My mother used to tell me that the English words “please” and “thank you” go a long way, meaning that using polite words will help you get what you want from other people. Thinking about this, I guess that is pretty much true in any language or culture. So, that’s the idea behind this post: how to say Please and Thank you in Arabic so that you can go a long way in your Arabic language learning.
In Arabic, the words لو سمحت (law samahat) and من فضلك (min fadhlik) can both mean “please”, but there are other words for Please in Arabic. All of them can be used in different situations. For example, let’s say you’re in a restaurant and you want someone to pass the salt. You could say من فضلِكَ (min fadhlika) for a male and من فضلِكِ (min fadhliki) for a female. Or you could use لو سمحت (law samaht) for a male and لو سمحتِ (law samahti) for a female. In another situation, let’s say you are in dire need of some help with something. In this case, you would say أرجوكَ (‘arjooka) for a male and أرجوكِ – (‘arjooki) for a female. Both literally mean “I beg you!” So, no matter the situation, you can still be polite by using these words for Please in Arabic and Thank you in Arabic.
Moving on to “thank you”, there are probably just as many words for this a there are Arabic dialects
femArabic | Transliteration | To/From a male/female | English |
---|---|---|---|
شكراً | shukraan | From both male and female | Thank you |
أَشْكُرُكَ أَشْكُرُكِ | ‘ashkuruka ‘ashkuruki | To a male To a female | I thank you |
مَشْكُور مَشْكُورة | mashkoor mashkoorah | From a male From a female | You are thanked |
مُتَشَكِّر مُتَشَكِّرة | mutashakker mutashakkerah | From a male From a female | I’m all thanks to you. (Used mostly in Egypt) |
شَاكِرٌ لكَ شَاكِرةٌ لكَ | shakerun laka shakeratun laka | From a male to a male From a female to a male | I’m thankful for you |
شَاكِرٌ لكِ شَاكِرةٌ لكِ | shakerun laki shakeratun laki | From a male to a female From a female to a female | I’m thankful for you |
بِتْشَكَّرَك بِتْشَكَّرِك | betshakkarak betshakkarik | To a male To a female | I’m thanking you (Used in the Levant region) |
جَزاكَ اللهُ خَيْرًا جَزاكِ اللهُ خَيْرًا | jazaaka illahu khayran jazaaki illahu khayran | To a male To a female | May Allah reward your goodness |
مُمْتَنٌ لكَ مُمْتَنةٌ لكَ | mumtannun laka mumtannatun laka | From a male to a male From a female to a male | Much appreciated (Used mostly in the Levant region) |
مُمْتَنٌ لكِ مُمْتَنةٌ لكِ | mumtannun laki mumtannatun laki | From a male to a female From a female to a female | Much appreciated (Used mostly in the Levant region) |
ما قَصَّرْت ما قَصَّرتِ | ma qassart ma qassarti | To a male To a female | You didn’t give me less than expected |
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