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Lesson Transcript

Hamjamboni. Mimi ni Medina. Hi everybody! I’m Medina.
Welcome to Swahilipod101.com's “Kiswahili kwa dakika tatu,” The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Swahili.
In the last lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves in Swahili. In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to use good manners when we thank people.
Are you ready? Let’s get started!
There are several ways to thank someone, but let’s start with the easiest. It’s just one word:
Asante.
[slowly] Asante.
As you may have guessed, Asante means “thank you”.
When saying “thank you very much” you just need to add the word sana.
Asante sana.
[slowly] Asante sana.
Sana means “a lot”. So Asante sana.
is just like saying “Thank you very much.”
In the last lesson, we talked about the informal and formal ways of speaking Swahili. But Asante will work in both situations, so there’s no need to worry!
So how do you reply to “thank you” in Swahili? It’s easy! There are two ways of doing it.
The main way is to say karibu. This means “you’re welcome”
[slowly] Karibu
Literally, this phrase means "welcome."
The other way to say “you’re welcome” is the expression:
Kamwe.
[slowly] Kamwe.
Literally, this phrase means "Not at all" or "never mind.” You use this when you think that there’s no need to be thanked, so it’s like saying “Don’t mention it”.
So when someone says Asante to you, you can simply reply with:
Karibu or Kamwe.
Now it’s time for Medina’s Insights.
If you’re not sure about whether to use Asante or Asante sana, keeping it simple is always your safest bet. You don’t have to worry about formal or informal situations. Asante can be used with just about anyone, anywhere, and at any time!
Do you know what Habari! means? In our next Kiswahili kwa dakika tatu lesson, You’ll learn this and other greetings in Swahili.
Tuonane.

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