Breakdown of أنا بخير، الحمد لله.
أناana
I
بخيرbikhayrin
fine / well
الحمد للهal-hamdu lillâh
praise be to God (thank God)
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Questions & Answers about أنا بخير، الحمد لله.
Why is there a بـ (bi) attached to خير (khayr)?
In Arabic, to say "I am fine," you literally say "I am with goodness." The prefix بـ (bi) is a preposition meaning "with" or "in," and خير (khayr) means "good" or "goodness."
Where is the word for "am" in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a present tense verb for "to be" (am, is, are). To say "I am fine," you just put the pronoun أنا (ana, meaning "I") directly before بخير (bi-khayr).
How does the word الله (Allah) change into لله (li-llah)?
The prefix لـ (li) means "to" or "for." When attaching it to الله (Allah), the first letter (the alif) is dropped in spelling. So, it combines to form لله (li-llah), meaning "to God" or "for God."
Why do we add الحمد لله (al-hamdu li-llah) after saying "I am fine"?
While it literally translates to "praise be to God," this is the most common, everyday conversational response to "how are you?" in the Arab world. It is used culturally by speakers of all backgrounds to express gratitude that things are well.