מה נשמעMa nishma
What's up? How are you? (literally: what is heard?)
What does Ma nishma mean in Hebrew?
Ma nishma (מה נשמע, pronounced mah neesh-MAH) means "what's up?" or "how are you?" in Israeli casual speech. Literally translating to "what is heard?", it's the go-to informal greeting between friends, much more common than the formal "ma shlomkha". A typical response might be "beseder, stam" (fine, just hanging) or "sababa, ma itkha?" (cool, what about you?).
How to pronounce Ma nishma
מה נשמע
The Hebrew script reads right-to-left. The English transliteration uses the Israeli Sephardic pronunciation standard.
When do Israelis use Ma nishma?
The most common Israeli greeting among friends, far more casual than "ma shlomkha?" (the formal "how are you?"). "Ma nishma" invites a real answer, not just a polite "fine". You might hear "ma nishma, akhshav?" (what's up lately?) from someone you haven't seen in a while.
Ma nishma in a sentence: examples
מה נשמע, כל טוב?
Ma nishma, kol tov?
What's up, all good?
מה נשמע איתך? לא ראיתי אותך שבועות.
Ma nishma itkha? Lo ra'iti otkha shvu'ot.
What's going on with you? I haven't seen you in weeks.
אחי! מה נשמע!
Achi! Ma nishma!
Man! What's up!
Origin of Ma nishma
Unique Israeli Hebrew construction: literally "what is heard?" A playful twist on asking how someone is.
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