Learn Swahili before your trip to a Swahili language country. If you make an attempt, local people will appreciate your efforts and are more likely to reciprocate. Making an effort to speak the local language allows you to interact with the people who know the site best, and also shows respect. People really do appreciate your efforts. Simple words like “Hello,” “Please,” and “Thank you,” can go a long way.
Swahili is the official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. It is also a widely spoken language in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Zanzibar, parts of Somalia, Malawi, Zambia, Yemen, Comoros, Oman, and South Sudan.
Swahili is a Bantu language, which means that it is related to other languages such as Zulu, Xhosa, and Lingala. It is also influenced by Arabic, Persian, and Portuguese. Swahili is a very expressive language, and it has a rich vocabulary and grammar.
For these reasons, Swahili is a great language to know or get familiar with.
We also have a PDF version. Just click here and request access to download it.
Comparatively speaking,
Swahili is an easy language to speak.
The Five Vowels
- A: Pronounced like the [a] in “car.” The word for “earth” is ardhi, and the word for “spoil” is aribu.
- E: Pronounced like the [e] in “eight.” The word for “carry” is beba, and the word for “say” is sema.
- I: Pronounced like the [i] in “ski.” The word for “bless” is bariki, and the word for “life” is maisha.
- O: Pronounced similar to the [oo] in the bird “owl.” The word for “fear” is ogopa and the word for “schedule” is orodha.
- U: Pronounced similar to the [uu] in the pronoun “you.” The word for “sickness” is ugonjwa, and the word for “inheritance” is uridhi.
Commonly Used:
- Habari or Jambo– “Hello”
- Kwaheri – “Goodbye”
- Tutaonana – “See you later”
- Ndio – “Yes”
- Sawa – “Okay”
- Hapana – “No”
- Tafadhali – “Please”
- Asante – “Thank you”
- Asante Sana “Thank you very much”
- Karibu – “You’re welcome”
- Samahani – “I’m sorry”
- Sijui – “I don’t know”
- Mambo vipi? – “How is it?”
- Habari Gani? – “How are you doing?”
- Sijambo – “I am fine”
- Jina lako nani? – “What is your name?”
- Jina langu ni… – “My name is…”
- Unatoka wapi? – “Where are you from?”
- Natokea… – “I’m from…”
- Hapana asante – “No, thank you”
- Nafurahi kukuona – “Nice to meet you”
Swahili Phrases (Street Slang) to use when talking in The East African region:
- Unaitwa? – “What’s your name?”
- Noma sana – “Amazing, great”, or “that’s crazy”
- Fiti kabisa – “The best, really great,”
- Baadaye – “Goodbye, see you later”
- Niaje bro – “Hello, brother”
Swahili Words for Time:
- Siku – “Day”
- Wiki – “Week”
- Mwezi – “Month”
- Leo – “Today”
- Jana – “Yesterday”
- Juzi – “The day before yesterday”
- Kesho – “Tomorrow”
- Saa – “Hour”
- Dakika – “Minute”
- Saa – “Time”
- Kabla – “Before”
- Baada – “After”
- Sasa – “Now”
Days and Months:
- Jumapili – “Sunday”
- Jumatatu – “Monday”
- Jumanne – “Tuesday”
- Jumatana –“ Wednesday”
- Alhamisi – “Thursday”
- Ijumaa – “Friday”
- Jumamosi – “Saturday”
- Januari – “January”
- Februari – “February”
- Marchi – “March”
- Aprili – “April”
- Mei – “May”
- Juni – “June”
- Julai – “July”
- Agosti – “August”
- Septemba – “September”
- Oktoba – “October”
- Novemba – “November”
- Desemba – “December”
Swahili Words for Places:
- Hapa – “Here”
- Pale – “There” – if it’s close
- Huko – “There” – if it’s far
- Pahali – “Place”
- Shule – “School”
- Duka – “Shop”
- Kazi – “Work”
- Bafu – “Bathroom”
- Nyumbani – “Home”
- Nchi – “Country”
Swahili Words for Things:
- Hoteli – “Hotel”
- Simu – “Phone”
- Kitu – “Something”
- Nyumba – “House”
