Swahili or Kiswahili, is an official language of Tanzania, Kenya(English is the official language the government of Kenya and is widely spoken in urban areas), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Swahili speakers can also be found in surrounding countries, such as Burundi, Rwanda, and Mozambique. While only 5-10 million people speak Swahili as their first language, as a second language, there are over 50 million speakers, making it the most widely spoken African language in the world. As a part of the Bantu language family, Swahili is related to a variety of languages from Southern Africa to Central to West Africa. While some Bantu languages, like Xhosa and Zulu are click languages, Swahili does not use clicks, so pronunciation is generally not difficult for English speakers.
Swahili has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. If you are familiar with Spanish, Italian or Japanese, the vowels are pronounced the same. If not, they are pronounced:
A - ah (Like the "a" in "father")
E - eh (Like the "a" in "say" but without moving your mouth)
I - ee (Like the "ee" in "see")
O - oh (Like the "o" in "so" but without moving your mouth)
U - oo (Like the "oo" in "doom")
Vowels in Swahili always make the same sounds, even when combined with other vowels. There are no silent letters or diphthongs in Swahili, so vowels will always make the same sound, and it is important that you pronounce each vowel, even when one vowel follows another. For example, in the word "daawa" (lawsuit), you must say "dah-ah-wah", pronouncing both of the a's. Simply saying "dah-wah" (dawa) changes the meaning to "drug/medicine".
The following consonants are pronounced the same as in English:
b
like the "b" in "bay"
d
like the "d" in "dog"
f
like the "f" in "fun"
g
like the "g" in "gut"
h
like the "h" in "hen"
j
like the "j" in "jam"
k
like the "k" in "kit"
l
like the "l" in "lump"
p
like the "p" in "pot"
s
like the "s" in "sun"
t
like the "t" in "tip"
v
like the "v" in "van"
w
like the "w" in "win"
y
like the "y" in "yellow"
z
like the "z" in "zebra"
Other consonants
m
like the "m" in "mop".
n
like the "n" in "numb"
Although "m" and "n" are pronounced the same in Swahili as they are in English, unlike English, these letters can often be found at the beginning of words followed by other consonants, such as "t", "d", etc. Since Swahili has no silent letters, it is important to pronounce these sounds. So for words like "Mchana" (afternoon) and "Ndugu" (sibling/relative), you need to pronounce the "m" and "n" sounds along with the following consonant sounds.
r
The "r" sound is not pronounced as it is in English. Actually, like the vowels, the "r" sound is the same as Spanish and Japanese; a soft "r" that sometimes sounds like a "d".
officially pronounced similiar to the "ch" in "loch", you can alternatively just pronounce it with a hard "g", like the "g" in "gut" (as mentioned above)
sh
like the "sh" in "dash"
th
like the "th" in "thank". It is never pronounced like the "th" in "those". That "th" is spelled "dh" in Swahili.
dh
like the "th" in "the". It is important not to confuse "dh" with the Swahili "th" above.
Note that greetings in Swahili are very important and long and drawn out - you can go back and forth several times, using not one but all of the greetings you know.
Hello, how are you?. (to one person)
Hujambo (response: Sijambo: I am fine.)
Hello, how are you all. (to a group) : Hamjambo (response: Hatujambo, we're fine)
Hello to an older person or authority figure.
Shikamoo (shee-kah-moh) (response: Marahaba). Some people frown on the use of Shikamoo because it started out as a servant's greeting to his/her master.
Hello. (informal)
Sasa / Mambo / Jambo (generally said only to tourists). This is 'Sheng' or Swahili slang. Most locals are not impressed if you greet them using Sheng.
Response to informal hello
Mzuri (fine), Safi (clean/in order), Poa (cool), Poa kichizi kama ndizi (crazy cool like a banana)
How are you?
Habari / Habari yako? (lit.: Your news?)
How are you? (alternative)
Ukoje? Response: Niko salama.
How are you? (alternative)
U hali gani? (lit.: What's your condition?)
How are you today?
Habari ya leo?
How are you this morning?
Habari ya asubuhi?
How are you this afternoon?
Habari ya mchana?
How are you this evening?
Habari ya jioni?
How was your journey / trip / safari?
Habari za safari?
How have you been today?
Umeshindaje leo?
Fine, thank you.
Nzuri, asante.
What is your name?
Jina lako ni nani?
My name is ______ .
Jina langu ni ______.
Where are you coming from?
Unatoka wapi?
Where are you from (native region)
unatokea wapi
I am from _______.
Ninatoka nchi ya _______(your country).
Please.
Tafadhali.
Thank you (very much).
