Breakdown of مساء الخير! — مساء النور!
مساء الخيرmasâ'u l-khayr
good evening
مساء النورmasâ'u n-nûr
good evening (reply)
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Questions & Answers about مساء الخير! — مساء النور!
Why are there two different phrases for 'Good evening' here?
In Arabic, it is very common for a greeting to have a specific, slightly different reply. The first person says مساء الخير (evening of goodness), and the second person replies with مساء النور (evening of light).
What is the literal translation of these two phrases?
The word مساء means 'evening'. The word الخير means 'the goodness', and النور means 'the light'. Instead of using the adjective for 'good', Arabic links these nouns together to mean 'evening of goodness' and 'evening of light'.
Why is the 'al-' prefix pronounced differently in الخير and النور?
This is due to sun and moon letters. In الخير (al-khayr), the 'kh' sound is a moon letter, so you pronounce the 'L' normally. But in النور (an-nuur), the 'n' sound is a sun letter, which swallows the 'L' sound of the 'al-' prefix and doubles the 'n' sound instead.
How do I pronounce the little symbol at the end of the word مساء?
That symbol is a hamza. When it sits by itself at the end of a word, it represents a glottal stop. This is a short, sharp catch in the back of your throat, exactly like the tiny pause in the middle of the English word 'uh-oh'.