Learn how to ask where something is
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Matt: Hello and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 13, Where’s the Nearest Bathroom in Kenya? My name is Matt. |
| Medina: Jambo! I'm Medina. |
| Matt: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask where something is. |
| Medina: The conversation takes place at a party venue, and it's between two people at the party, Wanjiku and Amina, who don't know each other. |
| Matt: : They'll be using formal language. Ok, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Amina: Tafadhali naomba unisaidie. |
| Wanjiku: Sema dadangu. |
| Amina: Msalani ni wapi? |
| Wanjiku: Ni pale karibu na lango. (anaelekeza kwa kidole). |
| Amina: Asante sana. |
| Wanjiku: Karibu. |
| Matt: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Amina: Tafadhali naomba unisaidie. |
| Wanjiku: Sema dadangu. |
| Amina: Msalani ni wapi? |
| Wanjiku: Ni pale karibu na lango. (anaelekeza kwa kidole). |
| Amina: Asante sana. |
| Wanjiku: Karibu. |
| Matt: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Amina: Tafadhali naomba unisaidie. |
| Matt: Excuse me. |
| Wanjiku: Sema dadangu. |
| Matt: Yes my sister. |
| Amina: Msalani ni wapi? |
| Matt: Where are the washrooms? |
| Wanjiku: Ni pale karibu na lango. (anaelekeza kwa kidole). |
| Matt: Over there, close to the gate (she points with her finger). |
| Amina: Asante sana. |
| Matt: Thanks a lot. |
| Wanjiku: Karibu. |
| Matt: You're welcome. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Matt: OK, so now we know how to ask where the bathrooms are in Swahili. |
| Medina: Yes, I think being able to ask where a bathroom is is very important. Sometimes in restaurants, places of worship, and other places, the signs for washrooms look different. |
| Matt: Are Kenyan people usually willing to help others when they are asked about directions? |
| Medina: Yes. We have a very positive attitude towards helping others. We’re always kind to visitors and strangers who ask for directions. |
| Matt: I’ve even heard that Kenyans will take a person right to the exact place they want to go sometimes. |
| Medina: That’s right. Again, most Kenyans like to help strangers. And some even offer to carry luggage for them. |
| Matt: : That’s amazing. How do people react to the kindness? Do many foreigners get the implication that Kenyans want a tip in reward? |
| Medina: Some people may think so, but it's really just a generous gesture. With or without a reward, Kenyans are kind and willing to assist whenever they can! |
| Matt: That’s good to know. Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| Vocab list |
| Matt: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Medina: tafadhali [natural native speed] |
| Matt: please |
| Medina: tafadhali [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: tafadhali [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: naomba [natural native speed] |
| Matt: excuse me |
| Medina: naomba [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: naomba [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: dadangu [natural native speed] |
| Matt: my sister |
| Medina: dadangu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: dadangu [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: msalani [natural native speed] |
| Matt: bathroom, toilet |
| Medina: msalani [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: msalani [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: asante [natural native speed] |
| Matt: thanks a lot |
| Medina: asante [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: asante [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: karibu [natural native speed] |
| Matt: you're welcome |
| Medina: karibu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: karibu [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Medina: pale [natural native speed] |
| Matt: over there |
| Medina: pale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: pale [natural native speed] |
| : And Last: |
| Medina: sema [natural native speed] |
| Matt: tell me |
| Medina: sema [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: sema [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Matt: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Medina: The first one is tafadhali, and it means "please." |
| Matt: You use this to interject when you start speaking to someone you weren't already talking to. |
| Medina: Please note that this word is usually used together with naomba, to make the phrase tafadhali naomba. |
| Matt: which means "excuse me." Can you break down this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. tafadhali means "please." So whenever you need to say "please" just say tafadhali. |
| Matt: Can you give our listeners an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. Tafadhali nieleze kwa afisi ya mkuu wa kijiji. |
| Matt: "Please direct me to the chief’s office." |
| Medina: (slow) Tafadhali nieleze kwa afisi ya mkuu wa kijiji. The other word, naomba, can be used alone to mean "I beg." |
| Matt: Can you give us an example? |
| Medina: Sure. Naomba unipishe. |
| Matt: "Excuse me, let me pass.” |
| Medina: But when they're used together as tafadhali naomba, it means "please excuse me." |
| Matt: Okay, what do we have next? |
| Medina: Next we have.. msalani, which is Swahili for "bathroom." |
| Matt: In English, we have various words for the same thing, such as the "washroom," "bathroom," "ladies' or mens' room", and "toilet," among others. |
| Medina: In Swahili, you can only refer to this facility as either msalani or choo. |
| Matt: How convenient! Ok, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Matt: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask where something is in Swahili. What's the word for "where" in Swahili? |
| Medina: We use the word wapi to ask "where?" If you want to know where a bathroom is, for example, you can say.. |
| Medina: Msalani uko wapi? |
| Matt: meaning "Where is the toilet?" |
| Median: : Translated directly, it means “Toilet is where?” as you can see the word wapi meaning “where” at the end of the sentence. In this structure, you place the object at the beginning of the sentence followed by ni wapi or iko wapi.The two words iko and ni can be used interchangeably. |
| Matt: For example, how do you say “Where is the toilet around here?” in Swahili? |
| Medina: Choo uko wapi hapa? The iko becomes uko after choo and msalani. |
| Matt: What about “Where are the washrooms?” |
| Medina: Msalani iko wapi? |
| Matt: Let’s take a look at some more examples. How would you ask where the nearest shops are? |
| Medina: Maduka zilizopo karibu hapa ziko wapi? In this sentence, the object is maduka meaning “shops” and the word wapi? was placed at the end of the sentence, while the object being asked about is at the beginning. |
| Matt: So, what’s the basic sentence structure, then? |
| Medina: It’s simple. First the object name, such as choo meaning “toilet,” then iko wapi? Wapi is an adverb that is used to ask a question about the location of something. |
| Matt: Okay. And what would be the answer? |
| Medina: Then the other person will say.. Choo uko hapa. |
| Matt: meaning “The washroom is here.” |
| Medina: Or Choo uko pale. |
| Matt: meaning “The washroom is there.” |
| Medina: And also you’ll hear Choo uko huko. |
| Matt: meaning “The washroom is over there.” |
| Medina: Listeners, please note that hapa, pale and huko which translate to “here”, “there” and “over there” respectively are directive words. |
Outro |
|---|
| Matt: Well, that’s all we have for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Medina: Mpaka wakati mwingine, Kwaheri ya kuonana! |
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