يرحمكم الله
yarhamukum Allah
To say bless you when someone sneezes in Arabic, use يرحمكم الله (yarhamukum Allah), which means may God have mercy on you.
يرحمكم الله is said right after someone sneezes. It follows Islamic etiquette, in which the person who sneezed first praises God and the listener answers with this phrase.
What does it mean word for word?
يرحمكم means may he have mercy on you and الله is God.
Which one should you use?
يرحمكم الله uses the plural ending, which shows respect or addresses a group. To speak to one person, use the singular يرحمك الله.
How does it change in a sentence?
The ending of the verb changes with the person you speak to. يرحمكم الله is plural or respectful, while يرحمك الله is singular.
Did you know?
- The standard response يرحمكم الله is part of a three-step social loop. The sneezer first says الحمد لله ('praise be to God'), the listener replies with يرحمكم الله, and the sneezer finishes by wishing the listener guidance and mercy.
- While يرحمكم الله is the religious standard, some speakers use the secular phrase صحة ('health') as a shorter alternative, which is more similar to the English 'bless you' in its focus on well-being.
- The word الله is actually a contraction of the older phrase 'al-ilāh', meaning 'the deity'.
Example conversation
Yusuf and Sara are sitting in a living room.
- يوسف Youssef*sneezes**atash**Sneezes*
- سارة Saraيرحمكم الله يا يوسف.Yarhamkum Allah ya Yusuf.Bless you, Yusuf.
- يوسف Youssefيرحمكم الله.Yarhamkum Allah.Bless you too.
- سارة Saraهل تشعر بالمرض؟Hal tash'ur bil-marad?Do you feel sick?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries الله, CC BY-SA 4.0.
