sawubona
familiar
The English phrase 'good morning' can be translated into Zulu as sawubona. Wiktionary also lists sanibonani.
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
Ways to say it
| Zulu | Note |
|---|---|
| sawubona | familiar |
| sanibonani | plural |
While it is used for 'good morning', it is a general greeting used when seeing someone for the first time in a day.
What does it mean word for word?
The word sawubona literally means 'I see you', while sanibonani literally means 'I see you all'.
Which one should you use?
Use sanibonani when greeting a group of people.
When do people say it?
A common response to the greeting sawubona is yebo, sawubona.
Did you know?
- The word sawubona is a contraction of siyakubona, which literally means 'we see you'.
- While sawubona is used as a greeting, it reflects a deep cultural philosophy where acknowledging another person's presence is seen as a way of validating their existence and humanity.
- The root word in sawubona comes from the verb -bona, which means 'to see' and is also used in Zulu to express 'understanding' or 'realizing' something.
Examples in context
- Sawubona usuku oluhleGood Morning
- Sawubona, unjani?Good morning, how are you?
- Sawubona, mngane wami.Good morning, my friend.
- Sawubona, kade unjani?Good morning, how have you been?
Example conversation
Nomalusa sees Sipho outside his house in the morning.
- NomalusaSawubona, Sipho.Good morning, Sipho.
- SiphoSawubona, Nomalusa. Unjani?Good morning, Nomalusa. How are you?
- NomalusaNgiyaphila, ngiyabonga.I am well, thank you.
- SiphoNami ngiyaphila.I am also well.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations and entries sawubona, sanibonani, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sawubona, CC BY-SA 4.0.
