Learn some common Swahili slang
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
Intro |
|---|
| Antoni: What is Swahili slang like? |
| Gertrude: And is it commonly used? |
| Antoni: At SwahiliPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Grace Njenga uses a slang expression Ben Lee has never heard before. |
| "He's a "sonko."" |
| Grace Njenga: Yeye ni sonko. |
| Dialogue |
| Grace Njenga: Yeye ni sonko. |
| Ben Lee: Hiyo inamaanisha nini? |
| Grace Njenga: Inamaanisha "mtu tajiri". |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Grace Njenga: Yeye ni sonko. |
| Antoni: "He's a "sonko."" |
| Ben Lee: Hiyo inamaanisha nini? |
| Antoni: "What does that mean?" |
| Grace Njenga: Inamaanisha "mtu tajiri". |
| Antoni: "It means "a rich person."" |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: In this lesson, we’re going to learn about common Swahili slang words and expressions. In Swahili, slang is referred to as |
| Gertrude: Kiswahili cha Mtaani |
| Antoni: which literally means "Swahili of the streets." Slang is an aspect of language that isn't usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. These are words and expressions used by a group of people to better convey feelings and implied concepts. It is an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from one group to the other. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue to learn more about Swahili slang words and expressions. |
| Do you remember how Grace Njenga says "He's a "sonko?"" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Gertrude: Yeye ni sonko. |
| Antoni: Many Swahili slang words are used to refer to people. In this case, Grace uses the word |
| Gertrude: sonko |
| Antoni: which is a slang word used to refer to a rich person. There are at least six other slang terms that could mean the same thing, one of which is |
| Gertrude: mdosi |
| Antoni: which could also mean "boss." If there’s a slang word for "rich man," there is also one for "poor man," which is |
| Gertrude: msoto |
| Antoni: a word that refers to the characteristic of being broke or having no money. |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: You’ve learned that slang is an important aspect of colloquial language. It is often limited to small groups, and it can change quickly or become obsolete. So far, you’ve been introduced to a couple of slang words. |
| This time, let’s look at some more examples of young people slang. Let’s start with the greeting, |
| Gertrude: Mambo [SLOW] Mambo |
| Antoni: This is the equivalent of the classic "What’s up?" It literally means "things" or "issues. "This word is often paired with |
| Gertrude: vipi [SLOW] vipi |
| Antoni: the Swahili word for "how." When you greet someone with this word, in a sense, you’re basically saying, "How are things going?" A similar slang greeting would be |
| Gertrude: Habari yako? [SLOW] Habari yako? |
| Antoni: or "How are you?" It literally means "Your news," and is often used among peers. Now, let’s move on to other categories of Swahili slang. Another expression you should be familiar with is |
| Gertrude: poa [SLOW] poa |
| Antoni: This word literally means "recover" or "calm," but, in Swahili street language, it means "cool." Here’s another one: |
| Gertrude: bomba [SLOW] bomba |
| Antoni: This word refers to pipelines or water pumps, but as a slang expression, it means "awesome" or "beautiful." It is said that the expression was first used by Italian sailors and evolved over time. A similar expression would be |
| Gertrude: bombom [SLOW] bombom |
| Antoni: The word literally means "bomb" or "bombshell" but is used as a slang expression to mean "hot," such as when one says, |
| Gertrude: Sauti hiyo ni moto! |
| Antoni: or "That soundtrack is hot!" Yet another Swahili slang expression you should learn is |
| Gertrude: freshi [SLOW] freshi |
| Antoni: which means "fine" or "really good." The word is borrowed from the English "fresh" and is often used as a response when asked, "How are you?" |
| Expansion/Contrast (Optional) |
| Antoni: Another term used to refer to slang is |
| Gertrude: Sheng |
| Antoni: which is a mix of Swahili and English. This language has originated among the urban youth and is particularly used in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. Some of the words we’ve already covered fall into this category, but let’s go and learn a few more starting with |
| Gertrude: babi [SLOW] babi |
| Antoni: This Sheng expression is quite interesting because it is used to refer to someone who doesn’t speak Sheng. It is often used to refer to people who come from a wealthy background. It makes sense since Sheng is street language, and one that you won’t often hear being used by affluent personalities. Another example is |
| Gertrude: mngoso [SLOW] mngoso |
| Antoni: This has no literal meaning but is used to refer to a Caucasian or white person. Here’s another example: |
| Gertrude: gova [SLOW] gova - normally said as gava |
| Antoni: This Sheng expression means "police." Let’s try another one: |
| Gertrude: msee [SLOW] msee |
| Antoni: This word means "boy" or "dude" in Sheng. Its counterpart is |
| Gertrude: mresh [SLOW] mresh |
| Antoni: This word means "girl" or "chick." |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Antoni: As mentioned earlier, many Swahili slang words and expressions are used to refer to persons. This is especially true with Sheng. As a matter of fact, there is a Sheng expression used to refer to each of Kenya’s ethnic communities. For instance, an individual belonging to the Kikuyu ethnic community is referred to in Sheng as |
| Gertrude: msapere |
| Antoni: or "Kikuyo person." Meanwhile, people belonging to the Kamba ethnic community are called |
| Gertrude: Kasee |
| Antoni: or "Kamba person." And, finally, people belonging to the Somali ethnic community are labeled as |
| Gertrude: Arges- (I have not heard of this - but most Somali community members are referred to walalo or woria) |
| Antoni: or "Somali person." |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Gertrude: Nitakuona hivi karibuni! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Gertrude (Swahili, Kenya), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
Comments
Hide