# non-religious greetings



## BabyGirl301

Ahlan...I'm taking Arabic in school right now. I'm in my second semester and i was wondering if there were some different ways to say hello and such things besides what we were taught in class. (sorry, I don't have a keyboard for Arabic)

We learned:
Salam Alykum....Wa Alykum Salam

Sabah Al Heir....Sabah Al Nur

Masah Al Heir...Masah Al Nur

Marhaban....Ahlan Wa Sahlan

Kyfa Halacom....Bkheir, Al Hamdu Allah

Ma Salamai...Ilylaka

hopefully my phonetic spelling is clear enough...but, anyways I'm looking for different ways to say these things


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## Taalib

Have you tried looking in the running Arabic Resources thread?  There are numerous reference sites that have the information you are looking for.  As it is, your request elicits many responses based upon dialect, context, and speaker.  The resources there will help you immensely.


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## Nikola

In colloquial as Taalib said it varies by region ad gender.
Some are: la bas,izayak,izayek,shonak,shlonich. answers:
la bas,kuwayis(a),zain(a),bikher. alhamdulillah.Morocco gher(in Agadir). keyboard and here


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## Yrsinia

Hi alors tu as plein de maniére de le dire en arabe, c'est une langue trés riche : Sbah el kheir ! (bonjour)
 Mess el kheir = massaa el kheir (bon aprés-midi, buenas tardes)
 Ahlen, marhaba, marhaban ... (bienvenue)
 Salam (salut) 
Aprés tu as toutes les locutions de politesse: 
 Wech rak (homme, raki femme), kifek, izayek, kif halek, shlonek, ki rak (raki) [comment vas-tu?]
 Labes, elhamdoullah, mlih (mliha), ghaya ... (bien= je vais bien)
Voilà j'espére que ça va t'aider


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## Abu Rashid

What you have posted are pretty much the most polite forms of greeting and introductory conversation. You can expand it a little more like this:

instead of just as-salaamu 3alaykum, add wa ra7matullahi wa barakatu on the end, or in the reply as well. in Arabic (and Islamically) it's important to either "match" or outdo the person you converse with in the extent of your greetings. So if someone were to greet you with as-salaamu 3alaykum, you should respond with at least wa 3alaykum assalaam, or you should "better" it with wa 3alaykum assalaam wa ra7matullahi wa barakatu.

You could also add some stuff onto merhaban and ahlan, like merhaban bikum or ahlan bikum (bikum just means "with you", so greetings to you, or greetings with you).

Also Kayfa Halukum (how is your situation), you could then ask Kayfa Sa7tak (how is your health) or Kayfa Awlaadak (how are your children) depending on how well you know the person and their family.

For goodbye there is also fi aman illah ([go] in the safety of God) or Allah ma3ak (God be with you).


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## 8720richa

Hello,

I wondered if somebody could clear this up for me. What would be the equivalent in Arabic for a simple "Hello"?

The reason I ask is that "as salaam alaikum" carries religious meaning, so what would be the most appropriate way for a non-Muslim to greet a Muslim? Could I actually use "Hello"? After all, it is understood pretty much all over the world as a standard greeting which carries no religious meaning.

Could using "as salaam alaikum" as a kafir cause offence?

Thanks in advance.


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## Serafín33

Actually, as-salaam 3alay-kum is generally a little too formal on top of having certain Muslim connotations. Normally you'd say أهلا ‎2ahlan or مرحبا marHába/márHaba (plus other variants, also depending on the region e.g. مرحبا isn't used in Egypt as much as in the Gulf).


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## suma

Opinions on this will certainly vary; but amongst many Arabic speakers _*salaam alaikum*_ is essentially equivalent to Hello.

Then there is _*ahlan*_ which is certainly non religious and equivalent to Hello.


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## 8720richa

Thanks both for the replies. I've searched the internet for a definitive answer before posting here, and did indeed receive conflicting results. I was always of the understanding that _*marHába/márHaba*_ also carried some religious meaning, and apart from that I though it also means 'welcome', which could cause further confusion. *A*_*hlan *_seems to me to be a 'safe' alternative, then. Can it be used widely across many regions?

Thanks again


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## girlwithafacee

My friends from the Gulf countries tend to say "*Hala*", "*Ahlan*", and "*Ahlan wa sahlan*"... meaning hello/welcome.  

We were taught in our Arabic class to use *mar7aba/mar7aban*.  

To my Muslim friends,* Assalamu Alaikum/Wa alaikum assalam* is generally shortened to "*salam/wa salams*" for good friends.


