Language/Lingala/Vocabulary/How-to-Say-Hello-and-Greetings

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🤗 Lingala Greetings for Everyday Life

Hi Lingala learners! 😃

Greetings are an important part of any language because they allow you to connect and communicate with others.

If you’re planning a trip to the country or are trying to learn Lingala, keep reading to discover some of the most important greetings.

Let’s get started! 🤗

Greetings[edit | edit source]

The word you will probably hear most as you begin to speak Lingala is mbote (m-BOH-teh), which means ‘hello’. It can be used at any time of day or night and is most properly followed by the person’s name, such as ‘Mbote Jenny’ or ‘Mbote Helena’, although it just as often stands alone as a greeting.

Once you’ve mastered mbote, you can then move on to other parts of a standard greeting, such as asking how things are going or how the person is.

The most common question to ask how things are is ‘Sango nini?’ (SANG-go NEE-nee). Sango means ‘news’ and nini means ‘what’. So you’re basically asking the equivalent of ‘what’s new?’

There are a few standard replies. The most common one is ‘Sango te’ (SANG-go teh). Again, sango means ‘news’. And te, as you will come to see, means ‘no’ (or a negative). So the reply is essentially ‘nothing new’ or ‘not much’. This is a good thing, not someone with a problem.

Another common reply is ‘Sango malamu’ (SANG-go mah-LAH-moo). Malamu, meaning ‘good’, is a very common and useful Lingala word that you will encounter often. So, the reply is ‘news good’ or ‘things are good’.

Once you’ve broken the ice with mbote, and maybe a sango or two, you might be asked how you are. Without getting into too much verb work too soon, this can be handled pretty easily if you know the Lingala forms for ‘you are’, which is ozali (oh-ZAH-lee), and ‘I am’, which is nazali (nah-ZAH-lee).

Most commonly, you will be asked: ‘Ozali malamu?’ (oh-ZAH-lee mah-LAHmoo?), which means, ‘are you good?’ or ‘are you well?

English	Lingala
general greeting	Mbóte
general greeting	Mbóte na yó
general greeting	Losáko
how are you?	Ndenge nini?
reply to Ndenge nini	Malamu
how are you?	Sángo níni?
reply to Sango nini	Sángo malámu
reply to Sango nini	Malámu melesí
how are you?	Ozali malamu?
reply to Ozali malamu	Ee, nazali malámu
morning greeting, literally "how did you sleep?"	Olalaki malámu?
reply to Olalaki malamu	Mbóte