Greetings and polite phrases
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| jambo | hello | JAM-boh | Jambo, habari yako?Hello, how are you? |
| habari | news / how are you | hah-BAH-ree | Habari za asubuhi?How is the morning going? |
| asante | thank you | ah-SAHN-teh | Asante sana kwa msaada.Thank you very much for the help. |
| karibu | welcome / you're welcome | kah-REE-boo | Karibu nyumbani.Welcome home. |
| tafadhali | please | tah-fah-DHAH-lee | Tafadhali nisaidie.Please help me. |
| samahani | sorry / excuse me | sah-mah-HAH-nee | Samahani, ninaomba msaada.Excuse me, I need help. |
| kwaheri | goodbye | kwah-HEH-ree | Kwaheri, tutaonana kesho.Goodbye, we will see each other tomorrow. |
| ndiyo | yes | ndee-YOH | Ndiyo, ninakubali.Yes, I agree. |
| hapana | no | hah-PAH-nah | Hapana, sitaki.No, I don't want it. |
| pole | sorry (sympathy) | POH-leh | Pole kwa taabu.Sorry for the trouble. |
Numbers
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| moja | one | MOH-jah | Nina kitabu kimoja.I have one book. |
| mbili | two | mm-BEE-lee | Nina watoto wawili.I have two children. |
| tatu | three | TAH-too | Tuna paka watatu.We have three cats. |
| nne | four | NN-neh | Kuna viti vinne.There are four chairs. |
| tano | five | TAH-noh | Nina vitabu vitano.I have five books. |
| sita | six | SEE-tah | Tutakutana saa sita.We will meet at six. |
| saba | seven | SAH-bah | Wiki ina siku saba.A week has seven days. |
| nane | eight | NAH-neh | Tuna meza nane.We have eight tables. |
| tisa | nine | TEE-sah | Kuna miti tisa.There are nine trees. |
| kumi | ten | KOO-mee | Nina rafiki kumi.I have ten friends. |
| ishirini | twenty | ee-shee-REE-nee | Ana miaka ishirini.He/she is twenty years old. |
| mia | hundred | MEE-ah | Nina shilingi mia.I have a hundred shillings. |
Colors
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| nyekundu | red | nyeh-KOON-doo | Gari langu ni nyekundu.My car is red. |
| bluu | blue | BLOO | Anga ni bluu.The sky is blue. |
| kijani | green | kee-JAH-nee | Majani ni kijani.The leaves are green. |
| njano | yellow | n-JAH-noh | Jua ni njano.The sun is yellow. |
| nyeusi | black | nyeh-OO-see | Nywele zake ni nyeusi.Her hair is black. |
| nyeupe | white | nyeh-OO-peh | Nguo yangu ni nyeupe.My clothes are white. |
| kahawia | brown | kah-hah-WEE-ah | Meza ni kahawia.The table is brown. |
| machungwa | orange (color) | mah-CHOON-gwah | Anapenda rangi ya machungwa.She likes the color orange. |
| zambarau | purple | zahm-bah-RAH-oo | Ua hili ni zambarau.This flower is purple. |
Family
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| mama | mother | MAH-mah | Mama yangu ni mwalimu.My mother is a teacher. |
| baba | father | BAH-bah | Baba anafanya kazi.Father is working. |
| mtoto | child | m-TOH-toh | Mtoto analala.The child is sleeping. |
| kaka | brother | KAH-kah | Kaka yangu ni mrefu.My brother is tall. |
| dada | sister | DAH-dah | Dada yangu anapenda kusoma.My sister likes reading. |
| babu | grandfather | BAH-boo | Babu anaishi kijijini.Grandfather lives in the village. |
| bibi | grandmother | BEE-bee | Bibi anapika chakula.Grandmother is cooking food. |
| mke | wife | m-KEH | Mke wangu ni daktari.My wife is a doctor. |
| mume | husband | MOO-meh | Mume wangu anafanya kazi.My husband works. |
| familia | family | fah-MEE-lee-ah | Familia yangu ni kubwa.My family is big. |
Food and drink
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| chakula | food | chah-KOO-lah | Chakula hiki ni kitamu.This food is delicious. |
| maji | water | MAH-jee | Ninakunywa maji.I am drinking water. |
| chai | tea | CHAH-ee | Napenda chai ya asubuhi.I like morning tea. |
| mkate | bread | m-KAH-teh | Nunua mkate sokoni.Buy bread at the market. |
| wali | rice | WAH-lee | Tunakula wali na maharage.We eat rice and beans. |
| nyama | meat | NYAH-mah | Nyama hii ni nzuri.This meat is good. |
| samaki | fish | sah-MAH-kee | Tunapenda samaki wa kukaanga.We like fried fish. |
| matunda | fruit | mah-TOON-dah | Matunda ni mazuri kwa afya.Fruit is good for health. |
| mboga | vegetables | m-BOH-gah | Mama ananunua mboga.Mother is buying vegetables. |
| sukari | sugar | soo-KAH-ree | Chai hii ina sukari nyingi.This tea has a lot of sugar. |
| chumvi | salt | CHOOM-vee | Ongeza chumvi kidogo.Add a little salt. |
| maziwa | milk | mah-ZEE-wah | Mtoto ananywa maziwa.The child is drinking milk. |
Travel and places
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| safari | journey / trip | sah-FAH-ree | Tunapanga safari kesho.We are planning a trip tomorrow. |
| barabara | road | bah-rah-BAH-rah | Barabara hii ni ndefu.This road is long. |
| gari | car | GAH-ree | Gari langu limeharibika.My car has broken down. |
| ndege | airplane / bird | n-DEH-geh | Ndege itaondoka saa nane.The plane will depart at two. |
| hoteli | hotel | hoh-TEH-lee | Tunakaa hotelini.We are staying at the hotel. |
| soko | market | SOH-koh | Soko liko karibu.The market is nearby. |
