Learn Farsi: صبح بخیر، دوست من!

The word صبح means "morning". The word بخیر is actually two parts: the prefix ب meaning "with" and خیر meaning "good" or "goodness". So literally, you are wishing someone a "morning with goodness".

I know من means "I" or "me". How does دوست من translate to "my friend"?

In Farsi, possession is shown by saying "friend of me". You put the thing being owned first (دوست for friend), followed by the owner (من for me). They are connected by a short "eh" sound called the Ezafe, pronounced here as "doost-e man".

If it is pronounced "doost-e man", why don't I see a letter for the "e" sound between the words?

The "eh" sound that connects the words (the Ezafe) is a short vowel. In the Farsi writing system, short vowels are usually not written out as letters. You simply learn to add the sound when you speak to link a noun to its owner.

Can I use بخیر with other times of the day, like "good afternoon"?

Yes! You can use بخیر after other time words to create greetings. For example, "afternoon" is ظهر (zohr), so "good afternoon" is ظهر بخیر (zohr bekheyr).