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Pronunciation
If you want to be better understood when speaking Swahili, pronounce the words slowly. Pronounce syllables distinctly giving each equal weight, and pronounce all vowels in full. In English vowels are often shortened in some syllables or accented in others. In Swahili vowels are pronounced completely and distinctly. Vowels
| English | Swahili | |||||||
| a | as in | car | baba | father | ||||
| e | as in | day | pesa | money | ||||
| i | as in | bee | simba | lion | ||||
| o | as in | cold | moto | fire | ||||
| u | as in | too | matunda | fruit | ||||
Consonants
Special consonants include:| dh | as in | this | ||
| th | as in | thing | ||
| ny | as in | Spanish - senora | ||
| ng' | as in | singing | ||
| gh |
pronounced like "g" with a slight gargle | |||
| r |
same as in Spanish; similar to pronouncing "d" |
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