BASIC VOCABULARY, NOUN & VERB STRUCTURES

Swahili is a continually changing language that is still growing which resulted from the great Swahili culture that was established along the east African coast. Grammatically it is one of the African Bantu group and most of the words are of this origin with about a third of all words coming from Arabic Swahili derives from the Arabic word for Plain. Many words have been incorporated from English especially words of a more technical nature. Swahili and English are the two official languages of Tanzania but Swahili is far more widely spoken and is most peoples second language after their tribal language. The dialect of Swahili spoken in Mtwara is very different from that spoken in Kenya and is influenced by the local tribal language, Makonde. English is not widely spoken. It must be remembered that many people speaking Swahili are relatively poor and illiterate so it remains a language that is largely spoken and heard not written and read and so there can be many variations in spelling, usage etc. This guide has been written by a fluent Swahili speaker and adjusted after the experiences of several years worth of volunteers. It is tailored to the experiences of volunteers in their first weeks and months in Tanzania, it is not an exhaustive guide but a starting point for study and a quick reference when in country. There are no exercises for you to do so practice your own using the grammar rules and the Nicholas Awde dictionary and use the interactive CD to get a better understanding of the sounds of Swahili. Practice makes perfect which is hard to do but the more you know before departure the more things will make sense when you arrive. The most important things to concentrate on are the basic words, the greetings and the basic verb structure. The nouns are a bit complicated so do not worry about them too much, try and develop a good working level of useful Swahili rather than learning everything. Bahati Njema!

INTRODUCTION TO SWAHILI

CONTENTS
Alphabet, Pronunciation & Important Words Greetings Questions & Grammar Verbs Nouns Adjectives Numbers Time Other Points Noun Vocabulary

Page
2 3 5 6 10 12 13 14 16 17 1

Verb Vocabulary General Vocabulary

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Alphabet and Pronunciation

Swahili is written in the Roman alphabet and pronunciation is generally the same as in English but there are the following exceptions - listening to the CD ROM will give you the best idea: A E I O U Dh Ng Pronounced aah, as in far or a as in man Pronounced between eh as in bed, and in caf Pronounced eee as in Lima or Swahili Pronounced oh as in Promise or Mambo Pronounced oo as in Fool Pronounced th as in that A guttural sound a bit like in finger

R and L are interchangeable so Laura could be Raura, Laula or Raula. NB: Unlike English, all syllables end in a vowel this is what allows Swahili to flow fluently and quickly in conversation. Each vowel in a word is sounded separately; for example, saa (watch) is pronounced sa-a.

Important Words
Hello See you later Welcome Thank-you What is your name? My name is Please Excuse-me Yes No But OK And Is/Are Or Perhaps Because Good Bad Sorry Very No Problem What is this? Jambo Baadaye Karibu Asante Jina lako nani? Jina langu Tafadhali Samahani Ndiyo Hapana Lakini Sawa Na Ni Au Labda Kwa sababu Nzuri, safi, njema Mbaya Pole Sana Hakuna matatizo Hiki nini?

Today Tomorrow (also good night) Good Night

Greetings

Leo Kesho Usiku Mwema

Conversations almost always start with a series of greetings this is much more emphasized than in English. It is important to offer greetings out of courtesy, and to reply appropriately when greeted. Combinations of greetings are used to inquire about someone, including asking about their health, work, school or home almost anything that they are strongly associated with. There are two forms of greetings which fall into a system and then a series of other greetings. They may seem complicated to start with but understanding how greetings work will greatly assist you in understanding Swahili as a whole.

Habari?
Habari literally means news and there is a huge variety of greetings that use this as their core but they are actually incredibly simple and versatile to use when you have got the basics. Essentially people will ask for the news of your day, family, work, evening or any other thing that seems interesting. One thing to bear in mind is that the answers are all very basic and generally it is bad manners to say that anything is bad so even if you cannot understand exactly what has been asked of you then you just say it is good. Easy. Common Habari greetings: Habari? Habari gani? Habari yako? Habari zenu? Habari za leo? Habari za asubuhi? Habari za mchana? Habari za jioni? Habari za usiku? Habari za nyumbani? Habari za kazi? Habari za safari? How is it? How are things? How are you? How are you lot? (Pl) How is your day? How is your morning? How is your afternoon? How is your evening? How is your night? How is your household? How is work? How was your journey?

