How to say "praise God / thank God" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningpraise God / thank God
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّه
al-ḥamdu li-llāhאל-חמד ללה
الحمد لله
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
תודה לאל
toda la'elتُودَا لَائِل
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ح-م-دHebrew root
ח-מ-דThe root ḥ-m-d, to praise — behind the names Muhammad and Ahmad — is Hebrew ח-מ-ד, which drifted toward desire and delight: חמד, נחמד, חמוד. Same root, praising versus finding delightful.
Related Hebrew word:נחמדnekhmadنِخْمَاد
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
الْحَمْدِلَّا
il-ḥamdillaאל-חמדלאRolled into one word in speech; the stock answer to 'how are you?'
In a phrase
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّه عَلَى السَّلَامَة
al-ḥamdu li-llāh ʿalā s-salāmaאל-חמד ללה עלא א-סלאמהthank God you arrived safely
More in Greetings & Essentials
- okay / fineṭayyibطَيِّبבסדר
- here you go / please, go aheadtafaḍḍalتَفَضَّلבבקשה, הנה
- congratulations!mabrūkمَبْرُوكמזל טוב
- by your life! (please, I beg you)bi-ḥayātakبِحَيَاتَكבבקשה ממך, בחייך
- well done! (lit. may He give you health)yuʿṭīka l-ʿāfiyaيُعْطِيكَ الْعَافِيَةכל הכבוד
- get well / glad you're safesalāmtakسَلَامَتَكרפואה שלמה