Learn what asante means in Swahili
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Intro |
|---|
| Antoni: What does asante mean in Swahili? |
| Gertrude: And how do you respond to it? |
| Antoni: At SwahiliPod101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following situation, Gabriel Garcia thanks Grace Njenga. He says, |
| "Thank you. " |
| Gabriel Garcia: Asante. |
| Dialogue |
| Gabriel Garcia: Asante. |
| Grace Njenga: Karibu. |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Gabriel Garcia: Asante. |
| Antoni: "Thank you." |
| Grace Njenga: Karibu. |
| Antoni: "You are welcome." |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: When learning a new language, one of the first phrases we often familiarize ourselves with is "Thank you." Saying "Thank you" is the simplest form of expressing gratitude. In this lesson, we will learn how to say "Thank you," or, in Swahili, |
| Gertrude: Asante |
| Antoni: as well as how to respond to it. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Gabriel Garcia says "Thank you"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Gertrude: Asante. |
| Antoni: This is one expression that you will hear often when you visit Swahili-speaking countries. It means "thank you" and is the Swahili way of showing gratitude. This expression is used when addressing one person. If you want to say "thank you" to a group of people, the expression you should use is the plural |
| Gertrude: asanteni |
| Antoni: Both expressions are often accompanied with |
| Gertrude: sana |
| Antoni: which means "a lot" or "very much." If you want to say "Thank you very much" or "Thanks a lot," you say, |
| Gertrude: Asante sana. |
| Antoni: Or, when addressing more than one person, |
| Gertrude: Asanteni sana. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Antoni: Now let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Grace Njenga says "You are welcome"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Gertrude: Karibu. |
| Antoni: Although the word literally means "nearby" or "almost," in Swahili, it is also used to mean "Welcome." It is the simplest and most common response to "Thank you." If you want to say, "You are welcome," you can say, |
| Gertrude: Unakaribishwa. |
| Antoni: When addressing more than one person, you say, |
| Gertrude: karibuni |
| Antoni: Another way to respond to "Thank you" in Swahili is to say |
| Gertrude: kamwe |
| Antoni: This expression literally means "not at all," but when used as a response to "Thank you," it could mean "Don’t mention it" or "Don’t mind it." A similar expression would be |
| Gertrude: Hakuna shida. |
| Antoni: which means "No problem." |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: So far, you’ve learned what it means when you say |
| Gertrude: Asante, |
| Antoni: which in Swahili is "Thank you." You’ve also learned a couple of variations of the expression, as well as several ways to respond to it. |
| Expansion/Contrast (Optional) |
| Antoni: While there is only one word for "Thank you" in Swahili, there are other ways you can show gratitude using Swahili. One is by saying, |
| Gertrude: Hivyo ni vizuri sana kwako. |
| Mike" This means "That’s very kind of you." This is something you would say to someone who does you a favor and goes an extra mile just to do it. Another one is by saying, |
| Gertrude: Matendo yako yanathaminiwa sana. |
| Antoni: or "Your actions are well appreciated." This is a simple way to show appreciation for what someone has done for you. Here’s another one: |
| Gertrude: Nina deni kwako. |
| Antoni: This means "I am indebted to you" or "I owe you one." And, finally, you can also say, |
| Gertrude: Ninashukuru sana. |
| Antoni: This one means "I am truly grateful." You can then just add to what you are grateful for. For instance, you can say, |
| Gertrude: Ninashukuru sana kwa ukarimu wako. |
| Antoni: or "I am truly grateful for your hospitality." |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Antoni: The most common way to say "Thank you" in Swahili is by saying, |
| Gertrude: Asante |
| Antoni: It can be used in both formal and informal situations, which means you can’t go wrong with it. However, there may be instances when you need to use the more polite version, which is |
| Gertrude: Shukrani |
| Antoni: The expression is derived from the word |
| Gertrude: shukran |
| Antoni: which means "grateful," although it is commonly used to mean "Thank you." And, yes, you can use it with the word, |
| Gertrude: sana |
| Antoni: if you want to say "Many thanks" or "Thank you very much." |
| Gertrude: Shukrani sana! |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Gertrude: Nitakuona hivi karibuni! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Gertrude (Swahili, Kenya), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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