Generally when greetings are for anything else it will always be Habari za One other point is that often the habari will be dropped from the question and so they might say, Za asubuhi instead of the full sentence. There are several positive responses to use to these greetings: 3

Safi, Nzuri, Salama, Njema And a negative response is Mbaya. To say it is very good/bad you use sana after the response i.e. Safi sana. Or if it is just good then it is Safi tu.

Jambos
The most basic greeting in Swahili is to say Jambo and is the greeting you are most likely to hear as a tourist (volunteers are banned from using it). What jambo means in Swahili is an issue or problem so effectively it is the reverse of saying Alright in English. There are many greetings that use jambo as a base but also have the negative person marker i.e. you dont have a problem. So these greetings take the form of a question and an answer. So to greet an individual you would say: Hujambo? You dont have a problem? Sijambo. I dont have a problem. So the following greetings apply: Greeting Individual Hujambo? Group Hamjambo? Hatujambo To inquire after an individual Hajambo? To inquire after a group Hawajambo? Hawajambo Response Sijambo Hajambo

A slight variation on this but possibly the greeting that you will use most of all is to say Mambo. Mambo is the plural of Jambo and literally means problems yet it has just become a word used in greetings. This is a greeting used for people your own age or younger and generally all children will say it to you. The correct response is Poa which means cool but again is just a greeting. There are also a number of other words now used like bomba and fresh instead of poa. Also mambo might be followed by vipi, or just vipi with out the mambo. The other extremely common greeting and one that is important to get right is Shikamoo. It is a respectful greeting to anyone older than oneself and should always be used to those older! The response is Marahaba. There are some other greetings that can be used: Greeting As-salaam aleykum with you Response Meaning Aleykum as-salaam Peace be

Salama Nzima means good

Salama Nzima

Peace (also safe) Just

You must know the following: Habari greeting Hujambo/Hamjambo (S/Pl) Shikamoo Mambo Safi Sijambo/Hatujambo Marahaba Poa Very general How are you? For older people For children/youths

Questions
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Which? How much/many? How much money? What time (is it)? Nani? Nini? Wapi? Lini? Kwa nini? Vipi? Gani? Ngapi? Shilingapi? Saangapi?

According to Swahili sentence structure, the above words come at the end of the sentence; i.e. Unataka nini? = What do you want? Also Swahili is different to English in the sense that if you ask someone, You have not seen Laura, have you? the reply is, No, I have not seen Laura. In Swahili the answer is, Yes, I have not seen Laura. Which is actually the more logical answer.

Grammar
It is worth understanding these terms before going further: Verb: a verb is an action: walk, speak, hit. Noun: a noun is a thing, object or person: car, tree, child. Tense: a tense is when something happens: in the future, present or past. Subject: the subject is the person or thing doing the verb: I hit, Laura drove. Object: is the person or thing that has the verb act on it: I hit Laura, Laura drove the car. Marker: the marker is the word that shows the tense, subject or object. Prefix: a word or part of a word that goes in front of the item in question. 5

Suffix: a word or part of a word that goes after the item in question.

Sentence Structure
The most noticeable thing with Swahili is that there are far fewer words in a sentence than in English. This is because instead of having different words for the subject, object and tense markers they are all merged into one word which allows the language to flow more easily. This will all make sense when we have looked at each aspect of the sentence in turn.

Verbs
The verb stem is the core of the sentence. In Swahili all verbs work as to have rather like the avoir verbs of French which is generally the reverse of English. So in English I am hungry is I have hunger in Swahili. The infinitive of a verb is the way a verb is said or stated. In English if the verb stem is want then the infinitive is to want. In Swahili the same verb stem for want is taka and the infinitive is ku, and so it is written kutaka.

