If you have heard of Shalom and you wonder what it means or how to respond to it, you have found your answers. Sit back and relax, as you watch them unfold.
Shalom is a Hebrew word, used to refer to the end of wars and hostilities. It automatically translates to Peace, tranquility, prosperity, harmony, and welfare.
You may wonder how you are meant to respond to this but you are not meant to. You are not meant to respond to Shalom when it means ‘Peace a Harmony’.
Shalom however can be used idiomatically as a greeting word. This is the one you can respond to. Shalom is very similar to greeting words like ‘Good day’, ‘Ciao’, and ‘Cheers’.
These words, including Shalom, can be used to greet both on arrival and on departure.
A typical response to Shalom is ‘Greetings’.
30 Best Responses To Shalom
- Hey
- Peace be unto you.
- Shalom
- See you around.
- Good morning.
- Hello
- You look so good.
- Ciao
- Be blessed.
- Good luck.
- Have a great day.
- See you later.
- Goodbye
- Thank you.
- What’s up?
- Welcome
- Have a great night.
- Stay alive.
- Greetings
- It’s been a while.
- It was nice having you around.
- Be safe.
- Feels great to see you.
- What’s the word?
- Have a nice weekend.
- See you on the other side.
- Are you leaving already?
- Till we meet.
- Have a nice week.
- Thank you for having me.
Hey
‘Hey’ is a greeting word that is used for starting conversations. Not only does it begin conversations but also calls attention.
You can say ‘Hey’ when you want to begin a chat, whether you are interacting face-to-face or you are sending a text message.
You can also call a person’s attention without necessarily having a conversation with him or her.
Another special thing about ‘Hey’ is it can be used at any time of day. This is what makes it similar to ‘Shalom’. Like Shalom, you can say ‘Hey’ in the morning and at night.
However, the difference between the two greetings words is Shalom can be used on departure while Hey can’t.
Peace be unto you
‘Shalom’ also means ‘Peace’ so you can say the same thing back by wishing him or her peace. You can say this when welcoming a person to a place. You can also say this when you are being welcomed.
You can say this when a person is leaving your place or when you are going your separate ways. You can also say this when you are leaving someone else’s place.
This may sound a bit awkward to some people but it shouldn’t be if the other person knows what ‘Shalom’ means.
Shalom
Shalom is a good enough response for ‘Shalom’. This is similar to saying ‘Hey’ in response to ‘Hey’. We all do that.
This is because ‘Shalom’ is simply a greeting word with no particular translation, just like ‘Hey’. Saying this means you are greeting back.
If we will be using the Jewish meaning of the word, giving this response means you are wishing peace upon someone else who has wished you a life of peace.
See you around
When you say you will see a person around, then it means you will see the person around. This statement is meant to be made when ending a face-to-face conversation with neither of the participants leaving the surroundings.
In other words, neither of you is actually leaving when you say this. You are only saying this because you have to end the chat in the meantime.
One of you probably has to do something quickly but is not leaving the surroundings. You may also just say this when ending a conversation with someone who leaves in your neighborhood.
This is because you both may come across each other at any time while just walking around.
Good morning
Here is one way to respond to Shalom in the morning. You don’t need to hear Shalom to say this back, however.
‘Good morning’ is a simple greeting word that is often used to start conversations. Since Shalom is a greeting word, all you have to do is respond with another greeting word and the conversation proceeds.
You can also say ‘Good afternoon’ or ‘Good evening’, depending on what time it is.
Hello
Here is another one like ‘Hey’. You can consider it an alternative to ‘Hey’, being similarly well-known and having the same usage.
You can use Hello to start a conversation face-to-face or over the phone. You can also call a person’s attention with this just to pass on one message, without actually having a conversation with him or her.
You look so good
It is not strange that compliments can also be used as greeting words. You must have heard how compliments are used to begin conversations. It is similar to how welfare questions begin conversations.
Compliments can only be used at the beginning of conversations. They can be used on arrival but not on departure.
You know how preposterous it would sound to get a compliment after saying ‘Goodbye’. While compliments can come towards the end of a conversation, it would be very weird to say so after the discussion is ended.
Ciao
‘Ciao’ is a Spanish, Italian, and English greeting word. The word is used to greet people both on arrival and on departure. It is one of the words said to be similar to ‘Shalom’ in the introduction.
‘Ciao’ starts and ends conversations. It can also be used at any time of day. Except to mean Peace, Ciao can be used in every way you can think of using Shalom.
If you can say Ciao as a response to Ciao and Shalom as a response to Shalom, you can also use Ciao as a response to Shalom and vice-versa.
Be blessed
‘Shalom’ is not a greeting word you can hear everywhere. It is a Jewish word so it will be more common among the Jews and related people.
Similarly, Indian words and Chinese words are not expected to be used everywhere.
There is a high chance that the person greeting you with Shalom is a Jewish person or someone religious. A religious way to answer is ‘Be blessed’. You can use this response at any time, including arrival and departure.
Good luck
We use ‘Good luck’ in two ways. Sometimes, we say ‘Good luck’ to wish a person good luck. He or she may be going on a journey or going to do something in which success is not guaranteed.
‘Good luck’ is another way to say ‘Goodbye’. It is often used as a parting word. You can say it when a conversation is over so it can be a response to ‘Shalom’.
Have a great day
‘Have a great day’ is a phrase used to end a conversation or part ways with a person. It is meant to be ‘till the next day’ but that’s not necessary.
You can always say this if the conversation is happening at an early time of day but you won’t be seeing the person or chatting with the person till night or till the next day.
This can be used to respond to Goodbye. It can respond to all parting words, including Shalom.
See you later
Can you tell the difference between the two (often-interchangeably used) phrases, ‘See you soon’ and ‘See you later’?
