Some useful Swahili words for a mission trip to Uganda, Africa
Greetings:
Between peers: "Habari!" : To which the greeted answers, "Mzuri!".
Between peers: "Hujambo?": Are you fine?
To which the greeted answers: "Sijambo!" (I'm fine!)Young to older: "Shikamoo!" :
To which the greeted answers: "Marahabaa!" : Inferring, "I acknowledge your respect!.
Commonly used words and terms:
Hello! Hi!: Habari!
How are you?: Hujambo?
Good/Fine: Nzuri
Thank you (very much): Asante (sana)
Please: Tafadhali
Goodbye: Kwaheri
Welcome: Karibu
Danger: Hatari : (Title of a 1962 John Wayne movie!)
Friend: Rafiki: (Character name in the movie "Lion King")
Sorry: Samahani/Pole
Excuse me please: Samahani
Where are you going?: Unakwenda wapi?
I am traveling: Ninasafiri
Car: Gari
Bicycle: Baiskeli
Cold: Baridi
Hot: Moto
Food, Meal: Chakula
Eat: Kula
I am (very) hungry: Nina njaa (sana) / (Nasikia njaa (sana)
I am (very) thirsty: Nina kiu (sana) / Nasikia kiu (sana)
Drink (noun): Kinywaji
Drink (verb): Kunywa
I can speak Swahili: Ninaweza kusema Kiswahili!
I can't speak Swahili: Siwezi kusema Kiswahili!
I am (very) happy: Nimefurahi (sana)!
Days of the week...: Follow Arabic Week
Saturday: Jumamosi : (literally: first day of the week)
Sunday: Jumapili : (literally: second day of the week)
Monday: Jumatatu: (literally: third day of the week)
Tuesday: Jumanne: (literally: fourth day of the week)
Wednesday: Jumatano: (literally: fifth day of the week)
Thursday: Alhamisi: (Arabic: )
Friday: Ijumaa : (Arabic: the day of congregational prayer)
Days of the week...
One: Moja
Two: Mbili
Three: Tatu
Four: Nne
Five: Tano
Six: Sita
Seven: Saba
Eight: Nane
Nine: Tisa
Ten: KumiEleven: Kumi na moja: Twelve: Kumi na Mbiri etc etc:
Twenty: Ishirini Twenty One : Ishirini na Moja etc etc
One hundred: Mia Moja: Two hundred: Mia Mbili etc etc
Time references...
In the Swahili culture the day starts at sunrise (unlike in the Arab and Jewish worlds where the day starts at sunset, and in the Western world where the day starts at midnight). Sunrise in East Africa, being exactly at the Equator, happens every day at approximately 6:00 a.m. And for that reason, 6:00 a.m. is "0:00" Swahili time.
Time/Hour: Saa
Minute: Dakika
Watch/Clock: Saa
Morning: Asubuhi
Evening: :: Jioni/Usiku
Afternoon: Mchana
Night: Usiku
What time is it?: Saa ngapi?
Noon: Saa sita mchana
Today: Leo
Yesterday: Jana
Tomorrow: Kesho
Day: Siku
Week: Wiki
Month/Moon: Mwezi
Year: Mwaka
Animals...
Leopard: Chui
Rhinoceros: Kifaru
Buffalo: Nyati
Lion: Simba: (Character name in the movie "Lion King")
Elephant: Tembo/Ndovu
Cheetah: Duma
Baboon: Nyani
Monkey: Kima
Chimpanzee: Sokwe
Donkey: Punda
Zebra: Punda-milia
Giraffe: Twiga
Deer: Paa
Hyena: Fisi
Warthog: Ngiri
Hippopotamus: Kiboko
Snake: Nyoka
Dog: Umbwa
Pig: Nguruwe
Cat: Paka
Goat: Mbuzi
Cow/Ox: Ng'ombe
Sheep: Kondoo
Ostrich: Mbuni
Bird(s): Ndege
The Swahili language is basically of African Bantu Tribe origin who stayed in East Africa. It has borrowed words from other languages such as Arabic probably as a result of the East African Coast being first explored by Arabs, before the Europeans, and most Coastal settlers becoming Muslims and using the Koran for spiritual guidance, earlier than the 1300s.
The Swahili language also absorbed words from the Portuguese who controlled the coastal towns (c. 1500-1700 AD). Some words were borrowed from the languages of later colonial powers on the East African, the Great Britain and Germany, in particular.
For centuries, Swahili was the language of the East African coast. Long-time interactions with other people bordering the Indian Ocean spread Swahili to the distant islands of Comoro and Madagascar and even to South Africa, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Trade and migration from the coast during the 19th-century helped spread the language to the interior, particularly Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Central African Republic and Mozambique.
Christian missionaries learned Swahili to spread the gospel in Eastern Africa and also helped to spread the language. As a matter of fact the first Swahili-English dictionary was prepared by a missionary. During the colonial time, Swahili was used for communicating with the local inhabitants. Hence the colonial administrators pioneered the standardization of the Swahili language. Still today it is spoken in many East African countries.
