مرحبا.

Hello.

Breakdown of مرحبا.

• مرحبا: hello

Questions & Answers about مرحبا.

How do I pronounce مرحبا in Levantine Arabic?

It is usually pronounced marḥaba, roughly MAR-ha-ba.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is marhaba, with:

• stress on the first syllable: MAR
• a light h-like sound in the middle
• a short final a

If you are using chat-style transliteration, you may also see mar7aba, where 7 stands for the Arabic letter ح.

What sound does the letter ح make here?

ح is stronger and deeper than the English h.

It is a voiceless pharyngeal sound, which means it is produced farther back in the throat than normal English h. Many English speakers cannot make it perfectly at first, and that is completely normal.

A good beginner approximation is:

• say h
• make it a little stronger and throatier

So مرحبا is not just marhaba with an English h, but that approximation is acceptable when you are starting.

Is مرحبا actually used in Levantine Arabic, or is it only Modern Standard Arabic?

It is definitely used in Levantine Arabic. It is a very common and natural greeting.

That said, Levantine speakers also often use:

• أهلا
• أهلا وسهلا
• هلا
• sometimes even هاي in very casual speech

So مرحبا is correct and common, but it is not the only way to say hello.

Is مرحبا formal or informal?

It is fairly neutral, which makes it very useful.

You can use it:

• with friends
• with strangers
• in shops
• in polite conversation
• in semi-formal situations

It is one of the safest greetings for a learner because it does not sound too stiff and does not sound too casual either.

Can مرحبا mean both hello and welcome?

Yes. In Arabic, مرحبا can be used both as a greeting and as a welcoming expression, depending on context.

For example:

• when meeting someone: hello
• when receiving someone: welcome

In Levantine speech, context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

Why is it written مرحبا if I often hear people say marhaba and not marhaban?

This is a very common learner question.

In fully vowelled Modern Standard Arabic, the word is often written مَرْحَبًا with tanwīn at the end, which gives marḥaban.

But in everyday Levantine speech, people usually say marḥaba without the final -n sound.

In normal Arabic writing, short vowels are usually not written, so you often just see مرحبا. The spelling stays conventional, while the spoken form changes according to dialect and speaking style.

Do I need to change مرحبا depending on who I am talking to?

No. مرحبا does not change for:

• masculine or feminine
• singular or plural
• who is speaking

You can say مرحبا to:

• one man
• one woman
• a group
• anyone, really

That makes it easy to use as a basic greeting.

How do people usually reply to مرحبا?

A very common reply is simply:

• مرحبا

Other common replies in Levantine include:

• أهلا
• أهلا وسهلا
• مرحبتين in some contexts

So if someone says مرحبا, the easiest reply is just to say مرحبا back.

Why do learners sometimes write it as mar7aba?

That is from Arabic chat transliteration, often called Arabizi or Franco-Arabic.

In that system:

• 7 = ح

So:

• مرحبا = mar7aba

Learners often see this online, in text messages, or in informal social media writing. It is not standard English transliteration, but it is extremely common in casual online communication.

Is the final ا pronounced like a long aa?

In this word, not usually in everyday Levantine pronunciation.

Even though the word ends with ا, speakers normally say something closer to a short final a in marḥaba. For learners, it is best not to stretch the last vowel too much.

So aim for:

• MAR-ha-ba

not something overly long like:

• marhaBAAA