Learn how to take a taxi
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 22 - Ordering a Taxi in Swahili. John Here. |
| Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about taking a taxi. The conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Medina: It's between Maria and Musa. |
| John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context, therefore, they will speak both formal and informal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Maria: Napiga simu kuagiza teksi. |
| Musa: Haya unataka kuchukuliwa wapi na saa ngapi? |
| Maria: Niko katika jiji la Nairobi, barabara ya harambee jumba la sheria gorofa la nne chumba cha A2. |
| Musa: Saa ngapi? |
| Maria: Saa moja kamili jioni. |
| Musa: Haya nitaharakisha kwa vile imebakisha dakika ishirini. |
| Maria: Utalipishaje hadi Riverside? |
| Musa: Shilingi elfu moja na mko wangapi? |
| Maria: Tuko watatu. Bei ni sawa? |
| Musa: Ndio, naja hivi sasa. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Maria: Napiga simu kuagiza teksi. |
| Musa: Haya unataka kuchukuliwa wapi na saa ngapi? |
| Maria: Niko katika jiji la Nairobi, barabara ya harambee jumba la sheria gorofa la nne chumba cha A2. |
| Musa: Saa ngapi? |
| Maria: Saa moja kamili jioni. |
| Musa: Haya nitaharakisha kwa vile imebakisha dakika ishirini. |
| Maria: Utalipishaje hadi Riverside? |
| Musa: Shilingi elfu moja na mko wangapi? |
| Maria: Tuko watatu. Bei ni sawa? |
| Musa: Ndio, naja hivi sasa. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Maria: I’m calling to ask for a taxi. |
| Musa: OK. Where do you want to be picked and at what time? |
| Maria: I am in Nairobi city, on Harambee street, Sheria house fourth floor room A2. |
| Musa: At what time? |
| Maria: 7 o'clock in the evening. |
| Musa: Okay. I will hurry because that’s only twenty minutes from now. |
| Maria: How much will you charge to go to Riverside? |
| Musa: One thousand shillings, and how many are there? |
| Maria: Three of us. Is the price the same? |
| Musa: Yes, I am coming right away. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: So Maria was booking a taxi in the conversation this time. What is the Swahili for “to book an appointment?” |
| Medina: Kuitisha miadi. |
| John: I noticed that the price for the taxi was the same whether she was traveling on her own or with other people. |
| Medina: That’s right. |
| John: Is that typical? |
| Medina: Yeah, most taxis charge a single price, regardless of how many people there are. |
| John: So for cheaper rides, ride together? |
| Medina: Yes. Actually, taxis are pretty expensive in Kenya, so buses are far more common. |
| John: But is the service good? |
| Medina: Usually. In Kenya, companies that provide a service promise a fast service and reasonable prices. |
| John: If you want repeat business, that’s what you need. |
| Medina: Right. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Medina: teksi [natural native speed] |
| John: taxi |
| Medina: teksi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: teksi [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: kuchukuliwa [natural native speed] |
| John: to be picked |
| Medina: kuchukuliwa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: kuchukuliwa [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: simu [natural native speed] |
| John: phone |
| Medina: simu[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: simu [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: gorofa [natural native speed] |
| John: floor |
| Medina: gorofa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: gorofa [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: chumba [natural native speed] |
| John: room |
| Medina: chumba[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: chumba [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: lipisha [natural native speed] |
| John: charge |
| Medina: lipisha[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: lipisha [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: saa [natural native speed] |
| John: time, o’clock |
| Medina: saa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: saa [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Medina: ngapi [natural native speed] |
| John: how much, how many |
| Medina: ngapi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: ngapi [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Medina: piga simu |
| John: meaning "to make a call." Can you break this down for us? |
| Medina: Piga means "to make," while simu means "phone." |
| John: So literally “to make a phone.” But of course, this means “to make a phone call.” |
| Medina: This is mainly used informally, but can be used in formal situations too. |
| John: How do we say who called? |
| Medina: Sometimes classical nouns are added at the front, so alipiga means “he called.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Nitampigia simu yule mwanadada. |
| John: ...which means "I will call the lady." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Medina: chukuliwa |
| John: meaning "to be picked." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Medina: This is the passive form of the verb -chukua, meaning "to take," or "to carry." |
| John: How is this used? |
| Medina: It’s used when someone is picked, usually to be taken somewhere. |
| John: Can it be used in both formal and informal situations? |
| Medina: Yes, it can. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Mtoto yule amechukuliwa na mungu. |
| John: ...which means "That kid has been picked by God." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about taking a taxi. So if we’re going to order a taxi, we need to tell the taxi where we are. |
| Medina: Right, that would be helpful! |
| John: How do we do that? |
| Medina: To say where you are, use words like wapi, |
| John: which means “where,” |
| Medina: and niko |
| John: which means “I am at.” Okay. Let’s see an example sentence. |
| Medina: Niko nyumbani kwa akina Ali |
| John: “I’m at Ali’s home.” |
| Medina: Niko katika kituo cha ndege. |
| John: “I’m at the airport.” We also need to discuss the price. |
| Medina: You can talk about the price using the word lipisha. |
| John: What does that mean? |
| Medina: It’s a verb that means “to charge.” We use it to ask “how much?” |
| John: What word can we use to say “up to” or “to go to,” such as “how much would it be to go to town?” |
| Medina: You can use mpaka. |
| John: Okay. So, let’s hear it all in a sentence. |
| Medina: Utalipisha pesa ngapi mpaka mjini? |
| John: “How much will you charge to go to town?” |
| Medina: Another useful phrase is bei ni sawa, “same price.” Bei ya kufika mjini ni sawa. |
| John: “The price to town is the same.” How do we say how many people will be riding in the taxi? |
| Medina: We need to use cardinal numbers in this case, as we are talking about quantity. |
| John: Okay. How do we say “Three of us, is the price the same?” |
| Medina: Tuko watatu, bei ni sawa? |
| John: Let’s finish the lesson with another couple of examples of cardinal numbers in action. |
| Medina: Yeye ni wa darasa la pili. |
| John: “He is in class two.” |
| Medina: Niko katika gari la nne. |
| John: "I am in the fourth car." |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Medina: Tuonane! |
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