How to say “Hello” in Egyptian Arabic

There are a lot of dynamic ways to say “Hello” in Egyptian Arabic. This article will cover the most common ways that Egyptian Arabic speakers greet each other in general, morning and evening contexts:

This article is broken down into these sections:

1. General greetings
2. Morning greetings
3. Evening greetings
4. Other greetings

(And are you interested in learning how to say “Hello” in other Arabic dialects? If so, you will enjoy reading and studying the IBL article: How to say “Hello” in Tunisian Arabic)

General greetings

The following Egyptian Arabic greetings can be used at anytime of the day:

1. El salam 3lekom / السلام عليكم

The most common way that Egyptian Arabic speakers greet each other is El salam 3lekom. Salam means peace and 3l means “on” or “upon” (as a preposition). In a secular way, this greeting means “May peace be upon you.”

(In some Arabic dialects, such as Tunisian Arabic, Salam / سلام is commonly used by itself to denote “Hello”. But in Egyptian Arabic, Salam is conventionally used as a farewell.)

Listen to IBL contributor, Samar A., pronounce El salam 3lekom:

2. W 3lekom el salam / وعليكم السلام

In response to El salam 3lekom an interlocutor can say W 3lekom el salam / وعليكم السلام. The W / و in the phrase means “And“, so essentially, by someone saying this phrase, they are wishing peace back upon the other greeter.

Samar A. pronounces W 3lekom el salam:

3. Ahlan / اهلاً

Another very common way that Egyptian Arabic speakers greet each other is Ahlan / اهلاً. Ahlan means something of the effect of “You are welcome.” But this greeting isn’t just to welcome someone somewhere—It is commonly used as a way of saying “Hello” in any context.

Samar A. pronounces Ahlan:

4. Ahlan w sahlan / اهلاً وسهلاً

Similar to Ahlan (#3 above) is the greeting Ahlan w sahlan / اهلاً وسهلاً. This greeting is warmer and has the effect of “You are very welcomed”

Samar A. pronounces Ahlan w sahlan:

Morning greetings

The greetings in this section are the most common ways that Egyptian Arabic speakers greet each other in the mornings.

5. Saba7 el 5er / صباح الخير

Saba7 / صباح means “morning” and 5er / خير means “good”. Therefore, Saba7 el 5er directly translates into “Good morning“. Or of the effect of “May your morning be good.” This greeting, Saba7 el 5er, is the most common morning-oriented greeting amongst Egyptian Arabic speakers.

Samar A. pronounces Saba7 el 5er:

6. Saba7 el nor / صباح النور

The conventional response to Saba7 el 5er / صباح الخير is Saba7 el nor / صباح النور. Nor / نور means “light”, so, this greeting has the effect of “May your morning be bright.” This phrase can be said first to an interlocutor as a greeting but this would be uncommonly done so—As mentioned above, conventionally, it’s spoken in response to someone who has spoken Saba7 el 5er / صباح الخير.

Samar A. pronounces Saba7 el nor:

7. Saba7 el ward / صباح الفل

In Egyptian Arabic (and based on Standard Arabic (Fos7a)) ward / ورد means “flowers“. By someone saying Saba7 el ward / صباح الفل to another, they are wishing, metaphorically, a morning of flowers for that person. Although less commonly used than its Saba7 el 5er counterpart, it is a warm and beautiful way to wish someone a good morning.

Samar A. pronounces Saba7 el ward:

8. Saba7 el fol / صباح الفل

Similar to the previous example is Saba7 el fol / صباح الفل. Fol / فل is a type of flower that has a noticeable, beautiful aroma to it. Also less common than Saba7 el 5er, it’s a colourful way to metaphorically wish someone a morning of that type of flower.

Samar A. pronounces Saba7 el fol:

9. Saba7 el 3sl / صباح العسل

In Egyptian Arabic, 3sl / عسل (based on Fos7a) means “honey” (the food that bees produce). So when someone says Saba7 el 3sl to another they are essentially saying to them, metaphorically, “May your morning be sweet like honey.”

Samar A. pronounces Saba7 el 3sl:

(As a side note: Are you looking to learn more Egyptian Arabic words? Ithaca Bound Languages has over 700 pages (with accompanying recordings) with over 3500 translated Egyptian Arabic statements that you can learn from — IBL: Egyptian Arabic Feed.)

Evening greetings

In this section, we’ll outline (with recordings) the most popular ways that Egyptian Arabic speakers greet each other in the evenings.

10. Msa2 el 5er/ مساء الخير

Msa2 / مساء means “evening“. And 5er / خير (“Good”) was covered in the morning section above. So by one saying Msa2 el 5er to another they are saying what would be equivalent to “Good evening” in English. This greeting, Msa2 el 5er, is the most common evening-oriented greeting amongst Egyptian Arabic speakers.

Samar A. pronounces Msa2 el 5er:

11. Msa2 el nor / مساء النور

Identical in operation to Saba7 el 5er / Saba7 el nor (Numbers #5 & 6 above), Msa2 el nour is conventionally spoken in response to someone who has said Msa2 el 5er.

Samar A. pronounces Msa2 el nor:

12. Msa Msa / مسا مسا

Msa Msa / مسا مسا is an informal & friendly greeting that one could say to another. It’s essentially “Evening evening”—And is a way of wishing a good evening upon another. It is somewhat akin to how in English some will say “Bu-bye”.

Samar A. pronounces Msa Msa:

And what follows are three more evening-oriented phrases that are similar to the morning greetings that metaphorically pertain to flowers and honey:

13. Msa2 el ward / مساء الورد 

14. Msa2 el fol / مساء الفل

15. Msa2 el 3sl / مساء العسل

Other greetings

Less commonly, but noticeably, many Egyptian Arabic speakers will use these three greetings, all of which are derived from English:

• Hello / هللو
• Hi / هاي
• (telephone only) Alo/ألو — A derivative of the word “Hello”, Alo is commonly used by the recipient of a phone call as a greeting when they come on the line.

Samar A. pronounces Hello, Hi, Alo:

In closing

Arabic offers a delightful array of ways to greet one another. Enjoy learning and applying some of these greetings when communicating with others in Egyptian Arabic. And as mentioned, Ithaca Bound Languages is documenting Egyptian Arabic—Here is its Egyptian Arabic catalogue with over 700 pages of content. (with accompanying recordings) And if you want to study Egyptian Arabic greetings more, including their uses as part of statements, access the IBL list: Egyptian Arabic: Greetings & farewells.

We wish you a marvellous journey!