Swahili has been greatly influenced by Arabic; there are an enormous number of Arabic loanwords in the language, including the word swahili, from Arabic sawāḥilī (a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning “of the coast”). Here are some swahili words similar to Arabic. English phrase Swahili Arabic + pronunciation Welcome! karibu قريب (qareeb) How are you? habari yako خبر (khabar) I’m well salama سلام (salaam) Excuse me samahani سامحني (saamaHani) Please tafadhali إتفضل (itfaDDal)