Subject and Tense Markers

For the moment we will only use the present tense, the present tense marker is na -. In Swahili the subject and tense marker is in the same order as in English which is: Subject I Ni Tense do na Verb want taka

But the Swahili sentence is one word and so it is: Ninataka. 1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural I You He/She/It We You They NiUATuMWa-

So some examples are as follows:

You are leaving U-na-toka He is laughing A-na-cheka They are walking Wa-na-tembea

Tenses
In Swahili there are far fewer tenses than in English which means you can grasp them quite quickly and also they are more regular than in English. In English the perfect tense is I have done, she has seen, the past tense is I talked , we went. In Swahili the Perfect tense is used much more than in English and is used most of the time for actions in the past. There is no imperfect tense in Swahili in English the is when was or where are used. There is only one future tense in Swahili. In English you can say, I am going to eat. The same does not apply in Swahili: the verb to go, kuenda, means to go and not to do something in the future. Tense Perfect Past Present Future Marker -me-li-na-ta-

The sentence structure is the same as before but with different tenses: I have done You (pl) talked He likes They will sleep Ni-me-fanya M-li-ongea A-na-penda Wa-talala

Object Markers
This is where a Swahili sentence differs to an English one as the object comes before the verb. English Swahili Subject I Subject Ni Tense will Tense ta Me You Him/Her/It Us You Them Verb hit Object m Object him Verb piga -ni-ku-m-tu-wa-wa-

1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural

Now we can make more complex sentences: 7

I like you You lot will see them I planted it

Ni-na-ku-penda M-ta-wa-ona Ni-me-m-panda

So brought together these are the different components in a basic sentence: Subject Ni U A Tu M Wa Tense me li na ta Object ni ku m tu wa wa Verb penda taka ona lala ongea fanya

Irregular Verbs
Unfortunately it is not all that straight forward as there are some irregular verbs and they happen to be some of the most common ones used. So far all of the verbs we have used have been just the stem i.e. ona instead of kuona. Irregular verbs keep the ku when used, so for example, I will eat becomes Nitakula. Common irregular verbs are: Kula to eat, Kunywa to drink, Kwenda to go (note there is no u anymore).

Negatives
In Swahili the negative requires a different subject and tense marker. They fit into the sentence in exactly the same way as the positive markers. Well, apart from the present tense which is a bit different. If you have learnt your Jambo greetings then you already know the negative subject markers. Negative Subject Markers SiHuHaHatuHamHawa-

1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular st 1 Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural

Tense Perfect Past Future So the following are some examples I did see him. Ni-me-m-ona. They will not like him. I have not understood

Negative Tense Marker -ja-ku-ta-

I did not see him. Si-ja-m-ona Hawa-ta-m-penda Si-ja-alewa.

The present tense does not follow the same rules. The negative subject markers are the same but the tense marker does not appear after the subject marker. Instead, the last letter of the verb stem becomes an - i. I like Ni-na-penda He does not smile We wont do it I do not like Si-pend-i Ha-chek-i Hatu-fany-i

Passive Voice
The passive voice can easily be learnt and will double your verb vocabulary in an instant. The passive voice is used to describe when a verb is acted against/on someone or something. It is formed by adding a letter w to the verb stem before the final vowel. It is easiest understood by seeing it in action. To hit To love Ku-piga Ku-penda To be hit To be loved Ku-pigwa Ku-pendwa

Modal Verbs
Modal verbs include the words should, could and may. The most common by far in Swahili is should. This is formed by adding the subject marker to the verb stem needed without a tense marker, and changing the final vowel to an e. The negative is formed by adding si after the subject marker as well. For example: I should go We should win You shouldnt leave Ni-ende Tu-shinde U-si-ondoke

