Learn how to answer the question "Smoking or Non-Smoking?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to make a reservation in a restaurant. Now that you know how to get a table, you have another big issue to tackle. If you want to enjoy your meal, the smoking issue is very important. If you are a smoker in a non-smoking establishment, or a non-smoker in a smoking establishment, this can ruin your meal. |
| In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a smoking or non-smoking table. |
| BODY |
| Let’s imagine first that you are a smoker. Before entering a restaurant, you need to ask, “Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?”: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Sa -ma - ha - ni, u - vu - ta-ji si - ga - ra u - na - ru - hu - si - wa ha - pa? |
| Once more: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? |
| Samahani, as we have seen, means “Excuse me.” |
| (slow) Sa -ma - ha - ni |
| We follow this with uvutaji, which means “smoking.” |
| (slow) u - vu - ta - ji |
| uvutaji |
| And then with sigara, which means “cigarette.” |
| (slow) si - ga - ra |
| sigara |
| Next we have unaruhusiwa to mean “permitted” |
| (slow) u - na - ru - hu - si - wa |
| unaruhusiwa |
| Last is hapa, which means “here.” |
| (slow) ha - pa. |
| hapa |
| Here’s the whole sentence: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? |
| (slow) Sa -ma - ha - ni, u - vu - ta-ji si - ga - ra u - na - ru - hu - si - wa ha - pa? |
| ・ |
| The answer to this question is very simple: Ndio, unaruhusiwa, “Yes, you can smoke”, or La, hauruhusiwi, “No, no smoking”. |
| Let’s break those down: |
| (slow) Ndio, unaruhusiwa. |
| (slow) La, hauruhusiwi. |
| If the answer is “You are not allowed to smoke here,” the expression “I’m sorry” often comes before the negative answer: |
| samahani. |
| ・ |
| Another way of asking is |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? |
| This literally means “Excuse me, is smoking prohibited in here?”. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Sa -ma - ha - ni, u - vu - ta-ji si - ga - ra ha - u -ru - hu - si - wi hu - mu? |
| Once more at natural speed: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? |
| Samahani, you’ll remember, means “Excuse me.” |
| uvutaji sigara means “to smoke a cigarette.” |
| (slow) u - vu - ta - ji |
| uvutaji |
| hauruhusiwi means “forbidden.” |
| (slow) ha - u - ru - hu - si - wi |
| hauruhusiwi |
| that humu means “in here.” |
| The whole question is: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? |
| (slow) Sa -ma - ha - ni, u - vu - ta-ji si - ga - ra ha - u -ru - hu - si - wi hu - mu? |
| Once more: |
| Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? |
| ・ |
| On some signs, you will see the phrase Sigara limeharamishwa .This means “Smoking cigarettes is prohibited,” and you’ll see it next to the familiar image of a cigarette inside a cancel sign. |
| ・ |
| Now let’s go over the possible answers to the question, “Is smoking prohibited in here?” If it’s a positive answer, you might hear |
| Ndio hauruhusiwi. |
| All we did was add the Swahili word for “yes,” ndio, in front of the sentence. Because the question has a negative meaning—we’re asking whether smoking is prohibited—a “yes” answer will mean “Yes, it is prohibited”: |
| Ndio hauruhusiwi. |
| If what you’re pointing at is a smoking table, you’ll hear |
| La, unaruhusiwa. |
| Let’s break that down: |
| (slow) La, unaruhusiwa. |
| The first word, la, means “no.” |
| (slow)la |
| la |
| The second word unaruhusiwa |
| means “permitted.” |
| (slow) u - na - ru - hu - si - wa |
| unaruhusiwa |
| All together, it’s |
| (slow) La, unaruhusiwa. |
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