LESSON NOTES

Survival Phrases #11 Swahili Restaurant, Part 1How Many People?

CONTENTS
2 2 2 2 3 4 Swahili English Vocabulary Sample Sentences Grammar Cultural Insight

11

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SWAHILI
1.

Mko watu wangapi? Tuko watu wa tatu. Niko pekee yangu.

2.

3.

ENGLISH
1.

How many people are you? We're three. I am alone.

2.

3.

VOCABULARY
Swahili watu tatu pekee mgahawa karibu English person three, 3 alone restaurant, cafe welcome Class noun noun noun noun phrase

SAMPLE SENTENCES
Tuko wat u wa t at u. Tuko wat u wa t at u.

"We are t hree people."

"We are t hree people."

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #11 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 1HOW MANY PEOPLE?

Niko pekee yangu.

Mgahawa huo ni sa .

"I am alone."
Karibuni mgahawani.

"That cafe is clean."

Karibuni mgahawani.

"Welcome."
Karibu Kenya.

"Welcome t o t he rest aurant ."

"Welcome t o Kenya."

GRAMMAR
There is a wide variety of Swahili dishes, and your job as a visitor is to try as many dierent foods as possible! However, before you start eating, you have to get to the table! In this lesson, we'll cover getting a table in a restaurant. When entering a restaurant in Kenya, you will be greeted with Karibu , which means "Welcome," When you enter a restaurant, or mkahawa in Swahili, you'll usually be seated by a waiter or waitress. You might be asked the question "How many people in your party?" so practicing it will come in handy at some point. "How many people are you?" in Swahili is: Mko watu wangapi? The rst word, Mko, is a presence marker. After this comes watu , a polite way to say "person." The last word, wangapi, means "How many?" Now let's go over how to answer. You might tell the waiter or waitress: Tuko watatu. ...which in English means "We are three people." The rst word, tuko, acts as a presence indicator.

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #11 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 1HOW MANY PEOPLE?

After this comes watatu , which is how you say "three people." This can be broken further into: wa: which is a pronoun, in this case, for people. The last word, tatu , means "three." Let's take a look at some of the numbers you might need here, from "two" to "ve": 2 mbili 3 tatu 4 nne 5 tano If you are just one person, the proper answer is "I am alone," which in Swahili is: Niko pekee yangu.

CULTURAL INSIGHT
Quick T ip 1

Eating out is one of the greatest pleasures of traveling in Kenya. The warm atmosphere and happy people will make it an unforgettable experience. When you go to a mgahawa (restaurant), you'll probably be seated by a waiter or waitress. Of course, since you have learned some very useful survival phrases in this lesson, you should try to use them. Quick T ip 2

As you have seen, "restaurant" in Swahili is known as mgahawa. There are other places in Kenya too that serve food especially at lunchtime. For example, you can look for a sign that says hoteli, which means "hotel" in English. These usually serve sandwiches, salads and soups for lunch. There are also many types of restaurants serving international and fusion dishes.

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #11 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 1HOW MANY PEOPLE?