The Conditional and Connective Tenses The conditional tense introduces a new form of tense marker into verb grammar, but the previous rules still apply. The marker for conditional present tense is nge and its negative equivalent is singe. For example: If If If If I were to want you were tall they dont like he didnt want Ni-nge-taka U-nge-kuwa mrefu Wa-singe-penda A-singe-taka

The connective tense often acts as a simpler version of the conditional tense, and uses the markers ka for and, and ki for if: And I want If I want Ni-ka-taka Ni-ki-taka

Pronouns
Pronouns are generally used more in Swahili than in English. It is common for a sentence to start with a pronoun, even when not needed. For example: Mimi, ninakwenda translates as Me, I am going. Me Mimi You Wewe Him/Her Yeye Us Sisi You Nyinyi Them There is no Swahili equivalent Pronouns are not used instead of the subject markers but as an addition to them.

Nouns
In English there are no real noun classes there are irregularities but that is a different thing. In Swahili there are a number of noun classes. Depending on which class the noun is in depends on how the noun behaves and changes. The most common way in which a noun changes in English is when we are looking at the quantity. In English the plural is (generally) marked by the addition of an s/es at the end of a word i.e. Car, Cars or family, families. In Swahili the first letter/s of the noun marks whether it is in plural or negative. The table below gives the three most common noun groups. Group 1. People. M/Wa Singula r MM-toto Mzungu MM-ti M-fuko KiPlural WaWa-toto Wazungu Mi Mi-ti Mi-fuko ViEnglish Person/people White person/people Tree/trees Bag/bags

2. Plants, objects. M/Mi 3. Inanimate objects.

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Ki/Vi Ki-tu Ki-biriti Vi-tu Vi-biriti Thing/things Match/matches . Other groups are not used in the same way: 4. Generally begins with N and has many plant and animal names. The singular and plural are the same: Cow/s: Ngombe, Snake/s Nyoka, Postal Letter/s: Barua 5. This Ma- class is a general class when there is no singular prefix. So: car Gari, Cars Ma-gari. Exercise book Daftari, Exercise books Madaftari The only rare variation is when the noun is monosyllabic and then the singular prefix is ji-. Eye Ji-cho, Eyes Ma-cho. 6. This is the group for substances or abstract nouns. As with English there is no singular/plural. Love: Upendo, Flour: Unga, Sand: Mchanga, Fire: Moto, Water: Maji. 7. Just for one word derived from Arabic. Place: Pahali/Mahali 8. The verbal-noun class, which is where nouns are derived from verbs, there are no plurals. Singing: Kuimba, Writing: Kuandika It is important to note that in Swahili there is no definite article essentially you cannot say the or a/an. So nyumba means: house, a house and the house.

Possessives
A possessive is the way of saying who the noun belongs to, in English this is shown by prefixes like my car, your love, his baby. In Swahili there is a suffix that follows the noun. The Swahili suffix is slightly more complicated as there is a stem where the first letter/s change to match the noun class. Many of these will be familiar from some of the greeting and basic phrases. 1st Person Singular 2nd Person Singular 3rd Person Singular 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural My/mine Your/yours His/her/hers/its Our/ours Your/yours -angu -ako -ake -etu -enu 11

3rd Person Plural

Their/theirs

-ao

And the noun classes prefix to the stem. Noun Class 1. M/Wa2. M/Mi3. Ki/Vi4. N5. Ma6. UPrefix WW/YCh/VyY/ZL/YW/Z Examples M-toto w-ako, your child Wa-toto w-angu, my children M-fuko w-ake, his bag Mi-fuko y-etu, our bags Ki-tabu ch-ako, your book Vikombe vy-ao, their cups Ndisi y-angu, my banana Ngombe z-enu, your (pl) cows Gari l-etu, our car Ma-gari y-ao, their cars Upendo w-ako, your love No Plural

