Swahili Basics
Swahili is one of the easiest languages to learn. Here are a few basic things to know about Swahili:
Swahili verbs always carry with them the subject (and sometimes the object) and the tense. For example, Ninakula, is a complete sentence which means "I am eating". Ni- prefix stands for the subject "I", the -na- affix stands for "am" showing the tense i.e. the "present continuous" tense, and -kula is the root of the verb "eat".
Another example, Alitupa zawadi which means "He/She gave us gifts". First of all note that in the Swahili language, the pronouns are the same for all the genders - he, him, she, and her are not distinguishable in Swahili - same words, prefixes, affixes and suffixes are used. The well sought after "gender equality" is in-built in the Swahili language!! Now back to the sentence. The prefix A- stands for the subject "He" or "She", the -li- affix indicates the past tense, the -tu- affix stands for the object "us", and -pa is the root of the verb "give".
More examples:
Nilikula - I ate
Nimekula - I have eaten
Ninakula - I am eating
Nitakula - I will eat
If you have any comments or questions, I'd be pleased to receive them at: alexhamis50@gmail.com
Nilikula - I ate
Nimekula - I have eaten
Ninakula - I am eating
Nitakula - I will eat
If you have any comments or questions, I'd be pleased to receive them at: alexhamis50@gmail.com
Greetings
| Between peers: "Habari!" and the greeted answers, "Nzuri!". |
| Between peers: "Hujambo?" (Are you fine?) and the greeted answers, "Sijambo!" (I'm fine!) |
| Young to older: "Shikamoo!" (originally it meant "I touch your feet" as a sign of respect) and the greeted answers, "Marahabaa!" (I acknowledge your respect!). |
Personal Pronouns
| English | Swahili |
|---|---|
| I | Mimi |
| We | Sisi |
| You (singular) | Wewe |
| You (plural) | nyinyi |
| He | Yeye |
| She | Yeye |
| They | Wao |
Common Dialogue
| Sentence/Phrase | Response |
|---|---|
| Habari! (Hello!/Hi!) | Nzuri! (Good!/Fine!) |
| Ninaitwa Charles. Wewe unaitwaje? (My name is Charles. What's your name?) | Ninaitwa Mary. Nimefurahi kukujua. (My name is Mary. I'm pleased to know you.) |
| Unazungumza Kiswahili? (Do you speak Swahili?) | Ndio! Ninazungumza Kiswahili. (Yes! I speak Swahili.) Kidogo tu! (Just a little bit!) Hapana! Sizungumzi Kiswahili. Ninazungumza Kiingereza tu! (No! I don't speak Swahili. I only speak English!) |
| Ninatokea Marekani. Wewe unatokea wapi? (I'm from the United States of America. Where are you from?) | Ninatokea Japani. Nipo hapa kwa matembezi. (I'm from Japan. I'm visiting here.) Ninatokea Uingereza. Nipo hapa kwa kazi. (I'm from U.K. I'm here on business.) Ninatokea Ujerumani. Nimekuja kujifunza Kiswahili. (I'm from Germany. I've come to learn Swahili.) |
| Kwaheri! Nimefurahi kukutana na wewe. (Goodbye! I'm pleased to meet you.) | Karibu! Nimefurahi pia kukutana na wewe. (Goodbye! I'm also pleased to meet you.) |
| Utapenda kunywa nini? (What would you like to drink?) | Nitakunywa maji tu. Nina kiu sana! (I'll just drink water. I'm very thirsty.) Nitakunywa kahawa bila maziwa. (I'll drink coffee without milk.) Nitakunywa chai na maziwa na sukari kidogo. (I'll drink tea with milk and little sugar.) Nitakunywa soda. CocaCola, tafadhali. (I'll drink soda. CocaCola, please.) |
| Tafadhali niletee chakula moto haraka. Nina njaa sana! (Please bring me some hot food quickly. I'm very hungry!) | Huu hapa wali, samaki, mbatata, na saladi. Nitakuletea keki baadaye. (Here is rice, fish, potatoes, and salad. I'll bring you cake later.) |
