Arabic dialects / How to say
How to say “How are you” in Arabic dialects
“How are you” changes from one Arabic dialect to the next: kidayr in Morocco, izzayak in Egypt, kifak in Lebanon, keif halak in Saudi Arabia.
| Dialect | Say it | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇦 Moroccan Arabic | kidayr | كيداير؟ |
| 🇩🇿 Algerian Arabic | wash rak | واش راك |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisian Arabic | chneya a7welk | شنو هي أحوالك |
| 🇱🇾 Libyan Arabic | shin 7al | شن حال |
| 🇪🇬 Egyptian Arabic | izzayak | إزيّك؟ |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanese Arabic | kifak | كيفك؟ |
| 🇯🇴 Jordanian Arabic | keefak | كيفك |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabic | keif halak | كيف حالك؟ |
| 🇦🇪 Emirati Arabic | shḥālak | شحالك؟ |
| 🇮🇶 Iraqi Arabic | shlonak | شلونك |
Arabic often changes with who you are talking to. These are the forms taught in each Lahja course. In the spelling, 3 is the letter ayn, 7 is a breathy h, 2 is a glottal stop, 5 is kh and 9 is qaf.
There is no single Arabic word for most everyday things. Modern Standard Arabic has its own formal version, but in conversation people use their local dialect. Lahja teaches each dialect as its own course, so you learn the version people around you really say.