SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/sw-hamjambo-group

How do you ask a whole group 'How are you all?' in Swahili?

Hamjambo? The group answers 'Hatujambo!'

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  1. Hujambo?
  2. Hamjambo? ✔
  3. Sijambo?

Why: The jambo greeting changes with how many people you greet. Hujambo is for one person; Hamjambo is for you all. The group replies Hatujambo, meaning we are fine.

Huh, didn't know that: A guide greeting a safari jeep full of guests would say 'Hamjambo?'

The dad joke
I greeted a busload of tourists with 'Hamjambo?' and got a 40-person 'Hatujambo!' Best echo ever.
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References

Answer: Hamjambo?. The jambo greeting changes with how many people you greet. Hujambo is for one person; Hamjambo is for you all. The group replies Hatujambo, meaning we are fine.

  1. University of Kansas Kiswahili, Lesson 2: Greetings kiswahili.ku.edu/sites/kiswahili/files/documents/lessons/lesson_02.pdf
    Teacher: Hamjambo? Students: Hatujambo!
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison LCTL Resources: Swahili Greetings wisc.pb.unizin.org/lctlresources/chapter/swahili-greetings
    to ask a group of people how you all are doing, you would say: Hamjambo? The response would be Hatujambo.
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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