Phrases
The following is a list of phrases that can be used when visiting a region where the primary language is Zulu.
| Sawubona | Hello, to one person |
| Sanibonani | Hello, to a group of people |
| Unjani? / Ninjani? | How are you (sing.)? / How are you (pl.)? |
| Ngisaphila / Sisaphila | I'm okay / We're okay |
| Ngiyabonga (kakhulu) | Thanks (a lot) |
| Ngubani igama lakho? | What is your name? |
| Igama lami ngu... | My name is... |
| Isikhathi sithini? | What's the time? |
| Ngingakusiza? | Can I help you? |
| Uhlala kuphi? | Where do you stay? |
| Uphumaphi? | Where are you from? |
| Hamba kahle / Sala kahle | Go well / Stay well (used as goodbye - In practice, the person staying in whatever place the action is occurring says 'Hamba kahle', and the person leaving says 'Sala kahle') |
| Hambani kahle / Salani kahle | Go well / Stay well, to a group of people |
| Eish! | Wow! (No real European equivalent, used in South African English) (you could try a semi-expletive, such as oh my God or what the heck. It expresses a notion of shock and surprise) |
| Hhayibo | No! / Stop! / No way! (used in South African English too) |
| Yebo | Yes |
| Cha | No |
| Angazi | I don't know |
| Ukhuluma isiNgisi na? | Do you speak English? |
| Ngisaqala ukufunda isiZulu | I've just started learning Zulu |
| Uqonde ukuthini? | What do you mean? |
Read more about this topic: Zulu Language
Famous quotes containing the word phrases:
“A man in all the world’s new fashion planted,
That hath a mint of phrases in his brain.
One who the music of his own vain tongue
Doth ravish like enchanting harmony.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“For proverbs are the pith, the proprieties, the proofs, the purities, the elegancies, as the commonest so the commendablest phrases of a language. To use them is a grace, to understand them a good.”
—John Florio (c. 1553–1625)
“The Americans ... have invented so wide a range of pithy and hackneyed phrases that they can carry on an amusing and animated conversation without giving a moment’s reflection to what they are saying and so leave their minds free to consider the more important matters of big business and fornication.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)