In most cases, the reply is "Ahlan bik" to a man or "Ahlan biki" to a woman. If you want to reply to more than one person, say, "Ahlan bikum.". "Marhaba" is the name of the word "rahhaba" which means "to welcome". Ahlan wa Sahlan literally means "welcome," but is commonly used as a general greeting just like "hello" in English. This greeting can be shortened to just ahlan (hi) in informal settings. When greeting a number of people, you should say ahlan wa Sahlan bekum or ahlan bekum. Contents 1How do Muslims say hello? 2How do you greet in Arabic? Marhaba is a word you say to others when you meet them, or when you are a guest visiting someone. However, when someone says Marhaba to you, you can respond "Ahlan wa Sahlan" which means welcome. Awafi (عوافي) In some countries, especially in the Gulf region, people say Awafi to greet friends and family. Awafi literally translates to 20-Ahlan Wa Sahlan - أَهْلًا وَ سَهْلًا. Ahlan Wa Sahlan is Arabic Fusha which means 'like family, and at ease', The appropriate response for it is "Ahlan Bik". 21-Ahlin - أَهْلِينْ. In Lebanon and syria, people say Ahlin instead of Ahlan, which has the same meaning. The True Meaning of "Ahlan Wa Sahlan (Wa Marhaban)" Assalamu 'alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Arabs, when they had visitors (or even just strangers) coming to visit them, used to say to them (and they still do): أهلاَ وسَهْلاَ . In those days, people traveled by land and over long stretches of often rugged and steep terrain Jun 14, 2006 #1 To Arabic speaking people. Can you please explain what is the meaning of these phrases? Ahlan Wa Sahlan/ Ahlan Beek I mean, I know that Arabs say it when they Welcome someone and that someone answers back (Ahlan Beek). But what do they actually mean? Thanks in advance, Sadahzinia elroy Originally this greeting meant "welcome" but now it is also used as a simple greeting like "Hello". ahlan bik اهلا بك (to a man), ahlan biki اهلا بكِ (to a woman), ahlan bikum اهلا بكم (to a group). - This is the common reply to ahlan or ahlan wa sahlan. Marhaba (Welcome) It comes from the word "rahhaba" which means "to welcome". The common reply is "Marhaban bik", "Marhaban biki", and "Marhaban bikum" to a male, female, and more than one person respectively. Time-Specific Greetings You can also greet people according to the time of the day. Di dalam Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, kata Marhaban diartikan dengan "kata seru untuk menyambut atau menghormati tamu (yang berarti selamat datang)". Ini sama dengan ahlan wa sahlan yang IPA : /ʔah.lan wa.sah.lan/ Interjection [edit] أَهْلًا وَ سَهْلًا‎ • (ʔahlan wasahlan) welcome; Descendants [edit] → Finnish: ähläm sähläm; → Finnish: ählämi; North Levantine Arabic [edit] 7FekBmk.