Conjunctives
Similar to possessives is the conjunctive. In English we have two ways of expressing ownership, one is by saying of ie the people of Tanzania. More commonly is the use of an apostrophe at the end of the noun, usually followed by an s i.e. Lauras eyes. In Swahili there is only one method which is similar to of and again it is dependant on the class of the noun. This time the stem is the letter a which is preceded by the noun prefix. The examples explain it best. The people of Tanzania Tanzania The book of the teacher (the teachers book) mwalimu The eyes of Laura (Lauras eyes) Laura Wa-tu w-a Ki-tabu ch-a Ma-cho ma-a

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns tall, expensive, good etc. In Swahili the adjective is again dependant on the noun that it describes, again the first letters of the adjective change to match the noun class, taking on the same first letter/s. Unlike English the adjective follows the noun, car fast and not fast car. Noun Class 1. M/Wa2. M/Mi3. Ki/ViSwahili M-tu m-lefu Wa-toto wa-fupe M-fuko m-zuri Mi-koba mi-zuri Ki-tabu ki-zuri Vi-tu vi-zito English Tall person Short children Good bag Good wallets Good book Heavy chairs

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The word all is formed again by matching the noun prefix (as with possessives) to a stem, this time the stem is ote. All people All cars All books Wa-tu w-ote Ma-gari l-ote Vi-tabu vy-ote

Any is formed by saying the prefix twice before the stem (with no consecutive vowels added). Any people Any car Any book M-tu wow-ote Gari lol-ote Ki-tabu choch-ote

Demonstratives
Demonstratives are used to distinguish between nouns, in English it is very straightforward with four words used this, these, that and those. In Swahili, however, the noun classes come into play again as each noun class has its own set of demonstratives. It is not a terrible thing to get them mixed up as generally you will be understood so concentrate on learning the first three noun classes. Noun Class Demonstrative Those Wale Ile Vile Zile Yale Zile

This These That 1. M/Wa Huyu Hawa Yule 2. M/Mi Huu Hii Ule 3. Ki/Vi Hiki Hivi Kile 4. N Hii Hizi Ile 5. Ma Hili Haya Lile 6. U Huu Hizi Ule This person M-tu huyu, These cups Vi-kombe hivi

Comparatives

Comparatives are used, as the name suggests, to compare different things in conjunction with an adjective. For example, Tim is better than Laura. In Swahili the word kuliko acts in the same way as than in English. Ni precedes the adjective, in the negative it is si. Tim is better than Laura He is not taller then me Tim ni m-zuri kuliko Laura Yeye si m-lefu kuliko mimi

Superlatives

A superlative is the most that an adjective can be and is equivalent to adding est to an English adjective i.e. tallest, fastest. In Swahili it is formed like a comparative but uses the word all ote, with a prefix to match the adjective. We are best of all Sisi ni wa-zuri kuliko w-ote 13

Numbers and Ordinals

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 moja 13 Sufuri/Ziro Moja Mbili Tatu Nne Tano Sita Saba Nane Tisa Kumi Kumi na moja Kumi na mbili Kumi na tatu 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 Ishirini Thelathini Arubaini Hamsini Sitini Sabini Themanini Tisini Mia moja Elfu moja Elfu kumi Laki moja Millioni

In Swahili, the numbers between ten and twenty are formed by literally saying ten and one (meaning eleven), ten and two, ten and three etc. The same is true with all larger numbers 44 arubaini na nne 593 mia tano tisini na tatu 305726 laki tatu elfu tano mia saba na ishrini na sita Ordinals denote rank and placement associated with numbers, i.e. first, second and third etc. They are formed by putting the letter a and the appropriate prefix (according to the noun class of the object) in front of the number in question. The only exceptions are the words for first and second. To find the prefixes see the section on possessives. First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth -a kwanza -a pili -a tatu -a nne -a tano -a sita -a saba -a nane -a tisa -a kumi

Time

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Time/Hour/ Day Minute Jumatano Week Month Ijumaa Year Second Yesterday Today Tomorrow Dakika Now Later

