Introduction to Swahili

INTRODUCTION TO SWAHILI

BASIC VOCABULARY, NOUN & VERB STRUCTURES Swah Swahil ilii is a cont contin inua uall lly y chan changi ging ng lang langua uage ge that that is stil stilll grow growin ing g which resulted from the great Swahili culture that was established along the east African coast. Grammatically it is one of the African Bantu group and most of the words are of this origin with about a third of all words coming from Arabic – Swahili derives from the Arabic Arabic word word for Plain. Plain. Many Many words words have have been been incorp incorpora orated ted from from English especially words of a more technical nature. Swahili and English are the two official languages of Tanzania but Swahili is far more widely spoken and is most people’s second language after their tribal language. The dialect of Swahili spoken in Mtwara is very different from that spoken in Kenya and is influenced by the local tribal language, Makonde. English is not widely spoken. It must be remembered that many people speaking Swahili are relatively poor and illiterate so it remains a language that is largely spoken and heard not written and read and so there can be many variations in spelling, usage etc.   Thi This s guid guide e has has been been writ writte ten n by a flue fluent nt Swah Swahil ilii spea speake kerr and and adjusted after the experiences of several years’ worth of volunteers. It is tailored to the experiences of volunteers in their first weeks and months in Tanzania, it is not an exhaustive guide but a starting point for study and a quick reference when in country. There are no exercises for you to do so practice your own using the grammar rules and the Nicholas Awde dictionary and use the interactive CD to get a better understanding of the sounds of Swahili. Practice makes perfect which is hard to do but the more you know before departure the more things will make sense when you arrive.  The most important things to concentrate on are the basic words, the greetings and the basic verb structure. The nouns are a bit complicated so do not worry about them too much, try and develop a good good workin rking g leve levell of usef usefu ul Swah wahili ili rathe atherr than han lear learni ning ng everything. Bahati Njema!

CONTENTS Alphabet, Pronunciation & Important Words Greetings Questions & Grammar Verbs Nouns Adjectives Numbers Time Other Points Noun Vocabulary

Page 2 3 5 6 10 12 13 14 16 17

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Verb Vocabulary General Vocabulary

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Alphabet and Pronunciation Swah Swahil ilii is writ writte ten n in the the Roma Roman n alph alphab abet et and and pron pronun unci ciat atio ion n is gene genera rall lly y the the same same as in Engl Englis ish h but but ther there e are are the the foll follow owin ing g exceptions - listening to the CD ROM will give you the best idea:  A E I O U Dh Ng’

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Pronounced aah, aah, as in ‘far’ or a as in ‘man’ Pronounced between eh as in ‘bed’, and é in ‘café’ Pronounced eee as in ‘Lima’ or ‘Swahili’ Pronounced oh as in ‘Promise’ or ‘Mambo’ Pronounced oo as in ‘Fool’ Pronounced th as in ‘that’ A guttural sound a bit like in ‘finger’

R and L are interchangeable so Laura could be Raura, Laula or Raula. NB: Unlike English, all syllables end in a vowel – this is what allows Swahili to flow flow fluently and quickly in conversation. conversation. Each vowel in a word is sounded separately; for example, saa (watch) is pronounced sa-a. sa-a.

Important Words Hello See you later Welcome  Thank-you What is your name? My name is… Please Excuse-me  Yes No But OK  And Is/Are Or Perhaps Because Good Bad Sorry Very No Problem What is this?

 Jambo Baadaye Karibu  Asante  Jina lako nani?  Jina langu… Tafadhali Samahani Ndiyo Hapana Lakini Sawa Na Ni  Au Labda Kwa sababu Nzuri, safi, njema Mbaya Pole Sana Hakuna matatizo Hiki nini?

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 Today  Tomorrow (also good night) Good Night

Leo Kesho Usiku Mwema

Greetings Conversations almost always start with a series of greetings – this is much much more emphasi emphasized zed than than in Englis English. h. It is importan importantt to offer offer greetings out of courtesy, and to reply appropriately when greeted. Comb Combin inat atio ions ns of gree greeti ting ngs s are are used used to inqu inquir ire e abou aboutt some someon one, e, including asking about their health, work, school or home – almost anything that they are strongly associated with.  There are two forms of greetings which fall into a ‘system’ and then a series of other greetings. They may seem complicated to start with but understanding how greetings work will greatly assist you in understanding Swahili as a whole.

