Learn some common phrases you may hear every day while traveling in Kenya
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Medina: Hi everyone! Welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com! I’m Medina. |
| Joshua: And I’m Joshua. This is All About, Lesson 5 - Top 5 Must-Know Phrases for Learning Swahili. |
Lesson focus |
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| Joshua: In this lesson, we’re taking years of experience in Kenya, and boiling it down to a few essential phrases. |
| Medina: These are a great place to start in Swahili. |
| Joshua: Yes. In this lesson, we'll introduce you to five phrases that will help you every day! |
| Medina: Words that you will be really glad you learned. |
| Joshua: What's more, we'll teach you not only the phrases, but when and where to use them. In this lesson, we are going to give you the phrase, pause for you to repeat it, explain it, and then jump to the next phrase. |
| Medina: Tell us if you like this format in the comments of our blog post! Ready? |
| Medina: ‘jambo’ (Pause) |
| Joshua: By far, the most practical phrase in Swahili is ‘jambo’. |
| Medina: I agree. It’s used like the English “hello,” or “hi”. But it can also be used to attract attention when stopping someone on the street. So it’s a word you’ll be using a lot. |
| Joshua: When someone greets you with this word, you simply respond with…’sijambo!’ |
| Medina: "jambo!" (Pause) |
| Joshua: "sijambo." (Pause) |
| Medina: Next up is ‘asante.’ (Pause) |
| Joshua: This new word means “thank you”. A well-placed and sincere "thank you" will always be appreciated when someone gives you a plate of food, a drink, or even a compliment. |
| Medina: "Thank you" in Swahili is ‘asante’ (pause). It’s as simple as that. |
| Joshua: Saying ‘asante’ (pause) to thank people for anything they do for you is just good manners. |
| Medina: Beyond that, it's often the only thing we will let you do in return! |
| Joshua: Adding a ‘La’ in front gives the word a whole new meaning though! |
| Medina: Yes, ‘La’ means “no” and ‘La asante’ means “no thank you.” |
| Joshua: A well-timed ‘La asante’ (pause) allows you to politely refuse anything offered to you. |
| Medina: ‘Asante’ - "thank you" (pause), and ‘La asante’ - "no thank you" (pause), are the same as English in use and function. This makes them very easy to remember, right? |
| Joshua: Right. Just think of how you would phrase it in English and you have the Swahili phrasing immediately! |
| Medina: Ok, next up is ‘Tafadhali.’ (pause) |
| Joshua: Demanding things is considered bad manners pretty much anywhere, and Kenya is no exception. |
| Medina: To avoid any misunderstandings, say ‘Tafadhali’ (pause), which means "please" or "be so kind." |
| Joshua: Usually, you put this at the beginning of a sentence. So before phrasing whatever you want, have ‘Tafadhali.’ (pause) |
| Medina: It’s used a lot, and it’s certain you’ll hear it if someone asks a favor of you. |
| Medina: Alright. Next is ‘kunradhi.’ (pause) |
| Joshua: Streets in Kenya can be very busy, and sometimes it can be hard to find your way around the cities. |
| Medina: Just shoving through people is a good way to make someone mad though. |
| Joshua: That's why this phrase is a must. |
| Medina: Literally, ‘kunradhi’ (pause) means "excuse me.” |
| Joshua: Simply saying ‘kunradhi’ - "excuse me" (pause) gets you through just about any human roadblock. |
| Medina: And next is ‘samahani.’ (pause) |
| Joshua: In Swahili, ‘samahani’ (pause) means "I’m sorry." |
| Medina: You're probably going to be saying this a lot. |
| Joshua: You know what? I say ‘samahani’ all the time! |
| Medina: Literally, it's a request that means "unguilt" in the sense that you did something, and now you feel guilty about it. |
| Joshua: It definitely very practical. The way I most often use it is to get people’s attention, or when stopping someone on the street and asking questions. |
Outro |
| Medina: Ok listeners, that’s all for now. Remember, knowing these phrases will definitely take you a long way. |
| Medina: That’s it for this lesson. We'll see you next time! |
| Joshua: Thanks everyone, bye! |
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