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## fof

On top of the very helpful responses in this thread I'd just like to add that in my experience in the Arab world, practically speaking, as-salaam aleykum, regardless of its religious origins, is not a particularly religious/Muslim thing to say, and indeed Arabs will generally be delighted to hear you say it regardless of your background or beliefs. Native speakers correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Christians use it as well, at least in Syria. After all, "peace be upon you" (its best literal translation) is not particularly sectarian, semantically speaking.
As noted before, though, it is quite formal sounding. Informality, as you may know, differs from country to country/region to region. I've never heard of "mar7aba" carrying any religious meaning, but if you have, I guess just stick with "ahlan" as a general one.


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## إسكندراني

AlSalamu Alaikoum is formal. It is shortened to an informal salam-aleikum or something similar, and no greeting comes anywhere near it in terms of how common it is. I don't think it even carries any religious connotations in everyday usage.


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## girlwithafacee

fof said:


> On top of the very helpful responses in this thread I'd just like to add that in my experience in the Arab world, practically speaking, as-salaam aleykum, regardless of its religious origins, is not a particularly religious/Muslim thing to say, and indeed Arabs will generally be delighted to hear you say it regardless of your background or beliefs. Native speakers correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Christians use it as well, at least in Syria. After all, "peace be upon you" (its best literal translation) is not particularly sectarian, semantically speaking.
> As noted before, though, it is quite formal sounding. Informality, as you may know, differs from country to country/region to region. I've never heard of "mar7aba" carrying any religious meaning, but if you have, I guess just stick with "ahlan" as a general one.



Well, I was in Spain this summer, and ran into some Lebanese Christians. My (American, non-Muslim) friend said "salam alaikum", and they immediately said "Oh, you have Muslim friends?".  I would say it has religious connotations, but it's not taken as offensive. They just use "mar7aban".  (They _actually_ say مرحباً and not مرحبا like in the Gulf area)


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## Ihsiin

I have both fairly religious and fairly unreligious relatives. The religious ones will generally say "salam 3alaykum", and the non-religious ones will often say "hela" or "hellaw".


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## Schem

*Hala هلا* is the most widely used greeting in Najd, Guisseem, and the Gulf. So pretty much all of Arabia except for Hejaz and the Yemen.



> Could using "as salaam alaikum" as a kafir cause offence?



Excuse me for finding this a bit comical. Yes, "kuffar" are allowed to use assalam 'alaikum. 

*fof *provided an excellent post regarding this.


Also forgot to add that no one *casually* uses *Ahlan wa Sahlan أهلن وسهلًا* in its MSA form. It's usually weakened to *ahleen u sahleen أهلين وسهلين* in the Peninsula or *ahla w sahla أهلا و سهلا* in Lebanon and the Levant.


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## إسكندراني

In Egypt we _do_ casually say أهلًا وسهلًا ahlan wa sahlan.
And if someone intentionally _avoids_ saying salaam or salam alekom, then (unless he is using a different dialects) it seems very strange.


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## Muwahid

It could cause an issue with the ultra-conservative for a non Muslim to use as salaamu 3alaykum since Muslims aren't supposed to greet with salaam to non Muslims. But there's plenty of alternative phrases used just as or more commonly. Arabs have no shortage of greetings.


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## Pathawi

I'm working on learning عامية in Egypt, right now, & have been greeted by Copts with السلام عليكم. I imagine there are people who debate its usage (because what can't be debated on the Internet today?), but in a practical sense, on the ground, people of different faiths are using the phrase. There _is_ an extended version of the response which is more explicitly religious: ورحمة الله وبركاته, which seems to frequently get reduced to simply وبركات, but perhaps I'm just listening too slowly. If you're still concerned, صباح الخير & its variants & مساء الخير are pretty common here.


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## WadiH

1.  The issue with "Assalamu Alaikum" is not that Muslims would be offended; it's that many Christian Arabs view it as a religious greeting and prefer to avoid it.  I've experimented with this myself a couple of times and the answer I got was "marHaba" (it was awkward and they were clearly uncomfortable).

2.  "Assalamu Alaikum" appears to be viewed as a bit formal in other countries, but in Saudi Arabia it is not.

2.   MarHaba is not a religious greeting.  Although it literally means "welcome," the same can be said of "ahlan wa sahlan".  Both are used as ordinary greetings.  Don't use the tanwiin (i.e. "marHaban") unless you are deliberately trying to be formal.  I use this a lot.

3.   I tend to use Ahlan/Ahla (we pronounce it "Hala" ... or "Hala w Sahla") as a response to a greeting rather than a greeting in and of itself.  "Ahleen" (or "Ahleen w Sahleen") are responses to "Ahla").

