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Greetings
Greetings are more important in Swahili than in English. Most social interactions are prefaced by a greeting. It is considered rude not to greet someone you are going to speak to. Women are not required to return a greeting from a man they are not familiar with. Men and women seldom hold hands or show signs of affection in public. Keep this in mind to avoid offending the locals.
| Hello | habari | I'm fine | mzuri | Thank you | asante | Goodbye | kwa heri |
Bibi is a term of respect used to address women.
Mama is a term of great respect and is usually used to address older women.
Bwana is a term of repect for men, meaning "sir" or "mister".
Mzee means "elder" or "old person".
Generally only older men are referred to as an mzee, with older women being addressed as mama.
Rafiki means "friend". Use a title or name along with a greeting whenever possible.Greetings
The two basic kinds of greeting are based on habari, "news", and jambo, "matter".| habari, bwana | hello, sir | |
| habari, bibi | hello, madam |
The standard reply is:
| mzuri | hello, I'm fine | |
| habari yako, bwana? | hello, sir, what's your news? | |
| mzuri | fine | |
| mzuri, tu | just fine | |
| mzuri sana | very fine | |
Jambo means "matter" or "problem". Jambo greetings change according to number and person.
| hujambo, bwana | hello, sir | |
| sijambo, bibi | I'm fine, madam | |
| hamjambo, mabwana | hello, gentlemen | |
| hatujambo, bibi | were fine, madam |
For tourist the shortened form is commonly used.
| jambo | hello | |
| (reply) jambo | hello |
| Peace be upon you. | asalaamu alekum | |
| (reply) And upon you peace. | wa alekum salaam |
Other civilities
| goodbye | kwa heri | |
| goodbye (plural) | kwa herini | |
| please (be so kind as to) | tafadhali | |
| please (plural) | tafadhalini | |
| thank you | asante | |
| thank you very much | asante sana | |
| forgive me | samahani | |
| consolations | pole | |
| consolations (plural) | poleni | |
| sleep well | lala salama | |
| sleep well (plural) | laleni salama |
Hodi
When you approach a house and intend to enter, loudly say hodi as you approach. The reply to your hodi is hodi or karibu, meaning "be welcome". Both mean you are being welcomed in.
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© JamboKenya.