English–Swahili Dictionary

Browse common English words and their Swahili translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Use this dictionary to look up everyday vocabulary or as a starting point for learning Swahili.

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Browse common Swahili vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
I	pronoun	mimi	I am ready now. Mimi niko tayari sasa.
you	pronoun	wewe	You are very kind. Wewe ni mwema sana.
he	pronoun	yeye	He is my brother. Yeye ni ndugu yangu.
she	pronoun	yeye	She is at home. Yeye yuko nyumbani.
we	pronoun	sisi	We are going home. Sisi tunaenda nyumbani.
they	pronoun	wao	They work every day. Wao wanafanya kazi kila siku.
what	pronoun	nini	What do you want? Unataka nini?
where	adverb	wapi	Where is the school? Shule iko wapi?
when	adverb	lini	When will you come? Utakuja lini?
who	pronoun	nani	Who is that person? Mtu huyo ni nani?
why	adverb	kwa nini	Why are you sad? Kwa nini una huzuni?
how	adverb	vipi	How do you know? Unajua vipi?
to be	verb	kuwa	They are very happy. Wao wana furaha sana.
to have	verb	kuwa na	I have a book. Nina kitabu.
to do	verb	fanya	We do the work. Tunafanya kazi.
to go	verb	kwenda	They go to school. Wanaenda shuleni.
to come	verb	kuja	Please come here now. Tafadhali njoo hapa sasa.
to see	verb	ona	I see the moon. Ninaona mwezi.
to know	verb	jua	Do you know him? Unamjua?
to think	verb	fikiri	I think about work. Ninafikiria kazi.
to want	verb	taka	They want more water. Wanataka maji zaidi.
to need	verb	hitaji	We need more time. Tunahitaji muda zaidi.
to make	verb	tengeneza	She makes good tea. Yeye anatengeneza chai nzuri.
to take	verb	chukua	Take the book home. Chukua kitabu nyumbani.
to give	verb	pa	Give me the book. Nipe kitabu.
to say	verb	sema	Please say your name. Tafadhali sema jina lako.
to tell	verb	ambia	Tell me the story. Niambie hadithi.
to ask	verb	uliza	Ask the teacher now. Muulize mwalimu sasa.
to find	verb	pata	I found my book. Nilipata kitabu changu.
to look	verb	tazama	Look at the sky. Tazama anga.
to use	verb	tumia	Use this chair today. Tumia kiti hiki leo.
to work	verb	fanya kazi	They work in town. Wanafanya kazi mjini.
to eat	verb	kula	We eat rice tonight. Tunakula wali usiku huu.
to drink	verb	kunywa	Drink water every morning. Kunywa maji kila asubuhi.
to sleep	verb	lala	The child sleeps early. Mtoto analala mapema.
to walk	verb	tembea	We walk to school. Tunatembea kwenda shule.
to run	verb	kimbia	The boy runs fast. Mvulana anakimbia haraka.
to read	verb	soma	I read this book. Ninasoma kitabu hiki.
to write	verb	andika	Write your name here. Andika jina lako hapa.
to speak	verb	sema	She speaks slowly today. Yeye anasema polepole leo.
to listen	verb	sikiliza	Listen to the teacher. Sikiliza mwalimu.
to hear	verb	sikia	I hear the music. Ninasikia muziki.
to buy	verb	nunua	They buy fresh bread. Wananunua mkate mpya.
to sell	verb	uza	We sell tea here. Tunauza chai hapa.
to pay	verb	lipa	Pay the money now. Lipa pesa sasa.
to help	verb	saidia	Please help the child. Tafadhali msaidie mtoto.
to love	verb	penda	I love my family. Ninaipenda familia yangu.
to live	verb	ishi	We live in town. Tunaishi mjini.
to die	verb	kufa	Old trees die slowly. Miti mikubwa hufa polepole.
to learn	verb	jifunza	Children learn at school. Watoto wanajifunza shuleni.
to teach	verb	fundisha	They teach English here. Wanafundisha Kiingereza hapa.
to open	verb	fungua	Open the door now. Fungua mlango sasa.
to close	verb	funga	Close the window please. Funga dirisha tafadhali.
person	noun	mtu	That person is kind. Mtu huyo ni mwema.
man	noun	mwanaume	The man is tall. Mwanaume huyo ni mrefu.
woman	noun	mwanamke	The woman is smiling. Mwanamke anatabasamu.
child	noun	mtoto	The child is sleeping. Mtoto analala.
boy	noun	mvulana	The boy reads quietly. Mvulana anasoma kimya.
