Essential Samoan Greetings

The greetings you will hear first

Talofa is the everyday hello, and talofa lava is its warmer, fuller form. Among friends and family you will hear malo or malo soifua, closer to 'well done for keeping going' than to a plain hello. Answering malo with malo lava is entirely correct.

Time-of-day greetings exist but are used less than in English: manuia le taeao (good morning), manuia le afiafi (good evening), and manuia le po (good night). Each begins with manuia, meaning blessed or well, so the greeting is literally a small blessing.

Asking how someone is

O a mai oe means 'how are you' to one person; o a mai outou addresses a group. The standard reply is manuia, fa'afetai — well, thank you. If you want to return the question, add a e a oe, 'and you?'.

Samoan greeting almost always extends past the individual. O a mai le aiga, 'how is the family', is not small talk; leaving it out can read as cold.

Thanks and farewell

Fa'afetai is thank you, fa'afetai tele lava is the emphatic thank you very much. For farewells, tofa or tofa soifua is said by the person leaving, while those staying reply fa'amolemole, tofa or simply manuia. Fa'amolemole itself means please, and softens any request.

When to use the respectful register

Speaking to a matai, a faife'au or an elder, greetings shift into gagana fa'aaloalo. Susu mai and afio mai replace an ordinary welcome, and a minister is addressed as lau susuga, a chief as lau afioga. Learners are not expected to master this immediately — but knowing it exists prevents the common mistake of greeting an elder exactly as you would a cousin.