{"id":8031,"date":"2018-04-12T20:42:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T20:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/AFRICAtime\/?p=8031"},"modified":"2020-07-09T10:56:32","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T09:56:32","slug":"useful-swahili-words-and-phrases-for-a-safari-in-east-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/useful-swahili-words-and-phrases-for-a-safari-in-east-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Useful Swahili words and phrases for a Safari in East Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We have compiled a handy list of the most common and useful phrases in case you need to use them whilst on your safari in East Africa.<\/p>\n

Common greetings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jambo? – \u00a0How are you?<\/p>\n

Sijambo – \u00a0I am fine<\/p>\n

Habari? – How are you?<\/p>\n

Nzuri \u00a0– Fine<\/p>\n

Kwaheri – Goodbye<\/p>\n

Tutaonana baadaye (often shortened to baadaye) –\u00a0See you later<\/p>\n

For more casual interactions or to communicate in local ‘slang’ you can use the following:<\/p>\n

Mambo \u2013 What\u2019s up?<\/p>\n

Sema \u2013 Speak<\/p>\n

Poa \u2013 Cool<\/p>\n

Other common courtesies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you \u2013 Asante<\/p>\n

Thank you \u2013 Asanteni (to more than one person)<\/p>\n

No thank you \u2013 Hapana asante<\/p>\n

Thank you very much \u2013 Asante sana<\/p>\n

Please \u2013 Tafadhali<\/p>\n

Sorry \u2013 Pole<\/p>\n

Very Sorry \u2013 Pole sana<\/p>\n

No worries \u2013 Hakuna matata<\/p>\n

No problem \u2013 Hamna shida<\/p>\n

Welcome \u2013 Karibu<\/p>\n

Welcome \u2013 Karibuni (to more than one person )<\/p>\n

Excuse me \u2013 Samahani<\/p>\n

What is your name? \u2013 Jina lako nani?<\/p>\n

My name is XX \u2013 Jina langu ni XX<\/p>\n

Nice to meet you \u2013 Ninafuraha kukutana nawe<\/p>\n

Ok \u2013 Sawa<\/p>\n

Yes \u2013 Ndiyo<\/p>\n

No \u2013 Hapana<\/p>\n

I understand \u2013 Naelewa<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand \u2013 Sielewi<\/p>\n

I like it \u2013 Ninaipenda<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like it \u2013 Siipendi<\/p>\n

Animals<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The

.<\/p><\/div>\n

Lion – Simba<\/p>\n

Elephant – Tembo<\/p>\n

Rhino – Kifaro<\/p>\n

Buffalo – Nyati<\/p>\n

Leopard – Chui<\/p>\n

Giraffe – Twiga<\/p>\n

Hippo – Kiboko<\/p>\n

Antelope – Swala<\/p>\n

Bird – Ndege<\/p>\n

Cheetah – Duma<\/p>\n

Bug – Dudu<\/p>\n

Pronouns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Me \u2013 Mimi<\/p>\n

You \u2013 Wewe<\/p>\n

Him\/Her \u2013 Yeye<\/p>\n

Mine \u2013 Yangu<\/p>\n

Yours \u2013 Yako<\/p>\n

His\/hers \u2013 Yake<\/p>\n

Ours \u2013 Yetu<\/p>\n

Questions <\/strong><\/p>\n

What? \u2013 Nini?<\/p>\n

Where? \u2013 Wapi?<\/p>\n

Which? \u2013 Ipi? (or Gani?)<\/p>\n

Who? \u2013 Nani?<\/p>\n

Descriptive words<\/strong><\/p>\n

Big \u2013 Kubwa<\/p>\n

Small \u2013 Kidogo<\/p>\n

Short \u2013 Fupi<\/p>\n

Long \u2013 Ndefu<\/p>\n

Color \u2013 Rangi<\/p>\n

Black \u2013 Nyeusi<\/p>\n

Red \u2013 Nyekundu<\/p>\n

Blue \u2013 Buluu<\/p>\n

White \u2013 Nyeupe<\/p>\n

Green \u2013 Kijani<\/p>\n

Key Shopping words<\/strong><\/p>\n

Store\/shop \u2013 Duka<\/p>\n

Price \u2013 Bei<\/p>\n

Money \u2013 Pesa<\/p>\n

Cash \u2013 Pesa taslimu<\/p>\n

How much? \u2013 Pesa ngapi?<\/p>\n

It is cheap \u2013 Ni bei rahisi<\/p>\n

It is expensive \u2013 Ni bei ghali<\/p>\n

Do you give discounts? \u2013 Je, Unapunguza bei?<\/p>\n

How do I pay? \u2013 Ninalipaje?<\/p>\n

I have a credit\/debit card \u2013 Nina kadi<\/p>\n

Common words used when Eating out<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Dawa

.<\/p><\/div>\n

Eat \u2013 Kula<\/p>\n

Food \u2013 Chakula<\/p>\n

Menu \u2013 Menyu<\/p>\n

Bill \u2013 Bili<\/p>\n

Hot \u2013 Moto<\/p>\n

Cold \u2013 Baridi<\/p>\n

Drinks \u2013 Vinywaji<\/p>\n

Cold drink \u2013 Kinywaji baridi<\/p>\n

Fruit juice \u2013 Maji ya matunda<\/p>\n

Beer \u2013 Bia<\/p>\n

Cold beer \u2013 Bia baridi<\/p>\n

Tea \u2013 Chai<\/p>\n

Coffee \u2013 Kahawa<\/p>\n

Soup \u2013 Supu<\/p>\n

Chicken \u2013 Kuku<\/p>\n

Meat \u2013 Nyama<\/p>\n

Fish \u2013 Samaki<\/p>\n

Rice \u2013 Wali<\/p>\n

Vegetables \u2013 Mboga<\/p>\n

Drinking water \u2013 Maji ya kunywa<\/p>\n

I am vegetarian \u2013 Sili nyama<\/p>\n

It is delicious \u2013 Ni tamu sana.<\/p>\n

Dietary requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nina mzio wa – I’m allergic to:<\/p>\n

Mazao ya maziwa – dairy produce<\/p>\n

mayai – eggs<\/p>\n

kokwa – nuts<\/p>\n

karanga – peanuts<\/p>\n

vyakula kutoka baharini – seafood<\/p>\n

kombe – shellfish<\/p>\n

We hope you find this useful.<\/p>\n

If you are thinking of going on a safari, we would love to work with you to plan the holiday of a lifetime. For more information on how our safari experts can help you, call Somak Holidays today on 020 8423 3000, or visit our website here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.somak.com\/kenya-safari<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":8034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[437,440,442,11,24,493,1,580],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-culture","category-family","category-kenya","category-tanzania","category-travel-tips","category-uncategorized","category-wildlife-and-safari"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_9172.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8031"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10968,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031\/revisions\/10968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somak.com\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}