10 Simple Swahili Sentences Every Beginner Must Know | Learn Swahili Fast

[00:00:00]Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. Today we are going to learn 10 useful Swahili sentences.

[00:00:07]What are you doing?

[00:00:11]Unafanya nini?

[00:00:13]Let's break it down.

[00:00:17]U is the subject prefix for you.

[00:00:20]Na is the present tense marker.

[00:00:24]Fanya means do.

[00:00:26]And then nini means what? So literally Swahili says you are doing what?

[00:00:35]Now repeat after me.

[00:00:37]Unafanya nini?

[00:00:42]Unafanya nini?

[00:00:45]Good job. So what are you doing? [music] Sentence two.

[00:00:51]I am doing the dishes.

[00:00:54]Ninaosha vyombo.

[00:00:57]Let's see how it's built. So ni means I.

[00:01:02]Na shows the action is happening right now. So the present tense marker.

[00:01:08]Osha means wash.

[00:01:10]And then vyombo means dishes or utensils. So Ninaosha vyombo simply means I am washing the dishes. So repeat after me.

[00:01:23]Ninaosha vyombo.

[00:01:27]One last time.

[00:01:29]Ninaosha vyombo.

[00:01:33]Good job.

[00:01:35]I am tired.

[00:01:38]Nimechoka.

[00:01:40]This one is very common. Notice we didn't say [music] ninachoka here.

[00:01:45]Instead we said nimechoka. [music] The me tells us you've already become tired. So repeat after me.

[00:01:53]Nimechoka.

[00:01:57]Nimechoka.

[00:02:00]Good job.

[00:02:02]Another sentence. Where are you going?

[00:02:06]Unaenda wapi?

[00:02:09]So, let's break that down.

[00:02:11]U is the subject prefix for you.

[00:02:14]Na, the present tense marker.

[00:02:17]Enda, go. And then wapi, where. So, literally it means you are going where.

[00:02:29]All right? So, repeat after me.

[00:02:31]Unaenda wapi?

[00:02:36]Unaenda wapi?

[00:02:39]Good job.

[00:02:42]I am going home.

[00:02:44]Ninaenda nyumbani. Now, let's break this down. So, ni is the subject prefix for I.

[00:02:52]Na is the present tense marker.

[00:02:55]Enda is go. And then nyumbani is home.

[00:02:59]So, ninaenda nyumbani simply means I am going home. Now, repeat after me.

[00:03:07]Ninaenda nyumbani.

[00:03:11]Ninaenda nyumbani.

[00:03:15]Good job.

[00:03:17]Welcome to my home.

[00:03:19]Now, suppose your friend arrives, you can say [music] karibu nyumbani kwangu.

[00:03:26]Let's break that down.

[00:03:27]Karibu means welcome. [music] Nyumbani means home.

[00:03:33]Kwangu means my place or my home.

[00:03:38]Together we have karibu nyumbani kwangu.

[00:03:42]So, repeat after me.

[00:03:44]Karibu [music] nyumbani kwangu.

[00:03:49]Karibu nyumbani kwangu.

[00:03:53]Awesome.

[00:03:55]Another sentence, do you understand English?

[00:04:02]So, let's break that down.

[00:04:04]U is the subject prefix for you.

[00:04:06]Na present tense marker. Elewa means [music] understand.

[00:04:12]And then, the word Kingereza means English. So, to ask do you understand English, you'd say So, repeat after me.

[00:04:34]Awesome.

[00:04:37]Now, if they do understand English, they might say That simply means yes, I understand English. Now, let's break that down.

[00:04:52][music] Ndio is yes.

[00:04:55]Ninaelewa, so ni is the subject prefix for I.

[00:05:01]Na is the present tense marker, and elewa is understand. So, ninaelewa Kingereza. Now, repeat after me.

[00:05:16]Ndio, ninaelewa Kingereza.

[00:05:21]Fantastic.

[00:05:24]Another sentence.

[00:05:26]Please repeat.

[00:05:28]So, sometimes you don't understand what someone is saying. You can politely ask them to repeat what they're saying. So, please repeat, you'd say [music] Now, tafadhali means please. Rudia means repeat. So, together tafadhali rudia.

[00:05:49]So, repeat after me.

[00:05:51]Tafadhali rudia.

[00:05:56]Tafadhali rudia.

[00:05:59]Good job. So, don't be afraid to use this sentence when learning Swahili.

[00:06:03]Native speakers are usually happy to repeat themselves.

[00:06:08]The next sentence, "Please speak slowly."

[00:06:13]This one is another very useful sentence. Now, to say this in Swahili, you'd say, "Ongea polepole, tafadhali."

[00:06:23]Now, let's break that down.

[00:06:25]Ongea means speak.

[00:06:28]Polepole means slowly. And then, tafadhali is please. So, ongea polepole, tafadhali.

[00:06:39]Now, repeat after me.

[00:06:41]Ongea polepole, tafadhali.

[00:06:47]One more time.

[00:06:48]Ongea polepole, tafadhali.

[00:06:53]Good job. Now, those are the sentences we'll be covering today. And now, let's see how many you can remember.

[00:07:00]I'll say the English sentence, and then you can try to say it in Swahili before I tell you or reveal the answer.

[00:07:08]"What are you doing?"

[00:07:12]Unafanya nini? Good job.

[00:07:15]"Where are you going?"

[00:07:18]Unaenda wapi? Awesome. [music] "Please repeat."

[00:07:24]Tafadhali rudia. Good job.

[00:07:28]"Speak slowly, please."

[00:07:32]Ongea polepole, tafadhali. Fantastic.

[00:07:37]Now, I have a simple challenge for you.

[00:07:39]In the comment section, write your answer to this question, please.

[00:07:47]Try answering it in Swahili. For example, nina soma Kiswahili. I am studying Swahili. Or nina kunywa chai. I am [music] drinking tea. So, I'll be reading your comments and replying to them.

[00:08:02]Now, if you've enjoyed this lesson, don't forget to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who's learning Swahili. As usual, asante sana for watching, and I'll see you in the next lesson.

[00:08:14]Kwaheri. Bye-bye.