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Lesson Transcript

Yes! Welcome to SwahiliPod101 again! It's Medina with you. Now, today, we are going to do something really special, we are going to talk about 10 Words You Never Want to Hear.
No! Don't say that, my ears! You know, something like that. Do you have that experience? Now follow me and let's have fun.
1. Je, umeongeza uzito hivi karibuni? "Have you gained weight recently?"
Actually, in Kenya, gaining weight is not really a big issue because people think the bigger you are in mass, the wealthier you are, the richer you are. So there's nothing really bad about adding weight when you compare with other countries, like, probably in Japan or the states, where you may get hurt when someone talks about your weight, so feel free in Kenya. The only problem comes in when you're really cutting weight, so it's the opposite. If you're really cutting weight, yeah, people will be asking you, what's happening, you know? what's happening, don't you have food? Or are you stressed? So there are those kind of cultural differences.
2. Una nywele ya rangi jivu. "You have a gray hair."
You know, people have a difficult time accepting the fact that they are growing old. Yeah, it's a paradox of life, right? You're celebrating your birthday but at the same time, you're growing old. Now, when you're growing old, it reaches a point when you're growing gray hair, right? And it's evident, you cannot hide it unless you're coloring your hair. Now, in Kenya, really, you don't want to tell someone that they're growing gray hair; you better say it with your friends about somebody but I know that'll be gossiping, so I don't really recommend it. But usually, you see their gray hair and keep it inside your heart. You appreciate the fact that yes, someone is growing and you keep it at that.
3. Nilikuelezea hivyo! "I told you so!"
Actually, when you say it naturally, it comes out hidden, kind of arrogant way. Let's try it in Swahili - Nilikuelezea hivyo! "I told you so!" You know? This is someone who kind of warned you beforehand that... do not go that way, then unfortunately, I mean at that time it's not really unfortunate, but you know, you did it and then there are those kind of consequences, I mean things that happened that are not really good, then you come back and you know your friend who warned you say it on your face, "I told you so." You don't want to hear that at that moment, especially when things Have gone bad, you know?
4. Umefutwa kazi! "You're fired!"
You know, this phrase, when someone is firing you, sometimes they say it in a polite way, right? Umefutwa kazi! Not to make you feel like, okay, oh the world is ending... but there are those ones who come literally and say Umefutwa kazi! You know what I mean? Like you're fired, like, literally, it's like fire is coming on its way right there and then, and you feel like hell is breaking loose. But you know what? It's one phrase that we do not really want to hear, and neither do we want to tell. Imagine someone is fired, I mean, I have friends who have been fired, and they will never want to tell, you'll just see by yourself; you don't see them getting out of the house and you're like, "oh what happened?" You don't even want to go ask, you know? You're afraid so you ask the neighbors, you hear from the neighbor that, oh, Umefutwa kazi! Which is kind of very sad. it's not a phrase that you want to hear, not from your good friend either, right?
5. Sio wewe, ni mimi. "It is not you, it is me."
You know, this is one of the common phrases we hear when people are breaking up, usually, someone says this to take responsibility of the situation, make the breaking up, it sounds like polite, but it's like a cliche narrator, and it's not a fun word to say.
Sio wewe, ni mimi. I hope you never meet this word, I wish you luck.
6. Asante kwa wasifu wako. Hata hivyo, nafasi hiyo ishachukuliwa.
"Thank you for your resume. However, the position has been filled."
Ok, let us imagine you're looking for a job, like, yes, seriously, and honestly, this is seriously in Kenya because we have a pool of under graduates who are looking for jobs every day, you know? You actually advertise for one position like this and you find more than 1,000 applicants. You're like, ok, ok, well, how should I prove myself to be smart and you know, it's like you've applied for one job, you've applied for quite a number of jobs, and this is the same message they send you, it's quite frustrating, you don't want to hear it. Anyway, if you're someone looking for a job, I am praying for you. Do not give up though, keep going, keep filing, that's what we were meant for.
7. Tuwaone watu wengine. "We should see other people."
Now, this is a sad phrase in itself, already, like, it's an explanation in itself, someone is breaking up with you and with that arrogance like "oh, let's go see other people,' you know? It's like he already has many other options. Probably you're just one of them and you're like, oh, he's giving up on you to try the other options. it's quite sad though, right? It's quite sad and like previously, I hope this never comes your way. But the bright side is, you may end up getting someone who'll treat you better than the person who's left you. So never give up hope!
8. Sina pesa yako leo. "I don't have your money today."
Okay, I'm laughing but is it's quite serious. I mean it's quite a common phrase I hear quite from a lot of my friends. You know, when you borrow, when you're lending money, you should lend the amount you know you're willing to lose, that's what my mother tells me every time because you lend this money and you go asking for it, and the person says, "I don't have your money today," and you know, you go back tomorrow and it's another today. So those todays sometimes never come to an end. So whenever you're lending money, just be careful, be careful how much you're lending, and to who. Once bitten twice shy, so if you're lending money to the same person who say that I don't have your money today, ha! You have to think again. I wish you luck in this.
9. Inapaswa tuongee. "We need to talk."
For me, this is one of the phrases that are for real I never want to hear. And when it gets into my ears, I'm like, oh! This is trouble! I get so tensed up, I get so uncomfortable, and I just want to get out of it. I want to ask the person, "ok, let's do it now," so that we end it right now. I don't know about you, please tell us your feelings in the comment sections later, I would like to hear what you say.
10. Nataka siku za kupumzika kutoka kazini. "I want off days."
Now, this is one of the ones you don't want to hear when it's busy in the office, you know? It makes me imagine, like, oh, why do you want days off when it's actually peak time, you know? We have so many clients coming in, then you want days of, are you running away from work? You know? I think you may relate to this if you're in a busy, I mean work area, you're a manager or something like that, you know? it's one word you never want to hear.
Yes! We have come to the end of 10 phrases you never want to hear. Yes, I totally agree! Some of these ones, seriously, I never want to hear. If I know it's coming, I literally run away. Yes, like I'm avoiding that person, you know. You know what I mean? If you could relate to me, I would like to hear from you, please write your comments down there and give us more examples of some of the phrases you never want to hear. See you! Kwaheri!

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