Ways to say it
| Egyptian Arabic | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| أهلا، إزيك؟ | ahlan, izzayak? | to a male |
| أهلا، إزيك؟ | ahlan, izzayek? | to a female |
Said to a female, it becomes ahlan, izzayek? Egyptians also combine it with عامل إيه؟, 'how's it going', as in أهلا، عامل إيه؟.
What does it mean word for word?
أهلا means 'hi' or 'welcome', and إزيك asks 'how are you', built from an old phrase about one's condition.
Which one should you use?
أهلا، إزيك؟ is the warm, standard way to open a casual conversation. Adding عامل إيه؟ right after makes the greeting even friendlier.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Both parts are casual, suited to friends, family and coworkers rather than a strictly formal introduction.
How does it change in a sentence?
إزيك changes only in pronunciation with the gender of the person addressed, izzayak to a man and izzayek to a woman.
How do you pronounce it?
أهلا starts with a breathy h sound, AH-lan, and إزيك is stressed on the middle syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Saying only إزيك؟ without أهلا first can feel abrupt in a first greeting of the day, so Egyptians usually combine the two.
When do people say it?
The expected reply almost always includes الحمد لله, 'thank God', continuing the habitual pattern of Egyptian greetings.
Did you know?
- Combining أهلا with إزيك into one greeting is standard in Egypt, where a bare إزيك alone can feel like skipping a step.
- أهلا وسهلا, literally 'welcome and easy', is a fuller, extra-warm version of أهلا used to greet someone especially warmly.
Examples in context
- أهلا يا كريم، إزيك؟ahlan ya Karim, izzayak?Hi Karim, how are you?
- أهلا، إزيك؟ عامل إيه؟ahlan, izzayek? amel eh?Hi, how are you? How's it going?
- أهلا وسهلا، إزيك يا صاحبي؟ahlan wa sahlan, izzayak ya sahbi?Welcome, how are you, my friend?
Example conversation
Hadeer runs into her old classmate Belal at the mall.
- Hadeerأهلا يا بلال، إزيك؟ahlan ya Belal, izzayak?Hi Belal, how are you?
- Belalأهلا يا هدير، الحمد لله، وانتي؟ahlan ya Hadeer, el-hamdu lillah, w enti?Hi Hadeer, thank God, and you?
- Hadeerتمام، زمان ما شفتك.tamam, zaman ma shoftak.Good, I haven't seen you in a while.
- Belalآه بجد، عامل إيه في الشغل؟aah begad, amel eh fesh-shoghl?Yeah really, how's work going?
