Mazungumzo 1:

Hadija goes to visit Hamisi. She asks Hamisi about his friend.

	Hadija:	hodi! hodi!
	Hamisi:	karibu
	Hadija:	hujambo, bwana Hamisi
	Hamisi:	sijambo, bi. Hadija
	Hadija:	u hali gani?
	Hamisi:	mzima na wewe u hali gani?
	Hadija:	salama tu.
	Hamisi:	karibu ukae tafadhali.
	Hadija:	asante. je, bwana huyu ni nani?
	Hamisi:	yeye ni mgeni
	Hadija:	jina lake ni nani?
	Hamisi:	jina lake ni Yusufu

Maneno mapya

Kiswahili		Translation
hali		condition
huyu		this person
jina		name
jina lako		your (singular) name
jina lake		her/his name
jina langu		my name
nani		who
mgeni		guest/visitor
ni		is/are
yeye		she/he

Grammatical notes

• u hali gani? 'how is your health/how are you' is used when addressing one person.
• m hali gani? is used when addressing more than one person.
• ni 'is/are' is sometimes omitted; for example: Jina langu ni Abdala or Jina langu Abdala.
• si 'is not' is the negative form of ni, for example: Jina langu si Juma 'my name is not Juma'.

You're ready to do Exercises 1 & 2 (in the Exercises section below).

Mazungumzo 2:

	Fatuma na Mariamu:	hodi! hodi!
	Bibi:	karibuni
	Fatuma na Mariamu:	shikamoo, bibi
	Bibi:	marahaba, wajukuu. habari za mchana?
	Fatuma na Mariamu:	salama tu, bibi.
	Bibi:	haya, chukueni mkeka. kaeni. kuleni chakula.
	Fatuma na Mariamu:	asante, kwa heri bibi.

Maneno mapya

Kiswahili		Translation
bibi		grandmother
mkeka		mat made from straw
na		with, and
kuleni		you all eat
kaeni		you all sit down
chukueni		you all take

Grammatical notes

The ni in kuleni, kaeni, chukueni, and kwa herini indicates imperative plural. The imperative singular of these forms will be kula (eat), kaa (sit), chukua (take), and kwaheri (goodbye).

You're ready to do Exercise 3 (in the Exercises section below).

Mazungumzo 3:

	John:	hamjambo mabwana
	Hasani na Brian:	hatujambo
	John:	habari za masomo bwana Hasani?
	Hasani:	nzuri tu. na wewe habari za siku nyingi.
	John:	nzuri. je, huyu ni nani?
	Hasani:	yeye ni bwana Brian.
	John:	anatoka wapi?
	Hasani:	anatoka Marekani
	John:	je, bwana Brian unasema Kiswahili?
	Brian:	ninasema Kiswahili kidogo sana.
	John:	unatoka wapi katika Marekani?
	Brian:	ninatoka Indiana.
	John:	sasa unafanya nini hapa mjini Morogoro.
	Brian:	ninafundisha uhandisi kilimo katika Chuo Kikuu cha Sokoine cha Kilimo.
	Hasani:	bwana John unakwenda wapi sasa?
	John:	ninakwenda nyumbani.
	Hasani na Brian:	kwa heri bwana John.
	John:	kwa herini ya kuonana.

Maneno mapya

Kiswahili		Translation
Marekani		America
-toka		come from
-sema		speak/say
-fanya		do
kidogo sana		very little
sasa		now
nini?		what?
uhandisi kilimo		agricultural engineering
mjini		in town/down town
chuo kikuu		university
katika		in/at
kwenda		to go
mabwana		plural of 'bwana'
wapi?		where?
-fundisha		teach
-kaa		stay/live

*A dash "-" in front of a word indicates it is a verb, and can be conjugated.

Grammatical notes:

1. Independent personal pronouns

	mimi	I		sisi	we
	wewe	you		nyinyi	you all
	yeye	he/she/him/her		wao	they/them

2. The Kiswahili verb

The conjugated verb has a subject prefix, a tense marker and a verb stem.

Example: kusoma 'to read'

	ni-na-soma		I read / I am reading
	tu-na-soma		we read / we are reading
	u-na-soma		you (singular) read / you are reading
	m-na-soma		you all read / we are reading
	a-na-soma		s/he reads / s/he is reading
	wa-na-soma		they read / they are reading

• ni 'I', tu 'we', u- 'you (sg.)', m- 'you (pl.)', a- 'she/he', wa- 'they' are subject prefixes.
• -na- is a present tense marker.
• -soma is the verb stem.

3. Nationalities:

When the name of a country begins with a consonant, add a prefix m- to form a noun presenting a native of that country:

	Tanzania	Mtanzania/Watanzania	Tanzanian/Tanzanians
	Kenya	Mkenya/Wakenya	Kenyan/Kenyans
	Congo	Mkongo/Wakongo	Congolese

When a country begins with a vowel add mw- to form a noun presenting a native of the country:

	America	Mwamerika/Waamerika	American/Americans
	England	Mwingereza/Waingereza	Englishman/British/Englishmen

4. Language names:

To form language names use the prefix ki- to the name of the country or language group:

	Language names in:
	Kiswahili	English
	Kiswahili	Swahili
	Kiarabu	Arabic
	Kiingereza	English
	Kihispania	Spanish
	Kichina	Chinese

You're ready to do Exercises 4-7.

EXERCISES

• Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks
• Exercise 2: Translation/Multiple Choice
• Exercise 3: Fill in the blanks
• Exercise 4: Comprehension
• Exercise 5: Multiple Choice (Question/Answer)
• Exercise 6: Fill in the blanks
• Exercise 7: Translation/Multiple Choice