Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| أراكَ قَريبًا | |
| سَلَام | salām |
| إِلَى اللِّقَاء | ʔilā l-liqāʔ |
The phrase أراكَ قَريبًا is used to express the sentiment of seeing someone soon. For a very common and casual goodbye, you can use سَلَام, which literally means 'peace' but functions as a shorthand for 'bye' or 'peace out'. If you want to be more formal, the expression إِلَى اللِّقَاء is appropriate, translating to 'until the meeting'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase أراكَ قَريبًا literally translates to 'I see you soon'.
Which one should you use?
إِلَى اللِّقَاء is a formal way to say 'see you' or 'until we meet again', whereas سَلَام is much more casual.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
سَلَام is a very common, informal way to say goodbye. In contrast, إِلَى اللِّقَاء is a more formal way to say 'see you'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Levantine dialect, you may hear إشوفك to mean 'I'll see you'. In Egyptian Arabic, the expression نشوفك can be used to say 'see you'.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using أراكَ قَريبًا, the vowel on the last letter of the verb changes depending on who you are addressing. To address a female instead of a male, the vowel changes from 'a' to 'i', resulting in أراكِ قَريبًا.
Did you know?
- In many Arabic-speaking cultures, saying 'see you' is often accompanied by a light touch of the hand over the heart to show sincerity.
- The word 'peace' inside سَلَام is the same root used in the word for 'Islam', meaning the concept of surrender and peace are linguistically linked.
- The casual goodbye سَلَام is actually a shortened form of a much longer religious blessing that means 'may peace be upon you'.
Examples in context
- أراكَ قَريبًا في المكتب.arāka qarīban fī al-maktab.See you soon at the office.
- أراكَ قَريبًا يا صديقي.arāka qarīban yā ṣadīqī.See you soon, my friend.
- سأنهي العمل، أراكَ قَريبًا.sa-unhī al-'amal, arāka qarīban.I will finish the work, see you soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “see you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