Saa Siku Dakika Wiki Mwezi Mwaka Sekondi Jana Leo Kesho Sasa Baadaye

Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday Sunday

Jumatatu Jumanne Wednesday Alhamisi Friday Jumamosi Jumapili Robo Nusu Kasoro

Quarter Half Minute Less

Saa is an Arabic word that can mean hour, time, clock or watch. It is the same origin as the Surname Saatchi which is Arabic for clock smith. Telling the time in Swahili is made difficult by the use of a different system. As the Swahili zone is equatorial the length of the day is roughly equal throughout the year, sunrise and sunset is at about six oclock. The Swahilis start the day with sunrise and so seven oclock is one oclock to the Swahilis. It is difficult to learn, but is made more simple by taking six away from the number that you would say in English and translating into Swahili. The number is stated in the same way, whether am or pm.

6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa

kumi na mbili moja mbili tatu nne tano sita saba nane tisa kumi kumi na moja 15

6pm

Saa kumi na mbili

When asking the time it is common to say Sasa saangapi? The reply is formed as follows: 1100 1115 1120 1130 1145 1150 Bado Alafu hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Saa Not yet After Tano tano na robo tano na dakika ishirini tano na nusu sita kasoro robo sita kasoro dakika kumi

Approximate times of day 0600-1200 1200-1700 1700-2000 2000-0600 Morning Afternoon Evening Night Asubuhi Mchana Jiono Usiku

Other Points
-ni Adding ni to the end of a word has two purposes. Firstly if addressing a group then many words can be made into the plural by adding the ni. For example shikamoo-ni, pole-ni, asante-ni. The other use is to say inside something. So in the school is shule-ni or in the bedroom chumba-ni. Mzungu Mzungu means a white person but does not have a racist connotation, indeed it is used very often to call a white person. It literally means He who wanders around. Indeed, it is not at all rude to refer to anyone by their trade, tribe, age or size.

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Money The unit of currency in Tanzania and all Swahili countries is the Shilling or in Swahili Shillingi. When asking someone how much something costs there are two ways: Bei gani? Which is What price? and Shillingi Ngapi? How many Shillings? Shillingi ngapi is usually contracted to Shilingapi? One of thing that is contracted is shillingi ishirini, twenty shillings, to shingshirini. Twende! Formed from the verb to go, kuenda, twende means lets go. Lion King Hakuna matata is most famous because of the Lion King films but you will not hear it in Mtwara as the local equivalent is Hakuna matatiso or more commonly Hamna shida. Hakuna literally means he does not have and hamna means you (pl) dont have. Matata, matatiso and shida all mean problems/worries. Hamna is used generally to say there is nothing in the sense if you went to a shop and asked for champagne, the answer would be Hamna. Where is something? If you ask someone where something is, the Swahili is iko wapi? The answer could be hapa here, pale there or kule. Kule means over there and the higher the pitch it is said in the further away it is. Nearby is karibu and far away is Mbale. Left Right Straight ahead Kushoto Kulia Moja kwa moja (literally meaning one by one)

Noun Vocabulary
Class 1 M/Wa (in singular form) Person Child Son/Daughter Man Woman Husband Wife Fiance Elder White Person African Mtu Mtoto Mwana Mwanaume Mwanamke Mume Mke Mchumba Mzee Mzungu Mwafrika Prisoner Vagrant Midwife Farmer Nurse Sorcerer Weaver Cook Preacher Blacksmith Tenant Mfungwa Mhuni Mkunga Mkulima Mwuguzi Mchawi Mfumi Mpichi Mhubiri Mhunzi Mpangaji 17

Christian Muslim Indian Guest Tourist Resident Ill Person Dead Person Kind " Greedy " Grumpy " Very Old " Generous " Lazy " Intelligent " Jealous " Madman English American Swahili Tanzanian Chinese

Mkristo Mwislamu Mhindi Mgeni Mtalii Mkaaji Mgonjwa Mfu Mhisani Mlafi Mgomvi Mkongwe Mpaji Mvivu Mwanagavu Mwivu Mkichaa Mwingereza Mmarekani Mswahili Mtanzania Mchina

