Greetings!
That’s what this post is about (among other things). Welcome to my second post on Swahili. I wrote this about a month ago and wasn’t sure whether to put it up, but I imagine the value in this and related posts comes not from actually learning the terms, but from understanding how the language is used and what that reveals about Tanzanian culture. Take what you will from it.
So, again, this deals with greetings, some related phrases and also some background on how some of those phrases are used. Greetings are critical to any conversation in Tanzania. It’s inappropriate to begin a conversation without one, and not uncommon to exchange multiple greetings before any substantive conversation actually begins.
(Note: There are some verb constructions in this list. If you wanna have fun dissecting them, refer to the chart in my previous post.)
habari (n): news, information; a word common in many Tanzanian greetings
>”Habari?”: “News?”; boring and lifeless given all the other choices, but it works
>”Habari gani?”: lit. “Which news?”; syn. “What’s up?”
>”Habari yako?”: lit. “Your news?”; syn. “How are you?”
>”Habari1 za… (leo, sasa, etc…)?”: lit. “News of… (today, now, etc…)?”; syn. “How’s it going?”
-zuri (adj): good; one of two appropriate replies2 to a “habari” question, prefix varies3
salama (adj): peaceful; the other appropriate reply to a “habari” question
“Hujambo?”4: “You have nothing the matter with you?”; another common greeting
>“Sijambo.”: “I have nothing the matter with me.”; the appropriate reply to “Hujambo?”
“Shikamuu!”5: “I hold your feet!”; a respectful greeting to elders or superiors
>“Marahaba!”: (no lit. translation); the appropriate reply to “Shikamuu!”
1. In the Tanzanian vernacular, “habari” is usually dropped. “Habari za leo?” becomes “Za leo?”
2. Even if you aren’t feeling well, responding in the negative is considered impolite.
3. The composition of most words in Swahili is governed by noun classes. Noun classes are a pain, and I suspect they’re behind most Volunteer ETs (early terminations) in East Africa.
4. Here’s a verb construction. If you look at the chart in my previous post on Swahili, “hu-” is the negative subject prefix of “you”. “-jambo” is a verb stem meaning “to have something the matter with you”. In the reply, “si-“ is the negative subject prefix of “I”.
5. orig. “Nashika miguu yako!” “(Ni)nashika” is another verb construction. As mentioned previously,“ni-“ is typically dropped in the present tense. “Miguu” means “feet” and “yako” is the possessive for “you”. Notice that the possessive follows the possessed (“miguu yako”, not “yako miguu”); in Swahili, modifiers (numbers, possessives, adjectives) always follow the modified.
There are no doorbells in Tanzania. When you want to enter someone’s house or any other private property, you typically get someone’s attention with by “hodi-ing”.
“Hodi!”6: (no lit. translation); used to request permission to enter
karibu (adj): welcome; used to welcome someone, also an appropriate response to “asante”
asante (n): thanks; “asanteni” when responding to multiple people
>”(Ni)nashukuru!”7: “I am grateful!”; another way to show appreciation
6. From Arabic, probably meaning “Is all well?”
7. More verb construction. Drop the “ni-”; “-shukuru” is the verb stem meaning “thankful” or “grateful”.
And eventually you’ll want to leave, so it’s good to be able to say goodbye properly.
“Kwa heri!”: goodbye; the traditional way to say goodbye, particularly for an extended period
>”Badaaye!”: later; a less formal goodbye
>“Tutaonana!”: “We will see each other!”;another common way to say goodbye
“Karibu tena!”: “You’re welcome again!”; when departing, to welcome someone back later
“Tutakutana siku nyingine.”: “We will meet each other another day.”; a little romantic – I like it
So that’ll do it for this bit. Now if you ever wake up and find yourself in East Africa, you’ll be able to start and end that conversation you can’t (yet) have. Huzzah!
Tutakutana siku nyingine.
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