Swahili: Greetings and Essentials
Swahili 101: the first words to learn, grouped so they’re easy to practise together. Every word is in the full list on Swahili: Vocabulary.
Greetings
Greetings matter in East Africa. Always greet before you ask anything.
| Swahili | English |
|---|---|
| Habari gani? | How are you? (what news?) |
| Nzuri. | Good, fine. |
| Habari za asubuhi? | Good morning (news of the morning?) |
| Salama. | Peaceful, fine. |
| Hujambo? – Sijambo. | How are you? – I’m fine. |
| Hamjambo? – Hatujambo. | How are you all? – We’re fine. |
| Hawajambo? – Hawajambo. | Are they well? – They’re fine. |
| Shikamoo. – Marahaba. | Respectful greeting to an elder – the elder’s reply. |
| Karibu. | Welcome. |
| Nimefurahi kukuona. | I’m glad to see / meet you. |
| Kwaheri. | Goodbye. |
Who’s who: pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | mimi I | sisi we |
| 2nd | wewe you | nyinyi you all |
| 3rd | yeye he, she | wao they |
- Mimi ni mwanafunzi. I am a student.
- Wao ni marafiki zangu. They are my friends.
My, your, his/her
The ending changes with the noun class. With jina (name): langu my, lako your, lake his/her. With nyumba (house): yangu, yako, yake.
- Jina langu ni VikiD. My name is VikiD.
- Jina lako nani? What is your name?
- Nyumba yangu iko Dubai. My house is in Dubai.
This and that
| Class | this | that | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| people (m-/wa-) | huyu | yule | Huyu ni nani? Who is this? |
| ki-/vi- | hiki | kile | kitabu hiki, this book |
| ji-/ma- | hili | lile | jina hili, this name |
| m-/mi- | huu | ule | mti huu, this tree |
| n- | hii | ile | nyumba hii, this house |
| place | hapa (here) | pale / huko (there) | Habari za hapa? How are things here? |
Question words
| Swahili | English |
|---|---|
| nani? | who? |
| nini? | what? |
| wapi? | where? |
| lini? | when? |
| vipi? | how? |
| gani? | which? |
Little words that do a lot of work
ni is, si is not, na and/with, pia also, tu only, sana very, kidogo a little, sasa now.
- Ninasema Kiswahili kidogo tu. I speak only a little Swahili.
Numbers 1–10
moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi.