In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Kinyarwanda. 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 Rwanda or if you’re travelling there.
Kinyarwanda is the official language of Rwanda spoken by approximately 12 million people. It is also spoken in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and southern Uganda however it is known as Rufumbira there.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Kinyarwanda
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’ in Rwanda. Here are the most common:
| How are you? (Lit. what’s the news?) | Amakuru? |
| Are you good? | Umeze ute? |
In more informal situations you can use:
| How is it going? | Biri kugenda bite? |
| How is it going? | Bite byanyu? |
| What’s up? | Bite se sha? |
If you’re speaking to a group of people, use:
| How are you? | Mumeze gute? |
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Kinyarwanda
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.
| Thank you | Murakoze |
| I’m good (Lit. it’s good) | Ni meza |
| I’m fine | Meze neza |
| I’m alright/I’m ok | Ndaho |
| Fine | Ni byiza |
| I’m tired | Ndananiwe |
| I’m sick | Narwaye |
| I’m not feeling well | Ndumva ntameze neza |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases from a native speaker:
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.
| And you? | Aya we? |
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Amakuru? (How are you?)
Person 2: Ni meza, murakoze. Aya we? (I’m good, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Meze neza (I’m fine)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Rwanda and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Someone’s birthday coming up? Learn how to wish them a happy birthday in Kinyarwanda.
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