- Gari – “Car”
- Chakula – “Food”
- Chai – “Tea”
- Maji – “Water”
Swahili Words for People:
- Mwanamke – “Woman”
- Mwanaume – “Man”
- Mzee – “Old man/respectful way of referring to a man”
- Mama – Old woman/respectful way of referring to a woman
- Msichana – “Girl”
- Kijana – “Boy”
- Rafiki – “Friend”
- Mtu – “Person”
- Bwana – “Husband”
- Mke – “Wife”
- Jina – “Name”
Swahili Pronouns:
- Mimi – “I”
- Wewe – “You”
- Yeye – “He”
- Yeye – “She”
- Wale – “They”
- Sisi – “We”
- Hii – “This”
- Ile – “That”
Days and Months:
- Jumapili – “Sunday”
- Jumatatu – “Monday”
- Jumanne – “Tuesday”
- Jumatana –“ Wednesday”
- Alhamisi – “Thursday”
- Ijumaa – “Friday”
- Jumamosi – “Saturday”
- Januari – “January”
- Februari – “February”
- Marchi – “March”
- Aprili – “April”
- Mei – “May”
- Juni – “June”
- Julai – “July”
- Agosti – “August”
- Septemba – “September”
- Oktoba – “October”
- Novemba – “November”
- Desemba – “December”
Directions:
- Kulia – “Right”
- Kushoto – “Left”
- Mbele – “Forward”
- Nyuma – “Back”
- Hapa – “Here”
- Pale – “There”
- Juu – “Up”
- Chini – “Down”
Travel:
- Tikiti – “Ticket”
- Pasipoti – “Passport”
- Visa – “Visa”
- Uwanja wa ndege – “Airport”
- Hoteli – “Hotel”
- Mkahawa – “Restaurant”
- Soko – “Market”
- Safari – “Safari”
- Mwongozo – “Guide”
25 most common Swahili verbs:
- Kufanya – “To do”
- Kuwa – “To be”
- Kuwa – “To become”
- Kusema – “To say”
- Kuja – “To come”
- Kwenda – “To go”
- Kuweza kufanya – “To be able to do”
- Kuona – “To see”
- Kutuma – “To send”
- Kuwa na – “To have”
- Kuchukua – “To take”
- Kungoja – “To wait”
- Kukutana – “To meet”
- Kuishi – “To live”
- Kufikiri – “To think”
- Kupa – “To give”
- Kupata – “To receive”
- Kujua – “To know”
- Kutengeneza – “To make”
- Kutumia – “To use”
- Kusoma – “To learn”
- Kula – “To eat”
- Kunywa – “To drink”
- Kucheka – “To laugh”
- Kusoma – “To read”
Simple Swahili Adjectives and Adverbs:
- Mingi – “Many, lots of”
- Kidogo – “Few”
- Kubwa – “Big”
- Ndogo – “Small”
- Refu – “Tall”
- Fupi – “Short”
- Karibu – “Near”
- Mbali – “Far”
- Poa – “Good, nice”
- Mbaya – “Bad”
- Rahisi – “Easy”
- Ngumu – “Difficult”
- Poa/maridadi – “Beautiful”
- Mbaya – “Ugly”
- Tamu – “Delicious”
- Moto – “Hot”
- Baridi – “Cold”
- Sana – “Very”
Swahili Conjunctions and Connectors:
- Lakini – “But, however”
- Pia – “Also”
- Kwa mfano – “For example”
- Kwa hivyo – “So”
- Halafu – “Then”
Pro tip: Never refer to someone as “you”. It is very offensive.
Swahili Words for Numbers:
- Moja – “1”
- Mbili – “2”
- Tatu – “3”
- Nne – “4”
- Tano – “5”
- Sita – “6”
- Saba – “7”
- Nane – “8”
- Tisa – “9”
- Kumi – “10”
- Kumi na moja – “11”
- Kumi na mbili – “12”
- Kumi na tatu – “13’
- Kumi na nne – “14”
- Kumi na tano – “15”
- Kumi na sita – “16”
- Kumi na saba – “17”
- Kumi na nane – “18”
- Kumi na tisa – “19”
- Ishirini – “20”
- Thelathini – “30”
- Arobaini – “40”
- Hamsini – “50”
- Sitini – “60”
- Sabini – “70”
- Themanini – “80”
- Tisini – “90”
- Mia moja – “100”
- Elfu moja – “1,000”
- Laki – “100,00”
Swahili Bank Phrases:
- Benki – “Bank”
- Kupeana – “Remittance”
- Taslimu – “Cash”
- Meza ya habari – “Information Desk”
- Wiana – “Balance”
- Stakabadhi – “Deposit”
- Kadi ya ATM – “ATM Card”
- Malipo ya huduma – “Service Charge”
- Dirisha la karani wa benki – “Teller Window”
- Kutoa fedha – “cash withdrawal”
- Nambari ya akaunti ya benki – “Bank Account Number”
- Nambali ya akaunti ya benki – “Bank Account”
- Kubadilishana fedha – “Money Exchange”
Here are a few videos we found on Youtube to help with your journey to understanding Swahili. There are many videos on YouTube to assist you with learning and also plenty of Apps and tutors.
