Swahili spelling is a good guide to pronunciation. Virtually every letter in a word is pronounced and every letter (or letter combination corresponds to only one Swahili sound).

Swahili sounds can be divided into two major categories with reference to English: (1) sounds that are similar to those in English sounds, and (2) sounds not found in English.

Swahili Spelling English Correspondence Swahili Example Translation b boy baba father ch chart chai tea d dine doa stain dh than dhambi sin f food fua wash clothes g goat goti knee h hen habari news j jam juu on *k keep kama if l leaf leo today m me mama mother n net nani who ng finger ngoma drum ng' singer ng'ombe cow *p pin paa gazelle s sun sisi we sh show shida hardship *t ten taa lamp th thin theluji snow v vote vaa wear w wish wino ink y yet yeye s/he z zebra zaidi more

Swahili Spelling Swahili Example Translation gh lugha language ny nyama meat r rangi color

Swahili Spelling Swahili Example Translation a mama mother e tete grass that grows in swamps i bibi lady o somo lesson u sumu poison

Long vowels are spelled as double vowels. They are pronounced exactly like short vowels except that they are longer. Deletion of a second vowel may change the meaning of the word.

Swahili Spelling Swahili Example Translation aa kaa sit ee ree ace ii hii this oo koo throat uu juu on

Swahili Example Translation ua flower au or kuoa marry siasa politics maisha life geua change wao they teitei gown

A typical Swahili syllable is Consonant Vowel (CV) and virtually every word ends with a vowel. A common second syllable structure is Consonant Consonant Vowel (CCV) where the first consonant is generally a nasal (m, n, ng'):

Syllables Word Translation CV ka-ka kaka brother   pa-ta pata get   ki-ta-bu kitabu book CCV mbu-zi mbuzi goat   nde-ge ndege bird   ng'a-mbo ng'ambo abroad

Swahili Example Translation kUja to come mahAli place simAma stand up imbEni you sing (pl.) nitasOma I will read

EXERCISES

• Exercise 1: Long vowels vs. short vowels
• Exercise 2: Vowel clusters
• Exercise 3: Pronunciation
• Exercise 4: Identification drill
• Exercise 5: Pronunciation (dh vs. z)
• Exercise 6: Pronunciation (gh vs. k)
• Exercise 7: Pronunciation (mb vs. m)
• Exercise 8: Pronunciation (ng' vs. ng)
• Exercise 9: Pronunciation (ny vs. n)