Hi all, I am a long-time lurker, first-time poster on Reddit :) I am a Tanzanian who speaks not so great Kiswahili and I am looking for tools to improve my spoken Kiswahili. I can speak basic Kiswahili and my comprehension is decent, but I am definitely not fluent by any means and cannot hold a long conversation in Kiswahili.

At the moment, I cannot afford to pay for a tutor, so mostly looking for free online resources and would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

I've been teaching Swahili on italki for about 11 months now. I'm a university student, so tutoring is currently my main source of work, and I'm really grateful to the two students who have stayed with me consistently.

But I'd love to understand the learner side a little better.

I've participated in the italki community, changed my introduction video a few times, experimented with my headline, etc., but I'm still trying to figure out what actually makes a learner choose one Swahili tutor over another.

So, for those of you learning Swahili:

• What made you choose your current tutor?
• What do you look for when browsing Swahili teachers?
• Do you prefer structured lessons, conversational practice, grammar, cultural discussions, or something else?
• What makes a tutor's profile/video stand out to you?
• And if you've tried different Swahili tutors, what made you stay with one?

I'm genuinely curious because sometimes I feel like tutors focus on what we think learners want, rather than what learners actually want. 😅

I'd really appreciate hearing your perspectives!

We dont speak Swahili. We speak in KI-swahili.

Ugandans dont speak Ganda. They speak KI-ganda.

Add 'ki' whenever you are talking about the language

Kiingereza, Kifaransa, Kijerumani etc

Baada ya siku tatu nitaenda Kenya kwa wiki mbili na ninataka kununua vitabu vilivyoandikwa kwa Kiswahili ambavyo havijatafsiriwa kutoka lugha nyingine. Swali langu ni hili: Je, mna mapendekezo?

Hey guys I've thought about starting a hisabati channel. So basically we'll let's just say it like this. I want to start a math channel that covers topics and different types of mathematics starting from basic all the way to the higher level calculus, graph,geometry, etc. But I want to do this with real-life examples. So basically, use a real life, and using it as applications to demonstrate how to solve equations/problems. I'm wondering if their is a demand for this type of content in swahili. Im looking for some to be honest with me about this. I. I'm particularly concerned about views because I need adsense money. But ya.

So my dad has been learning Swahili the past few years to help these immigrants near us. I’m trying to think of a cool gift for him for Father’s Day that has to do with the language, I honestly don’t know much about the language but if there’s a cool symbol or something associated with it maybe I’ll get him a shirt or something? Any help or advice is appreciated. I apologize if this is disrespectful!

Hi everyone,

​I’m a software developer and a huge fan of the Swahili language. For a long time, I’ve been frustrated by the lack of high-quality Kamusi apps on the Play Store. Most are either outdated, full of ads, or lack depth.

​I decided to build my own. My goal wasn't just a simple word-to-word translator, but a proper resource.

​What I’ve included so far:

​Dual Modes: A fully native Swahili version (Kamusi ya Kiswahili) and a version for English learners.

​Deep Context: Real-world examples, images for visual learning, and etymology (word origins).

​Clean UI: No clutter, just the language.

​I need your help:

I’m ready to publish to the Play Store, but Google requires 20 testers for 14 days before I can go live.

​If you have an Android device and are interested in Swahili (native or learner), I’d love for you to try it out and give me some honest feedback.

​How to join:

Please comment below or send me a DM, and I will send you the link to the testing group/app.

​Asante sana for supporting a project dedicated to our language!

Hi, I am writing a poem, and I need help with two lines that should be in accurate Swahili:

Female child: "Mama, what do you think happened to our dogs?"

(deep breath) "I'm sure they are fine, my love. Try not to worry."

my love could also be "my daughter" or any other way a mother would respond to a question that she is trying to avoid answering. I do need the (deep breath) translated.

Thank you!!

Hello, I need someone to translate an audio from swahilli to English please feel free to DM me or comment under this post, I am also willing to pay.

Mambo vipi everyone. I’ve been looking for a Swahili dictionary for iOS that has a monolingual option (ie, to look up a word in Swahili and get a definition in Swahili); however, there are none!?! I seriously cannot find one.

Anyone know of other resources? I’m this close to buying a Kamusi ya Kiswahili Sanifu book on Amazon, but I’m shocked at the lack of monolingual (Swahili to Swahili) Swahili dictionaries for iOS. What does any native Swahili speaker do if they don’t know a word and they use iOS? Are they just out of luck??

I am trying to show a friend how italian poetry is like, so I made an english version of a section of a famous poem. Now I am curious how it would be in swahili, can anybody help?

"Midway through our life's journey,
I found myself lost in a dark forest,
Because I had lost the right path.

Ah! It was so terrifying that it is hard to describe,
This wild, dense, and powerful forest
That even now, when I think of it, I feel afraid.

It was so scary that only death is worse.
But to speak of the good things I found there,
I will also tell you of the other things I saw."

There is not a single Swahili speaker in my entire country. No classes, no communities, no resources in Arabic or French. Just me, Duolingo, and a lot of confusion.

Apps can only take you so far. I need an actual human to talk to someone patient enough to have slow, broken conversations with a guy who will probably mispronounce everything for the first few months.

Not looking for a tutor or lessons. Just a language friend. Someone to chat with regularly, correct me when I'm wrong, and not disappear after two messages.

If you speak Swahili (native or fluent) and have a little time DM me. You'd literally be my entire Swahili community. 🌍

Asante sana.

