muhammad.

Well, learning a language means learning a culture.

bye Beate


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## Beate

regarding "ahlan wa sahlan" I heard that it's literal meaning is "may you have a lot of children (a big familiy) and an easy living"

bye


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## cherine

Beate said:


> regarding "ahlan wa sahlan" I heard that it's literal meaning is "may you have a lot of children (a big familiy) and an easy living"
> bye


This is a very new explanation of the expression. But I don't think it's correct.
For the meaning of "ahlan wa sahlan", please see the thread which Sofia kindly referred to in her post (#3).
Thanks


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## Molly Kay

Hello,

I'm a Muslim from Malaysia. Allow me to express my opinion on behalf of Asian Muslim with some basic Arabic knowledge...

My understanding is that 'Ahlan-wa-sahlan' is equivalent to general 'Welcome' (or so) in Arabic.

While Salaam is specifically refered to the Muslims' Assalam-u-alaikum which in whole means, "Peace be upon you", which is a preferred greeting among Muslims regardless of their nationality/races. It's our prayer towards our fellow brothers and sisters. And the answer to it is Wa-alaykum-salam which means "Peace be upon you too" as a courtesy to someone who gave you such good wishes.

This suggests that perhaps 'marhaba' IS the general greeting amongst Arabs putting aside their religious beliefs...

Corrections are welcome, though


Wassalam,
Molly


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## Anatoli

This question must be related to the topic:

I told our Lebanese born colleague 'ma`a 's-salaama' but she said (I knew she is Christian), this is used by Muslims and Christians normally say 'bye-bye'. Can anyone comment about Lebanese Arabic spoken by Christians?


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## elroy

Anatoli said:


> I told our Lebanese born colleague 'ma`a 's-salaama' but she said (I knew she is Christian), this is used by Muslims and Christians normally say 'bye-bye'. Can anyone comment about Lebanese Arabic spoken by Christians?


 I can't, but I can comment on _Palestinian_ Arabic spoken by Christians, which I can't imagine is vastly different from its Lebanese counterpart.

We definitely use "ma3 as-salaame" (note the pronunciation) as a way to say goodbye - as do Moslems. "Bye-bye" or just "bye" is also used by both Christians and Moslems.


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## MarcB

Anatoli said:


> This question must be related to the topic:
> 
> I told our Lebanese born colleague 'ma`a 's-salaama' but she said (I knew she is Christian), this is used by Muslims and Christians normally say 'bye-bye'. Can anyone comment about Lebanese Arabic spoken by Christians?


I have heard many Muslims and Christians from Lebanon and Syria say bye bye but I have also heard ma3 as-salaame I can not comment on the frequency of ma3 as-salaame.


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## Nunty

While riding the little jitney-bus to my Arabic class, I've noticed that some people, mostly middle-aged ones, greet the driver and other passengers with some mumbled word. Is this the appropriate and polite thing to do? Should I, a nun (in Jerusalem), say mar7aba when I board?


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## elroy

Nun-Translator said:


> Is this the appropriate and polite thing to do? Should I, a nun (in Jerusalem), say mar7aba when I board?


 Yes, I think that would be appropriate and polite.


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## Nunty

Thank you, elroy. I shall now proclaim it with confidence!


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## Sidjanga

cherine said:


> (...)You want a neutral greeting ? use the equivalent of Good morning, good afternoon
> Sabaa7 el kheir/khayr
> Masaa2 el kheir/khayr (..)


Up to what time of day would you normally use صباح الخير?
From when on (up to what time) is it adequate to say مساء الخير?

And is there a difference in register between these two and مرحبا?


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## nanos

All right I am a Muslim Lebanese. To sum things up, I mostly agree with elroy's explanations for the usages of Marhaba, Salam and ahlan. I just want to add that these three are used by Christians and Muslims equally around here. You have to put in mind that all "bilad Ashsham" have Christians and Muslims living next to each other everywhere... Marhaba is used by Christians and Muslims equally at ALL times of the day/night. Ahlan is a response, initially to Marhaba, but sometimes people may respond to any greeting by ahlan... As for Salam, that has become a more like a softer version, leaning towards becoming neutral,to the religious "Assalamu ALaykum". So you can hear Christians using it as an initial greeting, so would Muslims (non too fanatic Muslims)....

As for Sabah El Kheir, you can use it till around 11:59 in the morning... After that you can use Masa l kheir

Other forms of greetings; Ya3tikon l 3afyeh, 3awafi...


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## cherine

Egypt, like Bilad Ash-shaam, have Muslims and Christians living next to each others, so I guess we have the same social etiquette. The difference is that we don't use the greetings "mar7aba" and "hala", and "ahlan" is used with the meaning of "welcome", and usually we say "ahlan wa sahlan" أهلاً وسهلاً not only "ahlan".
For  صباح الخير، مساء الخير it's like Nanos said: starting from 12:00 noon, people start using مساء الخير . These greetings are used by everyone, except for the Muslims ones who prefer to use السلام عليكم everywhere even on the phone (not all Egyptian Muslims do that).

