Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Yes. Welcome again. This is Medina. Welcome to SwahiliPod101, top words. Today, we are going to look at 10 Hardest Words to Pronounce in Swahili.
1. Baadaye “later”
For example, you can say,
Tuonane baadaye. “See you later.”
Now, actually, I can understand why it’s a little bit difficult word to pronounce because looking back at my nephew, he was at that time around 2, 3 years old. He had a very hard time saying Baadaye. He used to say baa-de-ya, which is quite different. But now he made it up. He is okay. He says Baadaye.
2. Changia “to contribute”
Changia katika mikakati ya mambo makuu. “To contribute to a greater course.”
3. Hakuna matata. “no worries.”
Hapa Kenya hakuna matata. “There are no worries here in Kenya.”
Actually there is a song that goes,
Kenya nchi yetu Hakuna matata.
Nchi ya kupendeza. Hakuna matata.
That means that in our country, there are no worries. It’s lovable countries. There are no worries. Yeah, Hakuna matata is quite a handy word to use, actually it’s in a song. So just learn the song and you get the word. If you are a fan of The Lion King movie, I am sure you’ve heard about this phrase.
4. Kiangazi “hot season”
Kuna kiangazi sana kaskazini mwa nchi. “The north part of the country is very dry.”
Kuna kiangazi sana kaskazini mwa nchi.
5. Kipupwe “cool season”
Watu hupata homa wakati wa kipupwe. “People catch flu during the cool season.”
Watu hupata homa wakati wa kipupwe.
6. Mchungwa “orange tree”
Nimelala hapa chini ya mti wa mchungwa. “I am lying here under an orange tree.”
7. Ng'ang'ana “to strive”
Nang'ang'ana kuwa wa kwanza. “I am striving to be the first one.”
Can you try to say it out? Nang'ang'ana.
Do you realize that you stick your tongue at the back upper part of your mouth and then the voice comes through your nose. Nang'ang'ana. Hope you did it.
8. Ng'ombe “cow”
Hawa ni ng'ombe wawili. “These are two cows.”
Ng’ombe is similar like Nang'ang'ana. I mean, the way you stick the tongue behind to the top of your mouth but now you are using the O sound. You are trying to make the O sound. Try it again, ng’ombe. Hope you made it.
9. Takataka “trash”
Kutupa takataka. “To empty the trash.”
Now takataka can be used in different ways. For example, if someone says takataka, it will mean something really bad or wasteful or something that is annoying. If someone says, wewe ni takataka, It means, you are wasteful or you are a waste. So you can use it in different ways but you know what, don’t use it to your friend or someone. I mean, it’s not a good word to use in other words. So be careful when you use it.
10. Nyanyasa “oppress”
Matajiri wananyanyasa maskini. “The rich oppress the poor.”
Matajiri wananyanyasa maskini.
Thank you so much for staying with us until the end of this video. Was it a long way to learn the top hardest words to pronounce in Swahili. Did you get it right to say Ng'ang'ana and Ng'ombe. If you did and if you liked our videos, we’d like to hear your comments in the comments section. See you. Bye. Kwaheri!!

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