How to Say Hello, Thank You, and Goodbye in Hebrew
Learn how to say hello, thank you, and goodbye in Hebrew with pronunciation and examples used in everyday Israeli conversation.
If you're starting to learn Hebrew, one of the first things you'll want to know is how to greet people.
Israeli Hebrew has a few core greetings that appear constantly in everyday conversation. Once you learn these expressions, you'll immediately recognize them in spoken Hebrew, messages, and daily interactions.
If you're completely new to Hebrew, it may help to start with the Complete Beginner Guide to Hebrew or review the Hebrew Alphabet Chart: Letters, Pronunciation, and Final Forms so you can recognize the words below.
How to Say Hello in Hebrew
The most common way to say hello in Hebrew is:
שלום
Pronunciation: shalom
Meaning: hello / peace
Interestingly, shalom also means peace, which reflects the deeper meaning of the word in Hebrew.
Israelis use shalom in many situations:
- greeting someone
- answering the phone
- starting a conversation
- saying goodbye in more formal contexts
Example:
שלום! מה שלומך?
Shalom! Ma shlomcha?
Hello! How are you?
However, in everyday Israeli conversation, people often use more casual greetings.
Casual Hebrew Greetings Israelis Use
A very common informal greeting is:
היי
Pronunciation: hi
Meaning: hi
Another extremely common greeting is:
מה נשמע
Pronunciation: ma nishma
Meaning: what's up / how are things
Example:
היי, מה נשמע?
Hi, ma nishma?
These expressions appear constantly in everyday Israeli speech and also show up in many Essential Hebrew Phrases for Daily Conversation.
Some of the most natural greetings Israelis use also come from slang and casual conversation patterns, which you can explore in Israeli Slang Words You'll Actually Hear.
How to Say Thank You in Hebrew
The most common way to say thank you in Hebrew is:
תודה
Pronunciation: toda
Meaning: thank you
Example:
תודה רבה
toda raba
Meaning: thank you very much
The word רבה (raba) means a lot or very much, so the phrase literally means “many thanks.”
Example sentence:
תודה על העזרה
toda al ha-ezra
Thank you for the help.
Learning small everyday expressions like this quickly expands your Hebrew vocabulary. You can see more high-frequency words in 100 Most Common Hebrew Words Every Beginner Should Know.
How to Say Goodbye in Hebrew
There are several ways to say goodbye in Hebrew.
The most common one is:
להתראות
Pronunciation: lehitraot
Meaning: see you / goodbye
The word literally means “to see each other again.”
Example:
להתראות מחר
Lehitraot machar
See you tomorrow.
Another casual way Israelis say goodbye is simply:
ביי
Pronunciation: bye
Just like in English, Israelis often use this informal version in everyday speech.
How Israelis Actually Use These Words
In real Israeli conversations, greetings are usually quick and informal.
A typical exchange might look like this:
היי
Hi
מה נשמע
What's up
בסדר
Good / fine
יאללה ביי
Alright, bye
Understanding these simple conversation patterns becomes easier once you learn basic Hebrew Sentence Structure for Beginners.
Why Greetings Matter When Learning Hebrew
Greetings are some of the highest-frequency words in Hebrew.
Learning them helps you:
- start conversations
- understand everyday speech
- recognize common phrases
- sound more natural when speaking Hebrew
Even beginner learners can start using these expressions immediately.
Many of these greetings also appear inside larger vocabulary sets like the 100 Most Common Hebrew Words Every Beginner Should Know.
Practice Hebrew Greetings
The best way to remember new words is to see them repeatedly in real context.
Once you understand basic greetings, try expanding your vocabulary with additional phrases and common expressions in Essential Hebrew Phrases for Daily Conversation.
With just a few words, you can already start having simple conversations in Hebrew.