كيف كل شيء؟
kayfa kullu shay'?
The English phrase "how is everything?" is translated into Arabic as كيف كل شيء؟ (kayfa kullu shay'?).
This phrase is a friendly greeting used to ask someone how their life and general situation are going.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of kayfa (how), kullu (all/every) and shay (thing).
Is it said differently in some regions?
The expression شلون الأمور؟ is an informal way to ask "how is everything?" in the dialectal Arabic used in the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon), Iraq and Gulf countries.
How do you pronounce it?
kayfa kullu shay'?
When do people say it?
The most natural and common response to this greeting is بخير، الحمد لله (Fine, praise be to God).
Did you know?
- The word كيف (kayf) has an intensive root meaning 'to cut off entirely'. This suggests a linguistic connection between the concept of 'how' and a complete or decisive state.
- When responding to 'how is everything?', people often use the phrase الحمد لله (al-hamdulillah) even if things are actually going poorly. It serves as a cultural marker of resilience and contentment regardless of actual circumstances.
- While كيف كل شيء؟ is grammatically correct, an Arabic speaker might find it slightly unnatural because it sounds like a literal translation from English.
Example conversation
Two friends meet at a cafe.
- زياد Ziadأهلاً سارة، كيف كل شيء؟Ahlan Sarah, kayfa kullu shay'?Hi Sarah, how is everything?
- سارة Saraأنا بخير، شكراً لسؤالك يا زياد.Ana bikhayr, shukran li-su'alika ya Ziyad.I am fine, thank you for asking, Ziyad.
- زياد Ziadهذا رائع، هل أنتِ سعيدة في عملك؟Hadha ra'i', hal anti sa'ida fi 'amaliki?That's great, are you happy at your work?
- سارة Saraنعم، كل شيء يسير بشكل جيد.Na'am, kullu shay' yasiru bishaklin jayyid.Yes, everything is going well.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries كل, كيف, CC BY-SA 4.0.
