What does habari mean in Swahili?

Habari means "news." The news programs on tv and radio are called taarifa ya habari, information on the news.Habari is also the most common Swahili greeting. Habari? or Habari gani? What's the news (habari gani?means, literally, what kind of news?). The answer is always good: nzuri (good), njema (good), salama (safe, peaceful), etc. Nzuri and salamaare the two most common answers. You never answer that the news is bad. If it is, you say nzuri kidogo (a little bit good) or nzuri, lakini . . . (good, but . . .) and then explain that you've been sick or that there's some other problem.

You can ask what's the news about anything and this is in fact a common component of greetings: Habari za nyumbani? (what's the news of home?), Habari za kazi? (of work), Habari za familia (of your family), etc. In Tanzania these days, the Word Habari is often dropped: Za kazi? (what''s the news at work?), etc.