Hebrew Greetings: How to Say Hello, Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Night in Hebrew

Learning Hebrew greetings is one of the first things one should when starting to learn the Hebrew language. It’s the first steop to connecting with native speakers and immersing yourself in the language. From casual street greetings to formal farewells, knowing the right phrases will make your interactions in Hebrew more natural and friendly.

Here’s a comprehensive guide of greetings with niqqud to help you greet like a local. If you are still learning the alphabet consider looking at the Hebrew Alphabet Beginner’s Guide .

General Greetings in Hebrew

Hello in Hebrew – שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)

Shalom is the most universal Hebrew greeting. It literally means “peace” but is commonly used to say both hello and goodbye. It is considered quite very mannered to use this version of hello (due to the fact most people say hi nowadays).You can use this at anytime of the day and with practically anyone.

Examples in sentences:

English	Hebrew	Transliteration
Hello! I’m Margaret.	שָׁלוֹם! אֲנִי מָרְגָרֵט.	Shalom! Ani Margaret.
Hello! How are you today?	שָׁלוֹם! מַה שְׁלוֹמְךָ הַיּוֹם?	Shalom! Mah shlomkha hayom?
Hello, friends! Come in.	שָׁלוֹם, חֲבֵרִים! בּוֹאוּ כְּנָסוּ.	Shalom, chaverim! Bou kansu.

Casual Greetings – הֵיי / הַי (Hey / Hi)

Since Modern Hebrew borrows a lot of words from English, you will find many words in Hebrew that are borrowed words. The most common greeting in Hebrew language in Israel ironically is not shalom but rather hi/hey which is written as and pronounced as הֵיי / הַי. Keep in mind this greeting is better used if you know the person already.

Example sentences:

Greeting (in English)	Hebrew Language	Transliteration
Hi!	הֵיי!	Hey!
Hi! What’s happening?	הֵיי! מָה קוֹרֶה?	Hey! Ma kore?
Hi! How’s it going?	הֵיי! מָה נִשְׁמַע?	Hey! Ma nishma?
Hi! I’m Ron.	הֵיי, אֲנִי רוֹן.	Hey, Ani Ron.
Nice to meet you.	נָעִים לְהַכִּיר.	Naim lehakir.

Ahalan Arabic Borrowed Greeting – אַהְלָן (Ahlan)

This is another borrowed greeting in Hebrew language, this time it’s borrowed from the Arabic language. It’s very common to hear it and it has a friendly tone to it. It’s also sometimes used in the longer version אַהֲלָן וּסַהֲלָן (ahalan ve sahalan).

Example sentences:

Greeting (in English)	Hebrew	Transliteration
Hello and welcome, friends! Come in here.	אַהֲלָן וּסַהֲלָן, חֲבֵרִים! כְּנָסוּ לְפֶה.	Ahlan ve-Sahalan, chaverim! Knesu le-feh.
Hello and welcome! How are you today?	אַהֲלָן וּסַהֲלָן! אֵיךְ שְׁלוֹמְךָ הַיּוֹם?	Ahlan ve-Sahalan! Eykh shlomkha hayom?

Time-Specific Greetings

Now let us learn some of the time specific greetings in Hebrew that you might use depending on the time of day (morning, noon, afternoon, evening). All of those are considered polite and well mannered to use in Hebrew.

Good Morning in Hebrew – בּוֹקֶר טוֹב (Boker Tov)

The most basic way to say good morning in Hebrew is בּוֹקֶר טוֹב (boker tov). The first part meaning morning (boker) and the second part literally means good (tov). You would use this greeting from the morning until noon.

We reply to this with בּוֹקֶר אוֹר (Boker Or) which consists of the two words morning(boker) + light (or). It literally means morning (of light).

A fun fact is that originally this was a reply to boker tov, but with time people casually started to use it as its own greeting.

Example for original approach:

Good Noon in Hebrew – צָהֳרַיִים טוֹבִים (Tzoharaim Tovim)

The phrase for good noon in Hebrew is צָהֳרַיִים טוֹבִים (*Tzoharaim Tovim). You’d use this word phrase during the noon time of the day.