Habari? Habari lite litera rall lly y mean means s ‘new ‘news’ s’ and and ther there e is a huge huge vari variet ety y of  greetings that use this as their core but they are actually incredibly simp simple le and and vers versat atil ile e to use when hen you you have ave got got the basi basics cs.. Essentially people will ask for the news of your day, family, work, evening or any other thing that seems interesting. One thing to bear in mind is that the answers are all very basic and generally it is bad mann manner ers s to say that that anyt anyth hing ing is bad bad so even even if you you canno annott understand exactly what has been asked of you then you just say it is good. Easy. Common Habari greetings: Habari? Habari gani? Habari yako? Habari zenu? Habari za leo? Habari za asubuhi? Habari za mchana? Habari za jioni? Habari za usiku? Habari za nyumbani? Habari za kazi? Habari za safari?

How is it? How are things? How are you? How are you lot? (Pl) How is your day? How is your morning? How is your afternoon? How is your evening? How is your night? How is your household? How is work? How was your journey?

Generally when greetings are for anything else it will always be Habari za … One other point is that often the habari will be dropped from the ques questi tion on and and so they they migh mightt say, say,   Za asubuhi asubuhi instead of the full sentence.  There are several positive responses to use to these greetings:

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Safi, Nzuri, Salama, Njema And a negative response is Mbaya. Mbaya. To say it is very good/bad you use sana after the response i.e. Safi sana. sana. Or if it is just good then it is Safi tu. tu.

 Jambos   The The most most basi basic c gree greeti ting ng in Swah Swahil ilii is to say say  Jambo and and is the the greeting you are most likely to hear as a tourist (volunteers are banned from using it). What jambo means in Swahili is an issue or problem so effectively it is the reverse of saying ‘Alright’ in English.  There are many greetings that use jambo as a base but also have the negative person marker i.e. you don’t have a problem. So these greetings take the form of a question and an answer. So to greet an individual you would say: Hujambo? You don’t have a problem? Sijambo. I don’t have a problem. So the following greetings apply: Greeting Individual Hujambo? Group Hamjambo? Hatujambo  To inquire after an individual Hajambo?  To inquire after a group Hawajambo? Hawajambo

Response Sijambo

Hajambo

A slight slight variation on this but possibly possibly the greeting that you will use most of all is to say Mambo. Mambo. Mambo is the plural of Jambo and literally means ‘problems’ yet it has just become a word used in gree greeti ting ngs. s. This This is a gree greeti ting ng used used for for peop people le your your own own age age or younger and generally all children will say it to you. The correct response is Poa which means ‘cool’ but again is just a greeting.  There are also a number of other words now used like bomba and fresh instead of poa. Also mambo might be followed by vipi, vipi, or just vipi with out the mambo.  The other extremely common greeting and one that is important to get right is Shikamoo. Shikamoo. It is a respectful greeting to anyone older than than ones onesel elff and and shou should ld alwa always ys be used used to thos those e olde older! r! The The response is Marahaba. Marahaba.  There are some other greetings that can be used: Greeting As-salaam aleykum with you

Response Meaning Aleykum as-salaam

Peace be

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Salama Nzima means good

Salama Nzima

Peace (also safe)  Just

 You must know the following: Habari… greeting Hujamb Hujambo/ o/Ham Hamjam jambo bo (S/Pl) Shikamoo Mambo

Safi

Very general

Sijamb Sijambo/H o/Hatu atujam jambo bo Marahaba Poa

How are you? For older people For children/youths

Questions Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Which? How much/many?

Nani? Nini? Wapi? Lini? Kwa nini? Vipi? Gani? Ngapi?

How much money? What time (is it)?

Shilingapi? Saangapi?

According to Swahili sentence structure, the above words come at the end of the sentence; i.e. Unataka nini? = What do you want? Also Also Swah Swahil ilii is diff differ eren entt to Engl Englis ish h in the the sens sense e that that if you you ask ask someone, ‘You have not seen Laura, have you?’ the reply is, ‘No, I have not seen Laura’. In Swahili the answer is, ‘Yes, I have not seen Laura.’ Which is actually the more logical answer.

Grammar It is worth understanding these terms before going further: Verb: a verb is an action: walk, speak, hit. Noun: a noun is a thing, object or person: car, tree, child. Tense: a tense is when something happens: in the future, present or past. Subject: the subject is the person or thing doing the verb: I hit, Laura drove. Laura, Object: is the person or thing that has the verb act on it: I hit Laura, Laura drove the car . Marker: the marker is the word that shows the tense, subject or object. Prefix: a word or part of a word that goes in front of the item in question.

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Suffix: a word or part of a word that goes after the item in question.

Sentence Structure   The most noticeable thing with Swahili is that there are far fewer word words s in a sent senten ence ce than than in Engl Englis ish. h. This This is beca becaus use e inst instead ead of  having different words for the subject, object and tense markers they are all merged into one word which allows the language to flow more easily. This will all make sense when we have looked at each aspect of the sentence in turn.

