Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
In the previous lesson, we covered how to buy a train ticket. Once you’ve confirmed your destination, it’s time to select the type of seat you want.
BODY
Normally in Kenya, you can choose amongst daraja la kwanza - “first class”, or daraja la pili - “second class”, or daraja la tatu - “third class” .
Let's break those down:
(slow) da - ra - ja la kwa - nza
daraja la kwanza
(slow) da - ra - ja la pi - li.
daraja la pili.
(slow) da - ra - ja la ta-tu
daraja la tatu
daraja literally means “bridge”, but in this case it implies “class”.
(slow) da - ra - ja
daraja
Towards the end we have la kwanza, which means “the first”.
la kwanza
(slow) la kwanza
la kwanza
The second phrase has the same structure as the first, except that instead we used la pili, which means “the second”.
(slow) la pi - li.
la pili.
The third phrase has a similar structure as the two mentioned before, except that instead we used tatu, which means “the third”.
(slow) la ta - tu
Once again, those are daraja la kwanza, daraja la pili and daraja la tatu.
Imagine you want to buy a first-class ticket. The destination this time will be Mombasa.
“A first-class ticket to Mombasa, please,” in Swahili is
Tiketi la daraja la kwanza hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
Let’s break that down:
(slow) Ti - ke - ti la da - ra - ja la kwa - nza ha - di Mo - mba - sa, ta - fa - dha - li.
And once again:
Tiketi la daraja la kwanza hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
We saw this structure in the previous lesson. All we’ve done this time is add daraja la kwanza,“first-class”, to the word “ticket”
Tiketi, as we have seen before, means “ticket”
tiketi
(slow) tiketi
tiketi
daraja la kwanza literally means “the first bridge” because daraja is the word for “bridge”, but in this case, it means “class”
daraja
(slow) daraja
daraja
The phrase la kwanza is a word for “first.”
la kwanza
(slow) la kwanza
la kwanza
If you want to buy a second-class ticket, you just change kwanza, “first”, to pili, “second”:
Tiketi la daraja la pili hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
(slow) Tiketi la da - ra - ja la pi - li ha - di Mo - mba - sa, ta - fa - dha - li.
Tiketi la daraja la pili hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
Imagine you want to buy a third class ticket. You just change kwanza, “first”, or pili, “second” to tatu:
“A third-class ticket to Mombasa, please.”
Tiketi la daraja la tatu hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
(slow) Tiketi la da - ra - ja la ta - tu ha - di Mo - mba - sa, ta - fa - dha - li.
Tiketi la daraja la tatu hadi Mombasa, tafadhali.
In Kenya, both first and second classes offer bed and breakfast services, but the third class offers the seat only. First class offers two-berth compartments, while second class offers four. The sexes are separated, unless you book the whole compartment. These differences makes a first class ticket a little expensive. Now let’s imagine you want a ticket for the first class with both compartments.
The sentence for this is
Tiketi la daraja la kwanza na vyumba vyote mbili, tafadhali.
“First class with both compartments, please.”
Tiketi la daraja la kwanza “Ticket for the first class” is a phrase we already learned. Do you remember?
The next two words na vyumba mean “and rooms.”
na vyumba
(slow) na vyumba
na vyumba
The next word, vyote, means “all.”
vyote
(slow) vyote
vyote
Now we meet mbili again. Do you remember it’s the word for “two?”
mbili
(slow) mbili
mbili
The whole sentence will be
(3 sec) Tiketi la daraja la kwanza na vyumba vyote mbili, tafadhali.
(slow) Tiketi la da - ra - ja la kwa - nza na vyu - mba vyo - te mbi - li, ta - fa - dha - li.
Tiketi la daraja la kwanza na vyumba vyote mbili, tafadhali.
Altogether, these words refer to a ticket for the whole compartment in the first class.

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