The word for afternoon is צָהֳרַיִים. The official or should I say “proper” way to pronounce this word is “Tzoharaim”, however most people pronounce it as “Tzaharaim” and some pronounce it as “tzohoraim”. The word “tovim” means good in its plural form because tzoharaim is a plural.

Good Afternoon in Hebrew – אַחַר הַצָּהֳרַיִים טוֹבִים (Achar ha-tzohorayim tovim)

To say good afternoon in Hebrew we say אַחַר הַצָּהֳרַיִים טוֹבִים (Achar ha-tzohorayim tovim). The word achar (אַחַר) here means “after. You’d use this in the afternoon time.

Used after sunset when greeting people in the evening.

• Example: עֶרֶב טוֹב! אֲנִי מְקַוֶּה שֶׁתִּנּוּחוּ.
  Erev tov! Ani mekaveh she-tinukhu.
  Good evening! I hope you rest.

Informal: Skipping the greeting / Question based greeting

If you already know the person and have a pretty close relationship it is also possible to skip the initial greeting and move to “how are you?” as a greeting. You can practically use any of the “how are you”/ “what’s up” variations that you know.

Examples:

• מַה שְׁלוֹמְךָ? (Mah shlomkha?) – To a man
• מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ? (Mah shlomekh?) – To a woman
• מַה שְׁלוֹמְכֶם? (Mah shlomkhem?) – To a group
• Example: מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךְ? שׁוּלְחָן מֻזְמָן?
  Mah shlomekh? Shulchan muzman?
  How are you? Is the table ready?

Farewells

Shalom – שָׁלוֹם

Shalom is the standard Hebrew textbook style way to say goodbye. It sounds polite and it can be used with anyone. The meaning is the same. This shalom also means “peace”

See You Later – לְהִתְרָאוֹת (Lehitra’ot)

Lehitra’ot literally means “to meet (again)”, it’s a standard way of saying goodbye, see you again, see you later. It has a bit of a more formal tone to it.

Good Night in Hebrew – לַיְלָה טוֹב (Laila Tov)

This is not really a greeting but it feels appropriate to add it here just as a bonus. Good night in Hebrew is לַיְלָה טוֹב (Laila Tov). “laila” mean night and “tov” as explained previously means good. You’d use this during the night time with your family and as a good bye sentence.

Informal Farewells in Hebrew – בַּיי (Bye)

When saying goodbye casually to friends, classmates, or people your age, Hebrew speakers often use בַּיי (Bye), borrowed directly from English. It is the most commonly used form of saying goodbye if you already know the person.

Other informal variations include:

• בַּיי בַּיי (Bye bye) – slightly more playful or enthusiastic.
• יַאלְלָה, בַּיי (Yalla, bye) – literally “let’s go, bye,” often used when leaving a group or ending a chat quickly. The word yalla is borrowed from Arabic.

Special Shabbat Goodbye – שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם (Shabbat Shalom)

Shabbat Shalom שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם is a special type of farewell that is used during the shabbat reception period until the end of the shabbat. You will hear it a lot in Israel regardless of whether the person is religious or not. Normally most people just say it on Friday evening (or if say a farewell to someone earlier you say it in advance) and during Saturday.

Quick Reference Table

English	Hebrew (with Niqqud)	Usage
Hello / Goodbye	שָׁלוֹם	Any situation
Hi / Hey	הֵיי / הַי	Informal
Good morning	בּוֹקֶר טוֹב	Sunrise–Noon
Good afternoon	צָהֳרַיִים טוֹבִים	Noon–Late Afternoon
Good evening	עֶרֶב טוֹב	Evening
Good night	לַיְלָה טוֹב	Farewell at night
See you later	לְהִתְרָאוֹת	Goodbye
How are you?	מַה שְׁלוֹמְךָ / מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ	Polite
What’s up?	מָה נִשְׁמַע / מָה קוֹרֶה	Casual