A Brief List of ِArabic phrases I wish I knew before travelling to Palestine: “Having not previously studied Arabic, I was informed that it would be wise to learn the arabic alphabet before travelling to Palestine. I abliged and, when I landed in Tel Aviv, was feeling confident; I would come to my first Arabic lesson well prepaired to hit the ground running. Although this was true, I had forgot to think about my journey to the centre! The situation is improving, but currently most Palestinians you will meet on your journy to the centre, most importanty bus and taxi drivers, are likly to not speak much (if any )English. If had learned the handful of phrases listed in this artice before my trip, the whole experence of getting to the centre would have been much smoother – so please learn from my mistakes!” Ben from the UK remarked 
Greetings:
Although you will hear many, these greetings are the most commonly used in Palestine.
| English translation | Transliteration | Arabic Phrase |
| Hello / “peace be upon you”. | As-salamu alaykum | السلام عليكم |
| And peace be upon you (in reply)* | wa ᶜalaykum issalām | وعليكم السلام |
| Good morning/afternoon | ṣabāḥ ilkhēr | صباح الخير |
| Good morning/afternoon (in reply) | ṣabāḥ innūr | صباح النور |
| Good evening | masā’ ilkhēr | مساء الخير |
| Good evening (in reply) | masā’ innūr | مساء النور |
| How are you? | kēf ḥālak (m) /ḥālik (f) | كيف حالك؟ |
| Im Good / Praise be to God | ilḥamdillah | الحمدلله |
*In Arabic, phrases often have a common reply – it is worth being aware of these!
Manners:
| English translation | Transliteration | Arabic Phrase |
| Thank You. | shukran | شكرا |
| Thank you (in reply) | afwan | عفوا |
To find the price:
Useful when shopping or getting a taxi.
| English translation | Transliteration | Arabic Phrase |
| How much?** | adesh? | اديش |
** You can usually get by counting fingers in responce, or for a more formal purchace you could learn the arabic numbers
Directions::
Useful when directing a taxi driver to your home or the centre
| English translation | Transliteration | Arabic Phrase |
| to the right | ila al-ya-meen | إلى اليَمين |
| to the left | ila al-ya-saar | إلى اليَسار |
| Stop / This is my destination*** | ya’tik el’afia | يعطيك العافيه |
*** A versitile phrase also used when:
- calling a waitor
- calling attention in the street
