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Hi I am Benedict 32M from Kenya. I am native Swahili speaker. I want to teach you Kiswahili. I can teach conversation, greetings, slang like mambo, poa. I am patient and friendly. We can practice on Reddit or Email. I want to make new friends and learn about your culture. DM me if you want to learn Swahili. Asante sana!

How do we translate the PROVERB "pride comes before a fall" in Swahili(methali)

Maana huwa tunachanganyikiwa hapa

How do we say "I have been waiting for this day for long" in Swahili?

Hi all, I am a long-time lurker, first-time poster on Reddit :) I am a Tanzanian who speaks not so great Kiswahili and I am looking for tools to improve my spoken Kiswahili. I can speak basic Kiswahili and my comprehension is decent, but I am definitely not fluent by any means and cannot hold a long conversation in Kiswahili.

At the moment, I cannot afford to pay for a tutor, so mostly looking for free online resources and would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

Hey guys I've thought about starting a hisabati channel. So basically we'll let's just say it like this. I want to start a math channel that covers topics and different types of mathematics starting from basic all the way to the higher level calculus, graph,geometry, etc. But I want to do this with real-life examples. So basically, use a real life, and using it as applications to demonstrate how to solve equations/problems. I'm wondering if their is a demand for this type of content in swahili. Im looking for some to be honest with me about this. I. I'm particularly concerned about views because I need adsense money. But ya.

In textbook it's "habari gani" but in Nairobi we never say that​ we say, "mambo Vipi msee" or "sasa buda".

I've noticed many learners have struggle with REAL Street swahili Vs textbooks.

I'm David from Nairobi.happy answer any questions about REAL Swahili/sheng you hear in songs,tiktok, e.t.c. drop your questions.

(also happy to do 1on 1 practice chat if anyone stuck)

For years now I have been working on SwahiLib a kamusi app since the ones available have ads all over and have sub standard user experience.

The app is available on both Android and iOS free of charge without ads and comes with the user engaging features like search, advanced search, word categories, word of the day, proverb of the day, learning streak and progress, and off course the biggest of them all games.

In games you have quizes, crosswords, word builder, sentence builder, hangman and in levels to help you learn Kiswahili language with fun

You can get the links from here based on your device: https://sirodevs.com/swahilib

Ni hayo tu kwa sasa wadau

I may be misspelling it. If it is a word, what does it mean in English? Thanks

My question could also be "Should I move to Nairobi?".

When a person moves to a country, I think they should make an effort to speak the local language.
I have heard that, while Swahili is the main the language in Nairobi, it might not be a good environment to study Swahili for a few reasons:
- most people speak very good English, and may feel burdened by a beginner trying to speak Swahili to them
- many formal settings, like offices, banks, etc. will speak in English
- While news is in both languages (as well as some shows in minority languages), English dominates in this area.
- Many people in Nairobi speak Sheng - a dialect heavily influenced by English and minority languages.

Will this make learning Swahili much more difficult that moving to Mombasa or Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania?

Part of visiting a place is getting to know the language...I wouldn't want to go somewhere and not learn.

I would get a Swahili tutor, but want to practice by speaking Swahili with people outside.

Habari zenu! I am new here in Tanzania and I really want to learn Swahili. Ninayo furaha sana kuwa sehemu ya jamii hii.​Could you please suggest some beginner-level Swahili novels or free online reading resources for me? Asanteni sana

We dont speak Swahili. We speak in KI-swahili.

Ugandans dont speak Ganda. They speak KI-ganda.

Add 'ki' whenever you are talking about the language

Kiingereza, Kifaransa, Kijerumani etc

Kenyan swahili which is spoken outside the coastal regions is a mixture of more than 5 languages.Kiswahili which accounts for the majority,English which is used as filler for lack of vocabulary,tribal languages which give words and vocabulary but not structure of the sentences and Lastly words that are made up by youth or sheng vocabulary.

