Learn how to ask where you can buy something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Have you ever been in a city you didn’t know at all, desperately searching for something you couldn’t find? I certainly have! I wandered around without knowing where to find a bar, a phone, or even a restroom! But don’t worry—with our Survival Phrases, you’ll always be able to get the information or help in Kenya. |
| BODY |
| In this lesson, we’ll introduce you to a phrase that will help you track down whatever you need. |
| ・ |
| “Where can I find…?” in Swahili is |
| Naweza pata wapi …? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Naweza pata wapi …? |
| And once more: |
| Naweza pata wapi…? |
| The first word, naweza, literally means “I can.” |
| (slow) na - we - za |
| naweza |
| The second word, pata, means “find” |
| pata |
| (slow) pata |
| pata |
| The last word, wapi, means “where” |
| wapi |
| (slow) wapi |
| wapi |
| When these three words are combined to make Naweza pata wapi..[thing/place]. the phrase implies “where can I find...?” |
| This sounds like |
| Naweza pata wapi …? |
| (slow) Naweza pata wapi …? |
| Naweza pata wapi …? |
| Then comes the thing you want to find. In our sample sentence, we will use soda which means “soda.” |
| This will then be |
| (slow) Na - we - za pa - ta wa - pi soda? |
| And once more: |
| Naweza pata wapi soda? |
| ・ |
| Let’s look for some things you might need when you’re traveling abroad. Imagine you’re walking around in Nairobi in the summer, and want something to drink. |
| “Excuse me, where can I find a cafe?” in Swahili is |
| Tafadhali, naweza pata wapi mgahawa? |
| Do you see the structure we just learned? |
| Tafadhali naweza pata wapi . . . ? |
| We only added mgahawa, which means “a cafe.” |
| mgahawa |
| (slow) mgahawa |
| mgahawa |
| What if you want a stronger drink? Now you need to find a bar, called baa in Swahili. You should ask: |
| Tafadhali, naweza pata wapi baa? |
| (slow) Ta - fa - dha - li, na - we - za pa - ta wa - pi |
| ba - a? |
| Tafadhali, naweza pata wapi baa? |
| It is easy to remember baa, since it’s borrowed from the English word “bar.” |
| baa |
| (slow) baa |
| baa |
| With this structure, you can find anything you’re looking for. |
| ・ |
| Opening the question with Tafadhali makes it pretty polite, but if you want to make it even more polite, use the word naomba after tafadhali. |
| Imagine you’re looking for a phone this time. |
| “Please, I pray, could you tell me where I can find a |
| phone?” |
| Tafadhali naomba unielezee kule ninako weza kupata simu. |
| Sounds more formal, right? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Ta - fa - dha - li na - o - mba u - ni - e - le - ze - e ku - le ni - na - ko we - za ku - pa - ta si - mu? |
| Again at natural speed: |
| Tafadhali naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata simu? |
| The first word is Tafadhali, “Excuse me” |
| Then we have naomba, “I pray”. |
| naomba |
| (slow) naomba |
| naomba |
| When these two words are used together, the sentence sounds more polite. |
| (Slow) Ta - fa - dha - li na - o - mba |
| Tafadhali naomba |
| The next word, unielezee, means “tell me.” |
| (slow) u - ni - e - le - ze - e |
| unielezee |
| The word ninakoweza means “where I can.” |
| (slow) ni - na - ko - we - za |
| ninakoweza |
| It is followed by the word kupata, which means |
| “to find.” |
| (slow) ku - pa - ta |
| kupata |
| And the last word, simu, is for “telephone.” |
| (slow) si - mu |
| simu |
| Let’s hear that whole question again: |
| Tafadhali naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata simu? |
| (slow) Tafadhali naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata simu? |
| Tafadhali naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata simu? |
| ・ |
| To ask about any other item, we can just replace baa or simu with the thing we’re looking for, and the phrase works brilliantly! |
| Let's try it with “kiosk,” which in Swahili is kibanda. |
| (slow) ki - ba - nda |
| kibanda |
| “Please, I pray, could you tell me where I can find a |
| kiosk?” |
| Tafadhali, naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata kibanda? |
| (slow) Tafadhali, naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata kibanda? |
| Tafadhali, naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata kibanda? |
Comments
HideHi! Let's practice through comments!
Tafadhali naomba unielezee ninakoweza kupata bafu? - Utapata bafu mgahawani. Unaweza kuchukua kinywaji na kuuliza kwa bafu.
Hi Roger,
Thank you for posting.
Which part of the lesson are you referring to?
I am sorry I couldn't understand :sob:, but I would be glad to help.
Thank you,
Ofelia
Team SwahiliPod101.com
Dear Joshua, on the recording via my iPhone there are two ways you say the Thanks please tell me where to find---
Tafadhali naomba unieliezee kuleni kakoweza kupata ..... and the one that is shown in the lesson materials here - which is correct.
Incidentally the english words could would should etc have a SILENT L!!
best regards
Roger