هاي، كيفك؟
hāy, kīfak?casual, to a man
The relaxed Lebanese version is هاي، كيفك؟ (hāy, kīfak?). To a woman say هاي، كيفِك؟ (hāy, kīfik?). You can also skip the first word and ask كيفك؟ (kīfak?). It is also called هاي، شو الأخبار؟ (hāy, shū l-akhbār?).
Meaning: casual greeting with a question (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Lebanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| هاي، كيفك؟ | hāy, kīfak? | casual, to a man |
| هاي، شو الأخبار؟ | hāy, shū l-akhbār? | casual |
| كيفك؟ | kīfak? | short |
هاي (hāy) is the English "hi" and is used all the time among younger people, in texts and in person.
Which one should you use?
This is more casual than مرحبا، كيفك؟ (marḥaba, kīfak?). With older people مرحبا is a safer start.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Some people use the French سالوت (salūt) or سلام (salām). A friendly answer is منيح، وإنت؟ (mnīḥ, w inte?).
Did you know?
- Lebanese speakers mix English, French and Arabic in one sentence all the time, like هاي، كيفك؟, so the English "hi" feels completely at home.
Examples in context
- هاي، كيفك اليوم؟hāy, kīfak el-yōm?Hi, how are you today?
- هاي، شو الأخبار؟hāy, shū l-akhbār?Hi, what is the news?
- منيح، وإنت؟mnīḥ, w inte?Good, and you?
Example conversation
Layal runs into her friend Sara outside a university building in Beirut.
- Layalهاي سارة، كيفك؟hāy Sāra, kīfik?Hi Sara, how are you?
- Saraهاي، منيحة، وإنتِ؟hāy, mnīḥa, w inti?Hi, I am good, and you?
- Layalمنيحة، تعي نشرب قهوةmnīḥa, taʿi nishrab ʾahweGood, come let us have a coffee.
