Kiswahili is actually fairly easy to learn, simply because almost all Swahili words are pronounced as you see them; there are no traps like the French oiseau(pronounced wazo) or the numerous potential pitfalls in English, where the gh in enough isn’t pronounced as the gh in borough or Edinburgh. Or how c vacillates between a k (e.g. cake) and, well, c, (e.g. cinch).
In Kiswahili, “pole”, which means “sorry”, is pronounced po-le, as in like the po in poem and le in letter. And ignore the dash when enunciating; they are only meant to show the syllables.
To the best of my recollection, I can recall only two exception to this literal pronunciation of words; mbu (mosquito), and mbwa (dog). In both cases, you basically add an m before the word during pronunciation, so that mbu becomes m-mbu (the mbu pronounced as in ambulance), and mbwa becomes m-mbwa (m-mb-wa, with the mb pronounced as in ambiance).
For English speakers, there’s also one major difference in the pronunciation of the -NG sound; as with English there are two pronunciations, the –ng in words like English, Anger, and the –ng sound in words like sing, bring, touring.
In Kiswahili, these two sounds are differentiated by the use of an apostrophe, so that in the Kiswahili word without an apostrophe, such as (ngamia = camel, ngazi = ladder, ngozi = human skin or animal hide, unga= flour, or the root verb meaning to join), you pronounce the –ng as you would in the word English.
For Kiswahili words where the –NG is to be pronounced as in sing, an apostrophe is added immediately after –NG, so that we have words like ng’ombe = cow, ng’orota= snore, ng’oa= pluck/remove).
Now, I have just taught you how to correctly pronounce Lupita Nyong’o.
The pronunciation of the other combined consonants in Kiswahili are fairly straightforward; -CH is pronounced as in champion, DH is pronounced as in dhow, -TH as in thing, -SH as in ash, and -NY as in Kanye. In the case of GH and KH, the presence of H forces a guttural pronunciation, but in everyday conversation, people tend to pronounce words without bothering with the H.
One last thing, Kiswahili has a way of really compressing words, such that the subject, verb, object may easily fit in what seems like one odd word. Also, its pronouns don’t often, if at all, distinguish genders; those you’ll infer from the flow of the conversation.
For instance, “He/It/She isn’t coming”, can simply be stated as “haji” where ha is the “he/she/it isn’t” and ji is the modified form of coming, whose root word is kuja. Alternatively, haji may be written as hakuji, but in the Coastal areas you’ll be hard pressed to find people who bother to include the ku; it’s a dialect thing.
That said, here are a few words and phrases used daily.
Greetings
You greet your elders with “Shikamoo” and they respond with “Marahaba”. If you are the elder receiving the greeting, you know how to respond. Shikamoo will often be said by children and teenagers, but no matter how grown up you are, using it to a generation above you will never be seen as offensive or childish.
Especially amongst native speakers, there’s a tendency to drop or add vowels, so around Tanzania or Coastal Kenya, these greetings may be “shkamoo”, “marhaba” or “marhabaa”. There are an estimated 15 major Kiswahili dialects, so expect such variances.
“Jambo” is often touted as a greeting in itself, but it is most often used after modification, i.e. you greet a person by saying “Hujambo?” to which they often reply “Sijambo.” If you are greeting many people, use “Hamjambo?”(ha-m-ja-mbo?) and expect “hatujambo”. In this greeting, you are asking whether he/she is okay, and the usually reply confirms it. It a greeting often used between peers.
“Habari yako” is the proper way of using habari (which literally means news), and the phrase would literally mean what’s your news, as a means to enquire how you are doing. If you are fine, you’d respond with “nzuri” or “salama”, both of which would imply “I’m fine”. “Habari yako” can be used with peers, slightly older people, and younger people. If you are greeting many people, the phrase becomes “Habari zenu?” and the response need not change.
‘Habari’ can also be modified to fit the time. Responses are unchanged.
“Habari ya asubuhi?”- good morning?
Habari ya mchana?- good afternoon?
Habari ya jioni?- good evening?
“Umeshindaje?”is a greeting used to somebody you haven’t see during the day. You are basically enquiring how his day went. It’s used among peers, and in an often fairly informal setting. The response can be ‘salama’ or, as with all greetings, the person can start unloading on you. It is the whole point of greeting, remember?
‘Tuonane kesho’ translates to see you tomorrow, the response to which is “majaliwa” (the word itself means fate, and its usage here implies hope that fate will allow you two another day), or “inshaAllah” (if God wills it).
‘Kwaheri’ is goodbye, and you respond with the same word.
