How to say "what's new? / what's up?" in Arabic

New word

Meaningwhat's new? / what's up?

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

مَا الْأَخْبَار؟

mā l-akhbārמא אל-אח'באר

ما الأخبار؟

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

מה חדש?

ma khadash?مَا خَادَاش؟

How the two words are related

New word

No Hebrew relative — learn it fresh.

Arabic root

خ-ب-ر

How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.

Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

شُو أَخْبَارَك؟

shū akhbārakשו אח'בארך

shū = 'what' in Levantine; akhbārak is akhbār (news) + -ak, 'your' — literally 'what's your news?'

Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta

أَخْبَارَك إِيه؟

akhbārak ēhאח'בארך איה

Cairo puts ēh at the end: akhbārak ēh?

Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes

آش خْبَارك؟

āsh khbārekאש ח'בארך

Darija: āsh khbārek?, 'what's your news?' — āsh is another Darija 'what'.

مَا الْأَخْبَار يَا صَاحِبِي؟

mā l-akhbār yā ṣāḥibīמא אל-אח'באר יא צאחבי

what's new, my friend?