Learn how to show concern and talk about your life
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 7 - Catching up With an Old Friend in Kenya. My name is Brandon. |
| Medina: And I’m Medina. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn the Swahili words you might need if you see an old friend or colleague in Kenya. |
| Medina: The conversation takes place when two old friends meet coincidentally at the airport. |
| Brandon: The speakers are old colleagues, so they’ll be using informal Swahili. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Hamisi: Ahh...Wanjiku, ni wewe? |
| Wanjiku: Ni mimi Hamisi. |
| Hamisi: Nimefurahia kukuona. |
| Wanjiku: Nimefurahia pia. Umekuwa aje, rafiki? |
| Hamisi: Vyema. Nachukua ndege naelekea ulaya. |
| Wanjiku: Nami niko tu huku Kenya. |
| Hamisi: Uwe na wakati mwema, sasa naondoka. |
| Wanjiku: Pia wewe rafiki. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Hamisi: Ahh...Wanjiku, ni wewe? |
| Wanjiku: Ni mimi Hamisi. |
| Hamisi: Nimefurahia kukuona. |
| Wanjiku: Nimefurahia pia. Umekuwa aje, rafiki? |
| Hamisi: Vyema. Nachukua ndege naelekea ulaya. |
| Wanjiku: Nami niko tu huku Kenya. |
| Hamisi: Uwe na wakati mwema, sasa naondoka. |
| Wanjiku: Pia wewe rafiki. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Hamisi: Ahh...Wanjiku, ni wewe? |
| Brandon: Ahh...Wanjiku, is that you? |
| Wanjiku: Ni mimi Hamisi. |
| Brandon: It’s me, Hamisi. |
| Hamisi: Nimefurahia kukuona. |
| Brandon: It’s good to see you. |
| Wanjiku: Nimefurahia pia. Umekuwa aje, rafiki? |
| Brandon: It’s good to see you too. How have you been, my friend? |
| Hamisi: Vyema. Nachukua ndege naelekea ulaya. |
| Brandon: Fine. I’m taking a flight abroad. |
| Wanjiku: Nami niko tu huku Kenya. |
| Brandon: Okay. I am staying here in Kenya. |
| Hamisi: Uwe na wakati mwema, sasa naondoka. |
| Brandon: Have a nice time. I have to go. |
| Wanjiku: Pia wewe rafiki. |
| Brandon: You too, my friend. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Let’s talk a little bit about what happens when Kenyans run into friends they haven’t seen in a while. |
| Medina: Well, when old friends and colleagues meet in Kenya, they exchange pleasantries and express their joy at meeting, as well as share a little bit about what’s happened recently. |
| Brandon: They might give each other hugs and shake hands. |
| Medina: Kenyans also like to comment about each other's appearance and compare it to the times when they used to meet regularly. |
| Brandon: It’s also common to talk about family and close friends. |
| Medina: While catching up, friends exchange contact information and pass on greetings to their families, mutual friends, and colleagues. |
| Brandon: That’s helpful to learn! Any other types of insights? |
| Medina: Sure! Different communities have different gestures for greeting. Some shake hands and hug as I mentioned. |
| Brandon: And others? |
| Medina: Others kneel before their elders who touch the top of their heads. |
| Brandon: Wow! That’s very different! |
| Medina: Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's review the vocabulary for this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Medina: ...nimefurahia. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: I’m happy |
| Medina: Nimefurahia. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Nimefurahia. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our next word is... |
| Medina: ...rafiki. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: friend |
| Medina: Rafiki. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Rafiki. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next we have... |
| Medina: ...vyema. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: well |
| Medina: Vyema. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Vyema. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next... |
| Medina: ...nachukua. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon I’m taking |
| Medina Nachukua. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Nachukua. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our next word is... |
| Medina: ...ndege. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: airplane |
| Medina: Ndege. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Ndege. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next we have... |
| Medina: ...ulaya. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: abroad |
| Medina: Ulaya. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Ulaya. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next... |
| Medina: ...wakati. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: time |
| Medina: Wakati. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Wakati. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our last word is... |
| Medina: ...mwema. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: nice |
| Medina: Mwema. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Mwema. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Let’s start with the phrase… |
| Medina: Nimefurahia, which is Swahili for “I’m happy.” |
| Brandon: Catching up makes people happy, and this phrase can be used when you meet up with someone. |
| Medina: The phrase is formed from the Swahili word furaha, meaning “happiness”. Using this word, you can also say, niko na furaha, which also means, “I’m happy.” But nimefurahia is a common expression used when old friends and colleagues meet. Altogether, we have Nimefurahia kukuona. |
| Brandon: Okay, the next vocabulary word is… |
| Medina: Rafiki. |
| Brandon: This means “friend.” What if I want to say friends in plural? |
| Medina: You just need to add ma at the beginning of the word, so that the word becomes marafiki, meaning “friends.” |
| Brandon: That’s the same way you add “s” in English at the end of the word to make it plural. Together, that will give you... |
| Medina Mumekuwaje, marafiki? Now let’s move on to wakati mwema. |
| Brandon: This means, “Have a nice time.” |
| Medina: You use this phrase to wish people well in their endeavors. Altogether we have, Uwe na wakati mwema. |
| Brandon: Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to catch up with old colleagues and friends in Swahili. |
| Medina: Yes, and we’ll focus on how to show concern about your friends and share your life stories. |
| Brandon: Right. First, let’s imagine you want to say how happy you are to see someone. In Swahili, this is... |
| Medina: Nimefurahia kukuona. |
| Brandon: You use this phrase to express your joy at seeing someone. |
| Medina: It’s formed by the combination of the pronoun nime, plus the verb furahia. |
| Brandon: What do you say when you meet several friends? |
| Medina: In that case, it takes on the plural form. The nime becomes tume, and the ku in kukuona becomes wa to make it kuwaona. |
| Brandon: So when we’re with friends and we meet old colleagues, we can say.. |
| Medina: Tumefurahia kuwaona. |
| Brandon: Meaning, “We’re happy to see you all.” Do we have another phrase? |
| Medina: Yes, we have the phrase used in the dialogue, umekuwaje rafiki? |
| Brandon: Okay, tell us a bit more about that! Its English translation is, “How have you been, my friend?” |
| Medina: This phrase is most commonly used to show concern. |
| Brandon: Okay. Now let’s look at some phrases for wishing people well. |
| Medina: The first one is uwe na wakati mwema. |
| Brandon: Meaning, “Have a nice time.” |
| Medina: If the subject is plural, then the u on uwe is replaced by m. So the phrase becomes muwe na wakati mwema. |
| Brandon: To reply, you can say... |
| Medina: Pia wewe. We’ve looked at pia in previous lessons. |
| Brandon: It means “same” or “too.” |
| Medina: That’s right, and wewe means “you.” |
| Brandon: Therefore, the typical way to answer is “you too.” |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. To reinforce what you’ve learned in this lesson, please check the lesson notes. Until next time, thanks for listening everyone, bye! |
| Medina: Kwaheri ya kuonana. |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Brandon: Listeners, looking for a cheat sheet to memorizing Swahili vocabulary? |
| Medina: Have you checked out our Video Vocab series? |
| Brandon: These themed video lessons combine visual cues with the voices of native speakers. |
| Medina: Just another effective method of learning and retaining thousands of vocabulary words. |
| Brandon: Go to SwahiliPod101.com... |
| Medina: ...click on the Video Lessons tab... |
| Brandon: ...and hit play! |
| Medina: It’s that easy. |
| Brandon: But don’t take our word for it. |
| Medina: Try it for yourself at SwahiliPod101.com. |
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