Learn how to communicate in a restaurant
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 6 - Ordering Food and Drinks in a Kenyan Restaurant. I’m Brandon. |
| Medina: And I’m Medina. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order food and drinks in a restaurant. This lesson also focuses on saying “yes” and “no.” Medina, what can we expect to hear in the conversation? |
| Medina: The conversation takes place in a restaurant between a customer and a waiter. |
| Brandon: They are in a business environment, so they’ll be using formal Swahili. |
| Medina: But the phrases and vocabulary can be used in casual settings too. |
| Brandon: Okay, let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Musa: Habari yako? |
| Amani: Mzuri sana. |
| Musa: Mna chakula ama kinywaji kilicho tayari? |
| Amani: Ndio, nikupakulie nini? |
| Musa: Je, mna chai ya maziwa? |
| Amani: La, lakini tunayo kahawa ya maziwa. |
| Musa: Sawa, nitakuita baadaye, nipe muda kidogo. |
| Amani: Sawa. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Musa: Habari yako? |
| Amani: Mzuri sana. |
| Musa: Mna chakula ama kinywaji kilicho tayari? |
| Amani: Ndio, nikupakulie nini? |
| Musa: Je, mna chai ya maziwa? |
| Amani: La, lakini tunayo kahawa ya maziwa. |
| Musa: Sawa, nitakuita baadaye, nipe muda kidogo. |
| Amani: Sawa. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Musa: Habari yako? |
| Brandon: Hello. |
| Amani: Mzuri sana. |
| Brandon: Hello. |
| Musa: Mna chakula ama kinywaji kilicho tayari? |
| Brandon: Do you have any food or drinks ready? |
| Amani: Ndio, nikupakulie nini? |
| Brandon: Yes, what may I serve you? |
| Musa: Je, mna chai ya maziwa? |
| Brandon: Do you have milk tea? |
| Amani: La, lakini tunayo kahawa ya maziwa. |
| Brandon: No, but we have white coffee. |
| Musa: Sawa, nitakuita baadaye, nipe muda kidogo. |
| Brandon: Okay, I’ll call you shortly. |
| Amani: Sawa. |
| Brandon: Okay. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Medina, what are the most common foods eaten in Kenya? |
| Medina: That’s a good question! One of Kenya’s main dishes is ugali, which is cornmeal made from corn flour. We also eat rice, githeri which is a mixture of maize and beans, matoke which is mashed cooked bananas; and mukimo which is githeri mashed with potatoes and green vegetables. |
| Brandon: Those all sound delicious! |
| Medina: I think you’d agree Kenyan restaurants serve very tasty meals. And most restaurant menus will feature chapati. |
| Brandon: What’s that? |
| Medina: It’s a flatbread made from wheat flour. It’s very popular in Kenya. |
| Brandon: I’ve heard stews are popular in Kenya too. Can you tell us a little more about those? |
| Medina: Well, Kenyans eat a variety of stews. Popular ones are “beef,” which is called nyama ya ngombe; “chicken,” called nyama ya kuku; “pork,” called nyama ya nguruwe; “mutton or lamb,” called nyama ya mbuzi; “beans,” called maharagwe; and “green grams” or “mung beans,” called ndengu. |
| Brandon: So we’ve talked about food, but what are the most common drinks in Kenya? |
| Medina: In ordinary Kenyan restaurants you’ll find varieties of drinks ranging from soft drinks, traditional drinks and beer, the Kenya Tusker lager being the popular beer. In some African restaurants in the urban areas and in the villages, you might find uji, or “sour porridge,” or fermented beer which is referred to by the locals by different names, such as muratina. |
| Brandon: I see. What about milk tea and white coffee? What are they? |
| Medina: Milk tea is a mixture of boiled water, milk, tea leaves and some sugar. White coffee is similar to milk tea only that we use coffee instead of tea. |
| Brandon: That’s quite an introduction to Kenyan food. I feel hungry and ready to order! So let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's review the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is... |
| Medina: ...chakula. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: food |
| Medina: Chakula. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Chakula. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our next word is... |
| Medina: ...ndio. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: yes |
| Medina: Ndio. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Ndio. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: The next one is... |
| Medina: ...la. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: no |
| Medina: La. [slowly - broken down by syllable] La. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next... |
| Medina: ...chai. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: tea, black, hot |
