HOW TO SAY HELLO IN SEVERAL AFRICAN LANGUAGES
P
art of the thrill of foreign travel is experiencing another country's culture, and the best way to do that is to interact with the local people. Communicating can be difficult in Africa, a continent with between 1,500 and 2,000 African languages. But even a few words or phrases go a long way, and the best place to start is at the beginning, with "hello." In this article, we look at some of the greetings used across the continent, organized by country to make the list easy to navigate. Most African nations employ countless different greetings, with each one representing a different race, people or tribe. Here, we've listed the most commonly used greetings, some of which may be repeated from one country to the next.
Note: Where multiple languages are spoken, only the official or most prominent language is included.
How to Say "Hello" In... ANGOLA
PORTUGUESE: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
EGYPT
BOTSWANA
ETHIOPIA
ARABIC: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
SETSWANA: Dumela mma (Hello to a woman), Dumela rra (Hello to a man) ENGLISH: Hello
AMHARIC: Teanastëllën (Hello, formal), Tadiyass (Hello, informal)
BURKINA FASO
FRENCH: Bonjour (Hello) FANG: M'bole (Hello to one person), M'bolani (Hello to several people)
FRENCH: Bonjour (Hello) MOSSI: Ne y yibeogo! (Good morning) DYULA: I ni sogoma (Good morning)
CAMEROON
FRENCH: Bonjour (Hello) ENGLISH: Hello
COTE D'IVOIRE
FRENCH: Bonjour 17
GABON
GHANA
ENGLISH: Hello TWI: Maakyé (Good morning)
KENYA
SWAHILI: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How's it going?) ENGLISH: Hello
