exl6 swahili phrasebook -...

EXL6 Swahili PhraseBook Davis

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Source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Swahili_phrasebook

Swahili or Kiswahili, is an official language of Tanzania, Kenya, 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.

Pronunciation Swahili has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. If you are familiar with Spanish, Italian or Japanese, the vowels are pronounced the same. 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". 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.

Consonant pairings gh 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) 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.


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Greetings and Introductions Greetings in Swahili are very important. They are 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 today? Habari ya leo? How was your journey / trip? Habari za safari? Fine, thank you. Nzuri, asante. What is your name? Jina lako ni nani? My name is ______ . Jina langu ni ______. Where are you from? Unatokea wapi I am from America. Ninatoka nchi ya Marekani. Please. Tafadhali. Thank you (very much). Asante (sana). You're welcome. Karibu. Yes. Ndiyo. No. Hapana. I don't need. Sihitaji. (Polite way of saying you don't want to buy anything) Excuse me. Samahani. (getting attention) I'm sorry. Samahani.

(in the sense of "pardon me"; used for minor transgressions) I'm sorry. Nasikitika. (about hearing very bad news for someone) Please forgive me. Tafadhali nisamehe Goodbye. Kwa heri. Good night. Usiku mwema. See you later. Tuonane baadaye. My Swahili is terrible. Kiswahili changu ni kibaya sana. I can't speak Swahili. Siwezi kusema Kiswahili. I only speak a little Swahili. Ninaongea Kiswahili kidogo tu. Do you speak English? Unazungumza Kiingereza? Bathroom Bafu Toilet Choo Help! Msaada! Where is the _______? _____ 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.


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Problems and Getting Help Leave me alone. Niache! Don't touch me! Usiniguse/Usinishike! I'll call the police. Nitapiga simu polisi! Police! Polisi! Help! Msaada! I need your help. Naomba/Ninaomba msaada. I'm lost. Nimepotea.

I lost my bag. Nimepoteza mfuko wangu. I lost my wallet. Nimepoteza pochi. I've been injured. Nimeumia I need a doctor. Ninahitaji daktari. Can I use your phone? Ninaomba kutumia simu yako?

Numbers

0 Sifuri 1 Moja 2 Mbili 3 Tatu 4 Nne 5 Tano 6 Sita

7 Saba 8 Nane 9 Tisa 10 Kumi 20 Ishirini 30 Thelathini 40 Arobaini

50 Hamsini 60 Sitini 70 Sabini 80 Themanini 90 Tisini 100 Mia moja 1000 Elfu moja

Time now Sasa later Baadaye before Kabla ya after Baada ya

morning Asubuhi afternoon Mchana evening Jioni night Usiku

What time is it? Saa ngapi

Days

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. Saturday Jumamosi Sunday Jumapili Monday Jumatatu

Tuesday Jumanne Wednesday Jumatano Thursday Alhamisi

Friday Ijumaa

Clock timeIn Swahili, the morning does not begin at midnight (12 AM); instead, it begins at 4:00 AM. Daytime revolves around the rising and setting of the sun, which typically begins to rise around 4 AM and set at 8 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. To say the time in Swahili, you need to 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, 4.00 to 11.59) or usiku (night, midnight to 3.59) and PM is typically marked with mchana (daytime, noon to 7.59) or usiku (night, 8.00 to 11.59). Jioni (evening) can be used in place of mchana for last 2 hours of mchana, i.e. 6.00 PM to 7.59 PM.


