Almost everyone has heard of the word “Jambo” which is a simple greeting in Swahili. But before I share with you some other really important greetings, first we have to go through our pronunciation guide once again (you honestly didn’t think I’d let you move on without this part, did you?). So here it is:
‘a’ is pronounced as in ‘car’
‘e’ is pronounced as in ‘bet’
‘i’ is pronounced as in ‘tweet’
‘o’ is pronounced as in ‘door’
‘u’ is pronounced as in ‘scoop’
All vowels in Swahili are pronounced as stated above. These pronunciations NEVER change. No exceptions whatsoever.
After you’re done with this cheat sheet, you’ll have learned the basics of Swahili greetings and how easy it is to pronounce them. Here we go:
| Jambo | Hi/Hello/Good day |
| Habari? | How are things? |
| Nzuri | Fine, good, terrible |
| Hodi! | Hello! Anyone in? (said on knocking or entering) |
| Karibu | Welcome/Enter |
| Kwaheri | Goodbye |
| Asante | Thank you |
| Bwana | Mister, the equivalent of monsieur in French |
| Mama | Like the French madame or madamoiselle, for adult women |
| Unaitwaje? | What’s your name? |
Visualize yourself speaking Swahili fluently and clearly. Imagine yourself absorbing every word and pronouncing them clearly…perfectly…easily. And if you haven’t gotten the chance to grab your free “Secrets to Learning Swahili Quickly report”, do it now: Go to http://www.swahili101.com
i heard someone say ‘jambo’ a while back but i never got to know what it meant..