Salaam: we used it when we're leaving, but it's mostly used by young people like an equivalent of "bye". So, we don't use it to at the begining of a conversion/meeting, but at the end. I say it to my colleagues at the end of the day, when we're leaving from work.


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## yasmeena

nanos said:


> ... As for Salam, that has become a more like a softer version, leaning towards becoming neutral,to the religious "Assalamu ALaykum". So you can hear Christians using it as an initial greeting, so would Muslims (non too fanatic Muslims)....


 
Does that mean you consider a Lebanese Muslim who uses the full version "assalamu alaikum" a fanatic? 

My understanding of 'salaam' is a shoretened version of مع السلامة i.e. used as a farewell only.


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## nanos

No, I didn't mean it that way, I apologize if it sounded that way. I just meant that mild Muslims may use Salam or Assalamu alaikum, it doesn't matter to them. As for the too fanatics, they tend not to accept other than the full version. I mean no offense to anyone...


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## dwm

I just finished a trip to several different countries in the Middle East, and the most common greeting I heard (and said to me, specifically) besides "salam 3alaikum" was "ahlan wa sahlan," especially in Jordan and Syria.  I understand that the translation of this phrase in the end comes out roughly to mean "welcome" in English, and this would certainly make sense since every time it was said to me was when I was entering some place or just in general when I was being received by someone.  What I'm wondering is if this greeting (or a form of it like "ahlan" or "ahlain") could be used the other way around, i.e. by the person arriving rather than the person receiving.  For instance, would it make sense for a person entering a shop to greet the shop owner with "ahlan wa sahlan," or approaching a friend on the street or at work and saying "ahlan" or "ahlain"?  If not, then what would normally be said in the situations described above, asuming one does not use the phrase "salam 3alaikum" (I have read a lot about this greeting on this forum and understand it's a touchy issue, don't want to get into it).  I have seen on this forum the word "mar7aba" recommended, but I didn't hear this very often, and as I understand it's never used in Egypt.


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## Mahaodeh

Ahlan or ahlain does does not sound natural to me for someone starting the greet, ahlan wa sahlan sounds weird - yes, it's used mostly in welcoming someone to your place or in replying to a greet. I would certainly go for mar7aba and I do often use it and I used it when I was in Jordan. If you must, you can say Saba7 elkhair and masaa' elkhair, but frankly, I only use Saba7 elkhair very early in the morning and msaa'/masa elkhair only in the evening, which leaves the majority of the day with nothing to say. It doesn't really sound natural to me that someone would walk in a shop at 11 am and say Saba7 elkair, or walk in at 2 pm and say masa elkhair.  Mar7aba is definitly much safer in this case.

I'm surprised that you think as-salamu 3laikum is a touchy issue though, it's not, at least I was never aware of that.


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## elroy

I agree with Mahaodeh, except that I don't think it's weird to say "sabaa7 il-kheer" at 11. 

As for "as-salaamu 3alaykom," we discussed the topic recently, and you participated in the thread, Maha.   It's a sensitive topic because of the religious connotations of the phrase.


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## dwm

This is what I heard in each country.  I was just in the Middle East as a tourist.  I don't actually speak Arabic having only studied it for one year, and this trip was just for fun, not for serious language study.
Egypt - heard "salam 3alaikum" a lot, as well as the informal "salam 3alaik" with the "-um" suffix dropped.  My Arabic textbook said that the most common greeting in Egypt was "ahlan wa sahlan," but I didn't hear it once.  Then again, I had just arrived to the Middle East and was still pretty introverted about using Arabic.  An Egyptian I asked said they do use "ahlan wa sahlan."  I used "sabah al-khair" a lot.  Although sometimes I got the traditional response of "sabah an-nur," it seemed more common to just reply with another "sabah al-khair."  Once I got the reply "sabah al-ful," and I actually heard this used quite a bit, both as initial and as response.
Jordan - I heard them all here: marhaba, ahlan wa sahlan, ahlan, ahlain, and of course salam 3alaikum, sometimes shortened to just "salam."  I also heard "ya hala" a lot in Jordan, and it was explained to me that this was a response to a welcome.  This is where I heard "ahlan wa sahlan" the most, and this was the greeting that was almost always said to me.  Despite this, a Jordanian explained to me that this really just meant "welcome," and that a better translation for "hello" would be "marhaba."  I used "marhaba" often and the response given to me was almost always "ahlan."
Syria - heard them all here as well.  I heard Syrians using "ahlain" a lot with each other, but this was never said to me.  Three instances stood out from the ordinary to me in terms of what I had become used to hearing.  The first was when the bellman at my hotel in Damascus greeting me with a simple "ahlan."  The next was when I entered a small shop in Palmyra (Tadmor), I said "marhaba" and heard the traditional reply "marhabtain."  How common is this?  And finally, when I returned one night to a hotel in Lattakia the woman at the front desk greeted me with "hala."
Lebanon - "bonjour" and "bonsoir."  Love it!  The hotel maid, however, said "sabah al-khair" to me.
Kuwait - a taxi driver here said "ahlain" to me, but I have no idea where he was from.  Looking back, I wish I had asked.  He was dressed like a native Kuwaiti, but I'm sure he probably wasn't.
Qatar - heard a lot of "marhaba"s here, from people who I thought to be native Qataris, but who knows?
Oman - I asked an Omani how he would say hello, and he told me "salam 3alaikum" is the standard greeting in Oman
UAE - didn't meet any Emiratis, but I had a great conversation with a Saudi (from a town near Riyadh) in a hostel here.  He initially greeted me with "salam 3alaikum."  He told me the greeting he would use with friends is "hala marhaba."  He said that "ahlan wa sahlan" would be used by a shop or restaurant, but that he wouldn't use it with friends.  After saying that, however, another man entered the room and he greeted him with "ahlan wa sahlan."
Hope this is all at least of some interest.