Verbs  The verb stem is the core of the sentence. In Swahili all verbs work as ‘to have’ rather like the ‘avoir’ verbs of French which is generally the reverse of English. So in English ‘I am hungry’ is ‘I have hunger’ in Swahili.   The ‘infinitive’ of a verb is the way a verb is said or stated. In English if the verb stem is ‘want’ then the infinitive is ‘to want’. In Swahili the same verb stem for want is taka and the infinitive is ku, ku, and so it is written kutaka. kutaka.

Subject and Tense Markers For the moment we will only use the present tense, the present tense marker marker is – na -. In Swahili Swahili the subject and tense marker is in the same order as in English which is: Subject I Ni

Tense do na

Verb

want taka

But the Swahili sentence is one word and so it is: Ninataka. Ninataka. 1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural

I  You He/She/It We  You  They

NiUATuMWa-

So some examples are as follows:

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 You are leaving U-na-toka He is laughing A-na-cheka  They are walking Wa-na-tembea

Tenses In Swahili there are far fewer tenses than in English which means you can grasp them quite quickly and also they are more regular than in English. In English the perfect tense is I have done, she has seen, the past tense is I talked , we went . In Swahili the Perfect tense is used much more than in English and is used most of the time for actions in the past. There is no imperfect tense in Swahili – in English the is when ‘was’ or ‘where’ are used.  There is only one future tense in Swahili. In English you can say, ‘I am going to eat’. The same does not apply in Swahili: the verb to go, kuenda, kuenda, means to go and not to do something in the future.

Tense Perfect Past Present Future

Marker -me-li-na-ta-

  The The senten sentence ce struct structure ure is the same as before before but with differ different ent tenses: I have done  You (pl) talked He likes  They will sleep

Ni-me-fanya M-li-ongea A-na-penda Wa-ta–lala

Object Markers  This is where a Swahili sentence differs to an English one as the object comes before the verb. English Swahili

Subject I Subject Ni

1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural

Tense will Tense ta Me You Him/Her/It Us You Them

Verb h it Object m

Object him Verb piga

-ni-ku-m-tu-wa-wa-

Now we can make more complex sentences: 7

I like you  You lot will see them I planted it

Ni-na-ku-penda M-ta-wa-ona Ni-me-m-panda

So brought together these are the different components in a basic sentence: Subject Ni U A  Tu M Wa

Tense me li na ta

Object ni ku m tu wa wa

Ve r b penda taka ona la la ongea fanya

Irregular Verbs Unfortunately it is not all that straight forward as there are some irregular verbs and they happen to be some of the most common ones used. So far all of the verbs we have used have been just the stem i.e. ona instead of  kuona. kuona. Irregular verbs keep the ku when used used,, so for for exam exampl ple, e, ‘I will will eat’ eat’ beco become mes s Nitakula. la. Comm Common on irregular verbs are: Kula to eat, Kunywa to drink, Kwenda to go (note there is no u anymore).

Negatives In Swah Swahil ilii the the nega negati tive ve requi require res s a diff differe erent nt subj subject ect and and tens tense e marker. They fit into the sentence in exactly the same way as the positive markers. Well, apart from the present tense which is a bit different. If you have learnt your Jambo greetings then you already know the negative subject markers.

1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular st 1 Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural

Negative Subject Markers SiHuHaHatuHamHawa-

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Tense Perfect Past Future

Negative Tense Marker -ja-ku-ta-

So the following are some examples I did see him. Ni-me-m-ona. Ni-me-m-ona.  They will not like him. I have not understood

I did not see him. Si-ja-m-ona Hawa-ta-m-penda Si-ja-alewa. Si-ja-alewa.

  The present tense does not follow the same rules. The negative subject markers are the same but the tense marker does not appear after the subject marker. Instead, the last letter of the verb stem becomes an - i. I like Ni-na-penda He does not smile We won’t do it

I do not like Si-pend-i  Ha-chek-i  Hatu-fany-i 

Passive Voice   The passive voice can easily be learnt and will double your verb vocabulary in an instant. The passive voice is used to describe when a verb is acted against/on someone or something. It is formed by adding a letter ‘w’ to the verb stem before the final vowel. It is easiest understood by seeing it in action.  To hit  To love

Ku-piga Ku-penda

 To be hit  To be loved

Ku-pigwa Ku-pendwa

Modal Verbs Modal verbs include include the words ‘should’, ‘could’ and ‘may’. The most common common by far in Swahili is ‘should’ ‘should’.. This is formed formed by adding adding the subject marker to the verb stem needed without a tense marker, and changing the final vowel to an ‘ e’. The negative negative is formed formed by adding ‘si’ after the subject marker as well. For example: I should go We should win  You shouldn’t leave

