Hello in Palestinian Arabic: Greetings & Replies

Quick answer Hello in Palestinian Arabic is marhaba (مرحبا), answered with marhabtein, or ahlan, answered with ahlein. How are you is kifak? to a man and kifik? to a woman (كيفك؟); the reply is mnih, el-hamdu lillah. Good morning is sabah el-kheir, reply sabah en-nur, and thank you is shukran or the warmer yislamu ideik, answered with ʿafwan or tikram.

How do you say hello in Palestinian Arabic?

The everyday hello is marhaba (مرحبا), and the friendly reply doubles it: marhabtein, "two hellos". Just as common is ahlan, answered with ahlein, and ahlan w-sahlan when you welcome someone into a shop or a home. The formal greeting for strangers, older people and offices is es-salamu ʿaleikum (السلام عليكم), answered with w-ʿaleikum es-salam. Every greeting has a reply people expect, so learn them in pairs.

How do you say how are you in Palestinian Arabic?

Ask kifak? to a man, kifik? to a woman and kifkum? to a group. A slightly longer version is kif halak? / kif halik?. The answer is mnih, el-hamdu lillah (good, thank God), mniha if you are a woman, and then you return the question: w-inta? / w-inti?. The same -ak / -ik switch runs through every phrase on the worksheet: shu ismak? / shu ismik? (what's your name?), inta min wein? / inti min wein? (where are you from?). Exercise 3 drills exactly this.

Good morning, thank you and you're welcome

sabah el-kheir is answered with sabah en-nur; friends and shopkeepers like to say sabah el-ward (morning of roses) instead. For thank you, shukran works everywhere, but you will hear yislamu or yislamu ideik, "bless your hands", whenever someone serves food or hands you something. You're welcome is ʿafwan, or tikram (m) / tikrami (f), roughly "my pleasure". When you meet someone new, say tsharrafna (nice to meet you); the polite reply is esh-sharaf ili, "the honour is mine".

How is Palestinian Arabic different from MSA and other dialects?

Modern Standard Arabic greetings such as kayfa haluka are understood, but sound like the news in a café. The worksheet teaches the urban Arabic of Jerusalem and Ramallah. Here ق is a glottal stop (ʾahwe, coffee), ج is an English j, and many words end in -e: maʿ es-salame, ma fish mushkile. Lebanese and Syrian speakers say ma fi mushkile and soften the j; Egyptians say izzayyak instead of kifak and a hard g for ج. In villages you may hear chifak and kahwe. All of these are understood across the Levant.

The PDF has 28 phrases with the (m), (f) and plural forms, a pronunciation box, a café dialogue in Ramallah to read in pairs, five exercises and an answer key. For greetings in other dialects, read Arabic greetings and responses or compare the Levantine Arabic worksheets. Next in the series: Palestinian numbers, prices and time, then pronouns and question words.

What's inside the PDF

• 28 phrases in three groups: greetings and goodbyes, meeting someone, small words you use every hour, each with Arabic script, pronunciation and the reply people expect
• (m), (f) and plural forms side by side: kifak, kifik, kifkum; tfaddal, tfaddali, tfaddalu
• Pronunciation box with the four features of Jerusalem and Ramallah Arabic: ق as a glottal stop, ج as English j, the -e ending, and the village ch for ك
• A café dialogue in Ramallah (12 lines) to read in pairs, with script, transliteration and translation
• Five exercises with points: matching, gap fill, rewriting (m) to (f), comprehension questions, your own introduction
• A speaking check, plus answer key and teacher notes on a separate page

How to use it on your own

Work through section A out loud, not silently, and always say the reply with the greeting: marhaba, marhabtein; sabah el-kheir, sabah en-nur. Tick a phrase only when you can say it from the English alone. Read the dialogue twice, once as each speaker, then record your own introduction (Ex. 5) and listen back once.

How to use it in class

Fits a 45-minute lesson or a 20-minute warm-up (section A plus the dialogue). Drill greetings as call and reply around the class. The dialogue works in pairs; swap roles on the second read and let students use their own names and countries. Ex. 3 (man or woman) is the key exercise, because the -ak / -ik ending runs through every sentence. Points fields on every exercise, answer key and notes on regional variants on the last page.

Preview

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Palestinian Arabic?

The everyday hello is marhaba (مرحبا), and the usual reply is marhabtein, literally "two hellos". ahlan (hi) is just as common and is answered with ahlein or ahlan fik. For a formal greeting, in shops or with older people, say es-salamu ʿaleikum; the reply is w-ʿaleikum es-salam.

How do you say how are you in Palestinian Arabic?

kifak? to a man, kifik? to a woman and kifkum? to a group. You can also say kif halak? / kif halik?. The usual answer is mnih, el-hamdu lillah (good, thank God), mniha if you are a woman, followed by w-inta? or w-inti? (and you?).

How do you say thank you in Palestinian Arabic?

shukran is the standard thank you and works everywhere. Palestinians often say yislamu, or yislamu ideik (bless your hands) when someone hands you something or has cooked for you. You're welcome is ʿafwan, or tikram to a man and tikrami to a woman, which means roughly "it's my pleasure".

How do you say good morning in Palestinian Arabic?

sabah el-kheir (صباح الخير), "morning of goodness". The reply is sabah en-nur, "morning of light", and friends play with it: sabah el-ward (morning of roses) or sabah el-full (morning of jasmine). Good evening is masa el-kheir, answered with masa en-nur.

Is Palestinian Arabic different from Lebanese and Syrian?

They are all Levantine Arabic and speakers understand each other easily. Differences show up in sounds and small words: Palestinians say ج like English j, use ma fish (there isn't) where Lebanese and Syrians say ma fi, and end many words in -e. This sheet teaches the urban Arabic of Jerusalem and Ramallah, close to the Arabic of Amman.

Do I need to read Arabic script to use this worksheet?

No. Every phrase has a pronunciation in Latin letters, so you can start speaking today. The Arabic script is printed next to it in the spelling Palestinians use when they text, for learners who already read and to get your eyes used to it.