مسا الخير
masa l-kheir
In Arabic, "have a good evening" is translated as مسا الخير (masa l-kheir).
The phrase مسا الخير is used as a greeting when arriving or meeting someone in the evening. This differs from the English "have a good evening", which is frequently used as a farewell.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "evening of goodness".
How do you pronounce it?
masa l-kheir
When do people say it?
When someone greets you with مسا الخير, the standard response is مساء النور, which means "evening of light".
Did you know?
- While مسا الخير is for arriving, if you want to say 'have a good evening' as a farewell, you would use a different phrase entirely, such as تصبح على خير which means 'wake up to goodness'.
- Arabic greetings often come in pairs where the second person must 'upgrade' the first person's wish, a linguistic custom that turns a simple greeting into a small exchange of generosity.
- In some Levantine regions, people may extend the greeting to مسا الورد to mean 'evening of roses', substituting 'goodness' for a flower to show extra affection.
Example conversation
Mariam and Ziad meet at a cafe in the evening.
- مريم Maryamمسا الخير يا زياد.Masa el-khair ya Ziad.Good evening, Ziad.
- زياد Ziadمسا النور يا مريم.Masa en-noor ya Mariam.Good evening, Mariam.
- مريم Maryamكيف حالك اليوم؟Kaif halak el-yom?How are you today?
- زياد Ziadأنا بخير، شكراً لكِ.Ana bikhair, shukran laki.I am fine, thank you.
