تحية
taḥiyya
The Arabic word for "greeting" is تحية (taḥiyya).
The word تحية refers to the act of greeting someone or the specific words used during a greeting.
Meaning: acknowledgement of a persons presence or arrival (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
To say "good morning", you can use Sabaah al-khayr in Levantine Arabic or Sbah alkhyr in Moroccan Arabic.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the noun تحية is تحيات (taḥiyyāt).
How do you pronounce it?
taḥiyya
Did you know?
- The root of the word تحية is the same as the word for 'life'. In a literal sense, when you give a greeting in Arabic, you are wishing the other person a long life.
- The Arabic language uses a specific 'response' greeting. For example, if someone says صباح الخير 'good morning', the responder often changes the word 'good' to 'light' by saying صباح النور.
- In many Arabic-speaking cultures, a formal تحية often involves placing the right hand over the heart after a handshake as a sign of deep respect and sincerity.
Examples in context
- كانت تحية الصباح لطيفة.kānat taḥiyyat al-ṣabāḥ laṭīfa.The morning greeting was nice.
- قدمت له تحية حارة.qaddamt lahu taḥiyya ḥārra.I gave him a warm greeting.
- تبادلنا تحية سريعة.tabādalnā taḥiyya sarī'a.We exchanged a quick greeting.
Example conversation
Sarah and Youssef are discussing a formal letter.
- سارة Saraهل كتبت تحية في بداية الرسالة؟hal katabti tahiyya fi bidayat al-risala?Did you write a greeting at the beginning of the letter?
- يوسف Youssefنعم، كتبت تحية رسمية يا سارة.na'am, katabtu tahiyya rasmiyya ya Sarah.Yes, I wrote a formal greeting, Sarah.
- سارة Saraهذا جيد جداً يا يوسف.hadha jayyid jiddan ya Youssef.That is very good, Youssef.
- يوسف Youssefشكراً لكِ على المساعدة.shukran laki 'ala al-musa'ada.Thank you for the help.
