Kiswahili is a language spoken in Kenya, Tanzania, and the eastern part of Uganda. Some of the words and phrases of Kiswahili have been made popular by the film "Lion King", e.g. simba, hakuna matata. Many words are shared with Estonian (although unfortunately not in meaning), e.g. pesa, sita, haraka, kuu.
The dictionary is given roughly in temporal order of getting to know these words (but it can be reordered by clicking on the column headers).
| Kiswahili | English | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| pombe | local beer? | The only Kiswahili word I knew before arriving at Nairobi as it is a part of "Saccharomyces pombe". It should mean a local home-made beer (i.e. not Tusker or Kilimanjaro), but I haven't seen it sold yet, and thus not tried it. |
| karibu | welcome | Name of the cafe at the international arrivals at JKIA. Often used has a reply to asante. Often used as a start of conversation by curio shop personel, as in "Karibu, come to my shop, I give you a good price." |
| jambo | hello | General greeting |
| mzungu (sing.), wazungu (pl.) | white man, white men | General greeting used by children when greeting (European/American/Australian) tourists. |
| asante (sana) | thank you (very much) | |
| hakuna matata | there isn't any problem | |
| chai | tea | |
| polepole | slowly | Advice often heard on Kilimanjaro, but also elsewhere in Africa. |
| ugali | ugali | Local food, eaten by locals every day. |
| mambo | hi | More slangish greeting |
| poa | cool | Obligatory reply to mambo |
| usiku mwema! | night good (?) | |
| lala salama! | dreams safe (?) | |
| karanga | peanut | Sold everywhere as a snack, sometimes together with boiled eggs. Also the name of a camp on the Machame route |
| barafu | ice | name of a camp on the Machame route |
| bwana | mister | "jambo, bwana", phrase in the Kilimanjaro song |
| uhuru | freedom | name of streets, monuments, and the highest peak in Africa |
| safari | journey | |
| hatari | danger | |
| duma | cheetah | Featured in the name and logo of Duma Explorer. Also a Pumba cooking team. |
| punda milia / mulia | donkey striped | Local name for zebra |
| samahani, hapana | sorry, no | Possible answer to "come to see my shop", "my friend, I give you a good price", "give me my money", etc. |
| pumba | stupid | Name of one of the Absolute Africa trucks; Name of a warthog in "Lion King" |
| simba | lion | Lion King, cement, water, Pumba cooking team, etc. |
| fisi | hyena | Pumba cooking team |
| chui | leopard | Pumba cooking team |
| kiboko | hippo | Pumba cooking team |
| samosa / sambusa | samosa | Deep-fried dough filled with meat or vegi |
| chapati | chapati | Pancake-like food, salty |
| andazi | andazi | Mildly sweet pastry |
| kuku na chipsi | chicken and fries | Often served fast-food. There is a fast food chain whose slogan is "We are kuku about chicken.". |
| nyama | meat | |
| pilau | rice with spices | Often served dish |
| chakula | food | |
| habari (gani)? | news (yours)? | General greeting |
| mzuri sana | nice very | Answer to "habari gani?" |
| ni ghali sana | this expensive very | The initial price for an ebony hippo carving is too high. Some casual bargining can quickly lower the price at least twice. |
| jina lako nani? | name your what? | |
| jina langu ... | name mine ... | |
| kinyozi | barber's | Very frequent, nicely painted houses, showing various haircuts. Sometimes with pictures of Barack Obama, Kanye West, etc. |
| dala-dala (T) | shared taxi | The core of Tanzanian public transportation system |
| matatu / ma3 (K) | shared taxi | The core of Kenyan public transportation system |
| kizuri sana | nice very | |
| twiga | giraffe | There are 3 types of giraffe in East Africa: reticulated, masai, and Rotschild. Also the name of a cement company. |
| tembo | elephant | Also cement |
| sawa sawa | OK | |
| pesa | money | |
| Konyagi | Konyagi | Tanzanian 35-degree liquer |
| askari | soldier; security guard | Tanzania has askari-monuments in every town (or at least in Arusha, Moshi and Dar). Security guards are usually of the Masai tribe. Those who guard banks carry firearms. In Uganda, the security guards are the least paid workers. |
| karafuu | cloves (Nelken) | The spice that Zanzibar is famous for. |
| samaki | fish | Frequent in dishes in Dar and Zanzibar. |
| kima punju | monkey poisonous | Local name for red colobus monkey because locals believe that these monkeys are poisonous, e.g. if a dog ate one of these monkeys then its fur would fall off. |
| kanga | Guinea fowl; colorful printed cotton wrap worn by women | Guinea fowl was one of the first creatures that we spotted during the first safari (Samburu). There are 101 documented ways to wear a kanga. Some kangas come with a statement printed on it which would be a taboo expressed in any other form. |
| moja | one | |
| mbili | two | |
| tatu | three | |
| Baba wa Taifa | father of nation | This is how Tanzania's first president Nyerere is called. His pictures are everywhere next to the pictures of the current president. Nyerere is liked by the locals eventhough (according to Lonely Planet) his period of government destroyed Tanzanian economy as a result of relocating people into collective farms. |
| ujamaa | unity | Name of Nyerere's social/economic framework. |
| umoja | ? | Word on the Tanzanian coat-of-arms (next to "uhuru"). Also the name of the Samburu all-female village in Kenya. |
| haraka | quickly | Opposite of "polepole" |
| duka | shop | Word often seen on the roadside |
| choo | toilet | In order to successfully visit a toilet, one also needs to know the words for "male" and "female". |
| mayai | eggs | As in "chipsi mayai", chips omlette |
| kwaheri | good bye |
The above dictionary enables one (Mz) to have simple conversations with the locals. There are two types of locals: children (C) and street vendors (SV).
C: Mzungu, mzungu! Mz: Mambo! C: Poa! Mz: Jina lako nani? C: /tells his or her name/ Mz: Jina langu Kaarel.
SV: Karibu! Mz: Asante sana! Habari gani? SV: Mzuri sana. Habari? Mz: Mzuri sana. SV: Come to see my shop I give you a good price! Mz: Samahani, hapana (or "la, asante"). / repeat the previous 2 converation steps several times / SV or Mz: Hakuna matata!