Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

Eric: Top 25 Swahili Questions You Need to Know - Lesson 24 “Have you ever visited Nairobi?” in Swahili. In each lesson of this 25 part series, you'll encounter a common question for Swahili learners, and then learn how to answer like a native. You'll learn how these key phrases work by breaking them down into each component. Then, through repetition and new vocabulary, you'll expand your understanding of the question, its answers, and any variations.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question “Have you ever visited Nairobi?” In Swahili this is
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi?
Eric: The first word in the question is
Medina: ushawahi
Eric: meaning “have you ever” in English.
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Ushawahi
Eric: Listen again and repeat.
Medina: Ushawahi
{Pause}
Eric: This pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated throughout the series. Try to speak aloud as often as possible. The next word in the question is
Medina: zuru
Eric: meaning “visited”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) zuru
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: zuru
{Pause}
Eric: Listen to the first two words of the question and repeat.
Medina: ushawahi zuru
{pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: Nairobi
Eric: which is “Nairobi.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Nairobi
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: Nairobi
{Pause}
Eric: Listen to the entire question and repeat.
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi?
{pause}
Eric: (You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies.) Master the following pattern and responses to the question “Have you ever visited Nairobi?”
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara mbili.
Eric: "Yes, I've visited two times.” Listen as it’s repeated again, slowly. Repeat the phrase.
Medina: (Slow) Ndio, nimezuru mara mbili.
{pause}
Eric: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word is
Medina: Ndio
Eric: meaning “yes.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Ndio
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: Ndio
{Pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: nimezuru
Eric: meaning “I’ ve visited.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) nimezuru
Eric:Now repeat.
Medina: nimezuru
{Pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: mara
Eric: meaning “times.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) mara
Eric:Now repeat.
Medina: mara
{Pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: mbili
Eric: meaning “two.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) mbili
Eric:Now repeat.
Medina: mbili
{Pause}Eric: Listen to the speaker say "Yes, I've visited two times.” and then repeat.
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara mbili.
{pause}Eric: To expand on the pattern, replace “two times” with “once.”
Medina: mara moja
Eric: once or one time
Medina: (slow) mara moja (regular) mara moja
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “once.”
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara moja.
Eric: It mostly stays the same, simply replace “two times” with “one time.” Now Say "Yes, I've visited once”
{pause}
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara moja.
Eric: To give a different answer, replace “once” with “three times.”
Medina: mara tatu
Eric: “three times”
Medina: (slow) mara tatu (regular) mara tatu
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “three times.”
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara tatu.
Eric: It’s almost the same, just replace “one time” with “three times.” Now Say "Yes, I've visited three times.”
{pause}
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara tatu.
Eric: For more practice, replace “three times” with “many times.”
Medina: mara nyingi
Eric: many times
Medina: (slow) mara nyingi (regular) mara nyingi
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “many times.”
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara nyingi.
Eric: Here we just replace “three times” with “many times.” Now say "Yes, I've visited many times.”
{pause}
Medina: Ndio, nimezuru mara nyingi.
Eric: To say "no" in a simple way, just say
Medina: Hapana, sijazuru.
Eric: Which is like saying “No, I haven’t visited” in English. Let's hear it slowly.
Medina: (Slowly) Hapana, sijazuru.
Eric: And one more time at normal speed.
Medina: Hapana, sijazuru.
Eric: Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you’re visiting Kenya and a stranger asks you if you have visited Nairobi. You want to answer that you’ve visited two times. What would you say?
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi? (five seconds) Ndio, nimezuru mara mbili.
Eric: Now you want to say yes, you’ve visited once. Respond to the question.
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi? (five seconds) Ndio, nimezuru mara moja.
Eric: You want to say yes, you’ve visited three times . Answer the speaker's question.
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi? (five seconds) Ndio, nimezuru mara tatu.
Eric: You want to answer that you’ve visited many times. How would you answer?
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi? (five seconds) Ndio, nimezuru mara nyingi.
Eric: You want to ask someone if they’ve visited Nairobi. Ask the question.
(5 seconds)
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi?
{pause}
Eric: Now it's time to answer the question with actual information about yourself.
Medina: Ushawahi zuru Nairobi?
{pause}
Eric: This is the end of Lesson 24.

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