A greeting is time and again the initial point of call for human communication, and should be the first phrase you learn from any foreign language. Opening a conversation with a greeting is polite and shows willingness to communicate. Communicating can be difficult in Africa, a continent with over 1500 and 2000 African languages. However, don’t be nervous about saying “hello” as the effort will usually be appreciated even if you don’t get it quite right! A few words or phrases go a long way, and the best place to start is at the beginning with “hello.” In this article, we look at some of the greetings used across the African continent, organized by country to make the list easy to navigate. Most African nations employ countless different greetings, with each one representing a different race, people or tribe.
Learning how to greet others in many languages is both rewarding and fun, so here’s a handy list of how to say “hello” in sundry African languages per country; some of which may be repeated from one country to the next. However, where multiple languages are spoken, only the official or most prominent language is included:
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Berber/Tamazight: Azul (Hello), sbah Lkhir (Good morning), ms lkhir (Good afternoon), ms lkhir (Good evening)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Umbundu: Wakolapo (Hello to an individual) Wakolipo (Hello to more than one person, Utanya uwa (Good morning), Ekumbi liwa (Good afternoon), Uteke uwa (Good evening), Uteke uwa (Good night)
Kikongo: Mbote na yo (sg) Mbote na bino (pl) Sango nini (Hello), Boyei bolamu (welcome), Mbote (Good morning, Afternoon and Evening)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Yoruba: Ẹ n lẹ (Hello), Ẹ ku aarọ (Good morning), Ẹ ku ọsan (Good Afternoon), Ẹ ku alẹ (Good evening)
Fon/Gbe: Bawo Ni (Hello (informal))
Setswana: Dumela mma (Hello to a woman), Dumela rra (Hello to a man)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Mossi: Ne y yibeogo! (Good morning)
Dyula: I ni sogoma (Good morning)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Kirundi: Amahoro – peace, widely used as greetins (reply: n’amahoro)
Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
Cape verde creole/ Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (good morning), Boa tarde (good afternoon), Boa noite (good evening)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Sangho/ Sango: Balao madame (Hello ma’m), Balao monsieur (Hello sir)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Arabic: Salaam wa alekoum. (Peace be with you)
Comorian/ Shikomori: Gege (Hello / how are you?)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Arabic: Salaam wa alekoum. (Peace be with you)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Dioula: I (a) ni sɔgɔmo (Good Morning), I (a) ni woula (Good Afternoon), I (a) ni suu (Good evening)
Lingala: Mbote (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Tshiluba: Betu’abu (Hello)
Afar: Assalaamu qaleykum or Nagayna sin amol tanay (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Somali: Iska warran (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Spanish: Hola. (Hello. /Hi. )
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)
Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Tigrigna/Tigrinya: Selam (Hello.)
English: Hello
Amharic: Teanastëllën (Hello, formal), Tadiyass (Hello, informal)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)
Mandingo/Mandinka: Esama (Good morning), Etinyang (Good afternoon), Ewulara (Good Evening)
Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)
English: Hello
Wolof: Na nga def (Hello (sg)), Na ngeen def (Hello (pl))
English: Hello
Twi: Maakyé (Good morning), Maaha (Good afternoon), Maadwo (Good evening)
Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)
Maninka: I ni sooma (Good morning), I ni wura (Good evening), I ni tele (Good afternoon)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
English: Hello
Kikuyu: Wĩmwega (Hello), Ngeithi cia rũcinĩ (Good morning), ngeithi cia mũthenya (Good afternoon), ngeithi cia hwainĩ (Good evening)
Luhya: Bushire (Good morning), Keshitare (Good afternoon), Bwakhera (Good evening)
Luo: Misawa/Ber (Hello), Oyawore (Good morning), Oimore (Good evening)
Sesotho: Lumela (Hello to one person), Lumelang (Hello to several people)
English: Hello
Zulu: Sawubona (Hello to an individual), Sanibonani (Hello to more than one person)
Xhosa: Molo (Hello to one person), Molweni (Hello to more than one person)
English: Hello
Mende: Bisse (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Italian: Ciao (Hello), Buongiorno! (Hello; Good morning; Goodbye), Buona sera! (Hello; Good evening; Goodbye)
French: Bonjour (hello, good morning), Bonsoir (good evening)
English: Hello
Malagasy: Salama (Hello), M’bola tsara (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Chichewa: Moni (Hello)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Bambara: I ni ce (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Hassaniya: Aw’walikum (Hello)
Mauritania creole: Bonzur (Hello)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Hindi: Namasthae (Greetings)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Berber: Azul (Hello-informal), Tifawin (Good morning), Timensiwin (Good evening)
Portuguese: Ola (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Makhuwa: Salaama (Hello)
English: Hello
Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello) or Goeie dag (Hello)
Oshiwambo: Mwa lele po (Hello)
German: Hallo (Hello), Guten Morgen (Good morning), Guten Abend (Good evening)
Fulfulde: Mihofnima (Hello!)
Hausa: Sannu (Hello)
Tamasheq: Wayi wan (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
English: Hello
Hausa: Sànnu (Hello)
Igbo: Ibaulachi (Hello)
Yoruba: Bawo (Hello)
Fula: Sannuko (Hello), Jam na? (How are you?), Useko (Thank you)
Kinyarwanda: Muraho (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
English: Hello
Portuguese: Ola (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Sãotomense: Seja lovadu! (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Wolof: Nanga def (How are you?)
Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)
Mandinka: I ni sooma (Good morning), I ni wura (Good evening), I ni tele (Good afternoon)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Seselwa/Seychellois creole: Allo (Hello), Bonzour (Good morning)
English: Hello
Krio: Kushe (Hello)
Somali: Iska warran (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Oromo: Naqaa? (Hello)
Zulu: Sawubona (Hello)
Xhosa: Molo (Hello)
Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello)
English: Hello
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Dinka: Cë yïn bääk (Hello (Singular))
English: Hello
Neur: Malɛ (Hello (singular))
Bari: Madaŋ/Do a purwe/Do a parana (Hello (singular))
Zande: Sene foro (Hello (singular)), Sene fu roni (Hello (Plural))
Swati: Sawubona (Hello)
English: Hello
Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
Akamba: Uvoo waku?(how are you? To one person), Uvoo Wenyu? (How are you? To a group of people)
English: Hello
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Ewe: Alekay (Hello)
French: Bonjour (Hello)
Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Luganda/Ganda: Oli Otya (Hello)
Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
English: Hello
Acoli: Itye nining? (Hello)
English: Hello
Bemba: Muli shani (How are you?)
Kaonde: Muji byépi? (How are you?)
Lozi: Lumela (Hello (sg)), Mlumeleng (Hello (pl))
English: Hello
Shona: Mhoro (Hello (sg)), Mhoroi (Hello (pl))
Ndebele/Sindebele: Sawubona (Hello)
That’s, how to say “Hello” in sundry African languages per country. Languages are very important for society in communication and expression of individuals. And the diversity of language is truly a fantastic accomplishment and it’s great to explore the vast differences and fascinating similarities in how we greet each other the universal way of starting conversation. It’s insightful to see from the above list how some languages include a selection of different greetings, and how others have concise greetings. All that credits to human creativity.