Informal Greetings Among Age-Mates and Close Friends

In Swahili, there is no equivalent to "hello." Greetings are usually in a question-response format. The basic question is "how are you?" and has several variations. If you are greeting more than one person at a time, it is usual to use the different variations for each individual. Similarly, there are several choices for responses. It is very common to ask not only about the person you are greeting but also to include their family and relatives in the greeting, regardless of whether or not you are acquainted with them. Depending on the number of times you see each other during the day, an informal handshake may or may not accompany the greeting. Usually, you would shake hands the first time you meet each day and eliminate the handshake after that.