What does swahili mean?

"Swahili" doesn't have a direct, simple translation like "hello" or "goodbye." It's actually a combination of words from different languages:

* "Swahili" itself is a combination of the Arabic word "sawāḥilī" (meaning "of the coast") and the Persian word "sāhil" (meaning "coast").

So, essentially, Swahili means "language of the coast" or "language of the people of the coast."

This is because Swahili originated along the Swahili Coast of East Africa, a region where Arabic and Persian traders interacted with local Bantu speakers. The language developed over time as a result of this blending of cultures and languages.