greetings

" Ahlan wa sahlan " means "welcome" and not "hello". It's right ?

I think "ahlan" literally means "welcome" but people also use it like "hi". I'm not sure of the literal meaning of "ahlan wa sahlan" but I think it can mean both "welcome" and "hello".

But if "Ahlan" litteraly means "welcome according to your kind reply then which is the meaning of the other words "wa sahlan" ? It's getting difficult to understand this Arabic expression, isn't ? Perphas is this an expression from Egiptyan Arabic ?

Hi Luca and Kntlne! Ahlan wa sahlan as a greeting does mean "welcome" in English but it can also be used to say "hello". It is also used in other dialects of Arabic as well, not only Egyptian. Literally, 'ahlan' means family and 'sahlan' means easy. Originally the phrase was حللت أهلاً ووطئت سهلاً which means something to the effect of "May you arrive as part of the family, and tread an easy path (as you enter)." Nowadays we just say "Ahlan was sahlan" instead :) I hope this helps! - Amira

I feel your full explanation it will help us improving Arabic. I wish another straight tip please : "in this course you teach speaking Egyptian Arabic. Are many the differences between this language in comparison with common Arabic ?". I hope you have realized my question. Thanks Amira.

Ahlan Luca! Egyptian Arabic is understood in most Arabic speaking places due to the influence of the Egyptian media. It's the most widely spoken variety of Arabic. However, there are still differences between the Arabic spoken in different countries, mainly in the pronunciation of letters & some vocabulary. You might find that people find it easy to understand you, but you might come across expressions and words that are unfamiliar to you. I hope this helps! - Amira

Ahlan Amira! The advice that I have received is very helpful. Sukran!

August 18 To Amira I accept your comment on Egyptian Arabic being the most spoken arabic language. However I'm worried about these different kinds of Arabic(North Africa, Middle East etc...); More specifically, do you think that I'll be able(not now obviously but in a few months hopefully) to watch"Al Jazeera" TV broadcast and grab a significant percent of what they are saying after studying your Rocket course? Similarly, shall I be able to buy a newspaper or magazine and understand what they write?Looking forward to your answer;thanks in advance.

Hi Christian Sorry for the late reply! Egyptian Arabic is quite different but it is still Arabic so if you grasp the foundations of the language you can build on your Arabic skills regardless of the dialect. The Rocket Arabic course is a beginners course so you might need further studies if you want to be able to understand Al Jazeera. Much like our own news channels, the language used by the presenters is a lot more formal and difficult compared to the language on the streets. Compare it to someone just learning English and expecting them to understand the 8 o'clock news! That being said, I'm sure you will soon be able to get the gist of the Al Jazeera headlines :) Good luck!