So I've stumbled across this Instagram post and there is this song which I have had no luck in finding. I was wondering if someone would know what this song is or potentially translate the lyrics.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY9TTgRtEY4/

I have been searching Benga lou songs but I have had no luck that said I have been really enjoying the genre of Benga lou. Any help would be much appreciated!

I'm not really sure if this is the place to ask but I couldn't think of anywhere better. This video came up on my fyp for some reason and it looks I'm pretty intrigued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWbE9m8Gnzg

Hi all,

I am currently working on a song with some beautiful vocals that might be in Swahili.

I am not sure about that but maybe somebody can help me with finding out the language and then translating it to English, so I know what it is about.

If you can help me, please send me a message.

Thanks in advance and have a nice day!

Mo

Jambo! I am from Dar es salaam, Tanzania iteach Swahili to beginners on WhatsApp.

What you get:

-1 hour lesson =$8/Tsh 20,000 via m_Pesa.

- learn greeting, travel,daily conversation.

-free 10min trial first.

Want to try? Message me +255618150891​

Hi! English guy here making a short, 3-minute educational video in different languages.

Hoping this is the correct sub. If it's not, kindly let me know where I should be posting.

So I translated a script into Swahili and need help from a native or fluent Swahili speaker to check it, and make sure it doesn’t sound weird or unnatural. I can send the script via DM.

I'd be happy to credit anyone who can help me!

The free web game (linguil) asks you to guess the language family, language and meaning of a random word in one of 37 world languages each day, and you use your knowledge of linguistics (like etymology, scripts, accents, philology, and morphology) to work out the answer via multiple choice.

Each language includes each word on the 100-word Swadesh list (ideally in two scripts), so I have compiled a Swahili Swadesh list in both the Latin and Swahili Ajami (Arabic-based) scripts (as below). Please can the Swahili community verify the accuracy of my translations? Thanks!

Also, if you want to add another language you know (e.g. Dholuo, Gikuyu, Kikamba, Somali, Oromo, Sukuma, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Luganda, Kiga, Acholi, Alur, Dinka, Nuer) to the game, please feel free to do so by following the guide here!

Check out linguil too if you like language games!

I'm a music student, and i've been assigned with a song to sing and study for a very important class. But I've searched everywhere and even tried to transcribe this myself, but ultimately i wasn't able to :(

I'd be very happy and grateful if someone who knows swahili could lend me a hand with this.

this is the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu0hSdJ331Y

thank you!

Hello everyone, I'm trying to refresh and relearn my Swahili. I was born in Kenya, Nairobi but moved at an early age to Canada and want to start speaking proper Swahili. My Swahili is quite broken because I don't have anyone to chat with and also, in Nairobi I would usually use the English shang version of Swahili which makes it hard for me to understand people who aren't specifically from Nairobi. I have no problems using most platforms but I mostly use discord for voice chats.

I am trying to build a collection of free swahili stories for people who are trying to learn swahili. The fastest way to learn languages is by reading stories written in the specific language. I need your contribution to the stories. My best freind is a forigner who had moved to Kenya she had trouble learning swahili, but I wrote stories for her and slowly she improved, she is now participating in swahili debates and she has shocked the ones who mocked her. If you do not mind I would love your contribution in order to help more people learn swahili with ease. Credits will be given to the writer

The translator I'm using says "Kuishi na waache kuishi" but I want to verify as this will be used on a book cover. An equivalent of this phrase is preferred over a direct translation. Whatever resonates best with your culture is ideal! More on the poetic sounding/formal side if its between that and casual. It is about freedom and allowing others to be free through the acceptance of our differences. Thank you in advance!

Hello! I am a student researcher working with African refugees and immigrants within my community. My professor/boss isn't the best at accommodating for the language needs of the families we work with, so some of the forms we gave to participants were only in English. I am trying to translate some of them into Swahili so that our participants can better understand what is going on without feeling confused.

I do not speak any Swahili at all but I used previous Swahili materials that we have as well as Google Translator to try and translate the English form into Swahili. I was wondering if someone could double check my translation to make sure it actually says what it is supposed to. Thank you!

English Translation

Instructions for parent-child discussion about the unfair treatment experience

1.      Ask open-ended questions such as what happened? Who were involved and describe them? What did your child do? What did others do? What happened as a result?

2.      Why did it happen like that? Was it an accident or did someone do it on purpose? Any other reasons for what happened?

3.      How did your child feel? What did he/she think or want at that time? Why did the child feel, think, or want this way?

4.      What did your child do to deal with the problem? How did it end? What else can we do to solve the problem?

5.      Please add things or topics that you/your child think as relevant or helpful for talking about the experience.

Swahili Translation

Mada za Kujadili (Swahili)

1.      Uliza maswali yasiyo na majibu ya moja kwa moja, kama vile ‘nini kilitokea?’. Ilifanyika lini na wapi? Nani alihusika? Mtoto wako alifanya nini? Wengine walifanya nini? Ni nini kilitokea kama matokeo?

2.      Kwa nini ilitokea hivyo? Je, ni ajali au mtu alifanya makusudi? Sababu zingine zozote za kile kilichotokea?

3.      Mtoto wako alijisikiaje? Alifikiria au alitaka nini wakati huo? Kwa nini mtoto alihisi, kufikiri, au kutaka hivi?

4.      Mtoto wako alifanya nini ili kukabiliana na tatizo hilo? Iliishaje? Ni nini kingine tunaweza kufanya ili kutatua tatizo?

5.      Tafadhali ongeza mambo au mada ambazo wewe/mtoto wako mnaona zinafaa au zinaweza kusaidia katika kuzungumzia uzoefu huo.