Handy Swahili Phrases
Created | Updated Mar 17, 2005
Swahili is a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in Eastern and Central Africa.
Pronunciation
Pronouncing Swahili is not difficult. The language is written phonetically and doesn't contain sounds that would feel particularly alien to English speakers.
The examples in pronunciation refer to Standard British English.
Vowels
i - like the 'i' in 'sanity'
e - as in 'let'
a - as in 'father'
o - as in 'hot'
u - like the 'oo' in 'ooh'
Consonants
| p - as in 'past', i.e. with an extra puff of air1 | z - as in 'zeal' |
| t - as in 'token' | dh - like the 'th' in 'then' |
| k - as in 'kill' | gh - like the 'g' in 'get', but with friction |
| b - like in English | m - like in English |
| d - like in English | n - like in English |
| g - as in 'get' | ny - like the 'ñ' in 'el niño' |
| h - as in 'holy', but slightly stronger | ng' - like the 'ng' in 'singer' |
| f - like in English | ng - like the 'ng' in 'younger' |
| kh - like the 'h' in 'holy', but considerably stronger; like the 'ch' in the German 'Ach!' | l - like in English, but pronounced more to the front of the mouth |
| s - as in 'solemn' | r - a sound between the 'r' in 'merry' and a rolling 'r' |
| sh - as in 'she' | ch - as in 'church' |
| th - as in 'thin' | j - as in 'joke' |
| v - like in English, but with stronger friction | w - as in 'we' |
| y - as in 'yolk' |
1The technical term is aspiration.
