Basic Swahili Words and Phrases for Beginners (With Pronunciation)

The basic Swahili words and phrases to learn first are habari (hello, literally “news”), asante (thank you), tafadhali (please), karibu (welcome), samahani (excuse me), pole (sorry, said in sympathy) and sielewi (I don’t understand), plus the numbers moja to kumi. Each one below has a sounds-like hint, and Swahili spelling makes them easy to read.

How to read the hints: capitals mark the syllable to lean on. In Swahili that is almost always the second-to-last syllable, so once you know the rule you can say words you have never seen.

How to read Swahili in two minutes

Swahili has five vowels, and each one keeps the same sound wherever it appears. Vowels are not swallowed in unstressed syllables the way English does it, and there are no silent letters.

Three more things cover most beginner words. Two vowels side by side are both pronounced, so Kiingereza (English) starts “kee-een.” An m or n before a consonant is a short hum of its own, as in mtoto (child, “m-TOH-toh”) and nne (four, “N-neh”). And dh is the th in “this,” while th is the th in “think.” The r is rolled, and unlike most related Bantu languages, Swahili has no tones.

Greetings: Jambo, Habari and Shikamoo

Greetings matter in Swahili-speaking places. People often trade several before getting to the point, and each greeting has an expected reply.

Swap asubuhi for mchana (afternoon, “m-CHAH-nah”) or jioni (evening, “jee-OH-nee”) to fit the time of day. The reply is almost always positive: you say nzuri even on a bad day, and add any real news after.

Jambo or Habari?

Jambo is the word most visitors already know, and it does mean hello. Learner materials tend to file it under tourist greetings, though. Between local speakers, the full Hujambo? with the reply Sijambo, or a Habari greeting, is more usual. Habari is the safest single word to start with.

Shikamoo for elders, Mambo for friends

Shikamoo is a greeting of respect from a younger person to an older one, and the elder answers Marahaba. At the other end, Mambo? and Poa are colloquial, so keep them for friends and peers, not for an older stranger or an official.

Polite words you will use every day

Pole is not samahani

English has one “sorry,” Swahili has two. Samahani is for something you did: bumping into someone, interrupting, getting a waiter’s attention. Pole is sympathy, said to someone who has had a problem or is ill. It is not an apology. If you knock on a door, call out Hodi? (“HOH-dee,” may I come in?), and the answer is Karibu.

Introducing yourself

Survival phrases for travelers

Naomba (“I request”) is a softer way to ask for things than nataka (“I want”), especially in Tanzania. For more travel lines with audio, see the Swahili travel phrases.

The grammar hiding in those phrases

Swahili builds a verb from pieces. Ni- means I, u- means you, and -na- marks the present: ni-na-ongea is “I speak,” u-na-ongea is “you speak.” For the negative, ni- becomes si- and the final a turns into i: elewa (understand) gives sielewi, “I don’t understand.” The bare stem is a command, so ongea alone means “speak.”

Numbers one to ten, and a few more

Eleven is literally “ten and one,” and twelve is kumi na mbili. Watch the clock, though: Swahili time starts counting at six in the morning, so saa mbili, “hour two,” means eight o’clock.

Everyday nouns, and the one grammar idea to notice

Swahili nouns fall into classes, and the class shows in the prefix: m- for one person and wa- for several (mtoto, watoto), ki- and vi- for many things (kitabu, vitabu). Other words agree with the noun, which is why it is choo kiko wapi and not just iko wapi. As a beginner you only need to notice the pattern. If you say iko wapi, you will still be understood.

Traps English speakers fall into

Say this today

When these feel comfortable, short reads like the Swahili stories by level show the same words in context, and the practical tips for learning Swahili cover what to study next. Saying the phrases out loud matters more than reading them, and Polly, the PollyStop tutor, is a patient partner to try them on.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Swahili?

Habari? is the safest everyday hello, answered with Nzuri (fine). Jambo also means hello but sounds touristy; locals often use Hujambo? with the reply Sijambo. Greet an elder with Shikamoo, and they reply Marahaba. Among friends, Mambo? gets the reply Poa.

What does pole mean in Swahili?

Pole means sorry in the sense of sympathy: you say it to someone who is ill or has had a problem. It is not an apology. When something is your fault, say samahani. Polepole, the doubled form, means slowly.

Do people in Kenya and Tanzania really say hakuna matata?

It is real Swahili and means there are no problems, but it is rare in everyday conversation and mostly famous abroad. A more natural way to say no worries is hamna shida.

How do you say thank you in Swahili?

Asante means thank you, and asante sana means thank you very much. To thank a group, say asanteni. The usual reply is karibu, which also means welcome and come in.