Good morning in Arabic, sabah al-khair

To say good morning in Arabic, say ṣabāḥ al-khayr (صَبَاحُ الْخَيْر). The reply is ṣabāḥ an-nūr (صَبَاحُ النُّور). It does not change for a man, a woman or a group, which makes it one of the easiest greetings to learn.

What it means

Ṣabāḥ is morning and khayr is goodness, so the greeting wishes the person a morning full of good. Nūr is light, so the reply returns "a morning of light". Using a better word in the reply is a lovely Arab habit, and it echoes the Quran's teaching to answer a greeting with a better one (4:86).

Good afternoon and good evening

Arabic has no separate "good afternoon". From about midday on, people say masāʾ al-khayr (مَسَاءُ الْخَيْر), "an evening of goodness", and the reply is masāʾ an-nūr. For good night, when someone is going to sleep, the phrase is different.

How to say it in a message

Most people type it without vowel marks: صباح الخير. With the vowels, as you see above, it is صَبَاحُ الْخَيْر. In Latin letters you will see sabah al khair, sabah el kheir and sabah alkhayr. All are the same greeting.

A Muslim morning

For Muslims, the day starts with Fajr and with remembering Allah. On waking, the Prophet ﷺ would say: "All praise is for Allah, who gave us life after He had caused us to die, and to Him is the return" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6324). After Fajr, many read the morning adhkar. When you meet someone, the salam comes first: "as-salāmu ʿalaykum, ṣabāḥ al-khayr" is a perfectly natural way to begin.

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 6324, from Hudhayfah.
2. Quran 4:86, on returning a greeting with a better one.