Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 15 - Going Shopping for a New Outfit in Kenya. John Here.
Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to discuss color, size, and amount. The conversation takes place at a shop.
Medina: It's between Carol and a shopkeeper.
John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context, therefore, they will speak both formal and informal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Muuzaji: Karibu ndani ya duka ununue.
Carol: Unauza sketi?
Muuzaji: Ndio. Njoo uone tuko na sketi za rangi na miundo tofauti.
Carol: Mimi nataka sketi nyekundu, ndefu na ya ukubwa wa nambari arobaine na nne.
Muuzaji: Haya...ebu pima hii hapa.
Carol: Ni bei gani?
Muuzaji: Shillingi elfu moja tu.
Carol: Haya basi. Shika pesa nitainunua.
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Muuzaji: Karibu ndani ya duka ununue.
Carol: Unauza sketi?
Muuzaji: Ndio. Njoo uone tuko na sketi za rangi na miundo tofauti.
Carol: Mimi nataka sketi nyekundu, ndefu na ya ukubwa wa nambari arobaine na nne.
Muuzaji: Haya...ebu pima hii hapa.
Carol: Ni bei gani?
Muuzaji: Shillingi elfu moja tu.
Carol: Haya basi. Shika pesa nitainunua.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Shopkeeper: Welcome to the shop and buy.
Carol: Are you selling skirts?
Shopkeeper: Yes. Come and see. We have skirts in different colors and designs.
Carol: I want a long red skirt, size forty-four.
Shopkeeper: Okay... then you should fit this one here.
Carol: What’s the price?
Shopkeeper: Just one thousand shillings.
Carol: Okay then. Here’s the money. I’ll take it.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Shopping and buying products can be different from one country to another. Medina, what can you tell us about Kenya?
Medina: The buying culture in Kenya is that you walk into a store. You identify something you like in terms of color, design, and size. And finally, you pay for it.
John: So, not really different than America or Europe.
Medina: Right, but in Kenya it’s also common to see open air markets. Here, they sell a wide range of products, from food to clothes to houseware plastics and other consumables.
John: That sounds different and interesting. What’s the Swahili expression to refer to an “open air market?”
Medina: Soko la kiwanjani
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: ununue [natural native speed]
John: to shop
Medina: ununue[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ununue [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: miundo [natural native speed]
John: designs
Medina: miundo[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: miundo [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: sketi [natural native speed]
John: skirt
Medina: sketi[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: sketi [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: rangi [natural native speed]
John: color
Medina: rangi[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: rangi [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: ukubwa [natural native speed]
John: size
Medina: ukubwa[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ukubwa [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: nyekundu [natural native speed]
John: red
Medina: nyekundu[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: nyekundu [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: ndefu [natural native speed]
John: long
Medina: ndefu[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ndefu [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: pima [natural native speed]
John: to fit
Medina: pima[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: pima [natural native speed]
John: And lastly...
Medina: bei [natural native speed]
John: fee
Medina: bei[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: bei [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 phrase is...
Medina: sketi ndefu
John: meaning "long skirt."
Medina: Sketi is a noun that originates from the English "skirt." While ndefu is an adjective describing length.
John: Can you break this word down for us?
Medina: Sure. Ndefu, meaning "long," stems from -efu. The nd is the agreeing prefix given the noun class.
John: This phrase is commonly used while out shopping, or when explaining a design to a tailor. But you can also use it in any other instance to describe clothing.
Medina: Some people may choose to say rinda instead of sketi. The two words are synonyms. So you can also say rinda ndefu.
John: Can you give us an example using one of the two phrases?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Mimi hukaa vizuri na sketi ndefu.
John: ...which means "I look good in a long skirt."
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Medina: bei nafuu
John: meaning "cheap price."
Medina: This phrase is made of the noun bei,
John: meaning "price,"
Medina: and the adjective nafuu,
John: meaning "cheap." This phrase is used when out shopping when comparing prices.
Medina: Bei nafuu is also used when referring to discounts.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Ukinunua kwa bei nafuu utaokoa pesa.
John: ...which means "When you buy with cheap prices, you save money."
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn about discussing color, size, and amount. More specifically, we’ll see how to use these details to ask for what you want.
Medina: In the dialogue, there’s a good example: Mimi nataka sketi nyekundu, ndefu na ya ukubwa wa nambari arobaine na nne.
John: Which means “I want a long red skirt, size forty-four.”
Medina: Like in the dialogue, you use the Swahili verb nataka
John: This means “I want,” and you can use it to say what you want. Let’s break this down.
Medina: Sure. The na stands for “I,” referring to oneself. -taka means “want.”
John: What if you want to refer to someone else?
Medina: If you want to refer to someone else, you say anataka
John: “she wants,”
Medina: or unataka
John: “you want.”
Medina: Both are for present tense cases. The a- or u- are the two prefixes used to refer to someone else.
John: Are there other similar words?
Medina: Some people may use nahitaji, meaning “I need.” You can also use napenda, meaning “I like,” to express your wants. For example, Nahitaji kukunywa maji mengi ili nipoteze uzito.
John: “I need to drink a lot of water to lose weight.”
Medina: Napenda kuvaa sketi ndefu.
John: “I like putting on long skirts.” Ok, now let’s see how to ask for a specific color.
Medina: In the dialogue, the customer says Mimi nataka sketi nyekundu, ndefu na ya ukubwa wa nambari arobaine na nne.
John: which means “I want a long red skirt, size forty-four.”
Medina: The noun rangi, meaning “color,” is used when talking about different spectral compositions of visible light.
John: In Swahili, color nouns are also adjectives to describe things or nouns. The prefix of color is written according to the noun class of the qualifying noun.
Medina: For example in the dialogue, nyekundu, which refers to color red has the prefix ny-. The root is -ekundu.
John: Let’s list some colors in Swahili and give some sample sentences
Medina: samawati
John: This means “blue” and doesn’t get any root.
Medina: For example, you can say Nguo za wasimamizi arusi ni za samawati.
John: Which means “Maiden clothes for the wedding are blue in color.” What is “yellow” in Swahili?
Medina: The root for “yellow” is -njano. For example, you can say Manjano ni mchanganyiko wa rangi nyekundu na ile ya kijani kibichi.
John: “Yellow is a mixture of colors red and green.”
Medina: “Brown” is Hudhurungi. Here’s an example: Mikate ya hudhurungi hutumiwa sana na watu wasiotaka kuongeza uzito.
John: Which means “Brown breads are commonly used by people who do not want to gain weight.” Lastly, let’s see how to ask for a specific size, which can be useful when you are shopping.
Medina: “Size” in Swahili translates to ukubwa.
John: What are the sizes in Kenya?
Medina: For example, we have “XXL” which is called kubwa zaidi. “XL” is called ukubwa wa kati and “L” kubwa.
John: Skirts and trousers mostly use the same size system.
Medina: Right. In order to be able to describe your size, you can use words such as nipe,
John: meaning “give me,”
Medina: saizi which is synonym for ukubwa, meaning “size.” Next we have vaa,
John: meaning “to wear,”
Medina: pima,
John: meaning “to fit,” and much more. Let’s give some sample sentences.
Medina: Sure, for example you can say Nataka kununua shati la ukubwa wa XXL kwa vile mimi ni mnene.
John: “I want to buy an XXL size shirt since I am big.”
Medina: Nipe sketi saizi ishirini na mbili ya mtoto wangu.
John: “Give me a size twenty two skirt for my child.”

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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