Ni-ende Tu-shinde U-si -ondok  -ondok e

 The Conditional and Connective Tenses  The conditional tense introduces a new form of tense marker into verb gramma grammar, r, but the previou previous s rules rules still still apply. apply. The marker marker for condit condition ional al presen presentt tense tense is ‘nge’ and its negative equivalent is ‘singe’. For example: If I were to want If you were tall If they don’t like If he didn’t want

Ni-nge-taka U-nge-kuwa mrefu Wa-singe-penda A-singe-taka

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  The The conn connec ecti tive ve tense ense ofte often n acts acts as a simp simple lerr vers versio ion n of the the conditional tense, and uses the markers ‘ka’ for ‘and’, and ‘ ki’ for ‘if’: And I want If I want

Ni-ka-taka Ni-ki -taka -taka

Pronouns Pronouns Pronouns are generally generally used used more in Swahili Swahili than in English English.. It is common for a sentence to start with a pronoun, even when not needed. For example: Mimi, ninakwenda translates as Me, I am going. Me Mimi  You Wewe Him/Her Yeye Us Sisi  You Nyinyi Them There is no Swahili equivalent Pronouns are not used instead of the subject markers but as an addition to them.

Nouns In English there are no real noun classes – there are irregularities but that is a different thing. In Swahili there are a number of noun classes. Depending on which class the noun is in depends on how the noun behaves and changes. The most common way in which a noun changes in English is when we are looking at the quantity. In English the plural is (generally) marked by the addition of an s/es at the end of a word i.e. Car, Cars or family, families. In Swahili the first letter/s of the noun marks whether it is in plural or negative. The table below gives the three most common noun groups. Group

1. People. M/Wa

2. Plants, objects. M/Mi

3. Inanimate objects.

Singula Plural r MW aM-toto Wa-toto MWa zungu  zungu MMi M-ti Mi-ti M-fuko Mi-fuko KiVi-

English

Person/people White person/people  Tree/trees Bag/bags

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Ki/Vi Ki-tu Ki-b Ki-bir irit itii

Vi-tu Vi-b Vi-bir irit itii

 Thing/things Match/matches

. Other groups are not used in the same way: 4. Generally begins with N and has many plant and animal names.  The singular and plural are the same: Cow/s: Ngombe, Ngombe, Snake/s Nyoka, Nyoka, Postal Letter/s: Barua 5. This Ma- class is a general class when there is no singular prefix. So: car Gari, Gari, Cars Ma-gari. Ma-gari. Exercise book Daftari, Daftari, Exercise books Madaftari  The only rare variation is when the noun is monosyllabic and then the singular prefix is ji-. Eye Ji-cho Eye  Ji-cho,, Eyes Ma-cho. Ma-cho. 6. This This is the the grou group p for for subs substa tanc nces es or abst abstra ract ct noun nouns. s. As with with English there is no singular/plural. Love: Upendo, Upendo, Flour: Unga, Unga, Sand: Mchanga, Mchanga, Fire: Moto, Moto, Water: Maji. Maji. 7. Just for one word derived from Arabic. Place: Pahali/Mahali 8. The verbal-noun class, which is where nouns are derived from verbs, there are no plurals. Singing: Kuimba, Kuimba, Writing: Kuandika It is important to note that in Swahili there is no definite article – essentially you cannot say ‘the’ or ‘a/an’. So nyumba means: house, a house and the house.

Possessives A possessive is the way of saying who the noun belongs to, in English this is shown by prefixes like my car, your love, his baby. In Swahili there is a suffix that follows the noun. The Swahili suffix is slightly more complicated as there is a stem where the first letter/s change to match the noun class. Many of these will be familiar from some of the greeting and basic phrases. 1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural

My/mine Your/yours His/her/hers/its Our/ours Your/yours

-angu -ako -ake -etu -enu 11

3rd Person Plural

Their/theirs

-ao

And the noun classes’ prefix to the stem. Noun Class 1. M/Wa-

Prefix W-

2. M/Mi-

W/Y-

3. Ki/Vi-

Ch/Vy-

4. N-

Y/Z-

5. Ma-

L/Y-

6. U-

W/Z

Examples M-toto w-ako, w-ako, your child Wa-toto w-angu, w-angu, my children M-fuko w-ake, w-ake, his bag Mi-fuko y-etu, y-etu, our bags Ki-tabu ch-ako, ch-ako, your book Vikombe vy-ao, vy-ao, their cups Ndisi y-angu, y-angu, my banana Ng’ombe z-enu, z-enu, your (pl) cows Gari l-etu, l-etu, our car Ma-gari y-ao, y-ao, their cars Upendo w-ako, w-ako, your love No Plural

