Learning how to greet in different languages is an exciting and enjoyable experience. Whether you’re trying to master Hebrew or enriching your vocabulary, mastering greetings is the first thing to do; it gives you the confidence of initiating a conversation with Hebrew speakers and expands your proficiency in linguistic knowledge.

There are several phrases and words used to greet and bid farewell in Hebrew and Jewish-speaking communities. And how you use them depends on the occasion, situation, time, and the person you’re talking to. These greetings can be ceremonial, informal, universal, situation, or time-specific.        

So let’s get to know six different ways of saying hello in Hebrew.

1.   Shalom!

Shalom, written as שָׁלוֹם in Hebrew, is a complete greeting, used to say hello, goodbye, or to wish peacefulness. The word literally means “peace” and is cognate with the Arabic word Salam.

2.   Shalom Aleichem

Written as שָׁלוֹםעֲלֵיכֶם in Hebrew, Shalom Aleichem is a traditional way of greeting, which means “peace be upon you.” It’s widely used in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe.

Shalom Aleichem is also a cognate of its Arabic language word Assalam-o-Alaikum which also means the same.

3.   Ma Kore?

Looking for something more informal and casual? Use Ma Kore? Written as מהקורה in Hebrew. It means what’s up or what’s going on. But sometimes, people might interpret it as “what’s wrong?” so it’s essential to use it after assessing the situation.

Recommended reading: Best Ways to Make Friends in Israel

4.   Barukh Ha-Ba

Barukh Ha-Ba is a classic welcome in Hebrew. It means “Blessed is the comer.” There are more variations to this Hebrew greeting, such as:

• Brukhim ha-ba’im: For welcoming more than one person.
• Brukhim ha-nimtza’im: Although rarely used these days, this one’s a pleasant way of greeting the residents who welcome you in their home. It literally translates to “Blessed (are those who are) residing (here)!”
• Barukh Ha-Shav: This one’s used to greet a traveler or a person who’s been away for some time.

5.   Time-Specific Greeting in Hebrew

Just like we say good morning, good afternoon, or good night in English, the Hebrew language also has its time-specific greetings:

• Boker-Tov: Good morning
• Boker-Or: May your morning be full of light –we love this one!
• Erev-Tov: Good evening
• Laila-Tov: Good night

6.   A simple Hi!

Yes, you can also casually greet your friend in Hebrew, and the best part is that the lingo borrows these words from English and Arabic:

• Hai, written as הי , is borrowed from English and translates to hey!
• Ah-Lan, written as אַהֲלָן means hello or welcome and is extracted from the Arabic version “Ahlan wa-sah_alan.”

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