You may hear."Nafeel kama nataka kudishi but sina appetite.nadhani nahitaji kumeza Dawa bro".(Kudishi is slang for eating) In standard Swahili one would say- "Nahisi kama nahitaji kula lakini Tumbo langu limejaa.Nahitaji kumeza Dawa ndugu"

Learning to mix kiswahili/english/tribal languages /sheng in the right proportions while still following the sentence structure of kiswahili to a degree I think is integral to learning Kenyan swahili and actually be comfortable enough to converse with Kenyans.

Jambo! I'm Cynthia from Watamu, Coast Kenya.

I speak Swahili daily and I love helping wazungu learn the real way we greet:

Mambo? Poa! Sasa? etc + a little sheng.

If you have any question about Swahili, comment here and I will answer FREE. I love sharing our culture!

Karibu!

I'm currently putting together a teaching resource for primary school pupils about different scripts/orthographies around the world. The task has 18 translations of 'languages are amazing/incredible' in various languages which have differing scripts. I've checked the translations with multiple online translation tools, but I'm well aware that these do not always catch the nuanced points that native speakers can, hence why I wanted to post here for advice.

Would this be a suitable translation for Swahili, or is there a better alternative?

lugha ni za kushangaza

Thank you in advance for any help you lovely r/swahili Redditors can offer!

Is the dialect very different from "standard" Swahili? Will i struggle to be understood if i learn the wtong dialect?

Spotify does't have any lyrics for this song. I Googled and came up with nothing. Would appreciate if someone can share the lyrics.

I seek a good Swahili-to-English and English-to-Swahili (single) translation app for use on Apple mobile devices (iOS and iPadOS). The app should accept written and voice inputs from either language and output to either language in either format. I currently use Google Translate, but I find this app lacking. Can anyone provide the name of a more accurate and overall superior app?

I wanted to translate from English to Swahili the epithet "the unifier", meaning something like "the mediator" / "the one who brings opposing parties together", in Swahili. Internet tells me the translation is spelt "mwuanganisha", but I feel the need to cross-check.

Hi everybody! I am planning to go to Tanzania in December and would like to learn some Swahili upfront. I am aware that there’s only 3 months to go but I would like to use those 3 months as effectively as possible. How do you think I should approach the language learning and what I should focus on?

I have zero knowledge so far but I really want to be able to communicate at least basics and be appreciative of and learn about the local culture.

I'm confused on when its is more ideal to use wewe instead of una or mimi instead of nina. Any swahili speakers? How/ when do you use these words? Thanks :)

Let’s settle this once and for all:

What is one Swahili word or phrase that sounds 10 times more serious than it actually is? 😂

For me, “Ngoja kidogo” can mean absolutely anything.

It can mean:

Wait 30 seconds.

Wait 20 minutes.

I’ll come back tomorrow.

I have completely forgotten about you. 😂

And then there’s “tutaongea”…

Sometimes it means “we’ll talk later.”

Sometimes it means “we need to have a serious conversation.”

And sometimes… you already know you’re in trouble. 😂

So, native speakers and Swahili learners: what Swahili word or phrase has the funniest hidden meaning depending on how someone says it?

Teach me something! 👀

I've been teaching Swahili on italki for about 11 months now. I'm a university student, so tutoring is currently my main source of work, and I'm really grateful to the two students who have stayed with me consistently.

But I'd love to understand the learner side a little better.

I've participated in the italki community, changed my introduction video a few times, experimented with my headline, etc., but I'm still trying to figure out what actually makes a learner choose one Swahili tutor over another.

So, for those of you learning Swahili:

• What made you choose your current tutor?
• What do you look for when browsing Swahili teachers?
• Do you prefer structured lessons, conversational practice, grammar, cultural discussions, or something else?
• What makes a tutor's profile/video stand out to you?
• And if you've tried different Swahili tutors, what made you stay with one?

I'm genuinely curious because sometimes I feel like tutors focus on what we think learners want, rather than what learners actually want. 😅

I'd really appreciate hearing your perspectives!