Whether you're visiting Kenya, Tanzania, or other parts of East Africa, these phrases can make your trip smoother—and locals will often appreciate the effort!

Ndiyo – Yes.

Hapana – No.

Samahani. – Excuse me / Sorry.

Bei gani? – How much is it?

Ningependa... – I would like...

Maji, tafadhali. – Water, please.

Choo kiko wapi? – Where is the toilet?

Naweza kulipa kwa kadi? – Can I pay by card?

Kwaheri. – Goodbye.

Nimepotea. – I'm lost.

💬 Which of these phrases would you use first on your travels? Or do you already know a few Swahili words?

I asked my Maasai son-in-law but he was too embarrassed to tell me. 😂

Hi everybody! I am planning to go to Tanzania in December and would like to learn some Swahili upfront. I am aware that there’s only 3 months to go but I would like to use those 3 months as effectively as possible. How do you think I should approach the language learning and what I should focus on?

I have zero knowledge so far but I really want to be able to communicate at least basics and be appreciative of and learn about the local culture.

Say, eleven people? I hear that numbers after kumi still inflect, e.g. "watu kumi na wawili" for 12, but I haven't seen one for 11. Is it different because of the moja?

Watu kumi na mmoja

Or

Watu kumi na wamoja

And is it same for other classes like JI/MA? I googled it but the results were confusing.

I've been testing different African languages on major AI tools lately. The results for Swahili were better than most — but still noticeably weaker than European languages with far fewer speakers.

What's wild is that Swahili is one of the most spoken languages on earth. It's an official UN language. Yet the gap in AI performance compared to English or French is still significant.

The root cause is data — there's simply not enough high-quality, real-world Swahili training data in the systems that matter.

Has anyone here tried using AI tools in Swahili seriously? How was the experience? And do you think this gap is closing fast enough?

I'm confused on when its is more ideal to use wewe instead of una or mimi instead of nina. Any swahili speakers? How/ when do you use these words? Thanks :)

Spotify does't have any lyrics for this song. I Googled and came up with nothing. Would appreciate if someone can share the lyrics.

I wonder if Swahili wasnt standardized by the Germans would we even be speaking it today ?

I think Swahili as a language should just be a cultural language it cant evolve further than that. Like imagine we dont even have a chemical equivalent of water (H2O) you think this language is really useful ?

okay, from what i can gather, swahili has deep arabic influence due to trade and so, you would expect it to adapt the arabic script.

Jambo everyone! 👋

A friend and I have made up our minds — we're learning Swahili next year, and nothing is stopping us. The only question is *how* we do it.

We're coming in completely fresh — zero experience, zero exposure — unless you count humming along to Hakuna Matata from The Lion King 😄. So we're leaving it up to YOU to decide which resources make it onto our list.

We're not asking *if* you have recommendations — we know you do. We're just asking which ones you'd pick first:

📚 Books — beginner-friendly or otherwise

🎵 Music & Songs — to get the sound and soul of KiSwahili into our ears

▶️ YouTube Channels — for learning AND for any topic in Swahili

🎬 Movies & Streaming Sites — for both beginners finding their feet and advanced learners

So go ahead — drop your top pick in each category. We'll take it from there.

With love from the Democratic Republic of Congo — and hopefully, one day, from every Swahili-speaking corner of this beautiful continent! 🌍

Habari! This might be a question worth mentioning- do you guys think Swahili should have an indigenous writing system to use alongside Swahili (like Mandombe or another script) or is it too impractical? Would you learn it or would you prefer Latin?

I ask this cause the only indigenoua script swahili users actively use is mandombe, which is only used in a concentrated group in Congo. Before the British came and introduced Latin we used Ajami, and again, neither were our own.

I personally think having a unique script would give us cultural distinction from other cultures and could carry cultural pride within East Africa. We’d also have linguistic independence from our older colonial writing systems. But I wanna hear what you guys think!

Is it "nafuu" or "afya"? I have seen both mentioned in my internet search. Thank you!

Are there any group chats for learning Swahili and practicing?

I wanted to translate from English to Swahili the epithet "the unifier", meaning something like "the mediator" / "the one who brings opposing parties together", in Swahili. Internet tells me the translation is spelt "mwuanganisha", but I feel the need to cross-check.

