East Africa is a beautiful place to visit, or even live for
a while. Knowing a little bit of Swahili before you go will endear the people
toward you and start your trip off right.
First things first, learn your greetings:
Saying ‘Hello and Good Morning” are a must in East Africa.
You would never start a conversation without a sufficient greeting.
Even when my friend found me screaming on my bed, trying to
kill a huge spider, he first said “Kelly how are you? How was your trip to
Tanga? Did you sleep well?”.
I answered all three questions before he would even start to
talk about the spider.
Jambo – “Hello!” A friendly “Jambo” goes a long way.
Habari – Also “Hello / Good Morning.” Use this one when
speaking with older people.
Nzuri – “Beautiful / Good / Nice / I am fine.”
Shikamo – Literally “I hold your feet.” This greeting is for
your elders. Young children will often mutter Shikamo under their breath when
you walk by. It may sound like “Sh…ooo”.
Marahaba – The reply to “Shikamo”. Literally translated to
something like “ I am delighted, I don’t get that every day.”
Other useful phrases that will come in handy:
Asante – “Thank you!” You will use this word the most in
your conversations.
Sana (very) Used as in Asante-sana– Thank you VERY much.
Pole– “I am sorry for your misfortune.” This applies to
everything from getting chalk dust on your clothes, to tripping, dropping an
item or sneezing.
Pole pole – “Slowly, slowly.” Everything is pole pole in
Africa.
Chakula– “FOOD!” If you hear this word, walk towards the
place you heard it.
Nydio / Hapana – “Yes and No” respectively. Some phrasebooks
will tell you that hapana is rude. It is not. As long as you don’t say it
forcefully, you are fine. I haven’t heard another word for ‘no’ since I have
been here.
Hatari – “DANGER!!!!!” This could be a snake in the road or
a warning about an endemic in the area. Take note and proceed with caution.
Written by Kelly
Lalonde
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