استقبال رسمي وتبادل تهاني العيد في أنقرة

What does “كل عام وأنتم بخير” mean in Arabic?

كل عام وأنتم بخير (kull aam wa antum bi-khayr) is the greeting exchanged at every Eid across the Arabic-speaking world. Break it apart and it is A1-simple: كل (kull) = every, عام (aam) = year, بخير (bi-khayr) = in goodness. Yet the phrase carries real weight — خير (khayr) appears over 150 times in the Quran and means substantive wellbeing, not just a pleasant day. The reply is perfectly symmetrical: وأنتم بخير — “and you too.”

The و (wa) linking عام and أنتم is not simply “and” — grammarians call it a circumstantial waw, so the phrase reads more like “every year, [while] you are in goodness.” That small particle gives the expression its wish-like, du’a flavour: you are not just saying hello, you are praying for the other person’s ongoing wellbeing. In this clip, a formal Eid reception in Ankara, you hear it woven into a rapid-fire exchange: كيف حالكم كل عام وأنتم بخير إن شاء الله, followed immediately by عيد مبارك للجميع — the full ceremonial opening played out in under ten seconds of real diplomatic Arabic.