selam / merhaba

Greetings of Faith and Tradition

Level 4

Selam, merhaba, mašala and inšallah are used by many speakers and are best learned as set phrases.

How It Works

Phrase	Meaning	When
selam	hello	a friendly greeting
Selam alejkum / Alejkum selam	peace be with you / and with you	a longer greeting and its answer
merhaba	hello	friendly, a bit old-fashioned
Bajram šerif mubarek olsun	may the holiday be blessed	greeting at Bajram; the usual reply is Allah razi olsun
mašala	how wonderful	when you admire something
inšallah	hopefully	when you speak of the future

Hearing one of these words does not tell you anything about the person who says it. Many people use them in everyday talk, and others prefer zdravo or ćao. Use them if they feel natural to you.

The greeting Selam alejkum comes first, and the answer is Alejkum selam. The words do not change with the person or number.

Examples (5)

Selam, komšijo!
Hello, neighbour!
Komšijo is the vocative.
Merhaba, Selma!
Hello, Selma!
Merhaba is a friendly hello.
Mašala, kako lijepo pjevaš!
How wonderful, you sing so beautifully!
Mašala shows admiration.
Vidimo se sutra, inšallah.
See you tomorrow, hopefully.
Inšallah adds hope.
Bajram šerif mubarek olsun!
May your Bajram be blessed!
A warm Bajram greeting; the usual reply is Allah razi olsun.

Common Mistakes

The answer is said first.
Alejkum selam, Amire!
Selam alejkum, Amire!
Selam alejkum is the first greeting, and Alejkum selam is the answer.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

selam / merhabaLevel 4Greetings of Faith and Tradition

Learn This First

Turkish-origin greetings.

zdravo / ćaoHello and Goodbye
Selam and merhaba are greetings, so know the simple greetings first.
Level 1

Words in This Pattern

selammerhabamašalainšallah

Practice selam / merhaba in Bubblegum

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