Week One: Learning Swahili

Hi Everyone,

It's time to get started on our weekly blog! Remember, I'll be posting every week (on Sunday afternoons) about something to do with Tanzania.

This week, I wanted to teach you guys some Swahili vocabulary, so you can practice it before I get there. Also, how cool is it to tell people you know how to speak Swahili?

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Greetings are very, very important in Tanzanian culture. In fact, there is a pretty good chance that you would say "Hello" and "How are you?" to every single person who you walk by! Luckily, I lived in a small village, so it wasn't too tiresome. But can you imagine if we did that in America? You would lose your voice pretty quickly!

Anyways, when you first see someone, you can say one of two things:

Habari!

or 

Mambo!

Habari (Ha-bar-ee) is the short way of asking, how are you? 

If someone says Habari to you, you would respond by saying Nzuri (N-zur-ee)which means 'good' or safi (sof-ee) which really means "clean" but people use it as a slang way of telling others that things are going well. 

If someone says Mambo, they're basically saying "What's up?" 

You can only say Mambo to your close friends and other kids...you can't say Mambo to your parents, grandparents, or anyone a lot older than you. 

If someone says Mambo to you, you respond by saying either Poa (Po-ahh) or, if you're really cool, you'd say, freshii (fresh-ee). Both poa and freshii mean "cool" though. 

So we've got:

Habari?

- Nzuri!  OR    -Safi!

and

Mambo?

-Poa!     OR     -Freshii!

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In Tanzania, most houses don't have doorbells. Instead, when you knock on someone's front door or when you want to enter a room, you call out "Hodi Hodi" (Ho-dee Ho-dee)

And if you are welcome to come in, they will respond "Karibu", which is Swahili for "Welcome" or as we might say, "Come on in!"

Tanzanians say "Karibu" all of the time...they are very welcoming people! They might say "Karibu" after you say "Hodi Hodi", or when they are offering you a drink, a snack, or a meal.

And if you are in Tanzania to visit, they will definitely say "Karibu Tanzania!" or "Karibu Africa" to welcome you to their country.  

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Of course, if you know how to say 'welcome' in Swahili, you must also learn how to say 'thank you'.

In Swahili, 'thank you' is Asante (ahh-sahn-tay).

So if you were to thank someone by saying Asante, they would respond by saying Karibu.

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Last, but not least, we must learn how to say goodbye in Swahili.

The first way to say goodbye is "Kwa Heri" (kwa  hair-ee) which if you directly translated it, it would mean "for blessings".

The second way to say goodbye is "Baadaye", (baa-die-yay) which means "later!"

You might use baadaye instead of kwa heri if you know you are going to see your friend again soon.



Alright, so let's round up our Swahili vocabulary:

Saying Hello:

1.
- Habari?     (How are you?)
- Nzuri!        (I'm good!)
or
-Safi!    (I'm clean/doing well!)

2.
-Mambo?   (What's up?)
-Poa!    (I'm cool)
or
-Freshii!     (I'm so cool, I'm fresh)

The Knock:

- Hodi Hodi!   (May I come in?)
- Karibu!     (Welcome! Come on in!)

Thank you/You're Welcome

- Asante!     (Thank you!)
- Karibu.     (You're welcome.)

Goodbye:

- Kwa heri!     (Goodbye!)
or
- Baadaye!    (Later!)


If you learn any of these Swahili words, you'll be able to impress anyone from Tanzania, or anyone who has ever been there!

Oh my, I almost forgot! There is a Swahili phrase that you might already know from a very popular Disney movie...

Do you know what Hakuna Matata means? I'll ask you when I come and visit!

Next week, I will share with you a whole bunch of facts about Tanzania, so if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section!

Kwa Heri!
Marisa



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Tanzanian Challenges for the Week:

1. Try to find a way to use "Hodi Hodi", either in your classroom or around your house instead of knocking or using a doorbell.

 But before you do, make sure your friends or family members know the correct response to let you in!


2. Find out what "Hakuna Matata" means.

Hint: There's a very catchy song in the Lion King movie that has the answer!