How do I greet my Muslim friends now that it’s Ramadan? Do I wish them a merry Ramadan, happy Ramadan, good Ramadan, or what? I know it’s a solemn time of year, but there must be some way of marking the occasion in conversation.
Also, how do you pronounce it? I’ve heard RAM-a-dan, ram-a-DAN, and equal stress on all syllables, but I think the only people I’ve heard were Americans who were also guessing.
“Ramadan mubarak,” if I recall correctly.
Catalyst is right. Ramadân mubârak. The stress accent goes on the long vowels (â). The d in Ramadan is an “emphatic” d, pronounced differently from the ordinary d.
Mubarak is pretty close to the Hebrew for ‘blessed’ (the object of a blessing, not the past tense verb) - does it mean the same thing?
Thanks for the responses!
“Ramdhan Mubarak” is used, IIRC, on the night that the new moon of Ramdhan is spotted (or rather not spotted!), rather than as a general greeting. I think it is also used for the first time you meet a friend during Ramdhan.
As for pronounciation, “Ramdhan” is pronounced with the “dh” being a “z” sound. In fact, I believe that a better phonetic spelling is “Ramzan”. The first a is short, whereas the second a is longer.
“Mubarak” is pronounced exactly how it is spelt. The first syllably “Mu” is short, and the stress is on the “bar”. The end, “rak”, is pronounced more with an “u” sound than an “a” sound.
“Mubarak” means blessings/felicitations, so the two probably derive from the same root.
If you can’t handle the Arabic, I have been informed by several Muslims that saying “Have a blessed fast” is quite acceptable. Which is what the phrase everyone is quoting means.
Angua, it’s pronounced Ramzan only in Hindi and Urdu — they drop the unaccented open vowel in the middle. In Persian and Turkish it’s pronounced with three syllables: Ramazan. In Arabic the d is an emphatic d sound.
The Hebrew and Arabic words for ‘blessed’, mevorakh and mubârak, are related. They share the same Semitic root brk, ‘to bless’.
Well, funnily enough, being of a Hindi background, I was pronouncing it how I would pronounce it.
Well, I’m assuming you usually speak to your friend in English, so Happy Ramadan works.
Jomo Mojo is spot on as usual, although it’s also perfectly acceptable to say “Ramadhan Kareem”, which means “Happy Ramadhan”.
And how’s the fasting going by the way, Angua? 
I’m not fasting - the diabetes prevents me from doing so. But I am being good.
Good girl. 
I’m really craving a double-whopper with cheese meal right about now, followed by a ciggie. Only an hour and a bit to go!
Bad Bibliovore!
Hey, I’ve been a good boy so far! I haven’t broken my fast or flirted or bad-mouthed anyone or anything!
Sunset in T minus one hour and counting.
Wow - that’s impressive.
Neither have I. I haven’t even sworn - how good is that?!
I suppose Ramadan Tovah would be bad form
(That would be Happy Ramadan in Hebrew).;j
Not really bad form, but you might get a few blank stares.
I guess “Would you like a bite of my bacon cheeseburger?” would be right out too?
I’m just kidding!
Dude, don’t tempt me!
