Arabic greetings range from very informal to highly formal, and choosing the right one depends on context. The informal 'hello' is marhaba (مرحبا), which also means 'welcome'. A more formal and widely respected greeting is as-salaamu alaykum (السلام عليكم), meaning 'peace be upon you', which should be reciprocated with wa alaykum as-salaam. Saying goodbye is done with ma'a as-salaama (مع السلامة), literally 'with peace', though the casual baai (باي), borrowed from English and French, is also common. A warm welcome can be expressed with ahlan wa sahlan (أهلاً وسهلاً), literally 'family and ease', to which a guest might reply ahlan bik.
Politeness phrases are equally important. 'Thank you' is shukran (شكرا), with the stronger shukran jazeelan (شكرا جزيلا) meaning 'thank you very much'. The standard reply is afwan (عفواً) or the longer la shukran 'ala waajib (لا شكر على واجب). 'Please' takes gender into account: min fadhlak (من فضلك) is spoken by or to a male, and min fadhliki (من فضلكِ) by or to a female, while law samah.t (لو سمحت) offers a shorter alternative. To say 'sorry', a male speaker uses aasif (آسف) and a female uses aasifa (آسفة).
Other essential phrases include 'yes' (na'am, نعم) and 'no' (la, لا), which work in both formal and informal settings across the Arab world. 'Good morning' is sabah al-khayr (صباح الخير), answered with sabah an-nur (صباح النور), and 'good evening' follows the same pattern with masa' al-khayr and masa' al-nur. 'Good night' is tusbih 'ala khayr (تصبح على خير). For meeting people, 'What is your name?' is ma ismuk? (ما اسمك؟) for a male or ma ismuki? for a female, and the reply is 'ismi...' (اسمي...). 'How are you?' follows the same gendered structure: kayfa haalak? (كيف حالك؟) for a male and kayfa haaluki? for a female, with al-hamdu lillaah (الحمد لله) as a common response.