karibu!
In Swahili, the English phrase 'welcome' is expressed as karibu!
karibu! is a greeting used when someone arrives. In other contexts, karibu can also mean 'near' or 'close' depending on the sentence structure.
Meaning: greeting given upon someone's arrival (intj)
Which one should you use?
karibu! is the specific greeting used upon someone's arrival, whereas kukaribisha is the infinitive verb meaning the act of welcoming or hosting someone.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are welcoming more than one person, use karibuni! instead of karibu!
When do people say it?
When someone says karibu! to you, the standard polite response is asante (thank you).
Did you know?
- The word karibu is used in the phrase karibu na, which means 'approximately' or 'around' when talking about numbers or time.
- In East African culture, karibu is often used as a polite invitation to eat or drink, even if the host has not yet prepared the food.
- If you are invited into a home and hear karibu, it is often accompanied by a gesture of the right hand pointing toward the interior of the house.
Examples in context
- Karibu sana nyumbani!You are very welcome at home!
- Karibuni wageni wetu!Welcome, our guests!
- Karibu!Welcome!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
