Hebrew greetings are your entry point to the language. The good news: Israelis are very warm and appreciate any attempt to speak Hebrew, even just a שָׁלוֹם. Learn these thoroughly — you will use them every single day.
Gender in Hebrew: Hebrew verbs and some phrases change depending on whether you are speaking to a man (m) or a woman (f). This lesson already shows you the first examples. Pay attention to the m/f column — it becomes very important later.
Core Greetings
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁלוֹם | Shalom | Hello / Peace / Goodbye | The most important Hebrew word. Used for both hello and goodbye. |
| הֵי | Hey | Hi | Informal, borrowed from English. Very common among young people. |
| בֹּקֶר טוֹב | Boker tov | Good morning | Literal: "morning good". Word order is reversed vs English. |
| בֹּקֶר אוֹר | Boker or | Good morning (reply) | Literal: "morning of light". Said in response to Boker tov. |
| צָהֳרַיִם טוֹבִים | Tsohorayim tovim | Good afternoon | Rarely used in practice — Israelis just say שָׁלוֹם at any time of day. |
| עֶרֶב טוֹב | Erev tov | Good evening | More formal, used in greetings when arriving somewhere in the evening. |
| לַיְלָה טוֹב | Layla tov | Good night | Said when leaving at night or going to sleep. |
How Are You?
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךָ? | Ma shlomcha? | How are you? | To a man (m) |
| מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ? | Ma shlomech? | How are you? | To a woman (f) |
| מַה נִּשְׁמַע? | Ma nishma? | What's up? / How's it going? | Colloquial. Literal: "what is heard?" Very common in everyday speech. |
| טוֹב | Tov | Good / Fine | Basic positive response. |
| בְּסֵדֶר | Beseder | OK / Alright | Very common. Literally "in order". Can also mean "that's fine" as a reply to a question. |
| יֹפִי | Yofi | Great! / Beautiful! | An enthusiastic positive response. Also means "beauty" as a noun. |
| לֹא כָּל כָּךְ | Lo kol kach | Not so great | Literal: "not so much". Honest answer when things are not great. |
| אֵין חֲדָשׁוֹת | Eyn chadashot | Nothing new | A common reply to מַה נִּשְׁמַע. Literal: "there are no news". |
Tip: שָׁלוֹם (Shalom) works for both hello and goodbye — exactly like "Ciao" in Italian. You will never go wrong using it.
Example Conversations
A: שָׁלוֹם! מַה שְּׁלוֹמְךָ? — Shalom! Ma shlomcha? (Hello! How are you? — to a man)
B: בְּסֵדֶר, תּוֹדָה! מַה שְּׁלוֹמֵךְ? — Beseder, toda! Ma shlomech? (OK, thanks! How are you? — to a woman)
A: יֹפִי! — Yofi! (Great!)
Lesson 1 of 30
Lesson 2: Introduce Yourself ›