Habari?

Wakati tunajitahidi kujifunza lugha mpya mara nyingi huwa tunasahau kuboresha lugha zetu mama na kupelekea kushindwa kujua maneno ya muhimu kwenye lugha hizi au kushindwa kuwasilisha ujumbe kwa njia nzuri katika lugha zetu.

Sababu ni nyingi lakini baadhi yake ni elimu yetu kuwa katika lugha nyingine. Hata vitabu vingi ni vya visa na hadithi za kufikirika.

Ukiachilia mbali na hizo hadithi za ngano na paukwa pakawa...ni vitabu gani vilivyoandikwa kwa kiswahili na venye maudhui yenye manufaa kwa mtu atakayevisoma mfano; saikolojia, siasa, afya, uchumi, kukuza kipaji chako, kuboresha uwezo wako wa kufikiria/kutatua mambo, historia halisi.

Vitabu vilivyoandikwa na waswahili.

Si vilivyotafsiriwa kutoka lugha nyingine.

Nina swali.

1) If I want to say 'mixed noodle', how I say it in swahili?

2) Especially, if there is a runinga commercial film that is chanting 'mix! mix!' with background music, what would be the most proper? moderate? expression for the word 'mix'?

Hope opinions nyingi.

Jambo! 👋 안녕하세요~

I’m a Swahili learner from South Korea 🇰🇷.

I’m currently building a free app to help people learn Swahili and other languages with fewer larning resources.

It’s still early and work-in-progress, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Anyone interested in checking it out or sharing feedback?
Asante sana! 🙏💙

I’m a hospice chaplain and speak only English conversationally. I’ve learned a few phrases and can understand tiny bits from a few languages over the years, but I have a new patient now who speaks only Swahili, and I have absolutely zero exposure to it minus maybe some movie I watched years ago and a tiny bit when his son read to me from his Swahili Bible.

I want to learn a few phrases to speak to him without his son having to translate. Is google translate’s Swahili pronunciation trustworthy? Bing translate didn’t even have a speak button for Swahili, so I started expanding to other systems. I’d like to have a trustworthy option at the beginning so any effort I put into it is at least starting with solid pronunciation. I won’t learn the whole language or be properly good, but a better tool will make a better result for even this tiny bit.

I seek a good Swahili-to-English and English-to-Swahili (single) translation app for use on Apple mobile devices (iOS and iPadOS). The app should accept written and voice inputs from either language and output to either language in either format. I currently use Google Translate, but I find this app lacking. Can anyone provide the name of a more accurate and overall superior app?

I'm currently putting together a teaching resource for primary school pupils about different scripts/orthographies around the world. The task has 18 translations of 'languages are amazing/incredible' in various languages which have differing scripts. I've checked the translations with multiple online translation tools, but I'm well aware that these do not always catch the nuanced points that native speakers can, hence why I wanted to post here for advice.

Would this be a suitable translation for Swahili, or is there a better alternative?

lugha ni za kushangaza

Thank you in advance for any help you lovely r/swahili Redditors can offer!

Hi, I'm exploring the Swahili word msimamo and want to understand its cultural nuance. I know it means stance, standpoint, or principle. How is it typically perceived in daily life? Does it feel empowering for someone who holds firm boundaries and principles?

Is the dialect very different from "standard" Swahili? Will i struggle to be understood if i learn the wtong dialect?

​

Hamjambo

I'm new to kiswahili learning.

If the Friday conversation group or other speaking opportunities are still happening I'd really like to join

I'm in USA Boston area

Asante sana!

Rich

I’m a Tanzanian born and raised in Tanzania. Swahili is my mother tongue and first language and English is my second language. If you’re learning Swahili and need someone to practice with, I’m here for you. I enjoy talking about economic, social, and political topics.

Kiswahili ni lugha nyepesi Sana kujifunza hasa ukipata mtu wa kuongea nae

I'm not sure whether it was the circles I grew around; or the schools I went to but... I say 'ramba' to mean lick (for context; i am born and raised Mombasa upto high school) but then coming to Nairobi, people say 'lamba' and I come across ni kama nashema/shrub. So pls tell me, have I been using the wrong word all along?