General Words and Phrases
| English | Swahili |
|---|---|
| And | Na |
| Bad | Mbaya |
| Bicycle | Baiskeli |
| Bitter | Chungu |
| Car | Gari |
| Cold | Baridi |
| Danger | Hatari |
| Drink (noun) | Kinywaji |
| Drink (verb) | Kunywa |
| Eat | Kula |
| Excuse me! | Samahani! |
| Food | Chakula |
| Friend | Rafiki |
| Good | Nzuri |
| Goodbye! | Kwaheri! |
| Help me, please! | Nisaidie, tafadhali! |
| Here | Hapa |
| Hot | Moto |
| How? | Vipi? |
| I am angry. | Nimekasirika. |
| I am traveling. | Ninasafiri. |
| I am happy. | Nimefurahi. |
| I can speak Swahili. | Ninaweza kusema Kiswahili. |
| I can't speak Swahili. | Siwezi kusema Kiswahili. |
| I love you! | Ninakupenda! |
| Motorcycle | Pikipiki |
| No! | Hapana! |
| OK! | Sawa! |
| Please | Tafadhali |
| Sorry! (apologize) | Samahani! |
| Sorry! (sympathize) | Pole! |
| Sweet | Tamu |
| Thank you! | Asante! |
| Thank you very much! | Asante sana! |
| There | Pale |
| Very | Sana |
| Water | Maji |
| Welcome! | Karibu! |
| What? | Nini? |
| When? | Wakati gani? |
| Where? | Wapi? |
| Where are you going to? | Unakwenda wapi? |
| Which? | Ipi? |
| Yes! | Ndio! |
Days of the Week
In Swahili, Saturday is the first day of the week. The sixth day of the week, Thursday, is mostly pronounced as "Alkhamisi" to match the way it is pronounced in its Arabic origin. Thursday and Friday both are of Arabic origin. They probably replaced the original Bantu names of those days due to their special place in the Islamic religion. Note that in Arabic, "Alkhamis" means the fifth day of the Arabic week while Thursday is actually the sixth day of the Swahili week! Sort of we ended up with two fifth days of the week: "Jumatano" and "Alkhamisi"!
| English | Swahili |
|---|---|
| Saturday | Jumamosi (literally: first day of the week) |
| Sunday | Jumapili (literally: second day of the week) |
| Monday | Jumatatu (literally: third day of the week) |
| Tuesday | Jumanne (literally: fourth day of the week) |
| Wednesday | Jumatano (literally: fifth day of the week) |
| Thursday | Alhamisi (Arabic: fifth day of the week) |
| Friday | Ijumaa (Arabic: the day of congregational prayer) |
Numbers
| English | Swahili | English | Swahili |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moja | 40 | Arubaini |
| 2 | Mbili | 50 | Hamsini |
| 3 | Tatu | 55 | Hamsini na tano |
| 4 | Nne | 60 | Sitini |
| 5 | Tano | 70 | Sabini |
| 6 | Sita | 80 | Thamanini |
| 7 | Saba | 90 | Tisini |
| 8 | Nane | 100 | Mia |
| 9 | Tisa | 136 | Mia moja thalathini na sita |
| 10 | Kumi | 999 | Mia tisa tisini na tisa |
| 11 | Kumi na moja | 1000 | Elfu |
| 12 | Kumi na mbili | 1997 | Elfu moja mia tisa tisini na saba |
| 17 | Kumi na saba | Half | Nusu |
| 20 | Ishirini | Two and a half | Mbili na nusu |
| 24 | Ishirini na nne | Quarter | Robo |
| 30 | Thalathini | Forty seven and three quarters | Arubaini na saba na robo tatu |
Time
It is interesting to note that in the Swahili culture the day starts at sunrise (unlike in the Arab world where the day starts at sunset, and in the Western world where the day starts at midnight). Sunrise in East Africa, being exactly at the Equator, happens every day at approximately 6:00 a.m. And for that reason, 6:00 a.m. is "0:00 morning" Swahili time. By "Swahili time" I mean the time as spoken in Swahili.
