LESSON NOTES

Absolute Beginner S1 #2
Passing Time-Specific Greetings
in Swahili

CONTENTS
2 Swahili
2 English
3 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar
5 Cultural Insight

# 2
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 SWAHILI

1. (in the morning)

2. Ali: Habari ya asubuhi?

3. Rehema: Mzuri sana.

4. (in the afternoon)

5. Mustafa: Habari ya adhuhuri?

6. Maina: Mzuri sana.

7. (in the evening)

8. Otieno: Habari ya jioni?

9. Wanjala: Mzuri sana.

ENGLISH

1. (in the morning)

2. Ali: Good morning?

3. Rehema: Good morning to you.

4. (in the afternoon)

5. Mustafa: Good afternoon?

CONT'D OVER

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6. Maina: Good afternoon to you.

7. (in the evening)

8. Otieno: Good evening?

9. Wanjala: Good evening to you.

VOCABULARY

Swahili English Class

Habari How is..., How are... phrase

asubuhi morning noun

adhuhuri lunch hour noun

jioni evening noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Habari yako Asubuhi ya leo kuna baridi.

"How are you?" "It is a bit cold t his morning."

Adhuhuri ikifika nit aenda Napenda kut embea Jioni

kukula wali. nikit oka kazini.

"I will have some rice over "I like t o walk home in t he
luncht ime." evening from my work place."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Habari is a word that is used to form a phrase for key greetings, whether they are
general greetings or time-specific greetings, as we saw in the dialogue.

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Asubuhi is the Swahili word for "morning." The phrase Habari ya asubuhi
translates to "How is your morning" or "good morning."

Adhuhuri is the Swahili word for "lunch time" or "lunch hour." The phrase Habari ya
adhuhuri means "how is your lunchtime" or "good afternoon."

Jioni is Swahili for "evening." The phrase habari ya jioni translates to "how is your
evening" or "good evening"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of t his Lesson is Saying Hello in Swahili at Diff erent T imes

of Day
Habari ya asubuh.
"Good morning."

The three sets of phrases in the dialogue are time-specific greetings. You can ask
someone "good morning?" (habari ya asubuhi) and reply "good morning to
you" (mzuri sana); ask a person "good afternoon?" (habari ya adhuhuri), reply with
"good afternoon to you" (mzuri sana); and ask "good evening?" (habari ya jioni)
and reply with mzuri sana.

From the explanation and the dialogue above you can see that the greeting phrase
may change according to the time of day but the response is the same. Mzuri sana
is a common reply to most Swahili greetings. This is both formal and informal and
the common sentence structure is Habari +ya + (time specific noun).

T he Nouns Asubuhi, Adhuhuri and Jioni

These three nouns are used according to the time of the day. If it is at night, you
may need to tell someone "good night," which is usiku mwema. Usiku is the Swahili
word for "night" and mwema means "good." The phrases can be used with people
of all ages and gender.

For example:

1. Ali: Mimi naondoka, asubuhi hii.

Ali: "I am leaving home this morning."
Rehema: Asubuhi njema basi.
Rehema: "Have a good morning then."

2. Mustafa: Sina njaa kali adhuhuri hii

Mustafa: "I am not terribly hungry this lunchtime."
Maina: Uko na adhuhuri njema basi.
Maina: "Then you have a good afternoon."

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3. Otieno: Naondoka kaka, tuonane jioni.
Otieno: "I am leaving brother, see you in the evening."
Wanjala: Siku njema basi.
Wanjala: "Have a good day then."

Examples f rom t his lesson:

Asubuhi njema

Adhuhuri njema

Siku njema

Examples f rom t he dialogue:

1. Mimi naondoka hii asubuhi

"I am leaving this morning."

2. Sina njaa kali hii adhuhuri

"I am not terribly hungry this lunch hour."

3. Naondoka kaka tuonane jioni.

"I am leaving brother, see you in the evening."

Language T ip

There are other expressions that are used for greetings. They include: jambo,
hujambo, and shikamoo (mostly used in the morning and in the evening); the
answer is marahaba.

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Swahili Greet ings

According to Kenyan culture, people are usually specific when they greet each
other. They may add the time of the day at the end of the phrase and the gender
reference. For example, habari ya asubuhi dada/kaka/ndugu/mama/baba? asubuhi
meaning "morning" and dada meaning "madam," kaka, ndugu for "brother," mama
for "mum," and baba for "dad."

They may exchange glances and smiles especially if their relationship is informal.

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They also shake hands or hug. Words such as babu meaning "grandfather" and
mama meaning "grandmother" are generally used to show respect to the elderly.

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