Learn more Swahili adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 9 - A Dental Emergency in Kenya. John Here. |
| Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn more about adjectives. The conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Medina: It's between Frank and Maria. |
| John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context, therefore, they will speak formal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Frank: Je, naweza kukubaliwa kumuona daktari wa meno sasa hivi? |
| Maria: Anashughuli sasa lakini anaweza zingatia akijua hali yako ilivyo. |
| Frank: Nikuhusu mwanangu. Alianguka akavunja jino moja na lingine linabembea. |
| Maria: Laonekana kana kwaba ni hali linalohitaji kushughulikiwa upesi. Nipe dakika. |
| Frank: Sawa. |
| Maria: Aisee, unaweza kunipa jina lake, miaka na jinsi anavyo hisi kwa sasa? |
| Frank: Jina lake ni Michael. Anamiaka minane. Mdomo wake umefura na anauchungu mwingi. |
| Maria: Naelewa. Itakuchukua muda upi kufika hapa? |
| Frank: Karibu dakika kumi na tano kwa gari. |
| Maria: Tafadhali, mpe dawa ya kutuliza uchungu kisha umkimbize hapa. |
| Frank: Asante. Tuonane nifikapo. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Frank: Hello, is it okay if I can see the dentist right away? |
| Maria: He has an appointment at the moment, but he could consider it if he knows your condition. |
| Frank: It's about my son. He fell and has one broken and one loose tooth. |
| Maria: That sounds urgent. Give me a minute. |
| Frank: Ok. |
| Maria: Hello, can I have his name, age, and how he feels at the moment? |
| Frank: Sure, he's Michael, aged 8. He has swollen lips and seems to be in great pain. |
| Maria: I see. How long will it take you to be here? |
| Frank: About 15 minutes by car. |
| Maria: Please, give him painkillers and rush him here. We'll be waiting for you. |
| Frank: Thanks. See you then. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Oh no, I hope Frank’s son will be okay. |
| Medina: I’m sure that he’ll be fine as soon as the dentist sees him and fixes him up. |
| John: It’s fortunate that Frank was able to get an immediate appointment. |
| Medina: Yes, most hospitals in Kenya run 24 hours, so if you have an emergency, you have somewhere to turn. |
| John: Even if your regular doctor isn’t open, there’s somewhere to go. |
| Medina: Right. I recommend making it sound urgent to ensure you get attention. |
| John: This sounds like a good system. Are there any drawbacks? |
| Medina: Well, it all depends on how much money you have and can spend. |
| John: Even with government hospitals? |
| Medina: Service in the public wards can be horrible, and you might still be asked to buy your medicine. |
| John: And I guess private wards and private hospitals are expensive. |
| Medina: Yes. Being picked up by ambulances or the air ambulance can be expensive too. |
| John: What is the Swahili for “emergency”? |
| Medina: dharura |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Medina: daktari [natural native speed] |
| John: doctor |
| Medina: daktari [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: daktari [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: shughuli [natural native speed] |
| John: busy |
| Medina: shughuli[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: shughuli [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: anguka [natural native speed] |
| John: to fall, to fail |
| Medina: anguka[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: anguka [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: kana kwaba [natural native speed] |
| John: as if |
| Medina: kana kwaba[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: kana kwaba [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: fura [natural native speed] |
| John: to swell |
| Medina: fura[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: fura [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: uchungu [natural native speed] |
| John: pain |
| Medina: uchungu[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: uchungu [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: chukua [natural native speed] |
| John: to pick up |
| Medina: chukua[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: chukua [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: kimbiza [natural native speed] |
| John: to run |
| Medina: kimbiza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: kimbiza [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: mpe [natural native speed] |
| John: to give |
| Medina: mpe[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: mpe [natural native speed] |
| John: And last.. |
| Medina: fika [natural native speed] |
| John: to arrive |
| Medina: fika[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: fika [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Medina: kukubaliwa |
| John: meaning "to be permitted" |
| John: What can you tell us about this word? |
| Medina: First is the infinitive prefix ku. Kubali follows next and that is a root verb. |
| John: It means “to permit.” What about the suffix at the end? |
| Medina: That is wa, and it makes it passive. |
| John: You can use this word to talk about acceptance or permission. |
| Medina: That’s right. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ili kukubaliwa ndani, lazime uwe na kipande. |
| John: ..which means "To be allowed in, you must have your identification card." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Medina: anashughuli |
| John: meaning "he or she has work/ a task." |
| John: Let’s break this word down too. |
| Medina: First is the subject marker a. Na is the present tense marker, and the last word is shughuli. |
| John: This is a noun, meaning “work” or “task.” |
| Medina: You can use shughuli in other contexts, such as like an adverb in kwa shughuli. |
| John: This means “professionally.” Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Anashughuli kila ninapo mtembelea. |
| John: .. which means "She has work everytime I visit her." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Medina: anauchungu |
| John: meaning "he or she is in pain" |
| John: So this starts the same way as the last word. |
| Medina: Right. With a and na. Then there is uchungu. |
| John: This means “pain.” |
| Medina: uchungu is closely related to chungu. |
| John: This is an adjective meaning “bitter” or “painful.” Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Anauchungu baada ya kumpoteza mwanawe. |
| John: .. which means "She is in pain after losing her child." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn more about adjectives. Let’s start by looking at reflexive adjectives. |
| Medina: For the animate noun class, -enyewe, meaning “self/selves”, and -enye meaning “that has/have” take the prefix mu-or mw- in the singular form. |
| John: Often, these words reflect the noun they follow, so they could come immediately after the noun. Let’s look at some examples using those words and prefixes. |
| Medina: Mwanafunzi mwenye ujuzi sana. |
| John: “A student with much knowledge.” |
| Medina: Mwanafunzi mwenyewe ameanguka mtihani. |
| John: “The student himself has failed the exams.” What about with non-animate classes? |
| Medina: Both take regular class prefixes. For example, Nyumba yenyewe ni kubwa. |
| John: “The house itself is big.” |
| Medina: Duka lenye vitu vya kitamaduni. |
| John: “A shop with traditional stuff.” Next, let’s look at some possessive pronouns and how to contract them. Possessive pronouns are used to demonstrate ownership, and often combine a possessive stem with a possessive prefix. |
| Medina: The contraction form doesn’t change the meaning, it just makes it easier and quicker to say. |
| John: Let’s hear some examples. How would we say “my mother” and “my father?” |
| Medina: mamangu and babangu, respectively. |
| John: Let’s hear an example in a sentence. |
| Medina: Dadangu ni mhandisi katika kampuni ya mafuta. |
| John: “My sister is an engineer in an oil company.” |
| Medina: Babaenu amewasili sasa hivi. |
| John: “Your father has just arrived.” You can find a full table of these in the lesson notes. Finally, for this lesson, let’s take a quick look at possessives expressed in the plural form. |
| Medina: Sometimes, plurals are preferred over singular. For example, nchi yetu, meaning “our country” is preferred to nchi yangu. |
| John: Meaning “my country.” Can that never be used? |
| Medina: No, you can still use it if you want to show your personal allegiance, but in general nchi yetu is better. |
| John: Plural possessives take different suffixes to singular possessives. |
| Medina: Right. They take the suffix -etu in the first person; -enu in the second person, and -ao in third person. |
| John: Let’s hear another example. |
| Medina: Watoto wao wameoleka. |
| John: “Their children are married.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Medina: Tuonane! |
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