LESSON NOTES

Survival Phrases #16 Counting 0-10 in Swahili

CONTENTS
2 2 2 2 3 5 Swahili English Vocabulary Sample Sentences Grammar Cultural Insight

16

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SWAHILI
1.

Mtu mmoja. Watu wawili. Chupa mbili ya mvinyo, tafadhali. Bombwe moja la simba tafadhali.

2.

3.

4.

ENGLISH
1.

One person. Two people. Two bottles of wine, please. One lion sculpture, please.

2.

3.

4.

VOCABULARY
Swahili mtu mmoja mvinyo kifurushi kitamu chupa English one person wine packet delightful bottle Class phrase noun noun noun noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #16 - COUNTING 0-10 IN SWAHILI

Kuna mt u mmoja t u aliyekuja.

"There's only one person who has come."

Nipe chupa mbili ya mvinyo mwekundu.

"Give me t wo bot t les of red wine."

Kif urushi chake ni nzuri sana.

Ndani ya kif urushi mna zawadi.

"Inside t he package is a gift ."

Kif urushi cha zawadi hii chapendeza.

"Her package is very nice."

Kif urushi cha kubwe kit amu.

"This gift 's packet is delight ful. "

Chupa t at u ya soda.

"A packet of delight ful snack."

"A bot t le of soda."

GRAMMAR
This lesson is very straightforwardwe're going to cover counting zero through ten. Let's jump right in. 0 sufuri 1 moja 2 mbili 3 tatu 4 nne 5 tano 6 sita 7 saba 8 nane

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #16 - COUNTING 0-10 IN SWAHILI

9 tisa 10 kumi When you count things, the number comes second, after the thing you're counting. For example, "one night" is siku moja. Two nights is: siku mbili and ve nights is: siku tano When talking about people and animate creatures, the numbers change slightly. Basically, if the word is singular, you add an m to the front of both the noun and the number: For example, "one person" is: mtu mmoja If, however, the noun is plural, you add a "wa" to both the noun and the number. "Two people" would be: watu wawili "Five people" is: watu watano Numbers can be very useful, especially when you're shopping in Kenya. Imagine you are buying some presents to take back to your country. Let's say you've chosen two bottles of wine in a nice shop. "Two bottles of wine, please.": Chupa mbili ya mvinyo, tafadhali. chupa means "bottle." mbili, as you already know, means "two." And mvinyo, as you may recall from our lesson on restaurants, means "wine." I'm sure you don't need to be reminded that tafadhali is "please"

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #16 - COUNTING 0-10 IN SWAHILI

The whole request, then, is: Chupa mbili ya mvinyo, tafadhali. Now imagine you want to buy someone a Kenyan souvenir. For example, a lion sculpture. "One lion sculpture, please" is: Bombwe moja la simba tafadhali. Let's break that down: Bombwe moja la simba tafadhali. Bombwe means "sculpture" or "carving." The second word moja means "one" Next we have la, the preposition "of" It's followed by simba, which means "lion" You will remember that tafadhali means "please." All together the whole sentence will be: Bombwe moja la simba tafadhali.

CULTURAL INSIGHT
Quick T ip 1

Visiting Kenya will o er you plenty of opportunities to purchase souvenirs ranging from wooden carvings, soapstone baskets, to textiles and jewellery. Stone and wooden carvings are usually the best for most people. These, you can nd in most curio shops, the Maasai market being one of the most famous. Don't miss out on trying the Kenyan Arabica co ee, its unique taste will keep you coming back to Kenya, and it can serve as a good souvenir for a co ee lover. Finally, for those who like spicy and burning drinks, take with you a "stoney tangawizi." It the strongest ginger soda you'll ever taste! It is one of the best sodas in the world, making it in the top souvenirs from Kenya!

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #16 - COUNTING 0-10 IN SWAHILI