How to Say Hello in Swahili

Do you know how to say hello in Swahili?

In Tanzania, Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is the first language of most locals. It is the most commonly spoken language in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely used in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In many African countries, Swahili is an official language alongside English, and children are usually taught in Swahili at school.

Besides the standard habari or jambo, we will learn in depth Swahili greetings such as good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, plus some other cool phrases that you can use while interacting with fun-loving, youthful peers.

Pronunciation Guide

Swahili words are generally pronounced the way they are written. The stress in almost all cases is on the second-to-last syllable.

• Habari is pronounced as ha-BA-ri.
• Jambo as JAM-bo.

The letter i is pronounced like the "ee" in sweet, and the letter u like the "oo" in pool. There are no silent letters.

1. Standard Greetings: The Hujambo Family

There are several ways to say hello in Swahili.

1 Hujambo

Hujambo is a greeting in Swahili. It is like saying "hello" or "how are you?" all rolled into one. When someone asks hujambo?, they are asking if you are doing okay or if everything is fine. You can respond with sijambo, meaning "I'm fine" or "I'm good". It is a common way to greet people in Tanzania and other East African countries.

2 Hamjambo

Hamjambo is the plural form of hujambo and is used when addressing multiple people. It is like saying "hello everyone" or "how are you all?". When someone asks hamjambo?, they are asking if everyone is doing okay. You can respond with hatujambo, meaning "we're fine" or "we're good". It is a respectful and friendly way to greet a group of people.

3 Hajambo

Hajambo is a Swahili greeting used to ask about or state the well-being of a third person, he or she. It means "How is he or she?". You can respond with hajambo, meaning "He or she is fine". In this case, the question and the answer are the same. It is a way to ask about or state the well-being of a third person.

4 Hawajambo

Hawajambo is a Swahili greeting that means "How are they?". It is used when asking about a group of people who are not present. You can respond with hawajambo, meaning "they're fine" or "they're good".

2. Habari Greetings

1 Habari (General)

Habari is another popular greeting in Swahili. It means "news" or "how are you?". When you say habari?, you are asking about someone's news or how they are doing. You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

For the word habari, you can make it more specific.

2 Habari ya asubuhi / Habari za asubuhi

Habari ya asubuhi means "how is your morning?". It is used to greet one person in the morning, similar to saying "good morning, how are you?". You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

Habari za asubuhi is used to greet more than one person in the morning. It is like saying "good morning, how are you all?". You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

3 Habari ya mchana / Habari za mchana

Habari ya mchana means "how is your afternoon?". It is used during the daytime, usually from around noon to mid-afternoon, and is for one person. You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

Habari za mchana is used to greet more than one person in the afternoon. It is like saying "good afternoon, how are you all?". You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

4 Habari ya jioni / Habari za jioni

Habari ya jioni means "how is your evening?". It is used in the late afternoon or early evening and is for one person. You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

Habari za jioni is used to greet more than one person in the late afternoon or early evening. It is like saying "good evening, how are you all?". You can respond with nzuri (good) or safi (fine).

5 Habari ya siku/ Habari za siku

Habari ya siku means "how is your day?". It is a general question about someone's day, and you can respond with nzuri (good) or mbaya (bad).

Habari za siku is the plural form Habari ya siku

5 Habari ya usiku

Habari ya usiku means "how is your might?". It is a general question about someone's night, and you can respond with nzuri (good) or mbaya (bad).

Similarly, Habari za usiku is it's plural form.

3. Formal and Respectful Greetings

Shikamoo

Shikamoo is a traditional Swahili greeting used to show respect, usually from a younger person to an elder, such as parents, teachers, or people in authority. It is a way of acknowledging their status and showing respect.

When you say shikamoo, you are literally saying "I touch your feet" (shika means touch, moo means your), which is a sign of respect in many African cultures. The response marahaba means "you are welcome" or "I acknowledge your respect".
In Tanzania, this greeting is common in formal or traditional settings.

4. Peers Greeting Each Other and Cool Street Language

Young people everywhere like to make language sound cool, and Swahili speakers are no exception.

While walking through the streets of a town in Tanzania, you might hear some of these Swahili greetings. Most of them are informal and should not be used in formal writing.

4.1 Common Informal Greetings

Mambo (MA-mbo) – What's up?
Vipi? (VEE-pee) – How?
Niambie? – Tell me?

4.2 Common Replies

Replies to these greetings can be:

Safi (SA-fee) – Clean
Poa (PO-a) – Cool
Freshi (FRE-shee) – Fresh, a Swahilized slang version of the English word "fresh"

4.3 Is Vipi? / Is Poa

Another informal greeting is:

Is vipi? (is how?) – is poa (is cool). It does not really make sense, but it sounds cool.

This comes from Sheng, which is Swahili street slang that mixes English and Swahili. Sheng is spoken mainly by young, urban people in Tanzania and is slowly becoming common in Kenya as well.

Congratulations. You now have more Kiswahili vocabulary in your pocket, and you should know how to say hello in Swahili.