12 Ways to Say How Are You in Arabic + Responses

 “How are you” is one of the most common phrases used for starting a conversation. In Arabic, it can even be used to say hello. So it’s extremely useful to learn how to say how are you in Arabic. Depending on the situation, you may need to know how to say it in formal and informal contexts.

Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of 25 Arabic countries, but it is used only in academia, literature, media, legislation, and in formal situations. In day-to-day life, local dialects are used to communicate. The most common Arabic dialects are Egyptian, Maghrebi, Gulf, and Levantine Arabic. We’ll go over the popular ways of saying how are you in Arabic in each of these regions as well as the best options to respond.

How Are You in Arabic at a Glance

How Are You in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)

كيف حالك؟ Kayfa Haluka

“ كيف حالك؟ Kayfa Haluka ” is the phrase used to say ‘How are you’ in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and it is understood by all Arabs and used mostly in formal writing. The phrase is conjugated depending on the addressee as summarized in the table.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	كيف حالكَ	Kayfa Haluka
Feminine singular	كيف حالكِ	Kayfa Haluki
Two males or females	كيف حالكما	Kayfa Halukoma
Three or more males	كيف حالكُم	Kayfa Halukom
Three or more females	كيف حالُكُنَّ	Kayfa Halukonna

How to Respond to كيف حالك؟ Kayfa Haluka

If someone asks you this question, there are many personalized ways to reply in Standard Arabic, such as the most common answer “أنا بخير، شكراً Ana bikhaer, shokran” which is translated as ‘I am fine, thanks’. Or you could answer positively as “بخير والحمدلله Bikhaer wal hamdulillah” which serves a similar meaning ‘Good and thanks for God’. On the other hand, if you were not feeling good and you want to express that, you can say “لست بخير Lastu bikhaer”, and its translation is ‘I am not good’. You can also say “أنا مريض Ana marid” if you were sick.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
أنا بخير، شكراً	Ana bikhaer, shokran	I am fine, thanks
بخير والحمدلله	Bikhaer wal hamdulillah	Good and thank God
لست بخير	Lastu bikhaer	I am not good
أنا مريض	And marid	I am sick

How Are You in Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic is the most widespread Arabic dialect used in music, media and TV shows.

Read next: Forty Basic Egyptian Arabic Phrases to Sound Local

إزيَّك؟ Ezzayak

In Egyptian you can say “ إزيَّك؟ Ezzayak ” translated literally as ‘How are you’.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	إزيَّك	Ezzayak
Feminine singular	إزيِّك	Ezzayek
Two or more	إزيّكو	Ezzayoko

عامِل إيه؟ Aamel eeh

Egyptians also use other phrases, such as “ عامِل إيه؟ aamel eeh ” which is a casual way to ask how are you. It is translated to ‘what’s up’.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	عامِل إيه	Aamel eeh
Feminine singular	عاملة إيه	Aamla eeh
Two or more	عاملين إيه	Aamlen eeh

أخبارك إيه؟ Akhbarak eeh

“ أخبارك إيه؟ akhbarak eeh ” translated as ‘what’s your news’. The conjugation will differ depending on the gender of who you’re speaking with and how many people you’re speaking to.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	أخبارَك إيه	Akhbarak eeh
Feminine singular	أخبارِك إيه	Akhbarek eeh
Two or more	أخباركو إيه	Akhbarko eeh

How to Respond in Egyptian Arabic

Regarding the response for “How are you” in Arabic, Egyptians have a few ways of responding. The most common responses you’ll hear and could use are “كويس، الحمدلله kwayes, al hamdullilah” meaning ‘I’m fine, thank God’, and the phrase “كلو تمام kolo tamaam” that means ‘Everything is good’. If you’re not feeling great, you can “مش كويس msh kwayes” which simply means ‘not good’.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
كويّس، الحمدلله	Kwayes, al hamdulillah	I’m fine, thank God
كلو تمام	Kolo tamaam	Everything is good
مش كويس	Msh kwayes	Not good

How Are You in Maghrebi Arabic

Countries of the Maghreb region including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libia, Western Sahara and Mauritania use colloquial Moroccan Arabic dialect.

كيداير؟ Kidayer

There are three ways you can ask how are you in the Maghrebi Dialect. You use “ كيداير؟ kidayer ” when addressing a man and “كيدايرة kidayera” when addressing a woman.

لا بأس؟ La baas

You could also ask “ لا بأس؟ la baas ”. When asked as a question it means ‘are you ok?’

كلشي بخير؟ Kol shi b kheir

The third way of asking how someone is is “ كلشي بخير؟ kol shi b kheir ”, which means ‘Is everything fine?’.

