Ways to say it
| Egyptian Arabic | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| تصبح على خير | tesbah 3ala kheir | to a man |
| تصبحي على خير | tesbahi 3ala kheir | to a woman |
To a woman, it becomes تصبحي على خير (tesbahi 3ala kheir). The traditional reply is وانت من أهله (w enta men ahlo), 'and you are among its people'.
What does it mean word for word?
تصبح literally means 'may you wake up' and على خير means 'into goodness', so the phrase wishes a good start to the next morning rather than describing the night itself.
Which one should you use?
تصبح على خير and تصبحي على خير are the standard goodnight wishes, differing only by the gender of the person addressed.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Both forms are polite and used with family, friends and colleagues alike, including in a text message before bed.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The phrase and its traditional reply are shared across Egypt and understood throughout much of the Arabic-speaking world.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb changes with the person addressed: تصبح to a man, تصبحي to a woman, تصبحوا to a group.
How do you pronounce it?
Egyptians say خير with a rough kh sound from the back of the throat, and تصبح is pronounced quickly, 'tesbah'.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Repeating the exact same phrase back instead of the traditional reply وانت من أهله is understood but sounds less natural than the expected response.
When do people say it?
The reply وانت من أهله, literally 'and you are among its people', treats goodness itself as having people who belong to it, a poetic turn of phrase still used every night across Egypt.
Did you know?
- The traditional reply وانت من أهله personifies goodness itself, as though it had its own people the listener now belongs to for the night.
- تصبح على خير literally wishes a good waking rather than a good sleep, since تصبح comes from the verb tied to the morning rather than to rest.
Examples in context
- تصبح على خير يا حبيبي.tesbah 3ala kheir ya habibi.Good night, my dear.
- تصبحي على خير، نام كويس.tesbahi 3ala kheir, nam kwayes.Good night, sleep well.
- تصبح على خير، وانت من أهله.tesbah 3ala kheir, w enta men ahlo.Good night, and the same to you.
Example conversation
Mona wishes her husband Hassan good night before they go to sleep.
- Monaتصبح على خير يا حسن.tesbah 3ala kheir ya Hassan.Good night, Hassan.
- Hassanوانتِ من أهله يا منى.w enti men ahlo ya Mona.And the same to you, Mona.
- Monaبكرة يوم طويل.bokra youm taweel.Tomorrow is a long day.
- Hassanمنور، ربنا يسهل.manawwar, rabbena ysahhel.It will be fine, God make it easy.
