How to say "nice to meet you (lit. we are honored)" in Arabic
False friendMeaningnice to meet you (lit. we are honored)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
tasharrafnāתשרפנא
تشرفنا
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
na'im me'odنَائِيم مِئُود
How the two words are related
Sounds like a Hebrew word but means something else — handle with care.
Arabic root
ش-ر-فTasharrafnā runs on root ش-ر-ف, 'to be elevated, honored' — the root behind sharīf, 'noble' (as in the Sharifs of Mecca). It sounds like Hebrew שָׂרָף/שרף, 'seraph' or 'to burn' — the consonants even line up by the regular sound correspondence (ש/שׂ↔ش) — but no historical or semantic link between 'height/honor' and 'burning' is established, so this reads as a coincidental root-match rather than a demonstrable shared word.
Related Hebrew word:שרףsarafسَارَاف
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo: itsharrafna — the same helping it- as itfaḍḍal.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija uses the participle: metsherrfīn, 'we are honored'.
In a phrase
we're honored to meet you
More words from this root
More in Greetings & Essentials
- double welcome! (extra-warm hello)marḥabataynمَرْحَبَتَيْنברוך הבא, ברוך הבא!
- 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