You can use both as a response to Shalom but it depends on what you mean.
When you say ‘See you later’ to a person, it means you are parting ways but will definitely choose to meet again. It means you both will meet but neither of you has a plan for when next to meet. It’s just at a later time.
When you say ‘See you soon’, you are either on your way to the person you are talking to or you will be coming back to the person you are talking to.
You can say this when leaving a person if you have agreed to come back to meet the person.
This can be a response to Shalom since it is also a parting word.
Goodbye
If Shalom means ‘Goodbye’, then ‘Goodbye’ can also be assumed to mean ‘Shalom’. As mentioned earlier, ‘Shalom’ can respond to ‘Shalom’. ‘Goodbye’ is also one of the parting words that can respond to themselves.
Since the two words mean the same thing, it is understandable to say ‘Goodbye’ in response to ‘Shalom’ but only when ‘Shalom’ is being used on departure.
‘Shalom’ can also be a response to Goodbye but it is only recommended if you are talking to a Hebrew or someone who knows the language.
Thank you
Is ‘Thank you’ a parting word? It technically isn’t but it may just be the last word you say when you are parting ways with a person.
‘Thank you’ isn’t a greeting word either but it may be one of the first statements you make when you are being greeted by a person.
‘Shalom’ can be used to wish you peace. It is okay to appreciate it by saying ‘Thank you’. You can use this on arrival or on departure.
What’s up?
While a question may not seem right for this context, we may not consider ‘What’s up?’ a question here.
While it really is a welfare question, it is one of those that have been used excessively at the beginning of conversations, making it lose its capability to receive honest or well-thought answers.
‘What’s up?’ is now used as a greeting word. You can walk up to a person with this as your first statement. You may also say ‘Hello’ and have ‘What’s up’ as the response.
Just as the question did not intend to get a response, you will most likely be giving an impulsive answer.
Welcome
We already know ‘Shalom’ can also mean ‘Welcome’. However, can ‘Welcome’ be a response to ‘Welcome’? No, that sounds preposterous and is definitely incorrect.
‘Welcome’ is what you say to a person who is arriving. The person uses a different greeting word and ‘Welcome’ is not considerable.
‘Shalom’ however does not simply mean ‘Welcome’. It is a greeting word so you can use it to greet people when you arrive at a place. In response to that, they can say ‘Welcome’ to you.
Have a great night
We have spoken of ‘Have a great day’. There is also the option to say ‘Have a great night’s. You can only say this at night. It makes sense when you are parting ways with a person at night or one of you is going to bed.
A person can say Shalom to you at night and this response will fit in perfectly.
Stay alive
This is not an exactly correct greeting or parting word. Saying ‘Stay alive’ is very similar to saying ‘Peace be unto you’ or ‘good luck’.
Like the similar phrases mentioned above, it is a good wish on the person you are parting with. Say this as a response to ‘Goodbye’ or any parting word, including Shalom.
Greetings
This is the response suggested in the introduction but it doesn’t work in every situation. While ‘Greetings’ is okay to say when you arrive at a place, it cannot be used to start just any conversation or as a parting word.
You can say ‘Greetings in response to Shalom when you arrive at a person’s place. Shalom, in this context, has been used to welcome you.
It’s been a while
Here is another way people greet one another. They talk about how long it has been since they had a conversation or saw each other.
When a person greets you with Shalom, you can respond with this statement. However, you can’t use this as a parting word. It may come in toward the end of the conversation.
It was nice having you around
We use this often to show that we appreciate the presence of a person in our homes. It is never used as a greeting word.
Neither do we say this before the conversation is over or before the visitor chooses to leave. Otherwise, you would be indirectly telling your visitor to get out of your home.
A person can say Shalom while leaving your home, then you can say this to him or her.
Be safe
This is similar to ‘Stay Alive’, ‘Good luck’, and ‘Peace be unto you’. It is simply a good wish and is often used as a parting word.
It is not used to start conversations because it would sound really weird. If a person says ‘Shalom’ while parting ways with you, you can tell him or her to ‘Be safe’.
Feels great to see you
This can be seen as the opposite of ‘it was nice having you around’. This is often said as a greeting word. It implies that you are happy to see the person.
This is what you say when you are starting a conversation with a person face-to-face.
This can respond to Shalom if the word has been used to greet a person.
What’s the word?
This is similar to ‘What’s up?’ but it is often answered. You can say this to ask for a person’s welfare or what he or she is up to. You may also use this question to ask what a person wants to tell you.
Shalom may be used to get your attention so you can say ‘What’s the word’ to simply ask what the person wants with you.
Have a nice weekend
Here is a statement often made on a Friday. Schoolmates say this to one another, and so do workmates.
This is because they don’t expect to see each other till the next week so the statement implies ‘Have a nice time till we meet again’.
A person can say Shalom to you on a Friday. If you won’t be seeing him through the weekend, you can say this.
See you on the other side
This one sounds like a curse but take it as a joke. Say this when you are parting ways with your close friends. ‘The other side’ is often used to mean the ‘afterlife’.
You can give it any other meaning you desire but the afterlife will be the first thing that springs up in the mind of whoever you say this too.
Are you leaving already?
Ask this question when a visitor says Shalom to imply ‘Goodbye’. The question is often used to imply that you would love the person to stay a bit longer. It is not always honest though.
Till we meet
This is similar to saying ‘See you later’. It means you may meet again but you have no plan to contact each other for a meetup.
Have a nice week
People often say this on a Sunday, as Monday is believed to start off a new week. It doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be seeing the person throughout the week, however.
Thank you for having me
After saying Goodbye and standing up to leave someone’s house, he or she may say Shalom as a response. Then you can thank your host for harboring you in his or her place.