4.  You can of course use words like "Sabah Al-Kheir" and the like.


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## Tracer

1.  In Egypt, a very common greeting, especially among friends, is “*EZZAYYAK?*” (Hello) and occasionally even just *EZZAY? *(although this may not be as common as it once used to be)*.
*
However, *“hello”* is tricky.  If I meet President Obama, I could conceivably say:  *Hello, Mr. President* and get away with it.

But if I were to meet the the Bahraini King, for example, there’s no way I could say:  *Ezzayyak, ya Sheikh Hamad.*

2.  In my everyday Arabic, (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia) I usually say:  *Ya halla  *for “hello”……… and as a response.  (I say it because I also hear it often).

3.  Almost daily, I also hear not just *“Assalamu Alaikum” *but quite often I hear the entire phrase  *“Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakato“.  *I’m sure this is not meant in any religious sense   because it’s uttered in the workplace among co-workers and is simply an example of an exaggerated formality.

However, although there’s no problem if I say *“Assalamu Alaikum”,* if I say the entire phrase, there’s a noticeable change in attitude, I would say.  It makes the listener(s) somewhat “uneasy”, I would say,  I guess because it is unexpected.  (So I now no longer use the entire phrase).

Like all such greetings in just about any language, one has to learn exactly what is acceptable in your specific environment under your specific circumstances.


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## fof

Wadi Hanifa said:


> 1.  The issue with "Assalamu Alaikum" is not that Muslims would be offended; it's that many Christian Arabs view it as a religious greeting and prefer to avoid it.  I've experimented with this myself a couple of times and the answer I got was "marHaba" (it was awkward and they were clearly uncomfortable).



I think this gets right to the heart of the matter. In the middle east (at least in Syria), sectarian divisions (even in the most peaceful sense) are important (when I told Arab Christians that I was a Christian, they were baffled as to why I was not wearing a cross around my neck), and this is reflected in the language as well; however, in practical terms, I never got the sense of "as-salaam 3aleykum" being a particularly Islamic greeting. 
The experience you've related with your Lebanese Christian friends, though, is telling, and I think it's becoming clear that the subtleties of greeting are quite complex for a foreigner to learn. In any case, I don't think you have to be seriously worried about offending anyone with these kinds of basic greetings. Stick with "mar7aba/mar7aban" or "ahlan" if in any doubt, though.


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## Schem

Wadi Hanifa said:


> 2.  "Assalamu Alaikum" appears to be viewed as a bit formal in other countries, but in Saudi Arabia it is not.



I wouldn't say that. I tend to exclusively use _Assalamu 'Alaikum_ with strangers and for formal purposes. It would actually be somewhat awkward if someone used it in an informal setting among family or friends, or at least that's how it is where I come from.


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## hiba

Very interesting. Where I live in the Gulf we use it with family and friends at home all the time.


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## girlwithafacee

All of the Saudi Arabian - Yemeni - Lybian international students at my University use it informally, even the extended wRwB version, with friends, siblings, etc.


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## إسكندراني

All countries use AlSalaamu Alaykum or some variant informally; exceptions to this will be _rare_


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## Schem

^So dismissive. lol


Schem said:


> I wouldn't say that. I tend to exclusively use _Assalamu 'Alaikum_ with strangers and for formal purposes. It would actually be somewhat awkward if someone used it in an informal setting among family or friends, or at least that's how it is where I come from.



Perhaps I should elaborate a bit further, using _Assalamu 'Alaikum_ in an informal setting usually carries a demographic connotation (i.e. it's commonly used by the ultra-religious and Bedouins in such settings). The remaining majority would restrict its use to formal settings only.


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## إسكندراني

Maybe your city is one of the exceptions


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## WadiH

Schem said:


> Perhaps I should elaborate a bit further, using _Assalamu 'Alaikum_ in an informal setting usually carries a demographic connotation (i.e. it's commonly used by the ultra-religious and Bedouins in such settings). The remaining majority would restrict its use to formal settings only.



Sorry but in Saudi Arabia that simply is not true.


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## Schem

It is true where I come from.


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## uas60

I was a bit confused about your question with regards to non-Muslims using the term "Assalaamu alaykum" - then I read you had done some internet searching  I think I know what you may have come across to make you think, therefore, that it's not appropriate. However - as everyone has already said - it's perfectly fine to use regardless of faith. The particular incident you might have read about was a very specific, isolated case!


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## tundk

Tunisians usually say 3aslama for hello.


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## WadiH

Schem said:


> It is true where I come from.



Those whom you refer to as "ultra-religious" and "bedouins" are probably the majority in the country, in any case.


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