صبح بخیر

What it means

صبح بخیر (sobh be kheyr) means “good morning.” Used from waking until roughly noon, when ظهر بخیر (zohr be kheyr) takes over. Universal across registers, said to family at breakfast and to a shopkeeper opening up.

How to use it

• صبح بخیر بابا (sobh be kheyr bâbâ) “good morning, Dad”
• صبح بخیر، صبحانه آماده است (sobh be kheyr, sobhâne âmâde ast) “good morning, breakfast is ready”
• صبحت بخیر (sobh-et be kheyr) “good morning [to you]”

Compound structure

The phrase breaks into three pieces: صبح (sobh) “morning” + به (be) “to/in” + خیر (kheyr) “goodness.” Both صبح and خیر are Arabic-origin (sobh from s-b-h “morning,” kheyr from kh-y-r “good”). Persian به is the pure-Persian preposition. The structure mirrors شب بخیر exactly, just with a different time-noun in front.

Cultural note

In Tehran, صبح بخیر is often paired with صبحت بخیر as a warm reply, the possessive -et making it personal. On the radio, morning DJs open shows with صبح همه شنوندگان بخیر “good morning to all listeners.” The greeting is genuinely used; it isn’t a formal carryover the way “good morrow” is in English.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab