Morning greetings and wishes you need to familiarize with in Swahili
✓Habari za asubuhi ? – How is your morning ?
•Note1: I have seen some people teach ” habari za asubuhi ” as ” good morning “. That’s not true. ” Good morning ” = ” Asubuhi njema “, Habari za asubuhi = How is your morning ?
•Note2: Good morning is a wish, and culturally in Swahili greetings, wishes comes at an end of the greetings’ conversation not at the beginning as in English. After we have know the condition of each other, normally physically ( health ) and state of families.
So you can see, culturally swahili greetings are detailed 
.
•Note3: Language originate from a culture, so trying to force “habari za asubuhi” be “good morning” just because they are all being used as the first phrases in greetings in both languages, it’s like teaching an Swahili version of English, but our aim is to teach Swahili, African language and it’s African culture.
Let’s go…
✓Umeamkaje : This means how you have woke up ?
•Note1: The intention of us greeting in Swahili is primarily knowing the condition of each other. Actually you can rarely hear at the end people tell you ” good morning or whatever ” but soon after they you are fine, they will go, because usually they wanted to hear that you are fine.
•Note2. Wherever you see word “aje” at the end of many swahili words, it means you are being asked.
•Note3:These are neutral greetings which don’t give respect to who is elder when you greet each other.
But African culture of which Swahili originates gives respect to the elder when people of different ages speak at social level.
When people of different ages meet,
>> A younger one starts to greet an elder ” Shikamoo “, just for showing respect to an elder. And from there, normal neutral greetings follows to know the condition of each other.
Hii inawatosha kwa asubuhi ya leo!
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This is enough for you for today’s morning.
Good morning!
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