Conjunctives Similar to possessives is the conjunctive. In English we have two ways of expressing ownership, one is by saying ‘of’ ie the people of   Tanzania. More commonly is the use of an apostrophe at the end of  the noun, usually followed by an ‘s’ i.e. Laura’s eyes. In Swahili there is only one method which is similar to ‘of’ and again it is dependant on the class of the noun. This time the stem is the letter ‘–a’ which is preceded by the noun prefix. The examples explain it best.  The people of Tanzania Tanzania  The book of the teacher (the teacher’s book) mwalimu  The eyes of Laura (Laura’s eyes) e yes) Laura

Wa-tu w-a Ki-tabu ch-a Ma-cho ma-a

Adjectives Adjectives are words that describe nouns – tall, expensive, good etc. In Swahili the adjective is again dependant on the noun that it describes, again the first letters of the adjective change to match the noun class, taking on the same first letter/s. Unlike English the adjective follows the noun, car fast and not fast car. Noun Class 1. M/Wa2. M/Mi3. Ki/Vi-

Swahili M-tu m-lefu Wa-toto wa-fupe M-fuko m-zuri Mi-koba mi-zuri Ki-tabu ki-zuri Vi-tu vi-zito

English  Tall person Short children Good bag Good wallets Good book Heavy chairs

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 The word ‘all’ is formed again by matching the noun prefix (as with possessives) to a stem, this time the stem is ‘– ote’. All people All cars All books

Wa-tu w-ote Ma-gari l-ote Vi-tabu vy-ote

‘Any’ is formed by saying the prefix twice before the stem (with no consecutive vowels added). Any people Any car Any book

M-tu wow-ote Gari lol-ote Ki-tabu choch-ote

Demonstratives Demonstratives are used to distinguish between nouns, in English it is very straightforward with four words used – this, these, that and those. In Swahili, however, the noun classes come into play again as each noun class has its own set of demonstratives. It is not a terrible thing to get them mixed up as generally you will be understood so concentrate on learning the first three noun classes. Noun Class

Demonstrative

This These That 1. M/Wa Huyu Hawa Yule 2. M/Mi Huu Hii Ule 3. Ki/Vi Hiki Hivi Kile 4. N Hii Hizi Ile 5. Ma Hili Haya Lile 6. U Huu Hizi Ule  This person M-tu M-tu huyu, huyu, These cups Vi-kombe hivi

Those Wale Ile V ile Zile Yale Zile

Comparatives Comparatives are used, as the name suggests, to compare different things in conjunction with an adjective. For example, Tim is better than Laura. In Swahili the word kuliko acts in the same way as ‘than’ in English. Ni precedes the adjective, in the negative it is si. si.  Tim is better than Laura He is not taller then me

Tim ni m-zuri kuliko Laura Yeye si m-lefu kuliko mimi

Superlatives A superlative is the most that an adjective can be and is equivalent to adding –est to an English adjective i.e. tallest, fastest. In Swahili it is formed like a comparative but uses the word ‘all’ –ote, with a prefix to match the adjective. We are best of all

Sisi ni wa-zuri kuliko w-ote 13

Numbers and Ordinals 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 moja 13

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Sufuri/Ziro Moja Mbili Tatu Nne Tano Sita Saba Nane Tisa Kumi Kumi na moja Kumi na mbili

-

Kumi na tatu

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000

Ishirini Thelathini Arubaini Hamsini Sitini Sabini Themanini Tisini Mia moja Elfu moja Elfu kumi Laki moja Millioni

In Swahili, the numbers between ten and twenty are formed by literally saying ‘ten and one’ (meaning eleven), ten and two, ten and three etc. The same is true with all larger numbers 44 arubaini na nne 593 mia mia tano ano tisi tisin ni na tatu tatu 305726 laki tatu elfu tano mia saba na ishrini na sita Ordinals denote rank and placement associated with numbers, i.e. first, second and third etc. They are formed by putting the the letter ‘a’ and and the the appr approp opri riat ate e pref prefix ix (acc (accor ordi ding ng to the the noun noun clas class s of the the object) in front of the number number in question. question. The only exceptions exceptions are the the word words s for for ‘fir ‘first st’’ and and ‘sec ‘secon ond’ d’.. To find find the the pref prefix ixes es see the section on possessives. First Second  Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth  Tenth

