Swahili for travellers: 30 phrases that change how you are received

Why it matters more here than you think

Swahili is the national language of Tanzania and the first language of the coast. Almost everyone you deal with in tourism speaks English well. None of that is the point. Greeting a guide, a waiter or a porter in his own language changes the register of the conversation within a sentence, and in a country where greeting properly is a social obligation rather than a formality, skipping it reads as brusque.

Greetings, in order of formality

• Jambo — hello. Tourist Swahili, but universally understood.
• Habari? — what news? The normal greeting. Answer: nzuri, good.
• Mambo? — what’s up? Informal, younger. Answer: poa, cool.
• Shikamoo — respectful greeting to anyone visibly older than you. The reply is marahaba. This one earns more goodwill than any other word on the list.
• Karibu — welcome. You will hear it constantly. Reply: asante.

The daily thirty

• Asante — thank you. Asante sana — thank you very much.
• Tafadhali — please.
• Samahani — sorry, excuse me.
• Ndiyo / hapana — yes / no.
• Pole — sorry for your difficulty. Said to anyone struggling, tired or unwell.
• Pole pole — slowly. The single most repeated phrase on Kilimanjaro.
• Hakuna matata — no problem. Yes, really used.
• Twende — let’s go.
• Maji — water. Chakula — food. Choo — toilet.
• Bei gani? — how much? Ghali sana — very expensive.
• Nataka — I want. Sitaki — I don’t want.
• Rafiki — friend. Bwana / mama — sir / madam.
• Kwa heri — goodbye. Tutaonana — see you again.

Pronunciation, in one paragraph

Swahili is phonetic and stress falls on the second-to-last syllable. Vowels are pure: a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in or, u as in flute. There are no silent letters. Asante is a-SAN-te. Shikamoo is shi-ka-MOO. If you read it as written, you will be understood.