Ever ran across Hebrew speakers that you wanted to throw some Hebrew greetings at and you couldn’t? Israelis and Hebrew native speakers get very impressed when they find people trying to learn, or at least to communicate, in their native language. So learning some Hebrew greetings might be awesome.
To your surprise (if you do not know much about Hebrew already), the Hebrew language is much easier than you ever thought. The reason is probably the adjustments it has gone through in the past few decades that almost totally modernized it. Ready to learn your first Hebrew greetings? Let’s start with the common phrases in Hebrew. Shalom!
Hello
Hello, as you of course know, is “shalom” it literally means peace. This word peace is actually used in another phrase we will learn next, but let’s first start with “shalom”.
This is how it is written
שלום
Shalom in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)Learn to Write Shalom in Hebrew with Printable Worksheets
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How are you?
We ask literally “what is your peace?” and this differs when you talk to a man, a woman, a group of men or a group of women. Let’s take them in depth.
- To ask a man how he is:
מה שלומך?
ma shlomcha?
How are You (to male) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
- To ask a woman how she is:
מה שלומך?
ma shlomech?
How are You (to female) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
A man or a woman would answer this question saying:
שלומי טוב
Shlomi tov
means literally “my piece is good”
I'm fine (singular: male and female) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)or they would simply say
אני בסדר
ani bseder
means “I am alright”
I'm alright (singular: male and female) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)- To ask a group of men how they are:
מה שלומכם?
ma shlomchem?
How are You (male plural) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)- To ask a group of women how they are:
מה שלומכן?
ma shlomchen?
How are You (female plural) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)These men or women would answer saying:
שלומנו טוב
shlomeino tov
means “our peace is good”
We're fine (plura, both male and female) in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
How Are You in Hebrew (Printable Worksheets)
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What’s up?
This is a common phrase being used more and more everyday. In Hebrew it says literally “what do we hear?” or “what do you tell us?”
מה נשמע?
ma nishma
What's up in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
Not very well
Another way of answering the “how are you” question is the answer “(I am/We are) not very well)
This would mean in Hebrew
לא כל כך טוב
lo kol kach tov
Not Very Well in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
Thank you
Thank you in Hebrew is “todah”, you will often hear it in different styles, like:
תודה רבה: Todah Rabba: Thank you very much
תודה לך: Todah lecha: Thanks to you (said to a man)
תודה לך: Todah lach: Thanks to you (said to a woman)
Here I pronounced the word “todah” for you. I will make another page just for the word “thank you in Hebrew” and how to answer it properly.
תודה
Todah
Thanks in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
Goodbye:
Though “shalom” is used widely for goodbye in Hebrew, still there is another word that is more proper, lehitraot. Means something pretty much like “till I see you (again)”
להתראות
lehitraot
See You in Hebrew (Audio Pronunciation)
Hebrew Greeting for Hanukkah
Hanukkah is simply Chanukah in Hebrew, with the famous rough CH sound (check pronunciation)..
To say “Happy Chanukkah” We would literally say in Hebrew “holiday Chanukkah happy” (noun comes before adjective in Hebrew.
Chag = חג = holiday
Sameach = שמח = happy
All together would be:
חג חנוכה שמח = Chag Chanukah Sameach
Chag Chanukah Sameach.
Check out here the Yiddish and Hebrew Greeting for Hanukkah page.
Hebrew Greeting for Rosh Hashanah
To green people on Rosh Hashanah (New year’s Eve), you simply wish them a good year or literally in Hebrew “year good”.
שנה טובה – Shana Tova
שנה = Shana = year
טובה = Tova = good
Happy New Year in Hebrew (audio pronunciation)
To find out more about the Hebrew greeting for Rosh Hashanah, visit this Happy New Year in Hebrew page.
Hebrew Birthday Greetings
To greet someone in Hebrew on their birthday, you would literally wish them a “day birthday happy” instead of a happy birthday! Charming, isn’t it?
Here is how the magic happens:
יום = yom means “day”
הולדת = huledet means “birth”
שמח = sameach means “happy”
Together they would be “Yom huledet sameach”. Pronounced this way:
Happy Birthday in Hebrew, Audio Pronunciation
Now feel free to use these Hebrew phrases you just learned, do not be embarrassed to show off your little Hebrew, specially around people who would appreciate it. Israelis and Hebrew speakers would be very impressed when you show them what you got!
You can also find more phrases around my website, like Happy birthday in Hebrew, Hebrew word for love (including the magical phrase “I love you” , and much more.
Oh, almost forgotten. Can you read the Hebrew alphabets? You can easily learn them using the free Hebrew worksheets I created just for you! You can also take your Hebrew to a whole new level using Pimsleur Hebrew, it is expensive, but it simply works.
Daily Hebrew Greetings
- Hello in Hebrew – Shalom in Hebrew – Peace in Hebrew
- Good Morning in Hebrew – Boker Tov
- Good Evening in Hebrew
- Good Night in Hebrew – Laila Tov
- Goodbye in Hebrew – Lehitraot
Occasional Hebrew Greetings
- Happy New Year in Hebrew (Rosh Hashana Greeting)
- Happy Passover in Hebrew (Chag Pesach Sameach)
- Hanukkah Greetings: Happy Chanukah in Hebrew
- Happy Birthday in Hebrew
- Welcome to Israel in Hebrew
l would be very happy when l will become fluent to speak or read Hebrew to understand