-a kwanza -a pili -a tatu -a nne -a tano -a sita -a saba -a nane -a tisa -a kumi

 Time

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 Time/Hour/ Day Minute  Jumatano Week Month Ijumaa  Year Second  Yesterday  Today  Tomorrow Dakika Now Later

Saa Siku

Monday  Tuesday

Jumatatu Jumanne Wednesday

 Thursday

Alhamisi Friday

Dakika Wiki Mwezi Mwaka Sekondi

Saturday Sunday

Jumamosi Jumapili

Jana

Quarter Half  Minute

Robo

Less

Kasoro

Leo Kesho Sasa Baadaye

Nusu

Saa is an Arabic word that can mean hour, time, clock or watch. It is the same origin as the Surname Saatchi which is Arabic for clock smith.  Telling the time in Swahili is made difficult by the use of a different system. As the Swahili zone is equatorial the length of the day is roughly equal throughout the year, sunrise and sunset is at about six o’clock. The Swahilis start the day with sunrise and so seven o’clock is one o’clock to the Swahilis. It is difficult to learn, but is made more simple by taking six away from the number that you would say say in English English and transla translating ting into into Swahili. Swahili. The number number is stated in the same way, whether am or pm.

6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

Saa kumi na mbili Saa moja Saa mbili Saa tatu Saa nne Saa tano Saa sita Saa saba Saa nane Saa tisa Saa kumi Saa kumi na moja 15

6pm

Saa kumi na mbili

When asking the time it is common to say Sasa saangapi?  The reply is formed as follows: 1100 1115 1120 1130 1145 1150

hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs

Bado  Alafu

Saa Tano Saa tano na robo Saa tano na dakika ishirini Saa tano na nusu Saa sita kasoro robo Saa sita kasoro dakika kumi Not yet After

Approximate times of day 0600-1200 1200-1700 1700-2000 2000-0600

Morning Afternoon Evening Night

Asubuhi Mchana Jiono Usiku

Other Points -ni Addi Addin ng –ni –ni to the end end of a word ord has two purp purpo oses. ses. Firs Firstl tly y if  addressing a group then many words can be made into the plural by adding the ni. For example shikamoo-ni, shikamoo-ni, pole-ni,  pole-ni, asante-ni. asante-ni.  The other use is to say inside something. So in the school is shule-ni or in the bedroom chumba-ni. chumba-ni. Mzungu Mzungu means a white perso rson but does not have a racist connotation, indeed it is used very often to call a white person. It literally means ‘He who wanders around’. Indeed, it is not at all rude to refer to anyone by their trade, tribe, age or size.

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Money   The unit of currency in Tanzania and all Swahili countries is the Shilli Shilling ng or in Swahil Swahilii Shillingi. Shillingi. When When aski asking ng some someon one e how how much much someth something ing costs costs there there are two ways: ways: Bei gani? gani? Whic Which h is ‘Wha ‘Whatt price?’ and Shillingi Ngapi? ‘How many Shillings?’ Shillingi ngapi is usually contracted to Shilingapi? One of thing that is contracted is shillingi ishirini, ishirini, twenty shillings, to shingshirini. shingshirini.  Twende! Formed from the verb to go, kuenda, twende means ‘lets go’. Lion King Hakuna matata is most famous because of the Lion King films but you will not hear it in Mtwara as the local equivalent is Hakuna matatiso or more commonly Hamna shida. shida. Hakuna literally means he does not have and hamna means you (pl) don’t have. Matata, Matata , matatiso and shida all all mean mean prob problem lems/ s/wo worri rries es.. Ha Hamn mna a is used used generally to say there is nothing in the sense if you went to a shop and asked for champagne, the answer would be Hamna. Hamna. Where is something? If you ask someone where something is, the Swahili is …iko wapi?  The answer could be hapa here, pale here, pale there or kule. kule. Kule means over there and the higher the pitch it is said in the further away it is. Nearby is karibu and far away is Mbale. Mbale. Left Right Straight ahead

Kushoto Kulia Moja kwa moja (literally meaning one by one)

Noun Vocabulary Class 1 – M/Wa (in singular singular form) Person Child Son/Daughter Man Woman Husband Wife Fiancée Elder White Person African

Mtu Mtoto Mwana Mwanaume Mwanamke Mume Mke Mchumba Mzee Mzungu Mwafrika

Prisoner Vagrant Midwife Farmer Nurse Sorcerer Weaver Cook Preacher Blacksmith  Tenant

Mfungwa Mhuni Mkunga Mkulima Mwuguzi Mchawi Mfumi Mpichi Mhubiri Mhunzi Mpangaji 17

Christian Muslim Indian Guest  Tourist Resident Ill Person Dead Person Kind " Greedy " Grumpy " Very Old " Generous " Lazy " Intelligent "  Jealous " Madman English American Swahili  Tanzanian Chinese

