jambo
1
9.9
A Swahili greeting meaning hello used in East Africa
- other
:
jambo
- During our trip to Kenya, the locals welcomed us warmly, calling out jambo.
Examples
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When I arrived in Tanzania, I was greeted with a cheerful jambo.
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Jambo Jambo, we got little sandwiches, we got little crepes.
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So I'm going to take your silly word. Say Jambo jambo, Jambo Buena.
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As soon as the children saw their friends, they shouted jambo to each other.
Synonyms
82
8.0
A friendly, informal way to say hello
is a regional greeting used by English speakers in East Africa
5
8.6
A friendly informal way to say hello
is specific to East Africa when used by English speakers rather than general use
1
9.9
A friendly informal greeting to say hello
is the regional East African form used by English speakers rather than a general greeting
How Formal
Surface Forms
jambo main
Etymology
Jambo is a Swahili greeting that literally means 'thing' or 'matter' and began as a short question like 'Is there any matter?', so using jambo is like saying 'hello' and asking 'is everything OK?'.