How to say "double welcome! (extra-warm hello)" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningdouble welcome! (extra-warm hello)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
marḥabataynמרחבתיין
مرحبتين
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
barukh haba, barukh haba!بَارُوخ هَابَا، بَارُوخ هَابَا!
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ر-ح-بHebrew root
ר-ח-בThe dual of مرحبا — a warmer, doubled welcome. -tēn/-ayn is the spoken-Arabic dual suffix, cousin to Hebrew's own dual -ayim (as in יומיים, two days, or מאתיים, two hundred). Same root ر-ح-ب, 'wide open space,' as base-set مرحبا and Hebrew מרחב.
Related Hebrew word:מרחבmerkhavمِرْخَاڤ
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
The everyday pronunciation — the first vowel drops in fast speech.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Egypt doubles ahlan instead: ahlēn.
In a phrase
double welcome, hi there!
More words from this root
More in Greetings & Essentials
- good luck!ḥaẓẓan saʿīdanحَظًّا سَعِيدًاבהצלחה
- happy holiday! (many happy returns)kullu ʿāmin wa-antum bi-khayrكُلُّ عَامٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِخَيْرחג שמח
- forgive mesāmiḥnīسَامِحْنِيסלח לי
- no problemlā mushkilaلَا مُشْكِلَةאין בעיה
- excuse me / with your permissionʿan idhnikعَنْ إِذْنِكסליחה, ברשותך
- with pleasure / gladlybi-kulli surūrبِكُلِّ سُرُورבשמחה