girl	noun	msichana	The girl is happy. Msichana ana furaha.
family	noun	familia	My family is big. Familia yangu ni kubwa.
mother	noun	mama	My mother cooks well. Mama yangu anapika vizuri.
father	noun	baba	His father works here. Baba yake anafanya kazi hapa.
friend	noun	rafiki	She is my friend. Yeye ni rafiki yangu.
house	noun	nyumba	The house is new. Nyumba ni mpya.
home	noun	nyumbani	We are home now. Tuko nyumbani sasa.
school	noun	shule	The school is large. Shule ni kubwa.
city	noun	jiji	This city is busy. Jiji hili lina shughuli nyingi.
country	noun	nchi	Our country is peaceful. Nchi yetu ina amani.
world	noun	dunia	The world is changing. Dunia inabadilika.
street	noun	barabara	The street is quiet. Barabara ni tulivu.
room	noun	chumba	The room is clean. Chumba ni safi.
time	noun	wakati	Time moves very fast. Wakati unaenda haraka sana.
day	noun	siku	Today is a good day. Leo ni siku nzuri.
night	noun	usiku	The night is cold. Usiku ni baridi.
morning	noun	asubuhi	The morning is cool. Asubuhi ni yenye baridi.
evening	noun	jioni	The evening is beautiful. Jioni ni nzuri.
week	noun	wiki	This week is busy. Wiki hii ina shughuli nyingi.
month	noun	mwezi	This month is long. Mwezi huu ni mrefu.
year	noun	mwaka	This year is important. Mwaka huu ni muhimu.
today	adverb	leo	I am busy today. Nina shughuli nyingi leo.
tomorrow	adverb	kesho	We leave tomorrow morning. Tunaondoka kesho asubuhi.
yesterday	adverb	jana	She came yesterday evening. Alikuja jana jioni.
now	adverb	sasa	Come here now. Njoo hapa sasa.
sun	noun	jua	The sun is hot. Jua ni kali.
moon	noun	mwezi	The moon is bright. Mwezi unang'aa.
star	noun	nyota	That star is bright. Nyota hiyo inang'aa.
sky	noun	anga	The sky is blue. Anga ni la buluu.
earth	noun	dunia	The earth is round. Dunia ni ya mviringo.
fire	noun	moto	The fire is hot. Moto ni mkali.
water	noun	maji	Water is very important. Maji ni muhimu sana.
rain	noun	mvua	The rain is heavy. Mvua ni kubwa.
wind	noun	upepo	The wind is strong. Upepo ni mkali.
tree	noun	mti	The tree is tall. Mti ni mrefu.
flower	noun	ua	This flower is beautiful. Ua hili ni zuri.
mountain	noun	mlima	That mountain is high. Mlima huo ni mrefu.
river	noun	mto	The river is long. Mto ni mrefu.
sea	noun	bahari	The sea is calm. Bahari ni tulivu.
food	noun	chakula	The food is ready. Chakula kiko tayari.
bread	noun	mkate	The bread is fresh. Mkate ni mpya.
rice	noun	wali	The rice tastes good. Wali una ladha nzuri.
meat	noun	nyama	The meat is hot. Nyama ni moto.
fish	noun	samaki	The fish is fresh. Samaki ni wabichi.
egg	noun	yai	The egg is broken. Yai limevunjika.
milk	noun	maziwa	The milk is warm. Maziwa ni ya uvuguvugu.
fruit	noun	tunda	This fruit is sweet. Tunda hili ni tamu.
tea	noun	chai	The tea is hot. Chai ni moto.
coffee	noun	kahawa	The coffee smells good. Kahawa inanukia vizuri.
head	noun	kichwa	My head hurts today. Kichwa changu kinauma leo.
eye	noun	jicho	Her eye is red. Jicho lake ni jekundu.
ear	noun	sikio	My ear hurts badly. Sikio langu linauma sana.
mouth	noun	mdomo	Open your mouth wide. Fungua mdomo wako vizuri.
nose	noun	pua	My nose is cold. Pua yangu ni baridi.
hand	noun	mkono	Wash your hand now. Osha mkono wako sasa.
foot	noun	mguu	His foot is injured. Mguu wake umeumia.
heart	noun	moyo	My heart is strong. Moyo wangu una nguvu.
name	noun	jina	My name is Asha. Jina langu ni Asha.
book	noun	kitabu	This book is new. Kitabu hiki ni kipya.
word	noun	neno	That word is difficult. Neno hilo ni gumu.
language	noun	lugha	Swahili is a beautiful language. Kiswahili ni lugha nzuri.