Mkristo Mwislamu Mhindi Mgeni Mtalii Mkaaji Mgonjwa Mfu Mhisani Mlafi Mgomvi Mkongwe Mpaji Mvivu Mwanagavu Mwivu Mkichaa Mwingereza Mmarekani Mswahili Mtanzania Mchina

 Traveller Craftsman Scientist Musician  Judge Fisherman Lawyer Mason  Teacher Student Hunter  Thief  Baker Liar Drunkard Poet Lover Seducer Victim Gossiper Slave Coward

Msafiri Msanaa Mtaalamu Mtribu Mwamuzi Mvuvi Mwanasheria Mashi Mwalimu Mwanafunzi Mwindaji Mwizi Mwokaji Mwongo Mlevi Mshairi Mpenzi Mtongozi Mteswa Mpayukaji Mtumwa Mwoga

Coffee bush Baobab tree  Tea tree Mangrove Cashew tree Ebony  Tree Cassava Sugar cane Millet Election Belt Example Range Series

Mkahawa Mbuyu Mchai Mkandaa Mkorosho Mpingo Mti Muhogo Mua Mtama Mchaguo Mkanda Mfano Mfiko Mfulizo

Class 2 – M/Mi (in singular form) Bag  Juice Game Whip Scissors Mat  Tin Wallet Region Necklace Spear Door Fire Football River

Mfuko Mchuzi Mchezo Mjeledi Mkasi Mkeka Mkebe Mkoba Mkoa Mkufu Mkuki Mlango Moto Mpira Mto

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Pillow Lever Mosque Luggage Light Load Copy Square Circle Line Cross Fishing Line  Trap Gas Season End Month  Year Bread Uncooked Rice Spinach

Mto Mtambo Msikiti Mwamba Mwanga Mzigo Mwigo Mraba Mviringo Msafa Msalaba Mshipi Mtego Mvuke Msimu Mwisho Mwezi Mwaka Mkate Mchele Mchicha

Proclamation Distribution Collision Support Inspection Contract Vigil Obstacle Meeting Help  Test Style Summons Miracle Muscle Body  Tail Mouth Back Leg Arm

Mgambo Mgawo Mgongano Mhimili Mkaguo Mkataba Mkesha Mkingamo Mkutano Msaada Mtihani Mtindo Mwaliko Mwujiza Musuli Mwili Mkia Mdomo Mgongo Mguu Mkono

Verb Vocabulary  To Be Able  To Abandon  To Abuse  To Accept  To Accuse  To Be Afraid  To Agree  To Be Angry  To Answer  To Arrive  To Ask  To Awake  To Be*  To Bear Offspring  To Begin  To Believe

Weza Acha Tukana Kubali Shtaki Ogopa Patana Kasirika Jibu Fika Uliza Amka Kuwa  Zaa Anza Amini

 To Dance  To Decrease  To Deliver  To Despise  To Dig  To Draw  To Dream  To Drink  To Drive  To Be Drunk  To End  To Enter  To Explain  To Fail

Cheza Punguza Peleka Dharau Chimba Chora Ota Nywa Endesha Lewa Isha Ingia Eleza Shindwa

 To Fall  To Farm

Anguka Lima

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 To Bite  To Boil  To Be Born  To Break  To Bring  To Build  To Burn  To Bury  To Be Busy  To Buy  To Call  To Care For  To Carve  To Catch  To Change  To Choose  To Clean  To Climb  To Close  To Come  To Congratulate  To Cook  To Cool  To Cry  To Cut  To Damage  To Knock  To Know  To Be Late  To Laugh  To Learn  To Leave  To Lift  To Like  To Lie  To Listen  To Live  To Lose  To Make  To Marry  To Meet  To Mistake  To Mix  To Move  To Need  To Open  To Pay

Uma Chemsha Zaliwa Vunja Leta Jenga Choma Zika Shughulika Nunua Ita Tunza Chonga Daka Badili Chagua Safisha Panda Funga Kuja Pongeza

 To Fight  To Find  To Finish  To Fish  To Fly  To Follow  To Forget  To Forgive  To Get  To Give  To Go  To Be Happy  To Harvest  To Have*  To Hear  To Help  To Hire  To Hit  To Hold  To Hope  To Hug

Pigana Tafuta Maliza Vua Ruka Fuata Sahau Samehe Pata Pa Kwenda Furahi Vuna Kuna Sikia Saidia Kodi Piga Shika Tumaini Kumbatiana

