You hear صباح الخير in Modern Standard Arabic and in everyday speech alike.
| Arabic | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| صباح الخير! هل أنت بخير؟ | Good morning! Are you well? | To greet anyone in the morning |
| صباح النور يا أمي. | Morning of light, mother. | The classic answer to صباح الخير |
Many conversations start with السلام عليكم, "peace be upon you", at any time of day. The usual reply is وعليكم السلام, "and upon you be peace", and صباح الخير can follow right after.
| Arabic | English | Who says it |
|---|---|---|
| السلام عليكم. | Peace be upon you. | The first person |
| وعليكم السلام، صباح الخير يا أحمد. | And upon you be peace, good morning, Ahmed. | The second person |
| نعم، أنا بخير، شكرا. | Yes, I am well, thank you. | The answer to هل أنت بخير؟ |
| مع السلامة. | Goodbye. | Both people, when they part |
مع السلامة means "with safety". Both the person leaving and the person staying can say it.
A Real Modern Standard Arabic Lesson
Daily Greetings
Peace be upon you.
And upon you be peace, good morning, Ahmed.
Good morning! Are you well?
Yes, I am well, thank you.
Goodbye, Tariq.
Goodbye.
To read these words letter by letter, start with Bubblegum's Arabic alphabet course. For a full plan, read how to learn Arabic, step by step, or browse every Modern Standard Arabic guide.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Arabic (Modern Standard). You learn from Arabic (Modern Standard) you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes the lessons.
- The Arabic Alphabet course teaches the letters from the first one.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in Arabic about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki as flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Arabic novels you bring can't be turned into lessons. Poppy explains a paragraph you paste or a page you photograph.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches the Arabic Alphabet
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Is There a Longer Reply to السلام عليكم?
Yes. وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله, "and upon you be peace and the mercy of God", is a longer and very polite version of the reply.
Which Arabic App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Arabic (Modern Standard), start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Arabic app comparison covers more choices and what each one is good for.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