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1 o'clock AM/PM

saa saba usiku/mchana 2 o'clock AM/PM

saa nane usiku/mchana 3 o'clock AM/PM

saa tisa usiku/mchana 4 o'clock AM/PM

saa kumi asubuhi/mchana 5 o'clock AM/PM

saa kumi na moja asubuhi/mchana 6 o'clock AM/PM

saa kumi na mbili asubuhi/mchana 7 o'clock AM/PM

saa moja asubuhi/mchana 7.15 AM/PM

saa moja na robo asubuhi/mchana 7.20 AM/PM

saa moja na dakika ishirini asubuhi/mchana

7.30 AM/PM saa moja na nusu asubuhi/mchana

7.45 AM/PM saa mbili (kasoro robo = kasorobo) asubuhi/mchana

7.50 AM/PM saa mbili kasoro dakika kumi asubuhi/mchana

8 o'clock AM/PM saa mbili asubuhi/mchana

9 o'clock AM/PM saa tatu asubuhi/mchana

10 o'clock AM/PM saa nne asubuhi/mchana

11 o'clock AM/PM saa tano asubuhi/mchana

Noon (12 PM) saa sita mchana

Midnight (12 AM) saa sita usiku

Seasons

Swahili-speaking countries generally experience two seasons: rainy-and-hot and cold-and-dry. Swahili does not have words for "autumn/fall" or "spring", etc. Season majira

Summer kiangazi Winter majira ya baridi Spring majira ya machipuko Autumn majira ya majani kupukukika

Colors black nyeusi blue kibuluu/

samawati brown kahawia colours rangi

gray kijivu green kijani orange machungwa pink waridi purple urujuani

red nyekundu white nyeupe yellow njano

Buses and Trains

Minibus (Kenya, Uganda) Matatu Minibus (Tanzania) Daladala How much is a ticket to …? Tikiti ya kwenda …shengapi? One ticket to …, please. Naomba tikiti moja ya kwenda ….

Where does this train/bus go? Treni/basi hii inakwenda wapi? Does this train/bus stop in …? Treni/basi itakwenda …? When does the train/bus for … leave? Treni/basi itaondoka lini? When will this train/bus arrive in …? Treni/basi itafika lini …?


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Directions Which direction?

Mwelekeo upi? How do I get to _____ ?

Je, ninakwenda ____ I want to go to ____

Ninataka kuenda ____ ...the train station?

Kituo/stesheni cha treni/gari la moshi ...the bus station?

Kituo/stesheni cha basi ...the airport?

Uwanja wa ndege ...downtown?

Mjini …town center Katikati ya mjini

...the youth hostel?

...the _____ hotel? Hoteli _____ iko wapi? (but 'hoteli' often refers to a place to eat, especially in Kenya) ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? Embassy

Ubalozi Consulate

Balozi ndogo (but probably better to ask for 'Ubalozi')

Can you show me on the map? Unaweza nionyesha katika ramani

street Streeti Highway Barabara close to _____ Karibu na

north Kaskazini south Kusini east Mashariki west Magharibi

Taxi

Taxi! Take me to _____, please. Nipeleke......, tafadhali How much does it cost to get to _____?

itakuwa pesa ngapi kunifikisha------? Take me there, please. Tafadhali nipeleke huko basi:

Shopping

Do you have this in my size? Kuna hii ya kunitosha?

How much is this? Bei gani?

That's too expensive. Ni Ghali Sana.

Would you take _____? Utakubali-----

expensive Ghali

cheap Rahisi

I can't afford it. Sina pesa za kutosha

I don't want it.

Sitaki OK, I'll take it.

Sawa, nitachukua. I need...

Ninahitaji ...toothpaste.

Dawa ya meno ...a toothbrush.

Mswaki ...soap.

Sabuni ...shampoo.

shampoo ya nywele ...an umbrella.

Mwavuli ...postage stamps.

stempu ...batteries.

makaa ...writing paper.

Karatasi ya kuandika ...a pen.

Kalamu ...an English-language newspaper.

Gazeti la Kiingereza ...an English-English dictionary.

Kamusi ya Kiingereza


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Driving stop (on a street sign)

Simama no parking

Hairuhusiwi kuegesha (parking not permitted)

Slow down Punguza mwendo

gas (petrol) station Stesheni/stesheni ya mafuta/stesheni ya mafuta ya gari

On Safari cheetah duma elephant tembo giraffe twiga hippo kiboko lion simba

ostrich mbuni snake nyoka turtle kobe / kasa wart hog ngiri zebra punda milia

leopard chui hyena fisi rhino kifaru wildebeest nyumbu

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