In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Zulu. 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 South Africa or if you’re travelling there.
Zulu is a Southern Bantu language spoken mainly in South Africa by the Zulu people. There are approximately 12 million native speakers.
Zulu is the most widely spoken native language in South Africa and is understood by over 50% of the population.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Zulu
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
| How are you? (to one person) | Unjani? |
| How are you? (to a group) | Ninjani? |
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Zulu
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 | Ngiyabonga |
| I’m fine | Ngikhona |
| I’m well/I’m good | Ngisaphila |
| I’m quite well | Ngiyaphila kancane |
| I’m not well | Angiphili |
| So-so | Angiphili kakhulu |
| I feel sick | Ngiyagula |
| I’m fantastic | Ngiyathokoza |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases:
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? (to one person) | Wena unjani? |
| And you? (to a group) | Nina ninjani? |
Check out the below video which also covers the pronunciation of some of these phrases:
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Unjani? (How are you?)
Person 2: Ngisaphila, ngiyabonga. Wena unjani? (I’m good, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Ngisaphila (I’m good)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Zulu and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Increase your vocabulary further by learning how to wish someone a happy birthday in Zulu.
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