|
Gulf Spoken Arabic
(colloquial) |
Transliteration |
Standard Arabic
(Formal) |
Spoken English |
Context
|
|
*
كيف الحال
(Most common way of asking about someone’s state
of mind) |
*
Kaifal hal |
كيف حالك |
How are you? |
Meet & Greet |
|
Different Styles
(Extended) |
|
كيف الحال، كيف أخبارك، إن شاء الله خير
|
Kaifal hal, kaif
akhbaruk, insha Allah khair |
كيف حالك، كيف أخبارك،
أتمنى
أن تكون بخير |
How are you? How is
it going? |
Meet & Greet |
|
كيف الحال، كيف الصحة، كل شي تمام |
Kaifal hal, kaifa
ssihha, kul shay thamam |
كيف حالك، ما أخبارك،
أتمنى
أن تكون بخير |
How are you? How is
your health? Is everything ok? |
Meet & Greet |
|
كيف حالك، كيف الأمور، ان شاء الله مرتاح
|
Kafa haluk, kaifal
umoor, inshal Allah murthaah |
كيف حالك، كيف أمورك،
أتمنى
أن تكون
مرتاحاً
|
How are you? How are
things going? Everything ok? |
Meet & Greet |
|
Notes:
-
Unlike English,
there are different ways of asking about
one’s feeling and state of mind in Arabic
depending on the dialect of each country.
For example, the Kuwaiti speaker will ask
you shlonak, whereas the UAE speaker will
ask Sh’haalak, and people from Levant
(Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, etc)
kaifak, or keefak and Egypt ‘zayyak’. As an
expatriate learning to speak Arabic, it is
recommended to start with the most common
way which is kaifal haal and its extended
versions.
-
When meeting
another person it is part of Arabic culture
to ask a string of questions (as explained
in Extended Version) along with “How are
you” to enquire about one’s health, job,
family, etc. and the answer would usually be
one word, بخير or تمام , etc.
-
It is also
common with native Arabic speakers to repeat
these questions especially when you meet a
person after a long time, and the answer
would be الله يسلمك
-
In gulf spoken
Arabic, if you are talking to a male, you
address him with “k” and female with “ch”.
|
|
Related Questions
|
|
كيف أحوالك |
Kaifa ahwaaluk
|
كيف أحوالك |
How are things
going?
How is it going? |
Meet & Greet |
|
كيف الأوضاع |
Kaifal awdhaa’a |
كيف الأوضاع |
How is it going? |
Meet & Greet |
|
Reply
|
|
*
بخير
الحمد لله، وأنت شخبارك
|
*
Bi khayr
Alhamdulillah, wa antha shokhbarak
|
أنا بخير الحمد لله،
وماذا عنك؟
|
- I'm good. How are
you?
- Fine, thank you |
Meet & Greet |
|
-
الحمد لله بخير
الله يسلمك |
- Alhamdulillah
bikhayr Aallah yusallimak |
أنا بخير الحمد لله |
- I'm good. Thank
God. |
Meet & Greet |
|
Vocabulary |
|
كيف:
How |
حال:
condition |
خبر (أخبار):
News |
خير:
Good, well |
|
|
صحة:
Health |
كل:
Every |
شي:
thing |
تمام:Good,
ok |
|
|
أمر (الأمور):
things
|
مرتاح:
well |
الأوضاع:
things
|
الله يسلمك:
thank you |
|
|
Kuwaiti Dialect |
|
شْلُونَكْ (M)
شلونج (F) |
Shlonak
(M)
Shlonach (F) |
كيف حالك |
How are you? |
Asking questions |
|
Extended Styles
(Kuwaiti Dialect) |
|
شْلُونَكْ، شْخْبَارَكْ، شْعُلُومَكْ؟
|
Shlonak, shokhbarak,
sh-uloomak |
كيف حالك، كيف أخبارك |
How are you?
|
Meet & Greet |
|
شلونك، شخبارك، شمسوي
(M)
شلونج،
شخبارج، شمسويين
(F)
|
Shlonak, shokhbarak,
shmusawwi (M)
Shlonach,
shokhbarach, shmusawween (F) |
كيف حالك، كيف أخبارك |
How are you? How is
it going? |
Meet & Greet |
|
شلونك، شخبارك، عساك طيب
|
Shlonak, shokbarak,
asak tayyib |
كيف حالك، كيف أخبارك،
أتمنى
أن تكون بخير |
How are you? How is
it going? |
Meet & Greet |
|
Vocabulary |
|
شلون (شلونك):
How |
شخبار (شخبارك):
How is it going |
شعلوم (شْعُلُومَكْ):
How
is it going |
ش، إيش:
What |
|
|
عسى:
hope, wish |
خير:
Good, well |
سوى (مسوي):
to do something |
|
|
|
Emirati Dialect |
|
شحالك؟
شحالج؟
(UAE
Dialect) |
Sh’halak (M)
Sh’halach (F) |
كيف حالك |
How are you? |
Meet & Greet |
|
Emirati Dialect
(Extended Version) |
|
شحالك، شخبارك، عساك بخير
(Extended Version) |
Sh’halak, shokhbarak,
Asaak bi khayr |
كيف حالك،
كيف أخبارك،
أتمنى أن تكون بخير |
How are you? I hope
you are doing well |
Meet & Greet |
|
حال
(شحالك):
condition |
عسى:
hope, wish |
خير:
Good, well |
|
Meet & Greet |
|
Related Questions |
|
*
شلون صحتك |
*
Shlon sihathak |
كيف صحتك |
How is your health |
- Meet & Greet
- Asking about
someone’s health |
|
شلون الأهل
|
Shlon al ahl |
كيف حال أسرتك/
ما أخبار
عائلتك |
how is your family
|
- Meet & Greet
- Asking about
someone’s family |
|
شلون والدك طمني؟ |
Shlon waaliduk,
thamminnee.. |
كيف حال والدك؟ أريد أن أطمئن عليه..
|
How is your father? |
- Meet & Greet
- Asking about
someone’s family |
|
عندك أخبار عن محمد؟ شصار عليه شلونه وشلون أهله؟
|
Endaka akhbaar an
Mohamed? Shusaar alayhi, shlon’hu wa shlon
ahluhu |
هل لديك أي أخبار عن محمد؟ ماذا حدث له؟ كيف حاله
وحال عائلته؟ |
Do you have any news
about Mohamed? What happened to him? How is he?
How is his family? |
- Meet & Greet
- Asking about
someone? |
|
Levant Dialect |
|
كيفك |
Keefak, kaifak |
كيف حالك |
How are you |
Meet & Greet |
|
Levant Dialect (Extended Version) |
|
Q:
مرحباً كيفك،
شو أخبارك
A:
مرحباً أنا
منيح |
Q: Marhaba, keefak,
shoo akhbarak
A: Marhaba Ana Mneeh |
Q:
مرحباً، كيف حالك،
كيف أخبارك؟
A:
بخير، الحمد لله |
Q: Hello, How are
you.
A: Fine, thank you.
|
Meet & Greet |
