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- "Salama"
61 Comments
it is a greeting, muslim says so with each other "Assalamualaikum" which means "Peace be upon you" Not to mention Swahili has Arabic influence
In swahili it comes from the word Salam in Iranian language because of the influence of shirzi people in Tanzania
I have never heard of Salama being "hello" and I lived in Tanzania for 6 months. I only heard it when used to say that I slept well... "Umelala salama?" "Salama." ... "Did you sleep well?" "Well." As a confirmation that I slept well. I think this word needs to be revisited by Duolingo.
I've lived in Kenya my whole life... Nobody uses "Salama" as a greeting. It's usually used to mean well
I lived in TZ a while back, and I generally only heard it used by older people who are Muslim
The translation is wrong. Salama means peaceful and can indeed be used as answer for any geeeting. You don not use it to initiate a greeting.
I live in Tanzania and have never heard anyone greet someone else by saying "salama" - it seems more usually like a response to a question about "habari za leo" or similar, so used more like "poa" or "safi". Have I misunderstood something?
Yeah, i think you're correct!! When I lived in TZ (a while back), I generally only heard it used as a response by older people who are Muslim
It's used as a greeting in Mombasa, at least by the guy who said it to me yesterday!
Yes!! It's used a lot more in coastal towns where there's even more Arabic influence.
Salama is more literally "peaceful". Swahili is a mix of Bantu and Arabic. You could use salama as a greeting if you are asking "are you at peace? However this is not common or widely used. Because of its origin it is also considered to mean, "fine" or "well" because you generally are at peace if you are well or fine.
Yes, coming from arabic it is not adjusted. To be more specific though I suppose you might use "-a salama". Am I mistaken?
Today I bought a SIM card in Arusha, and I ask the seller "Umeshindaje" (How was your day?) And she answers me "Salama" (and she looks happy and calm)
As far as I can tell, you would use this as a greeting. So if I say "Mambo?" asking how you are, you might respond "Salama."
The only thing I'm unclear on is if you can use 'salama' to initiate a greeting. Maybe somebody with more knowledge can clear that up.
You can use it to begin a greeting as well, though it isn't commonly used that way (at least I didnt hear it very much when I was in Tanzania). It is much more commonly used in the way you stated, as a response.
I have never heard of Salama being "hello" and I lived in Tanzania for 6 months. I only heard it when used to say that I slept well... "Umelala salama?" "Salama." ... "Did you sleep well?" "Well." As a confirmation that I slept well. I think this word needs to be revisited by Duolingo.
Salama is a response to how are you. It cant be used to initiate greetings. If its used to initiate greetings it should be Assalamualeikum
Salama does not mean hello. It is, however, a response to hello. It means fine or ok.
just envision a chub of salami saying "hi" to you . . . the weird things that help me remember words
Salama mean well, good, and okay. However, you may be able to get away with safe.
I have never heard of Salama being "hello" and I lived in Tanzania for 6 months. I only heard it when used to say that I slept well... "Umelala salama?" "Salama." ... "Did you sleep well?" "Well." As a confirmation that I slept well. I think this word needs to be revisited by Duolingo.
Salama does not mean hello. It is, however, a response to hello. It means fine or ok.
Doesn't "salama" mean "peace" as well? Unfortunately it wasn't accepted as an answer.
I would question your translation of Salama as "hello". Is it not from the Arabic greeting Salaam meaning peace ?
Salama means safe, like i can safe uko salama? Meaning are you safe? Or are you okay. Road safety is usalama Barabarani. Hello means vipi or Mambo though is not always a direct translation.
Salama is also peaceful but ive gotten it wring because as a kenyan lala salama means sleep peacefully. Could you guys sort it out please. Thx and pove the app
Salama mostly means "well" as in " niko salama " is I'm well ( Kenyan's opinion)
When you visiting your home..
Mambo if you meet your friend.
May br it can help
Salama means well, fine and okay. However, you may be able to get away with safe.
My Swahili/English dictionary gives 'safe' as the meaning for salama. Is 'hello' a non-literal translation of 'salama'?
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They don't mean literally the same thing, but they are in a certain context used in a similar way. Many greetings in Swahili take the form of question and answer pairs, and there are a lot of them, depending on time of day, relation between the persons greeting one another, and degree of formality in the setting. Many of them have quite different literal meanings. Jambo is a common go-to greeting in a not so formal setting, and is often used in greeting tourists. The most common peer to peer greeting would be "habari za/ya {time of day}", and can be used almost in any setting. The answer would usually be "nzuri/nzuri sana", "poa" or "safi" (the two latter are more informal). "Mambo vipi" or just "mambo" is a common greeting among younger urban people and has the answer "poa", which means "cool". The last one is considered to be Sheng, but is quite common, at least in Kenya.
In addition to this: in Dar you get the answer salama tu (just peace) or salama kabisa (absolute peace) very often when you greet the locals with a habari ya asubuhi/mchana/leo/jioni etc..
Hello! Do you know why in Swahili the word "Salama" is written in a big letter "S"? I mean when it means "peaceful"
See above, salama is only used as a greeting very seldomly/in few places; rather as an answer for being well. Habari means "news" and is used in initiating a greeting (such as "Habari za nyumbani?")
Queries: Is this hello kind of like saying 'peace' when you see someone? And when someone asks how are you, can you reply with salama?
I answered Peaceful and it said I was wrong. It said the answer was peaceful. Songle word answers should be able to be given with or without a capital.
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Salama is used as a greeting in Madagascar specially in the capital city and surroundings. You can say: salama daholo! Or you can reply to q: Manahoana? Reply: Salama.
