The word Hello is reportedly the first word to be said over a telephone as well as being one of the most popular words in the English language, in addition to being one of the most convenient and popular says of greeting. Apart from saying it in English, here is how to say hello in different African countries, because several African countries have their own way of saying hello. This article curates how to say hello in different African countries.
The total number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at “over 3,000”, depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect). For example, Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue), with one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world.
However, “One of the notable differences between Africa and most other linguistic areas is its relative uniformity. With few exceptions, all of Africa’s languages have been gathered into four major phyla.”
Around a hundred languages are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. Somali, Berber, Amharic, Oromo, Igbo, Swahili, Hausa, Manding, Fulani, Arabic and Yoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people.
Twelve dialect clusters (which may group up to a hundred linguistic varieties) are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language. Although many mid-sized languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level. The African Union declared 2006 the “Year of African Languages”.
How to say hello in different African countries
Africa boasts of 54 countries, with countless languages If you find yourself visiting any of the African countries mentioned below, you can try saying hello in their native way of saying hello.
How to say hello in…
Angola
- Portuguese: Olá
- 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)
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Botswana
- Setswana: Dumela mma (Hello to a woman), Dumela rra (Hello to a man)
- English: Hello
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Burkina Faso
- French: Bonjour
- Mossi: Ne y yibeogo! (Good morning)
- Dyula: I ni sogoma (Good morning)
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Comoros
Comorian/ Shikomori: Gege (Hello / how are you?)
- French: Bonjour
- Arabic: Salaam wa alekoum. (Peace be with you)
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Cameroon
- French: Bonjour
- English: Hello
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Cote d’Ivoire
- French: Bonjour
- Dioula: I (a) ni sɔgɔmo (Good Morning), I (a) ni woula (Good Afternoon), I (a) ni suu (Good evening)
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Democratic Republic of Congo
- Lingala: Mbote
- French: Bonjour
- Tshiluba: Betu’abu
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Egypt
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Equatorial Guinea
- Spanish: Hola
- French: Bonjour
- Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)
- Portuguese: Olá, Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Eritrea
- Tigrigna/Tigrinya: Selam
- English: Hello
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Ethiopia
- Amharic: Teanastëllën/Tadiyass
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Gabon
- French: Bonjour
- Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)
- M’bolani (Hello to several people)
- Mandingo/Mandinka: Esama (Good morning), Etinyang (Good afternoon), Ewulara (Good Evening)
- Pulaar: No ngoolu daa.
- English: Hello
- Wolof: Na nga def (Hello (singular)), Na ngeen def (Hello (plural))
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Ghana
- English: Hello
- Twi: Agoo, Maakyé (Good morning),
Kenya
- Swahili: Jambo, Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
- Kikuyu: Wĩmwega, 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, Oyawore (Good morning), Oimore (Good evening)
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Lesotho
- Sesotho: Lumela (Hello to one person), Lumelang (Hello to several people)
- English: Hello
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Libya
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
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Madagascar
- Malagasy: Salama/M’bola tsara
- French: Bonjour
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Malawi
- Chichewa: Moni
- English: Hello
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Mali
- French: Bonjour
- Bambara: I ni ce
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Mauritania
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
- Hassaniya: Aw’walikum
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Morocco
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
- French: Bonjour
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Mozambique
- Portuguese: Olá Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
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Namibia
- English: Hello
- Afrikaans: Hallo
- Oshiwambo: Mwa lele po
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Nigeria
- English: Hello
- Hausa: Sànnu
- Igbo: Ibaulachi
- Yoruba: Bawo
- Pidgin : Howfar
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Rwanda
- Kinyarwanda: Muraho
- French: Bonjour
- English: Hello
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Senegal
- French: Bonjour
- Wolof: Nanga def (How are you?)
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Sierra Leone
- English:
- Krio: Kushe
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South Africa
In South Africa there are 11 official languages including English. These are the various ways to say Hello in South Africa.
- Zulu: Sawubona
- Xhosa: Molo
- Afrikaans: Hallo
- English: Hello
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Sudan
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
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Eswatini
- Swati: Sawubona
- English: Hello
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Tanzania
- Swahili: Jambo, Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
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Togo
- French: Bonjour
- 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)
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Tunisia
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
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Uganda
- Luganda: Oli otya
- Swahili: Jambo, Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
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Zambia
- English: Hello
- Bemba: Muli shani (How are you?)
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Zimbabwe
- English: Hello
- Shona: Mhoro
- Ndebele: Sawubona
Other Popular Ways to greet people in South Africa
Because South Africa is one of the hottest tourist destinations in Africa, here are some common ways to greet people.
1. Howzit – A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as “How are you?” or simply “Hello”.
2. Heita – An urban and rural greeting used by South Africans. A cheery slang form of saying “Hello”.
3. Aweh – A South African slang word used to acknowledge something or greet someone and is mainly used in the coloured community.
4. Sawubona (First person singular) – If you meet a South African and you would like to greet them in isiZulu, you can say “Sawubona” meaning “greetings”.
5. Molo – You can also try greet a South African in Xhosa by saying “Molo” which means “How are you doing?”
6. Unjani – This is another way you can greet someone in isiZulu meaning “Hello”.
7. Thobela – Thobela means “How are you?” which is a formal way of greeting someone in Pedi.
8. Dumela (Setswana) – Mainly used with the Tswana people, this can also be used to greet a South African.
9. Hoe gaan dit? – Taken from Afrikaans, which means “How are you?”
10. Sharp Fede – South African township greeting meaning “Hello, how are you?”
Zulu – sawubona (single person), sanibonani (plural)
Xhosa – molo (single person) molweni (plural)
Afrikaans – halo
Sotho – dumela (single person) dumelang (plural)
Swazi – sawubona (single person) sanibonani (plural)
Tswana – dumela (single person) dumelang (plural)
Ndebele – sawubona (single person) lotjhani/salibonani (plural)
Pedi – thobela/dumelang
Venda – hurini
Tsonga – xewani/avuxeni
In Zulu, Swazi and Ndebele the greeting is the same. Because they belong to the Nguni group together with Xhosa. But Xhosa uses a different form of greeting. Sometimes Zulu speakers use a different word for something while the rest share the same word.
Similarly Sotho, Tswana and Pedi share dumela/dumelang and they all belong to the Sotho group.
The aforementioned are ways to say “Hello” in various African languages in different countries. Languages are very important in every society for 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 is also insightful to see from the above list how some languages include a selection of different greetings, and how others have concise greetings, all of which credits to human creativity.