money	noun	pesa	I need more money. Ninahitaji pesa zaidi.
work	noun	kazi	The work is hard. Kazi ni ngumu.
love	noun	upendo	Love is very important. Upendo ni muhimu sana.
music	noun	muziki	The music is beautiful. Muziki ni mzuri.
story	noun	hadithi	That story is true. Hadithi hiyo ni ya kweli.
way	noun	njia	This way is easy. Njia hii ni rahisi.
thing	noun	kitu	This thing is important. Kitu hiki ni muhimu.
life	noun	maisha	Life is not easy. Maisha si rahisi.
door	noun	mlango	The door is open. Mlango uko wazi.
table	noun	meza	The table is clean. Meza ni safi.
chair	noun	kiti	This chair is strong. Kiti hiki ni imara.
car	noun	gari	The car is fast. Gari ni la haraka.
good	adjective	nzuri	This book is good. Kitabu hiki ni kizuri.
bad	adjective	mbaya	The weather is bad. Hali ya hewa ni mbaya.
big	adjective	kubwa	The house is big. Nyumba ni kubwa.
small	adjective	ndogo	The room is small. Chumba ni kidogo.
new	adjective	mpya	I have a new car. Nina gari jipya.
old	adjective	zee	That house is old. Nyumba hiyo ni ya zamani.
long	adjective	refu	The road is long. Barabara ni ndefu.
short	adjective	fupi	The story is short. Hadithi ni fupi.
high	adjective	juu	The mountain is high. Mlima uko juu.
low	adjective	chini	The table is low. Meza iko chini.
hot	adjective	moto	The tea is hot. Chai ni moto.
cold	adjective	baridi	The water is cold. Maji ni baridi.
happy	adjective	furaha	The children are happy. Watoto wana furaha.
sad	adjective	huzuni	She feels sad today. Ana huzuni leo.
beautiful	adjective	nzuri	The flower is beautiful. Ua ni zuri.
easy	adjective	rahisi	This lesson is easy. Somo hili ni rahisi.
hard	adjective	ngumu	This work is hard. Kazi hii ni ngumu.
fast	adjective	haraka	This car is fast. Gari hili ni la haraka.
slow	adjective	polepole	The turtle is slow. Kobe ni wa polepole.
right	adjective	sahihi	Your answer is right. Jibu lako ni sahihi.
wrong	adjective	kosa	That answer is wrong. Jibu hilo ni kosa.
important	adjective	muhimu	Water is important for life. Maji ni muhimu kwa maisha.
true	adjective	kweli	That story is true. Hadithi hiyo ni ya kweli.
full	adjective	jaa	The glass is full. Glasi imejaa.
empty	adjective	tupu	The room is empty. Chumba ni tupu.
young	adjective	changa	The boy is young. Mvulana ni mchanga.
strong	adjective	nguvu	That man is strong. Mwanaume huyo ana nguvu.
weak	adjective	dhaifu	The child feels weak. Mtoto anahisi dhaifu.
red	adjective	nyekundu	The flower is red. Ua ni jekundu.
blue	adjective	buluu	The sky is blue. Anga ni la buluu.
green	adjective	kijani	The tree is green. Mti ni wa kijani.
yellow	adjective	njano	The flower is yellow. Ua ni la njano.
black	adjective	nyeusi	The car is black. Gari ni jeusi.
white	adjective	nyeupe	The milk is white. Maziwa ni meupe.
yes	interjection	ndiyo	Yes, I know him. Ndiyo, ninamjua.
no	interjection	hapana	No, I am busy. Hapana, nina shughuli nyingi.
not	adverb	si	This is not true. Hii si kweli.
and	conjunction	na	Tea and bread are ready. Chai na mkate viko tayari.
or	conjunction	au	Tea or coffee is fine. Chai au kahawa ni sawa.
but	conjunction	lakini	I am tired but happy. Nimechoka lakini nina furaha.
if	conjunction	ikiwa	If it rains, stay home. Ikiwa mvua inanyesha, baki nyumbani.
because	conjunction	kwa sababu	I stayed home because rain fell. Nilibaki nyumbani kwa sababu mvua ilinyesha.
with	preposition	na	I came with my friend. Nilikuja na rafiki yangu.
without	preposition	bila	He left without money. Aliondoka bila pesa.
for	preposition	kwa ajili ya	This gift is for you. Zawadi hii ni kwa ajili yako.
from	preposition	kutoka	She came from school. Alikuja kutoka shuleni.
to	preposition	kwenda	We walked to town. Tulitembea kwenda mjini.