“Siku njema”- wishing somebody a good day
“usiku mwema”- good night
“lala unono”- another way of saying good night (lit. sleep heavily)
Slang
These are slang greetings you can use among younger folk (people in their 20s and below), such as:
“Niaje?”
“Vipi?”
“Mambo?”
“Sasa?”
To which the response (for each) can be “fiti”, “poa”, “safi”, all of which confirm the person is okay.
“Baadaye”, is your highly informal see you later. It simply means later. Repeat the word in response.
Remember slang is highly informal.
Civilities/Etiquette
Thank you= Shukrani/Nashukuru, or Asante. Asante sana means thank you very much. You can use shukran and asante for any situation in which you wish to express gratitude. Asante can also be used to politely refuse something when accompanied by body language, such as an open palm (stop) plus a sideways notion of the head.
Congratulations- Hongera.
Please, as in please give me my phone is “tafadhali”; add it in your requests for the same effect in English.
You are welcome- “karibu”. If somebody tells you asante or shukrani, reply with karibu, or karibu tena.
I’m sorry, as in I’m sorry you lost your dog, is “pole kwa msiba”(lit. sorry for the tragedy), often simply said “pole” or “pole sana”. Sana means “very much”.
I’m sorry as in I’m sorry I knocked you down, ‘pole’ can be used. But kunradhi/ niwie radhi are straight up seeking to apologize, as is ‘samahani’, and are better suited.
Kunradhi and samahani are used also used to seek attention, especially when you are interrupting someone else. Think excuse me!
Useful Phrases
My name is……. = Naitwa……………… (lit. I am called………..), or Jina langu ni…………….. (my name is………..)
What is your name?? = Unaitwaje?/ Waitwaje?, or jina lako ni nani?
Do you speak/understand English? = Unazungumza/unaelewa Kiingereza?
Yes= naam, ndiyo, also a guttural enheee, or ehee is used, usually accompanied with an up-down swing of the head, which in itself is an affirmative.
No= la, hapana, occasionally a guttural a-a, a-aa or m-u, usually accompanied with a sideways swinging of the head, which in itself is a no. These head swings keep their meaning in English, at least in East Africa, but may have opposite meanings in other cultures and languages.
I don’t know Kiswahili; could we speak English? = Sijui Kiswahili. Naomba tuzungumze Kiingereza.
In English please.= Kwa Kiingereza tafadhali.
I am looking for the……….? Could you please direct me? Natafuta………… Unaweza kunielekeza tafadhali?
Police station= kituo cha polisi, hospital= hospitali, airport= uwanja wa ndege, hotel= hoteli, shop= duka, toilet= choo.
Can you please take me there? Unaweza kunipeleka huko tafadhali?
Help me= Nisaidie
Help me with…..= Nisaidie na……. (polite way of requesting something, even if it’s something you are buying)
Pen= kalamu, cigarette=sigara, meat = nyama, vegetables= mboga, soda= soda,
Wait= ngoja, wait for me= ningoje, Should I wait for you? = Nikungojee?
Can I take a photo of you? Naweza kukupiga picha? (singular), Naweza kuwapiga picha? (plural)
Can you take a photo of me/us? Unaweza kunipiga picha? (s)/ Unaweza kutupiga picha?(p)
I am tired. Can we rest? = Nimechoka. Tunaweza kupumzika?
I am feeling sick= Nahisi nagonjeka. (To feel is “hisi”)
I am hungry = Nina njaa or naskia/nahisi njaa
What’s this called in Kiswahili? = Hii inaitwaje kwa Kiswahili?
Can you teach me Kiswahili?= Unaweza kunifunza Kiswahili?
In your trips, you may spot written signs; here are quick translations.
Mbwa Kali– The owner of such houses are warning you there are vicious attack dogs in the compound; don’t just wander in.
Ilani/Onyo– These are warning signs advising against for instance tampering with electrical installations.
Tahadhari / Hatari– There’s a looming danger in the area. For instance you may be warned against leaving a tour vehicle or wandering at night because wildlife may be too close, or the road ahead experiences rock falls or something.
I have decided to halt it here, because I could go on and on with Kiswahili phrases and words. If you have an English phrase or word that you think I should add, let me know in the comments.
One last thing, people don’t actually say “Hakuna Matata”; that is just marketing taking a life of its own. If a person wants to confirm it’s all okay, he/she would say “Hamna/hakuna + shida/tatizo /taabu” in a fairly formal setting. But by far the most used phrase is “Hakuna noma” which is slang, and has a music video of its own.
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