Pika Poa Lia Kata Haribu Gonga Jua Chelewa Cheka Jifunza Ondoka Beba Penda Danganya Sikia Ishi Potea Tengeneza Oa Kuta Kosa Changanya Sogea Hitaji Fungua Lipa

 To Imagine  To Increase  To Joke  To Judge  To Kill  To Show  To Shut  To Sit  To Sleep  To Speak  To Stand  To Start  To Steal  To Stop  To Suffer  To Swear  To Sweep  To Swim  To Take  To Taste  To Teach  To Tell  To Thank  To Think  To Throw  To Be Tired

Waza Zidi Tania Hukumu Chinja Onyesha Funga Kaa Lala Ongea Simama Anza Iba Simama Umwa Tukana Fagia Ogelea Chukua Onja Fundisha Ambia Shukuru Fikiri Lusha Choka 20

 To Place  To Play  To Prevent  To Rain  To Read  To Receive  To Remember  To Repair  To Rest

Weka Cheza Zuia Onyesha mvua Soma Pokea Kumbuka Tengeneza Pumzika

 To Return

Rudi

 To Ridicule  To Rot  To Rub  To Run  To Say  To Sell  To Sew

Dhikika Oza Futa Kimbia Sema Uza Shona

 To Travel  To Try  To Turn  To Understand

Safiri Jaribu Pinda Elewa

 To Use  To Wait  To Walk  To Want  To Wash (clothes)  To Wash (people)  To Watch  To Wear  To Win  To Withdraw  To Work  To Worship  To Write

Tumia Subiri Tembea Taka Fua Oga Tazama Vaa Shinda Toa Fanya kazi Abudu Andika

* To Be ‘Kuwa’ – The present tense is different, formed formed using the word ‘ni’, meaning is/are. The negative form is ‘si’. For example: Mimi Mimi ni mwali mwalimu mu I am a teach teacher. er.  To Have ‘Kuna’ – The past and future tenses are formed using the verb verb Kuwa Kuwa.. For For exam exampl ple: e: I will will have have good good luck luck Nita Nitaku kuwa wa na bahati nzuri I had a lot of money Nilikuwa na pesa nyingi

General Vocabulary Food and Drink Chakula na Vinywyaji Bread Maji Butter Maziwa Eggs Rice (cooked) Kahawa Maize flour porridge Biscuits Drink Soda Peanuts Pombe Cashew Nuts

Mkate

Water

Siagi

M il k

Mayai W ali

Tea Coffee Ugali

Chai

Beer Biskuti

Karanga

Bia Soft

Spirits

Korosho

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Sugar

Sukari

Tomato

Nyanya S a lt Pepper Kabeji Sauce Barmia Mcicha Soup

Chumvi Pili pili

Onions Cabbage

Mchuzi

Vitunguu

O k ra Spinach

Supu

Coconut Carrot

Mnazi -

Karoti Fish Shark Squid Octopus Mboga Lobster Matunda Prawn Crab

Samaki Papa Ngisi Pweza

Aubergine Biringani Potatoes Viazi Salad Saladi Vegetable

Kamba kochi

Fruit

Kamba Kaa

Chicken Goat Kijiko Beef Lamb Duck

Kuku Mbuzi Ngombe Kondoo Bata

Lemon Meza Mango Orange Banana Pineapple Papaya

Knife Fork Spoon

Kisu Uma

Plate Glass Cup Bottle

Sahani Glasi Kikombe Chupa

Ndimu

Table

Embe Chungwa Ndizi Nanasi Paipai

Chair

Kiti

Other Useful Vocabulary Country

Nchi

Car M ji

Town Baiskeli Village Piki piki S tr e e t Ndege Address House Shop

Gari Bicycle

Kijiji

Motorbike

Bara-bara

Aeroplane

Anwani Ship Nyumbani Duka Clothes

M e ri Nguo

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Garden Viatu Farm Mosque Koti Church Shati School Sirwali College Saa Market Chumba Kazi Kitchen Toilet Door Window Key Balcony Simu Sun

Bustani

Shoes

Shamba Msikiti

Hat

Kanisa Shule Chuo cha elimu Sokoni

Kofia Coat Shirt Trousers

Watch Room Work

Jikoni Choo Mlango Dirisha Ufunguo Baraza

Business Holiday

Biashara Sikukuu

Machine

Mashine

Telephone Mother Father

Jua

Mama

Baba Moon

Mwezi

Gran

Nyota Bahari

Grandpa Aunt

Mto

Friend

Bibi Stars S ea

Babu

Shangazi River Rafiki Lake Clouds Rain Ic e Wind T re e Grass Sand

Ziwa Mawingu Mvua Barafu Upepo Mti Nyasa Mchanga

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