Breakdown of السلام عليكم! — وعليكم السلام!
السلام عليكمas-salâmu 'alaykum
peace be upon you (hello)
وعليكم السلامwa 'alaykumu ssalâmu
and upon you be peace (reply)
Questions & Answers about السلام عليكم! — وعليكم السلام!
Why is the plural 'you' used in عليكم even if I am greeting just one person?
عليكم combines the preposition على (upon) and the plural pronoun suffix كم (you all). In Arabic, it is traditional and polite to use the plural form for this specific greeting, even when speaking to a single person.
Why does the word for peace, السلام, have the word 'the' (ال) attached to it?
In Arabic, abstract concepts like 'peace' generally take the definite article ال (the) when used in a broad or general sense. So you are literally saying 'The peace be upon you'.
In the reply, why is the order of the words reversed to وعليكم السلام?
Reversing the word order is the standard, fixed way to reply to this specific greeting. The و (wa) at the beginning means 'and', so the reply literally translates to 'and upon you (be) the peace'.
Why is the word for 'and' (و) attached directly to عليكم in the reply?
In Arabic, the word for 'and' (و) is just a single letter. Single-letter words are never written on their own with spaces around them; they must always attach directly to the beginning of the word that follows.
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