Learn Arabic › A1 › مَرْحَباً
مَرْحَباً
hello /ˈmar.ħa.ban/
adverbA1#82 most common
Also: welcome, hi, greetings
Example sentences
مَرْحَباً، أَنا اسْمي سامي.
Hello, my name is Sami.
مَرْحَباً! كَيْفَ حالُكَ اليَوْمَ؟
Hello! How are you today?
مَرْحَباً بِكَ في بَيْتِنا الجَديدِ.
Welcome to our new home.
عِنْدَما رَآني صَديقي، قالَ مَرْحَباً وَصافَحَني.
When my friend saw me, he said hello and shook my hand.
لَمْ يَكْتَفِ بِقَوْلِ مَرْحَباً، بَلْ عانَقَني بِحَرارَةٍ شَديدَةٍ.
He did not just say hello; rather, he embraced me very warmly.
مَرْحَباً بِكُمْ أَيُّها الحُضورُ في هٰذا اللِّقاءِ الَّذي طالَ انْتِظارُهُ.
Welcome, attendees, to this long-awaited gathering.
Word family
رَحَّبَ (raḥḥaba)to welcome, to greet warmly
تَرْحيب (tarḥīb)welcome, welcoming
رَحْب (raḥb)spacious, roomy
رَحابة (raḥāba)spaciousness; warmth, open-heartedness
Etymology
مَرْحَباً derives from the Semitic root ر-ح-ب (r-ḥ-b), meaning 'to be wide, spacious, roomy.' مَرْحَب is a noun of place denoting a broad, open space, and the accusative مَرْحَباً originally completed an elided phrase such as 'you have come to a spacious place / may you find room,' a hospitable wish offered to an arriving guest. Through frequent use this adverbial accusative crystallized into the fixed greeting meaning 'welcome' and then simply 'hello.'
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free