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## elroy

"Mar7abteen" is common in Palestinian Arabic.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.


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## ihsaan

When someone says "ahlan" to you..do you just say ahlan back? I´m asking because in the case of ahlan wa sahlan one would reply ahlan fiik/i/kon in return, but I´m guessing this might not be the case with ahlan by itself?


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## Noon9

Abu Rashid said:


> Merhaba is not often used by Muslims as a greeting, mostly by Christians (from my experience anyway)


 
Not really. 

Here in the UAE it's very very common to hear people say mar7aba/mar7aba el sa3.

Mar7ba al sa3 ya bo 3yoon wsaa3


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## tabyyy

ihsaan said:


> When someone says "ahlan" to you..do you just say ahlan back? I´m asking because in the case of ahlan wa sahlan one would reply ahlan fiik/i/kon in return, but I´m guessing this might not be the case with ahlan by itself?



In Lebanon, a common way to respond to "ahlan" is by using "ahlein" (which means 2 ahlan's ). This might be used in other parts of balad ash-sham, but I don't want to answer with certainty.

Another typical response to "ahlan" is "ahlan fiik/fikki."


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## ihsaan

Ok, thank you. I would love to hear if this is the case in Syria too.


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## Noon9

ihsaan said:


> Ok, thank you. I would love to hear if this is the case in Syria too.


 
Ahlan and ahlein is very common in Syria and you'll also hear it used in nearly every arabic country.


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## ihsaan

ah, ok=) thank you!


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## إسكندراني

ahlan & salamo 3aleikom & alsalaamu alaykum in egypt
ya mar7ab / ahlan biik means welcome there


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## Mahaodeh

ihsaan said:


> When someone says "ahlan" to you..do you just say ahlan back? I´m asking because in the case of ahlan wa sahlan one would reply ahlan fiik/i/kon in return, but I´m guessing this might not be the case with ahlan by itself?



ahlan fiik would work with ahlan by itself too.


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## nourkamel

Bunni said:


> I'm having trouble understanding the contextual differences between merhaba, ahlan, and salaam. I was told that ahlan has something to do with family and I read that salaam means peace, but I do not really understand what the literal meaning of "merhaba" is or what word should be used when and where. Does it have more to do with local dialect or politeness or both? Is there anyone who can explain it a little more thoroughly?


 
Hi , the difference between merhaba, ahlan, and salaam:

Marhaba = welcome
Ahlan = hi , used also as a response to the word marhaba
Salam = hello mainly it's a greeting for both whom you know and you don't know .

hope it can help


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## nanos

nourkamel said:


> Hi , the difference between merhaba, ahlan, and salaam:
> 
> Marhaba = welcome
> Ahlan = hi , used also as a response to the word marhaba
> Salam = hello mainly it's a greeting for both whom you know and you don't know .
> 
> hope it can help



I am not sure if you mixed marhaba and salam by mistake, or they mean what you said in your dialect... In Lebanese "Marhaba" means hi, "Ahlan" is welcome and a response to "Marhaba"...


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## superherosaves

Abu Rashid said that it is derived from RaHiBa which seems to make sense. But then I also noted that in Hebrew, Baruch-Haba is also used as a welcoming in Israel. Baruch(Blessings) is not inter-changeable with Mar(but this appears to be Syriac word?).


I read elsewhere that it is a Syriac loan-expression: Mar [Lord/Master] + Haba [Love] = MarHaba [Lord's Love to you?]. Since this is used more in the Levant area, where Arabic is very closely related to late Syriac, it could possibly be derived from that. Could this be the case?