So the hands of a watch or clock meant to read Swahili time would always point to a number opposite to the number for the actual time as spoken in English. That is, the Swahili time anywhere in the world (not just East Africa) is delayed by 6 hours.
Therefore 7:00 a.m. is "1:00 morning" (saa moja asubuhi) Swahili time; midnight is "6:00 night" (saa sita usiku) Swahili time. 5:00 a.m. is "11:00 early morning" (saa kumi na moja alfajiri) Swahili time.
Note also that the Swahili time doesn't use "noon" as the reference as in a.m. (before noon) and p.m. (after noon). The time is spoken using "alfajiri" which is the early morning time during which the morning light has started to shine but the sun has not risen yet; "asubuhi" which is the morning time between sunrise and a little before noon; "mchana" which is from around noon to around 3:00 p.m.; "alasiri" which is from around 3:00 p.m. to sunset; "jioni" which is the entire time period from around 3:00 p.m. up to a little before 7:00 p.m.; and "usiku" which is the entire time period from around 7:00 p.m. to early morning.
| English | Swahili |
|---|---|
| Time | Saa |
| Hour | Saa |
| Watch/Clock | Saa |
| Morning | Asubuhi |
| Evening | Jioni/Usiku |
| Afternoon | Mchana |
| Late afternoon | Alasiri/Jioni |
| Dusk | Magharibi |
| Night | Usiku |
| Late night | Usiku wa manane |
| Early morning | Alfajiri |
| What time is it? | Saa ngapi? |
| 8 o'clock in the morning | Saa mbili kamili asubuhi |
| 8 o'clock sharp | Saa mbili barabara |
| Noon | Saa sita mchana |
| 4:25 p.m. | Saa kumi na dakika ishirini na tano alasiri |
| 6:00 p.m. | Saa kumi na mbili kamili jioni |
| 8:15 p.m. | Saa mbili na robo usiku |
| 7:45 p.m. | Saa mbili kasorobo usiku |
| 9:30 a.m. | Saa tatu unusu asubuhi (also: Saa tatu na nusu asubuhi) |
| Now | Sasa |
| Today | Leo |
| Yesterday | Jana |
| Tomorrow | Kesho |
| Day before yesterday | Juzi |
| Day after tomorrow | Kesho-kutwa |
| Day | Siku |
| Week | Wiki |
| Month | Mwezi |
| Year | Mwaka |
| Century | Karne |
Animals
| English | Picture | Swahili |
|---|---|---|
| Baboon |  | Nyani |
| Bird(s) |  | Ndege |
| Buffalo |  | Nyati |
| Cat |  | Paka |
| Cheetah |  | Duma |
| Chimpanzee |  | Sokwe |
| Cow/Ox |  | Ng'ombe |
| Deer |  | Paa |
| Dog |  | Mbwa |
| Donkey |  | Punda |
| Elephant |  | Tembo/Ndovu |
| Giraffe |  | Twiga |
| Goat |  | Mbuzi |
| Hippopotamus |  | Kiboko |
| Hyena |  | Fisi |
| Impala |  | Swala |
| Leopard |  | Chui |
| Lion |  | Simba |
| Monkey |  | Kima |
| Ostrich |  | Mbuni |
| Peacock |  | Tausi |
| Pig |  | Nguruwe |
| Python |  | Chatu |
| Rhinoceros |  | Kifaru |
| Sheep |  | Kondoo |
| Snake |  | Nyoka |
| Warthog |  | Ngiri |
| Wild Boar |  | Nguruwe-mwitu |
| Wild Dog |  | Mbwa-mwitu |
| Zebra |  | Punda-milia |
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