Learn how to ask others to take a photo for you
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| INTRODUCTION |
| In this lesson we’ll introduce a phrase that will definitely come in handy for capturing your memories. Kenya has many beautiful locations, so you’ll want to take lots of pictures of landscapes and monuments. And sometimes, you’ll want to be in the picture or include everyone in your party. For those times, the question “Can you take our picture?” or “Can you take my picture?” will be invaluable! |
| BODY |
| In Swahili, “Can you take our picture?” is |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha tafadhali? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - tu - pi - ga pi - cha ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Once more: |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha tafadhali? |
| The first word, Unaweza, literally means “you can” but it is often used to make requests, and in this case it implies “could you” |
| (slow) U - na - we - za |
| Unaweza |
| The next word, kutupiga, means “take us” when we’re talking about photos. |
| (slow) ku - tu - pi - ga |
| kutupiga |
| You can guess that the word picha means “picture.” |
| (slow) pi - cha |
| picha |
| The last word, tafadhali, turns the sentence into a polite question. |
| (slowa) tafadhali |
| tafadhali |
| All together, that’s |
| (slow) Unaweza kutupiga picha tafadhali? |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha tafadhali? |
| ・ |
| If you just want to ask someone to take a picture—not of anything in particular—that question is |
| Unaweza kupiga picha? |
| Unaweza,“can you”, is a word we have already learned. |
| Unaweza |
| (slow) Unaweza |
| Unaweza |
| kupiga literally means “to beat”, but in this case, it means “to take” |
| kupiga |
| (slow) kupiga |
| kupiga |
| Picha, as we now know, means “picture.” |
| Again, the whole sentence goes... |
| Unaweza kupiga picha? |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - pi - ga pi - cha? |
| Unaweza kupiga picha? |
| “Can you take a picture?” |
| ・ |
| If you are on your own and you want to ask someone to take your picture, you’ll ask |
| Unaweza kunipiga picha tafadhali? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - ni - pi - ga pi - cha ta - fa - dha - li? |
| Again at natural speed: |
| Unaweza kunipiga picha tafadhali? |
| Unaweza is “can you” |
| (slow) Unaweza |
| Unaweza |
| The second word, kunipiga, implies “take me” in the context of photographing. |
| (slow) ku - ni - pi - ga |
| kunipiga |
| picha, as you may now have guessed, means “picture” |
| It is followed with the word for “please”, tafadhali. |
| All together, this will be: |
| Unaweza kunipiga picha tafadhali? |
| ・ |
| If the person you’re asking is younger than you and there’s no need to be polite, you simply remove tafadhali. This will sound like this: |
| Unaweza kunipiga picha? |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - ni - pi - ga pi - cha? |
| Unaweza kunipiga picha? |
| And if you want to ask a young person to take a picture of your whole group: |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha? |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - tu - pi - ga pi - cha? |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha? |
| Just change kunipiga to kutupiga. |
| (slow) kutupiga |
| kutupiga |
| Altogether, that’s |
| (slow) U - na - we - za ku - tu - pi - ga pi - cha? |
| Unaweza kutupiga picha? |
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