Greetings are the quickest way for a child to start speaking real Arabic, because they use them every day with family.
Greeting pairs
| Someone says | Your child replies |
|---|---|
| اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ Peace be upon you | وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ And upon you be peace |
| صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ Good morning | صَبَاحُ النُّورِ Morning of light |
| مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ Good evening | مَسَاءُ النُّورِ Evening of light |
| كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ How are you? (to a boy) | بِخَيْرٍ، الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ Fine, praise be to Allah |
| شُكْرًا Thank you | عَفْوًا You’re welcome |
| مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ Goodbye | مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ Goodbye |
To a girl, “how are you?” is كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ (kayfa haluki).
A one-week plan
- Day 1–2: صَبَاحُ الْخَيْر every morning.
- Day 3–4: add كَيْفَ حَالُكَ and its reply.
- Day 5: شُكْرًا and عَفْوًا at mealtimes.
- Day 6–7: مَعَ السَّلَامَة at the door, and مَسَاءُ الْخَيْر in the evening.
Use them for real
The next video call with grandparents, let your child open with صَبَاحُ الْخَيْر and كَيْفَ حَالُكَ. Real conversations make the words stick.
Teacher’s tip: greet your child in Arabic first thing every morning for a month. It costs nothing and becomes their most natural Arabic.
Our Arabic Conversation programme builds from greetings to real chats.
