How to type 20 Arabic greetings, from salam to ma3a salama
Greetings are the first thing anyone types in Arabic, and most of them are two words with a space. Here are twenty, from hello to goodbye, with the letters each one needs. The keys to watch for are the hamza, the heavy letters and the two endings that look alike.
Key names are for the standard Arabic layout on Windows and Mac (Arabic 101 / Arabic PC), read off a QWERTY keyboard. Our free online Arabic keyboard shows the same layout on screen, and the phone setup guides cover iPhone and Android.
The keys these greetings need
- 1أ'a · alif with the hamza on top, for أهلاًOn a phone: hold اShift+H
- 2إ'i · alif with the hamza below, for إزيكOn a phone: hold اShift+Y
- 3ء' · hamza on its own, at the end of مساءOn a phone: bottom rowX
- 4صS · the heavy s in صباحW
- 5ضD · the heavy d in رمضانQ
- 6ةa · ta marbuta, the ending of السلامةM
- 7ًan · tanween, the mark on أهلاًOn a phone: symbols pageShift+W
The word in a sentence
| سلام | salam | peace, hiس ل ا م |
| السلام عليكم | as-salamu 3alaykum | peace be upon youtwo words, one space |
| وعليكم السلام | wa 3alaykum as-salam | the replystarts with و |
| مرحبا | marhaba | helloends with plain ا |
| أهلاً | ahlan | welcomethe ً is on the symbols page |
| صباح الخير | sabah al-khayr | good morningص is the heavy s |
| صباح النور | sabah an-nur | the replymorning of light |
| مساء الخير | masa' al-khayr | good eveningends with ء, bottom row |
| مساء النور | masa' an-nur | the reply |
| تصبح على خير | tisba7 3ala khayr | good nightthree words |
| كيفك | keefak | how are youLevant |
| شلونك | shlonak | how are youGulf, Iraq |
| إزيك | izzayak | how are youEgypt. إ with the hamza below |
| تمام | tamam | fine |
| بخير | bikhayr | well |
| مع السلامة | ma3a s-salama | goodbyetwo words, ة at the end |
| هلا والله | hala wallah | hey, welcomeGulf |
| أهلاً بك | ahlan bik | you're welcome here |
| عيد مبارك | 3eed mubarak | blessed Eid |
| رمضان كريم | ramadan kareem | generous Ramadanض is the heavy d |
Questions people ask
How do I type as-salamu 3alaykum in Arabic?
السلام عليكم. Two words: ا ل س ل ا م, space, ع ل ي ك م. The ع is on the U key.
Why does أهلاً have a mark on the end?
That's the tanween, the -an ending. It sits on Shift+W on a computer and on the symbols page on a phone. Plenty of people leave it off in chat and write أهلا.
Is it مرحبا or مرحباً?
Both are seen. The plain مرحبا is the common one in messages.
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