salamu
salamu is the Swahili word for "greetings".
salamu is used to refer to the concept of salutations or to formal greetings. Other common ways to greet people in Swahili include Jambo, which is a versatile greeting similar to "Hello" that can be used throughout the day or Habari yako, an informal way to ask "How are you?" to show interest in someone's well-being.
Meaning: formal way of saying "hello" (intj)
Which one should you use?
While salamu is the noun for greetings, hujambo is a common formal way to initiate a greeting.
How does it change in a sentence?
salamu is a plural noun.
When do people say it?
When welcoming someone, you can say Karibu sana! to mean "You're very welcome!"
Did you know?
- The word salamu shares a root with the Arabic word for 'peace' and the common greeting As-salamu alaykum, reflecting the deep historical influence of Arabic on the Swahili language.
- The greeting hujambo is actually a question asking 'do you have no problems?', to which the standard response is sijambo, meaning 'I have no problems'.
- While salamu is the noun for greetings, it is socially imperative in many East African cultures to greet the oldest person in a group first as a sign of respect.
Examples in context
- Salamu ni msingi wa tabia nzuri.Greetings are the basis of good manners.This sentence shows the use of salamu as a noun.Tatoeba #10807261 by ecorralest101, translation #28679 by Swift
- Naleta salamu kwa familia yako.I bring greetings to your family.
Example conversation
Fatuma greets Bakari at a community meeting.
- FatumaSalamu, Bakari.Greetings, Bakari.
- BakariHabari za asubuhi, Fatuma.Good morning, Fatuma.
- FatumaNzuri sana, asante.Very good, thank you.
- BakariKaribu kwenye mkutano.Welcome to the meeting.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry salamu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