Traveller Craftsman Scientist Musician Judge Fisherman Lawyer Mason Teacher Student Hunter Thief Baker Liar Drunkard Poet Lover Seducer Victim Gossiper Slave Coward

Msafiri Msanaa Mtaalamu Mtribu Mwamuzi Mvuvi Mwanasheria Mashi Mwalimu Mwanafunzi Mwindaji Mwizi Mwokaji Mwongo Mlevi Mshairi Mpenzi Mtongozi Mteswa Mpayukaji Mtumwa Mwoga

Class 2 M/Mi (in singular form) Bag Juice Game Whip Scissors Mat Tin Wallet Region Necklace Spear Door Fire Football River Mfuko Mchuzi Mchezo Mjeledi Mkasi Mkeka Mkebe Mkoba Mkoa Mkufu Mkuki Mlango Moto Mpira Mto Coffee bush Baobab tree Tea tree Mangrove Cashew tree Ebony Tree Cassava Sugar cane Millet Election Belt Example Range Series Mkahawa Mbuyu Mchai Mkandaa Mkorosho Mpingo Mti Muhogo Mua Mtama Mchaguo Mkanda Mfano Mfiko Mfulizo 18

Pillow Lever Mosque Luggage Light Load Copy Square Circle Line Cross Fishing Line Trap Gas Season End Month Year Bread Uncooked Rice Spinach

Mto Mtambo Msikiti Mwamba Mwanga Mzigo Mwigo Mraba Mviringo Msafa Msalaba Mshipi Mtego Mvuke Msimu Mwisho Mwezi Mwaka Mkate Mchele Mchicha

Proclamation Distribution Collision Support Inspection Contract Vigil Obstacle Meeting Help Test Style Summons Miracle Muscle Body Tail Mouth Back Leg Arm

Mgambo Mgawo Mgongano Mhimili Mkaguo Mkataba Mkesha Mkingamo Mkutano Msaada Mtihani Mtindo Mwaliko Mwujiza Musuli Mwili Mkia Mdomo Mgongo Mguu Mkono

Verb Vocabulary
To Be Able To Abandon To Abuse To Accept To Accuse To Be Afraid To Agree To Be Angry To Answer To Arrive To Ask To Awake To Be* To Bear Offspring To Begin To Believe Weza Acha Tukana Kubali Shtaki Ogopa Patana Kasirika Jibu Fika Uliza Amka Kuwa Zaa Anza Amini To To To To To To To To To To To To To To Dance Decrease Deliver Despise Dig Draw Dream Drink Drive Be Drunk End Enter Explain Fail Cheza Punguza Peleka Dharau Chimba Chora Ota Nywa Endesha Lewa Isha Ingia Eleza Shindwa Anguka Lima

To Fall To Farm

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To Bite To Boil To Be Born To Break To Bring To Build To Burn To Bury To Be Busy To Buy To Call To Care For To Carve To Catch To Change To Choose To Clean To Climb To Close To Come To Congratulate To Cook To Cool To Cry To Cut To Damage To Knock To Know To Be Late To Laugh To Learn To Leave To Lift To Like To Lie To Listen To Live To Lose To Make To Marry To Meet To Mistake To Mix To Move To Need To Open To Pay

Uma Chemsha Zaliwa Vunja Leta Jenga Choma Zika Shughulika Nunua Ita Tunza Chonga Daka Badili Chagua Safisha Panda Funga Kuja Pongeza Pika Poa Lia Kata Haribu Gonga Jua Chelewa Cheka Jifunza Ondoka Beba Penda Danganya Sikia Ishi Potea Tengeneza Oa Kuta Kosa Changanya Sogea Hitaji Fungua Lipa

To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To To

Fight Find Finish Fish Fly Follow Forget Forgive Get Give Go Be Happy Harvest Have* Hear Help Hire Hit Hold Hope Hug Imagine Increase Joke Judge Kill Show Shut Sit Sleep Speak Stand Start Steal Stop Suffer Swear Sweep Swim Take Taste Teach Tell Thank Think Throw Be Tired