| mji | town / city | m-JEE | Nairobi ni mji mkubwa.Nairobi is a big city. |
| nyumba | house | NYOOM-bah | Nyumba yangu ni ndogo.My house is small. |
| basi | bus | BAH-see | Tunapanda basi kwenda kazini.We take the bus to work. |
| ramani | map | rah-MAH-nee | Nionyeshe ramani ya mji.Show me the map of the city. |
Time and days
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| leo | today | LEH-oh | Leo ni Jumatatu.Today is Monday. |
| kesho | tomorrow | KEH-shoh | Kesho tutaonana.We will meet tomorrow. |
| jana | yesterday | JAH-nah | Jana nilikuwa shuleni.Yesterday I was at school. |
| saa | hour / clock | SAH-ah | Saa ngapi sasa?What time is it now? |
| wiki | week | WEE-kee | Wiki ijayo nitasafiri.Next week I will travel. |
| mwezi | month / moon | m-WEH-zee | Mwezi huu ni mzuri.This month is good. |
| mwaka | year | m-WAH-kah | Mwaka huu ni mzuri.This year is good. |
| asubuhi | morning | ah-soo-BOO-hee | Asubuhi njema.Good morning. |
| jioni | evening | jee-OH-nee | Tuonane jioni.Let's meet in the evening. |
| usiku | night | oo-SEE-koo | Usiku mwema.Good night. |
Common verbs
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| kula | to eat | KOO-lah | Ninataka kula.I want to eat. |
| kunywa | to drink | KOON-ywah | Ninataka kunywa maji.I want to drink water. |
| kwenda | to go | KWEN-dah | Ninataka kwenda nyumbani.I want to go home. |
| kuja | to come | KOO-jah | Anataka kuja kesho.He wants to come tomorrow. |
| kuona | to see | koo-OH-nah | Ninataka kuona rafiki yangu.I want to see my friend. |
| kusema | to speak | koo-SEH-mah | Anajua kusema Kiswahili.He knows how to speak Swahili. |
| kusoma | to read / study | koo-SOH-mah | Napenda kusoma vitabu.I like reading books. |
| kufanya kazi | to work | koo-FAH-nyah KAH-zee | Ninafanya kazi ofisini.I work in the office. |
| kupenda | to like / love | koo-PEN-dah | Ninakupenda.I love you. |
| kulala | to sleep | koo-LAH-lah | Mtoto anataka kulala.The child wants to sleep. |
Adjectives
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| kubwa | big | KOOB-wah | Nyumba hii ni kubwa.This house is big. |
| kidogo | small | kee-DOH-goh | Chumba hiki ni kidogo.This room is small. |
| nzuri | good / beautiful | n-ZOO-ree | Hali ya hewa ni nzuri.The weather is good. |
| mbaya | bad | m-BAH-yah | Barabara hii ni mbaya.This road is bad. |
| mrefu | tall / long | m-REH-foo | Kijana huyu ni mrefu.This young man is tall. |
| fupi | short | FOO-pee | Barabara hii ni fupi.This road is short. |
| moto | hot | MOH-toh | Chai hii ni moto.This tea is hot. |
| baridi | cold | bah-REE-dee | Maji ni baridi.The water is cold. |
| haraka | fast | hah-RAH-kah | Gari linakwenda haraka.The car goes fast. |
Question words
| Swahili | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| nini | what | NEE-nee | Unataka nini?What do you want? |
| nani | who | NAH-nee | Nani anakuja?Who is coming? |
| wapi | where | WAH-pee | Uko wapi?Where are you? |
| lini | when | LEE-nee | Utafika lini?When will you arrive? |
| kwa nini | why | kwah NEE-nee | Kwa nini umechelewa?Why are you late? |
| vipi | how | VEE-pee | Habari, vipi?How are things? |
| ngapi | how many | n-GAH-pee | Una watoto wangapi?How many children do you have? |
| gani | which | GAH-nee | Unataka rangi gani?Which color do you want? |
Study tips for Swahili
- Swahili spelling is very phonetic, so once you learn the sound of each letter you can pronounce almost any new word correctly.
- Watch for noun class prefixes like m-/wa- for people and ki-/vi- for things, since they change adjective and verb agreement throughout a sentence.
- Stress almost always falls on the second-to-last syllable of a Swahili word, which is why the pronunciation guides on this page mark that syllable.
- Practice greetings first: Swahili conversations usually open with an exchange like Habari? followed by Nzuri before moving to the main topic.
- Many everyday Swahili words come from Arabic, such as kitabu (book), safari (journey) and rafiki (friend), so spotting that link can help you remember vocabulary faster.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Swahili?
Hello in Swahili is jambo, a friendly greeting used across East Africa. Habari, which literally means 'news', is also commonly used to ask how someone is doing.
Is Swahili vocabulary similar to Arabic?
Yes, Swahili has borrowed hundreds of words from Arabic due to centuries of trade along the East African coast, including words like kitabu (book) and safari (journey).
How many words do I need to know to speak basic Swahili?
Learning around 100 to 150 core words covering greetings, numbers, family and everyday objects, like the ones on this page, is enough for simple beginner conversations.
What language family does Swahili belong to?
Swahili is a Bantu language, so its grammar and core vocabulary come from the Bantu family, though it has also absorbed loanwords from Arabic, English and other languages.