How to Respond in Maghrebi Arabic

You can actually respond by saying “لا بأس la baas” as well. When said as a response, it simply means ‘I’m fine’. Similarly, you could also answer with “كلشي على خير kolshi ala kheir”. As a response, it states that ‘everything is ok’. You can answer also with the phrase “الحمدلله حد الساعة al hamdulillah had saa’a”, which means so far, so good.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
ا بأس	La baas	I’m fine
كلشي على خير	Kolshi ala kheir	Everything is ok
الحمدلله حد الساعة	Al hamdulillah had saa’a	So far, so good

How Are You in Gulf Arabic:

Gulf Arabic or Khaliji is an important dialect among the Arabian world, and it is widely spoken in U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait countries.

شلونَك؟ Shlonak

“ شلونَك؟ Shlonak ” is used often Iraq, Syria, and many gulf countries. شلونَك Shlonak is used when addressing a man, “شلونِك shlonik” for a woman, and “شلونكن shlonkon” for a group of two or more.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	شلونَك	Shlonak
Feminine singular	شلونِك	Shlonik
Two or more	شلونكن	Shlonkon

كيف الحال؟ Kif el hal

In Saudi Arabia, as well as in the other Gulf countries, the term “ كيف الحال؟ kif el hal ” stands for ‘how are you’ question and it is understood by all Arabs because it is close to the way you say how are you in Modern Standard Arabic, the first dialect we talked about at the beginning of the post. كيف الحال kif el hal is a great phrase to know because it is quite simple as it doesn’t require any conjugations and can be used to address anyone.

شخبارَك؟ Shakhbarak

In addition, people can use the term “ شخبارَك؟ shakhbarak ”, which means ‘What is your news?’. It can be used by itself or it can be added to one of the ‘how are you’ phrases. So you can change things up by saying: “كيف الحال Kif el hal! شخبارَك Shakhbarak? See the conjugation table to see how the form changes depending on who you’re speaking to.

Addressee	Arabic	Transliteration
Masculine singular	شَخبارَك	Shakhbarak
Feminine singular	شَخبارِك	Shakhbarek
Two or more	شَخباركم	Shakhbarkom

How to Respond in Gulf Arabic

Replying to such a question in gulf dialect can come in different ways. You can say “الحمدلله el hamdulillah”, which is a religious in nature. It means ‘Thank God’. Also, the term “ماشي الحال mashi lhal” can be used to express that ‘things are going well’. This expression is also used in Levantine Arabic. “طيبين taybeen” is used as well as a positive response meaning ‘good’. 

Arabic	Transliteration	English
الحمدلله	El hamdulillah	Thank God
ماشي الحال	Mashi lhal	Things are going well
طيبين	Taybeen	Good

How Are You in Levantine Arabic

Levantine Arabic is the dialect spoken in the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean Coast including Lebanon and Syria.

Read more: 50+ Basic Levantine Arabic Phrases and Words to Sound Local

كيفَك؟ Kifak

To ask ‘how are you’ in Levantine dialect, you can simple say the word “ كيفَك؟ kifak ” if speaking to a man, “كيفِك kifek” if speaking to a woman, and “كيفكن kifkon” if you are addressing a group of people of two or more people. 

تمام؟ Tamam

When you use تمام؟ tamam? as a question, it can be a way of asking how are you. It translates to ‘Are you good?’. The nice thing about this phrase is that you don’t have to conjugate.

ماشي الحال؟ Mashi el hal

ماشي الحال؟ Mashi el hal? similar to tamam when asked as a question means ‘Is everything going well?’. You also don’t need to conjugate this to other forms and you and use this same word to anyone you’re speaking with.

How to Respond in Levantine Arabic

People in the Levant region usually answer ‘how are you’ either by saying “منيح mnih”, which means ‘I am good’. If you’re feeling a bit down, you can say “مش منيح mish mnih”. Mish means not so مش منيح mish mnih simply means “I am not well”. If you are feeling great and in your best conditions, you can say “تمام tamam”. If you’re feeling neutral or so-so, you can say “ماشي الحال mashi lhal” which means means ‘it’s okay’. 

Check out the table below for an easy view on some ways to respond to how are you in Levantine Arabic.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
منيح	Mnih	I am good
تمام	Tamam	Great
ماشي الحال	Mashi lhal	It’s okay
مش منيح	Mish mnih	I am not well

Conclusion

How are you is such an important phrase to learn when starting conversational Arabic. As we’ve seen, different regions have come up with very different ways of saying it. Hopefully, now you can feel comfortable traveling anywhere in the Arab-speaking world and make special connections by asking how are you in their specific regional dialect.