Pigana Tafuta Maliza Vua Ruka Fuata Sahau Samehe Pata Pa Kwenda Furahi Vuna Kuna Sikia Saidia Kodi Piga Shika Tumaini Kumbatiana Waza Zidi Tania Hukumu Chinja Onyesha Funga Kaa Lala Ongea Simama Anza Iba Simama Umwa Tukana Fagia Ogelea Chukua Onja Fundisha Ambia Shukuru Fikiri Lusha Choka 20

To To To To To To To To To

Place Play Prevent Rain Read Receive Remember Repair Rest

Weka Cheza Zuia Onyesha mvua Soma Pokea Kumbuka Tengeneza Pumzika Rudi Dhikika Oza Futa Kimbia Sema Uza Shona

To To To To

Travel Try Turn Understand

Safiri Jaribu Pinda Elewa Tumia Subiri Tembea Taka Fua Oga Tazama Vaa Shinda Toa Fanya kazi Abudu Andika

To Return To To To To To To To Ridicule Rot Rub Run Say Sell Sew

To Use To Wait To Walk To Want To Wash (clothes) To Wash (people) To Watch To Wear To Win To Withdraw To Work To Worship To Write

* To Be Kuwa The present tense is different, formed using the word ni, meaning is/are. The negative form is si. For example: Mimi ni mwalimu I am a teacher. To Have Kuna The past and future tenses are formed using the verb Kuwa. For example: I will have good luck Nitakuwa na bahati nzuri I had a lot of money Nilikuwa na pesa nyingi

General Vocabulary
Food and Drink Chakula na Vinywyaji Bread Maji Butter Maziwa Eggs Rice (cooked) Kahawa Maize flour porridge Biscuits Drink Soda Peanuts Pombe Cashew Nuts Mkate Siagi Mayai Wali Ugali Biskuti Karanga Korosho Spirits Water Milk Tea Coffee Beer Soft Chai Bia

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Sugar Nyanya Salt Pepper Kabeji Sauce Barmia Mcicha Soup Fish Shark Squid Octopus Mboga Lobster Matunda Prawn Crab Chicken Goat Kijiko Beef Lamb Duck Lemon Meza Mango Orange Banana Pineapple Papaya

Sukari Chumvi Pili pili Mchuzi Supu Karoti Samaki Papa Ngisi Pweza Kamba kochi Kamba Kaa Kuku Mbuzi Ngombe Kondoo Bata Ndimu Embe Chungwa Ndizi Nanasi Paipai

Tomato Onions Cabbage Okra Spinach Coconut Carrot Mnazi Vitunguu

Aubergine Biringani Potatoes Viazi Salad Saladi Vegetable Fruit

Knife Fork Spoon Plate Glass Cup Bottle Table Chair

Kisu Uma Sahani Glasi Kikombe Chupa Kiti

Other Useful Vocabulary Country Town Baiskeli Village Piki piki Street Ndege Address House Shop Nchi Mji Kijiji Bara-bara Car Bicycle Motorbike Aeroplane Meri Nguo Gari

Anwani Ship Nyumbani Duka Clothes

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Garden Viatu Farm Mosque Koti Church Shati School Sirwali College Saa Market Chumba Kazi Kitchen Toilet Door Window Key Balcony Simu Sun Baba Moon Bibi Stars Sea Shangazi River Rafiki Lake Clouds Rain Ice Wind Tree Grass Sand

Bustani Shamba Msikiti Kanisa Shule Chuo cha elimu Sokoni Jikoni Choo Mlango Dirisha Ufunguo Baraza

Shoes Hat Coat Shirt Trousers Watch Room Work Business Holiday Machine Telephone Mother Father Gran Grandpa Aunt Friend Babu Mama Biashara Sikukuu Mashine Kofia

Jua Mwezi Nyota Bahari Mto Ziwa Mawingu Mvua Barafu Upepo Mti Nyasa Mchanga

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