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Lesson Transcript

Hamjamboni. Mimi ni Medina. Hi everybody! I’m Medina.
Welcome to Swahilipod101.com's “Kiswahili kwa dakika tatu,” The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Swahili.
In the last lesson, we learned how to thank people by saying Asante. In this lesson, we’ll learn some of the most common greetings used in Kenya.
Ukotayari? Are you ready? Natuanze, so let’s get started!
The most commonly used informal greeting is:
Habari!
[slowly] Habari!
Habari means “hi” or “hello”. We use it when we meet people. We can use this greeting with friends or relatives, but also with people we don’t know.
We used this phrase in lesson 1, do you remember? And do you remember what the formal way of greeting people is?
Shikamoo!
[slowly] Shikamoo!
Do you also remember that habari can be used both in the formal and casual setting?
During the evening we say:
Habari ya jioni!
[slowly] Habari ya jioni!
Jioni is Swahili for “evening,” so Habari ya jioni means “good evening”.
Habari and Habari ya jioni are used when we meet someone, but when we leave, we don’t say these greetings again.
Instead, when leaving in both formal and informal situations, Kenyan people say:
Kwaheri.
[slowly] Kwaheri.
Kwaheri means “good-bye.”
Finally, in Swahili we have an expression meaning “see you soon” that can be considered both formal and informal:
Tuonane tena.
[slowly] Tuonane tena.
Now you can greet people in many different ways in Swahili.
Let’s review them all again.
When greeting someone in an informal way, remember to say:
Habari!
When greeting someone in a formal situation, you say:
Shikamoo!
When leaving, in either a formal or informal situation, say:
Tuonane tena.
It’s easy, isn’t it?
Now it’s time for Medina’s Insights.
In formal situations, Kenyans commonly greet each other by shaking hands. But, if we meet someone we are very friendly with, we hug each other. Don’t be afraid to do it with your Kenyan friends—it’s normal!
In the next lesson we’ll learn the meaning of the phrase Unaongea Kiingereza? Do you already know it? I'll be waiting with the answer in our next Kiswahili kwa dakika tatu. Until then!
Tuonane.

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