Learn how to ask "What is the next stop?" as well as "Is [your stop] the next stop?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| There will be many times when the Swahili is coming at you fast and furious, and you may not catch all or any of it. When this happens, asking the speaker to say it again can make the difference between understanding a crucial piece of information, and spending the rest of the day trying to figure out what it was. The following phrase will not only give you a better sense of the language, but will also help you tune your ear! |
| BODY |
| In Swahili, "Repeat that, please?" is |
| Rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Ru - di - a hi - yo ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Once more: |
| Rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| The first word rudia means “to repeat”: |
| (slow) Ru - di - a |
| Rudia |
| After this come hiyo, meaning “that .” |
| (slow) hi - yo? |
| hiyo |
| The last word tafadhali, as we have studied before, means “please” |
| (slow) Ta - fa - dha - li |
| tafadhali |
| All together, that’s |
| (slow) Ru - di - a hi - yo ta - fa - dha - li? Rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| If you want to sound a little less direct, you can ask “Can you repeat that, please?” In Swahili this is Waweza rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Wa - we - za ru - di - a hi - yo ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Now at natural speed: |
| Waweza rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| This is very similar to the first sentence. Simply add waweza before the second word rudia, to mean “could you repeat.” |
| (slow) Wa - we - za ru - di - a |
| Waweza rudia |
| All together, that’s |
| (slow) Wa - we - za ru - di - a hi - yo ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Waweza rudia hiyo tafadhali? |
| ・ |
| You can also say the more casual “Please say that again.”: |
| Tafadhali kiseme tena. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Ta - fa - dha - li ki - se - me te - na. |
| Once more: |
| Tafadhali kiseme tena. |
| The first word Tafadhali still means “please. |
| Next we have kiseme, which means “say it .” |
| (slow) ki - se- me |
| ki - se - me |
| And last we have tena, meaning “again.” |
| (slow) te - na |
| te - na |
| The whole question is |
| (slow) Ta - fa - dha - li ki - se - me te - na. |
| Tafadhali kiseme tena. |
| When you are talking to strangers or elderly people, you may wish to express this in a formal way, like this: |
| “Can you say that again, please?” |
| (3 sec)Waweza kukisema tena tafadhali? |
| (slow) Wa - we - za ku - ki - se - ma te - na ta - fa - dha - li ? |
| Waweza kukisema tena tafadhali? |
| ・ |
| At times, you may not understand the speaker even after a repeat. This is often due to how fast the person is speaking. In these cases, you can say “Slower, please”: |
| Pole pole, tafadhali. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Po - le po - le, ta - fa - dha - |
| Once more: |
| Pole pole, tafadhali. |
| The first word, polepole, means “slower.” |
| (slow) po - le po - le |
| pole pole. |
| We can use all the phrases we’ve seen so far, all together. |
| “Can you repeat that slowly, please?” is |
| Waweza rudia hiyo polepole tafadhali? |
| (slow) Wa - we - za ru - di - a hi - yo po - le po - le ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Waweza rudia hiyo polepole tafadhali? |
| Waweza makes this a polite question you can ask strangers. |
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