| Medina: Chai. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Chai. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next we have... |
| Medina: ...kinywaji. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: drink |
| Medina: Kinywaji. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Kinywaji. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: The next word is... |
| Medina: ...sawa. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: okay |
| Medina: Sawa. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Sawa. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next... |
| Medina: ...kuita. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to call |
| Medina: Kuita. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Kuita. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our last word is... |
| Medina: ...pakua. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: serve |
| Medina: Pakua. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Pakua. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s the first one? |
| Medina: It’s Chakula. |
| Brandon: Which means “food.” This word literally means “what to eat.” |
| Medina: That’s right. It’s formed by the action verb kula which means “to eat,” and the prefix cha meaning “something to eat.” Altogether, they form chakula. |
| Brandon: It refers to different types of food in general. You also use it to refer to a combination of food that’s served and ready to be eaten. In other words, a meal or dish. Okay, what’s our next word? |
| Medina: It’s kinywaji. |
| Brandon: Meaning “a drink.” |
| Medina: Kinywaji is singular, and vinywaji is plural for “drinks.” Kinywaji is formed from the verb kunywa, meaning “to drink.” |
| Brandon: This is similar to English, where the verb “to drink” is the same word as the noun, “a drink.” |
| Medina: Now let’s talk about ndio and la. Ndio simply means “yes” and la means “no.” |
| Brandon: They’re the most common interjections you use to answer specific questions. |
| Medina: It’s sad to imagine what would happen to someone who doesn’t know how to use ndio and la in a restaurant. |
| Brandon: Definitely! You might end up eating something you don’t want and paying a high price for it. Okay, now let’s move on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order at a restaurant and how to say “yes” and “no.” |
| Medina: This will help you to express your likes and dislikes and get to eat what you want. |
| Brandon: So it will be very useful! Now, as we just learned, “yes” and “no” in Swahili are... |
| Medina: Ndio and la. Ndio for “yes” and la for “no.” You use ndio to give a positive answer while la is for a negative answer. |
| Brandon: For example, in the dialogue, the waiter answers, “Yes…” |
| Medina: Or ndio, to the question about whether the restaurant has food ready. |
| Brandon: And then she answers “No...” |
| Medina: ...Or la, when he asks whether they serve milk tea. |
| Brandon: What else do we need to know about ordering at a restaurant? |
| Medina: Well, “menu” is orodha ya chakula. |
| Brandon: But I think you can also say “menu” and everyone will understand, right? |
| Medina: Yes, the word “menu” is popular in all Kenyan restaurants. |
| Brandon: So if you know the dishes or the menu items, you can just point to them. |
| Medina: Here’s an example sentence Musa alikula chakula na akakunywa kinywaji kabla ya hata yeye kuona orodha ya chakula. |
| Brandon: Meaning, “Musa ate the food and drank his drink even before he saw the menu.” I guess he was really hungry! |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Brandon: Listeners, ever have any Swahili language or lesson-related questions? |
| Medina: Or maybe you have some feedback for us... |
| Brandon: Leave us a comment or ask a question on the lessons page! |
| Medina: It's super simple. Go to SwahiliPod101.com... |
| Brandon: ...click on comments, |
| Medina: ...enter your comment and name, |
| Brandon: ...and that's it! |
| Medina: Commenting is a a great way to practice writing and reading in Swahili. |
| Brandon: It helps you learn faster. |
| Medina: And it helps us get better through your feedback. |
| Brandon: No excuses. |
| Medina: Go to SwahiliPod101.com, and comment now. |
| Brandon: NOW! |
Outro |
| Brandon: And that’s all we have time for in this lesson. |
| Medina: Remember to check the lesson notes for more information. |
| Brandon: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Medina: Mpaka wakati mwingine, kwaheri ya kuonana! |
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