"Wewe mzima?"

Translation: How are you?

[ChristianofPeace]

Shouldn't this be "Wewe ni mzima"?

[AndreasII]

In colloquial Swahili the "ni" is sometimes dropped. This is a common greeting, so the "ni" is dropped.

[JustinRasm1]

In my experience "uko mzima?" is more common. To me, the way it is now sounds like a statement unless you inflected the end or said "je" at the beginning. Probably regional.

[mambosafi]

Couldn't this mean Are you okay?

[the3lusive]

yes

[nahuatl1939]

so, MZIMA alone means " healthy" and MTU MZIMA means " adult ". Am I right in thinking that to be an adult you have to be healthy because if you are sick you will never make it to adulthood ? MTU MZIMA means " a healthy person ", i.e. an adult .

[the3lusive]

Mzima means full, well or complete. So the literal meaning of mtu mzima would be complete person.

[Martin633120]

With other words, "mature". Maturity implies good health, completeness, fruition, having grown up, developed. An adult is a mature human being (theoretically, but not always factually, sadly).

[DaivikThan]

I would think it's like this- if mzima means whole, complete and healthy, it's kind of like the extremely casual English "you good?", except it's a common greeting and not as casual. "Are you well?" is also a comparative greeting, though it's not used much and implies sickness.

[PeterGauli]

How does this differ from 'habari yako?'

[the3lusive]

Not much difference, just another way of asking a person how they are.

[Renata725212]

The most meaningful translation is - Are you alright ? or...Are you fine/well ?

[SandrineHa18]

"Uko mzima"is more appropriate. It may also depend on contest and tone. "We ni/ mzima?" Can mean are you crazy/alright in the head?

[the3lusive]

Yes you can ask someone "we mzima ?" if you're asking if they are nuts.

[RudolfJan]

Might this be a diffence between Kenyan and Tanzanian Swahili?

[bradfer21]

It sound to me like they are saying you are large

[RaizinM]

So I take it pronouns get adjectives in the m-wa class? Or is it another class? There are more which get m- adjectives.

[ngwarai]

The pronouns have to agree with whatever noun classes they are referring to

[AGreatUserName]

If the pronouns refer to animate beings, yes.

[Sofie184769]

What is the difference in use between: hujambo and wewe mzima?

[ElizabethF711355]

To the best of my knowledge, hujambo literally means "you have no troubles?" and means "are you well?" But they are used in the same context. And in fact, greetings can be such a long process, in parts of Tanzania at least, that both might be used in the same conversion.

[HooSteveK]

It marked "how are you doing" incorrect and "how are you" as correct. Insights into the difference in these two expressions?

[RosaliaV1]

How is this different from "wewe Hujambo? "

[the3lusive]

Not much difference, hujambo is more formal.

[Dana185217]

What is "wewe hujambo" then?