thank you in Arabic

[budz888]

Hello all,

Yes, I've listened to and read the lesson on 'thank you', but now I have some questions.

1. The very formal/polite Arabic word mentions God. Does it seem strange for non-Moslems to use the Arabic expressions that mention God? It certainly seems strange to me... Does it seem strange to Arabic speakers?

2. In a classroom situation, teacher and student, what which of the forms for 'thank you' would be used? Would the student use a different form from the teacher?

Thanks,
Robert (Tasmania)

[Fawzy]

1. Well, I wouldn't find it strange at all, the Arabic word for God is Allah, it's not Islam specific, it literally means The God, so it shouldn't be strange at all, plus that how the language is spoken, I have many Christian friends that say the word Allah quite often.

2. In Arabic, there's no such thing as informal and formal, the standard politeness level is fine for both formal and informal situations, so any form of 'thank you' would be just fine, though the most frequent form used is 'shukran شكراً', use it with whoever you want, be it a little child, a friend, your boss, even a king!
Also the good thing about شكرا is that it's the same in all the dialects of Arabic, so it wouldn't sound out of place in any of the Arabic countries.


I hope that was helpful,
Fawzy

[budz888]

yep, many thanks

[hasenj]

well, if you say جزاك الله خيرا I think I would find it a bit weird, considering it's an Islamic phrase, and it's not very common ..

بارك الله فيك is common, I don't know if common Arabs would find it strange to hear it from a westerner, but I personally would find it a bit strange.

anyway, there are alot of ways to express gratitude and appreciation, but it varies from dialect to dialect and from place to place and from a setting to a setting.

I know a common phrase in Iraq is تسلم (tislam) and I think it's common in Syria as well.