In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Chichewa. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from Malawi or Zambia or if you’re travelling to either.
Chichewa, also known as Nyanja, is a Bantu language spoken in some African countries, mainly Malawi and Zambia where it is an official language. It is also spoken to a lesser extent in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
There are approximately 12 million speakers of Chichewa.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Chichewa
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
| English | Chichewa |
|---|---|
| How are you? (to one person) | Uli bwanji? |
| How are you? (to multiple people) | Muli bwanji? |
You would also say ‘muli bwanji?’ if you were speaking to one person but wanted to show respect or be more formal.
If you want to be more informal, you can say:
| English | Chichewa |
|---|---|
| How are you? | Boh boh? |
The response to this greeting is just ‘boh’. ‘Boh’ literally means ‘good’.
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Chichewa
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| English | Chichewa |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Zikomo |
| I’m fine | Ndili bwino |
| I’m sick | Ndikudwala |
| I’m tired | Ndatopa |
| I’m happy | Ndasangalala |
| I’m sad | Sindili wosangalala |
| I’m hungry | Ndili ndi njala |
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.
| English | Chichewa |
|---|---|
| And you? (informal) | Kaya iwe? |
| And you? (formal) | Kaya inu? |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases:
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Muli bwanji? (How are you?)
Person 2: Ndili bwino, zikomo. Kaya inu? (I’m fine, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Ndili bwino (I’m fine)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Chichewa and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
If you found this post useful, you may also want to learn how to say I love you in Chichewa.
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