Asante (sana).
You're welcome.
Karibu.
Yes.
Ndiyo.
No.
Hapana.
I don't need. (Polite way of saying you don't want to buy anything)
Sihitaji.
Excuse me. (getting attention)
Samahani.
I'm sorry (in the sense of "pardon me"; used for minor transgressions).
Samahani.
I'm sorry (about hearing very bad news for someone).
Nasikitika.
Please forgive me
tafadhali nisamehe
Goodbye
Kwa heri.
Good night.
Usiku mwema.
Sleep well.
Lala Salama.
Did you sleep well?
Umelalaje?
Umeamkaje (lit.: did you wake up well?)
See you later.
Tuonane baadaye.
Later.
Baadaye.
See you tomorrow.
Tutuonana kesho.
My Swahili is terrible
Kiswahili changu ni kibaya sana.
I can't speak Kiswahili.
Siwezi kusema Kiswahili.
I only speak a little Kiswahili.
Ninaongea Kiswahili kidogo tu.
Do you speak English?
Unazungumza Kiingereza?
Bathroom
Bafu
Toilet
Choo
Help!
Msaada!
Where is the _______?
_____(e.g. bathroom, police station...) iko wapi?
Grammatically, this would depend on the noun class of the object in question. E.g. for bathroom, it would be 'Kiko', not 'Iko'. There are 18 noun classes in Swahili.
(Saying this in Swahili could likely result in violent death for the thief at the hands of self appointed vigilantes. Your item may or may not be recovered.) Simama, mwizi!
In Swahili, the morning does not begin at midnight (12 AM); instead, it begins at 7:00 AM. Daytime revolves around the rising and setting of the sun, which typically begins to rise around 7 AM and set at 7 PM in the areas where Swahili is spoken. For English speakers, this can be confusing; however, those who learn how to tell time in Swahili will admit that it is more logical than the English system, in which midnight is considered "morning", even though no one begins their day at midnight.
So, to say the time in Swahili, you need to add (or subtract) 6 from the English time. 7:00 in America will be expressed as the first hour (1:00) in Swahili. AM is expressed with asubuhi (morning) and PM is typically marked with usiku (night). Because the daytime begins at 7 AM, hours from midnight to 6 AM will be expressed with usiku, as these are nighttime hours in Swahili. Jioni (evening) can be used in place of usiku for hours that are not so late, such as 7 PM.
In Swahili, the first day of the week is Saturday. The name of Saturday combines juma (week) and mosi (one/first). You can think of it as meaning roughly "the first of the week". The other days are the same, with the exception of Thursday and Friday, which do not follow the pattern.
Swahili-speaking countries generally experience two seasons: rainy-and-hot and cold-and-dry. Swahili does not have words for "autumn" or "spring", etc.
Balozi ndogo (but probably better to ask for 'Ubalozi')
Where are there a lot of...
...hotels?
hoteli
...restaurants?
migahawa (singular is 'mgahawa')
...bars?
Baa (same in plural)
Club
Kilabu
...sites to see?
Can you show me on the map?
Unaweza nionyesha katika ramani? (maps are not widely understood; street names and directions are less frequently used than local landmarks, which you need to learn for each area. Bus stations, bus stops, expensive hotels, monuments, and even some very unlikely items, constitute recognized landmarks)
Kahawa (this will usually be instant coffee. It's rare to find real coffee except in specialist establishments or those frequented by tourists)
tea (drink)
Chai
spiced tea
Chai ya masala (tea is often spiced with masala mix or ginger
Tea with milk
Chai ya maziwa
Tea without milk
Chai ya rangi (literally, 'tea with color')
juice
juici
(bubbly) water
water
Maji
beer
Pombe, Bia (Pombe often refers to a local brew and many of these are unsafe to drink. Better to ask for a beer by brand name or ask 'Bia gani ipo?', 'What beers do you have?'
red/white wine
Mvinyo/wini nyekundu/nyeupi
May I have some _____?
Ninaomba
salt
Chumvi
black pepper
pilipili manga
butter
Siagi (But you are likely to get margarine, at best. You will probably need to ask for margarine by a brand name, such as 'Blue Band')
Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)
Samahani/ebu (the latter is less formal)
Excuse me, waiter? (to a waiter, 'Kaka', to a waitress, 'Dada')
(Pint measure is not used in East Africa, bottles are usually half litre, sometimes 375ml. People order by the bottle and if there are two sizes, they say 'kubwa' for large or 'ndogo' for small.
This is a usable phrasebook. It explains pronunciation and the bare essentials of travel communication. An adventurous person could use it to get by, but please plunge forward and help it grow!