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## fdb

superherosaves said:


> Abu Rashid said that it is derived from RaHiBa which seems to make sense.



correct



superherosaves said:


> But then I also noted that in Hebrew, Baruch-Haba is also used as a welcoming in Israel. Baruch(Blessings) is not inter-changeable with Mar(but this appears to be Syriac word?).



No. "Blessings" and "lord" are not the same, are they?




superherosaves said:


> I read elsewhere that it is a Syriac loan-expression:



Did you? Where?




superherosaves said:


> Mar [Lord/Master] + Haba [Love] = MarHaba [Lord's Love to you?]. Since this is used more in the Levant area, where Arabic is very closely related to late Syriac, it could possibly be derived from that. Could this be the case?



Not the remotest possibility.


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## superherosaves

Since I can't post links, Google: the true meaning of the Arabic greeting, Marhaba. The site is called Orthodox Christianity dot net. And at thefreedictionary language forums they say it is of Syriac origin. 

I said that both Marhaba and Baruch-Haba mean 'Welcome.' Haba means love which is in both greetings. So they both serve the same function, in both languages. Mar as in Lord does not have to be intended, I was just throwing in the site's opinion. Wouldn't you say that there is a connection?


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## AndyRoo

superherosaves said:


> Haba means love which is in both greetings.



No - love is Hubb in Arabic. This double b would not become single b.

Regarding Baruch-Haba, according to this site it means "blessed is he who comes". So Haba means "he who comes", not "love".


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## fdb

The Hebrew _habbā_ has ה = ه , not ח = ح. The Syriac/Aramaic word for “my lord” is _mār_, with long _ā_; Arabic _marḥaban_ has short _a_ in the first syllable and _ḥ_ in the second syllable. So you should be able to see that these words have nothing to do with each other.


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## superherosaves

ok. I was just throwing in my unscholarly opinion. Thanks for being so meticulous in clarifying.


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## Abu Rashid

superherosaves said:


> I read elsewhere that it is a Syriac loan-expression: Mar [Lord/Master] + Haba [Love] = MarHaba [Lord's Love to you?]. Since this is used more in the Levant area, where Arabic is very closely related to late Syriac, it could possibly be derived from that. Could this be the case?



The word for Lord in Syriac is from the Semitic root م-ر-ء and the root exists in Arabic and is in wide use. It could not possibly be the source of first syllable in mar7aba.


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## Hemza

In Moroccan
-"ahlan" is used, "ahlan wa sahlan" sound too formal, it's less common.
-"mar7aba" (pronounced "mar7ba") is used a lot, when someone arrive toward you, you welcome him/her with "mar7ba"
-"as-salam 3aleykum" is used but it's less common than "salam".

So three are used.

In 7ejazi, I have never been to Saudi Arabia, but one of my grand father who is from Yanbu3 (living in Morocco) says "hala".


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## tounsi51

Here in the UAE you will hear 

- as salam 3aleykom
- hala, hala wallah, hala wa ghala (my favorites hehe) 

in France with people from North Africa we just say "salam" or "salam 3aleykom"

in Tunisia we say "ahla ça va"  (ça va= how are you in French) and mara7bas as greeting to someone who enter your home, we follow it with "bik"/"bikom" and the reply will be "o bik (akthar)"

"Ahlin" in the the UAE is also the reply to "shokran" and means "you are welcome". Is it the case in other Gulf countries?


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## AbuHasan

What about يا مرحبا ? I remember hearing this from my Yemeni grandfather when I would enter the room.


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## vinyljunkie619

I really didn't read every response here (too lazy to read all of it, so if I covered something already said, my apologies) but since I was raised christian (Algerian Roman Catholic mother, Coptic Orthodox father), it was always customary to say "salaam" to everyone, or "Ahlan"... but if someone greeted me first, I would match their greeting (this shows that not only are you friendly, but you are respectful to them regardless of their faith, because certain greetings are pertinent to mainly muslims, however christians use any of them indiscriminately):

Them : Ahlan
Me:  Ahleen

Them: ya hala
Me: Salam/hala/ahlan/ahleen

Them: Salam
Me: Salam

Them: El slam 3aleko
Me:  w3aleko el slam.

Them: Mer7ba
Me: Mer7ebteen

Please note, that when using the phone, one typically uses "Alo" and that goes for anywhere in the mid east/n.africa

adding "bik/bikum/biko" is optional, but a lot of people use the dual -(t)een in their responses.


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## إسكندراني

AbuHasan said:


> What about يا مرحبا ? I remember hearing this from my Yemeni grandfather when I would enter the room.


This means welcome but is used as a greeting. In egypt we say يا مرحب when welcoming someone in.


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