Hebrew · עברית · Hebrew script, right to left
Greetings in Hebrew: shalom, boker tov, ma nishma and lehitraot
The basic greeting in Hebrew is שלום, shalom, peace. By the time of day Hebrew says בוקר טוב, bóker tov, in the morning, ערב טוב, érev tov, in the evening and לילה טוב, láyla tov, at night, and how are you changes with the gender of the person asked.
Common greetings in Hebrew with romanisation
Every form, its niqqud, its romanisation and its label is taken from Wiktionary's Hebrew entries. The greetings are romanised in Wiktionary's Modern Hebrew transliteration, with kh for ח and כ, ts for צ, an apostrophe for a spoken shva or a glottal stop, and an acute accent on the stressed syllable.
| English | Hebrew | Romanisation | Register | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saying hello | |||||
| hello | שָׁלוֹם | shalóm | neutral | peace; dated as goodbye | |
| hi | אַהְלָן | áhlan | informal | from Arabic | |
| good morning | בֹּקֶר טוֹב | bóker tov | neutral | ||
| reply to good morning | בֹּקֶר אוֹר | bóker 'ór | neutral | morning of light | |
| good evening | עֶרֶב טוֹב | érev tov | neutral | ||
| good night | לַיְלָה טוֹב | láyla tov | neutral | ||
| How are you? | |||||
| how are you? (to a man) | מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךָ? | ma sh'lomkhá? | neutral | ||
| how are you? (to a woman) | מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ? | ma sh'lomékh? | neutral | ||
| how are you?; what's up? | מַה נִּשְׁמַע? | ma nishmá? | informal | to anyone | |
| Saying goodbye | |||||
| goodbye; see you | לְהִתְרָאוֹת | l'hitra'ót | neutral | ||
| a peaceful Sabbath | שַׁבַּת שָׁלוֹם | shabát shalóm | neutral | Friday and Saturday | |
| a good week | שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב | shavúa tov | neutral | Saturday night and Sunday | |
| Polite words | |||||
| thank you | תּוֹדָה | todá | neutral | ||
| thank you very much | תּוֹדָה רַבָּה | todá rabá | neutral | ||
| please; you're welcome; here you are | בְּבַקָּשָׁה | b'vakashá | neutral | ||
| excuse me; sorry | סְלִיחָה | slikhá | neutral | ||
Wiktionary's entry for שבת gives the greeting with the construct form שַׁבַּת; the days page shows the Sabbath noun as שַׁבָּת.
Shalom: peace, hello and goodbye
שלום, shalóm, means peace. Wiktionary gives it as the conventional greeting, hello, and marks its use as goodbye as dated; in current Hebrew לְהִתְרָאוֹת, l'hitra'ót, see you, is the usual way to part. Wiktionary files the word under the root ש־ל־ם and gives Arabic سلام, salām, as a cognate.
The noun also means well-being, and that sense survives in the question how are you: מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךָ?, ma sh'lomkhá?, literally what is your peace? Wiktionary notes that this third sense is used almost only in such constructions.
Informal speech borrows. אַהְלָן, áhlan, hi, comes from Arabic أهلا, and Wiktionary marks it informal. Several greetings in Hebrew thus share their history with Arabic: shalom with salām as cognates, ahlan as a loan, and boker or as a calque.
Boker tov and boker or
The time-of-day greetings are built like their English counterparts: בוקר טוב, bóker tov, good morning; ערב טוב, érev tov, good evening; לילה טוב, láyla tov, good night. The adjective טוב, good, follows the noun, as adjectives do in Hebrew.
Good morning has a traditional reply, בוקר אור, bóker 'ór, morning of light. Wiktionary describes it as a calque of Arabic صباح النور, ṣabāḥ an-nūr, and notes that the more common reply today is simply to say בוקר טוב back, as in English.
For the afternoon there is no greeting as fixed as these three, and שלום fits any hour of the day.
Ma shlomkha or ma shlomekh: greetings change with gender
Hebrew marks the gender of the person spoken to, and the most common question in the greetings in Hebrew shows it at once. To a man the question is מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךָ?, ma sh'lomkhá?; to a woman מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ?, ma sh'lomékh? Wiktionary's usage note explains that the ending follows the person addressed. Without vowel points both are written מה שלומך, and only the pronunciation tells them apart.
Informal speech avoids the choice. מַה נִּשְׁמַע?, ma nishmá?, literally what is heard?, works for anyone, in any number, and Wiktionary glosses it as how are you, what's up and what's new. It is a calque of Yiddish וואָס הערט זיך, what is heard. Wiktionary lists מה המצב?, ma hamatsáv?, and מה קורה?, ma koré?, as related questions.
Other everyday phrases follow the same rule wherever they contain you. A learner who memorises only one form of each question should memorise ma nishma, which never has to change.
| Hebrew | Romanisation | English |
|---|---|---|
| בֹּקֶר טוֹב! – בֹּקֶר אוֹר! | bóker tov! – bóker 'ór! | Good morning! – Good morning! |
| מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ? | ma sh'lomékh? | How are you? (to a woman) |
| מַה נִּשְׁמַע? | ma nishmá? | How's it going? |
| תּוֹדָה רַבָּה! – בְּבַקָּשָׁה. | todá rabá! – b'vakashá. | Thank you very much! – You're welcome. |
| שַׁבַּת שָׁלוֹם! | shabát shalóm! | Have a peaceful Sabbath! |
| לְהִתְרָאוֹת! | l'hitra'ót! | See you! |
Toda and bevakasha
Thank you is תודה, todá, related to the verb הודה, to acknowledge or to thank; תודה רבה, todá rabá, is thank you very much. Wiktionary lists חן חן, khen khen, as a dated synonym.
בבקשה, b'vakashá, literally in request, does three jobs. It means please in a request, you're welcome after thanks, and here you are when handing something over. Wiktionary adds that it can be said before any thanks has been given, the way English speakers say here you go. סליחה, slikhá, forgiveness, is excuse me and sorry. It opens a question to a stranger the way excuse me does in English, and it is the word for apologising after bumping into someone. All of these polite words are the same for men and women, so they need none of the care that ma shlomkha and ma shlomekh do.
The week brings two greetings of its own. שבת שלום, shabát shalóm, is said on Friday and Saturday, and שבוע טוב, shavúa tov, a good week, from Saturday night through Sunday, as the days of the week in Hebrew page explains.
Questions about greetings in Hebrew
How do you say hello in Hebrew?
שלום, shalom. It means peace and is the standard hello. Informally, אהלן, ahlan, is also used.
Does shalom mean goodbye?
It can, but Wiktionary marks that use as dated. The usual goodbye is להתראות, lehitraot, see you.
How do you say how are you in Hebrew?
Ma shlomkha to a man, ma shlomekh to a woman. Ma nishma works for anyone and is informal.
What is the reply to boker tov?
Traditionally בוקר אור, boker or, morning of light; today most people simply answer boker tov. Among greetings in Hebrew it is the one with a fixed reply.
How do you say thank you in Hebrew?
תודה, toda, or תודה רבה, toda raba, thank you very much. The answer is בבקשה, bevakasha.