Introduction
Swahili is a language that fuses African Bantu with Arabic. Arab sailors and traders have established links and ties with East Africa for centuries, their language strongly merged with the local language to produce a creole derivative.
The word Swahili itself is derived from Arabic Sawahili سواحلي which is plural for ساحل meaning [Language] of the Coast.
This article gives some examples of Arabic words still in today's Swahili.
Here are some words.
| Swahili | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hatari | خطر | Danger. Also the title of a 1962 movie starring John Wayne, set in Africa. |
| Safari | سفر | Travel. Also: trip |
| mahali | محل | Place |
| vitabu | كتاب | Book |
| msumari | مسمار | Nail |
| kata | قطع | Cut, chop |
| habari | خبر | news |
| huru | حر | free |
| dhamiri | ضمير | conscience |
| kamusi | قاموس | dictionary |
| baridi | بارد | cold |
| samahani | سامحني | forgive me, excuse me |
| rafiki | رفيق | companion, friend |
| tafadhali | تفضل | please |
| furahi | فرح | happy |
Time
The terms for time are strongly influenced by Arabic. Many of it taken by the prayer times of Islam.
| Swahili | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| asubuhi | صبح | morning |
| dakika | دقيقة | minute |
| saa | ساعة | hour |
| wakati | وقت | time |
| alasri | العصر | late afternoon |
| magharibi | المغرب | sunset |
| alfajiri | الفجر | dawn |
| karne | قرن | century |
The Swahili names for the first five days of the week all start with Juma, then the order of the day of the week, Saturday being the first day of the week. Jumaa is derived from the Arabic word جمعة which means Friday, as well as "week. Only two days of the week got the Arabic names:
| Swahili | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| alkhamisi | الخميس | Thursday |
| ijumaa | الجمعة | Friday |
Animal Names
Animal names are all native African Bantu (e.g. simba lion). However, there are a few exceptions.
| Swahili | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Tausi | طاوس | Peacock, being non-native to Africa, it took the Arabic name, which in turn took it from Persian. |
Numbers
The number system is also heavily Arabic, although not exclusively so.
| Swahili | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nusu | نص | Half. The proper classical Arabic word is نصف nisf. In many present day dialects it is "nus", like in Swahili. |
| robo | ربع | Quarter |
| sita | ستة | 6 |
| saba | سبعة | 7 |
| tisa | تسعة | 9 |
| ishrini | عشرين | 20 |
| thalathini | ثلاثين | 30 |
| arubaini | أربعين | 40 |
| hamsini | خمسين | 50 |
| sitini | ستين | 60 |
| sabini | سبعين | 70 |
| thamanini | ثمانين | 80 |
| tisini | تسعين | 90 |
| mia | مئة | 100. The middle letter in classical Arabic is Hamza, however, in present day dialects, like Swahili, it is a Y sound. |
| elfu | ألف | 1000 |
Resources
Here are some useful links on Swahili.
- List of useful Swahili words
- History of Swahili.
- Wikipedia page on Swahili.
- Ethnologue page on Swahili.
- Omniglot page on Swahili.
Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
Some more words.....
Fri, 2006/10/27 - 12:34Salaam, I'm half Kenyan and half American and wanted to know if something else should be added?
What about the following words derived from Arabic in Swahili:
1. farasi- horse
2. Naam- certainly (yes)
3. Isha- finish/end - e.g. in Swhahili imekwisha [derived: (Islamic)] [Terminology: Islamic late evening/night prayer]
4. Saidia/saidiwa/msaada- help
5. Dunia- world/global
6. Ridhi- approve/consent/content
7. Jadi- ancestors/ancestry
8. Karatasi- pieces of paper
9. kibarua-employment/labor
10. kitabu-book
Anonymous (not verified)
you could also add fish,
Sun, 2009/07/12 - 05:07you could also add fish, which i'm sure is samaki.
Anonymous (not verified)
Some more words to add of
Wed, 2007/04/25 - 14:30Some more words to add of Arabic Origin
Waziri-Minister
Rais-President
Jamuhuri-Republic
Fedha-Finance/Money
Mhasibu-Accountant
Hesabu-Mathematics
Hak-Right(s)
Dini-Religion
Swali-Pray
Lindsey (not verified)
Thank you
Sat, 2007/04/28 - 15:55Hey, thanks for the great list of swahili words. I'm really trying to learn the language. Not for any special reason...but it's nice to expand your network. At this moment I am studying spanish, french, vietnamese, japanese, german, and swahili. I love languages and I thank you for helping me take one more step towards being a very fluent person. By the time I turn sixteen, I want to be able to speak all languages, even if I only know a few words from each. It may be difficult to do in two years but I know I can do it! Thanks again.
kamusi.co.tz (not verified)
if you are learning swahili, this is a nice place to start.....
Fri, 2008/08/15 - 05:59visit this website if you are learning swahili. its a nice place to start and offers personal help on their forum
http://www.kamusi.co.tz
Martin (not verified)
All these Languages?
Tue, 2009/03/24 - 10:10Can you now speak a little of the given above languages? That is two years down the line. I can help you out with both Swahili and German.If you are interested.On the other hand I can try out spanish with you.I use every available moment to learn spanish.I will thereafter learn portugiese.
Anonymous (not verified)
List of Swahili words of Arabic origin
Tue, 2010/12/28 - 04:15Here you find a growing list (now about 300 words) of Swahili words of Arabic origin, with translation in Arabic, English, french and Dutch: http://vdbrempt.be/SwArab
Miguel (not verified)
Thanks for that!
Thu, 2007/06/21 - 08:54Hi,, tonight at the mess (I work in a mining co.) I just talked to the fellow next to me and he happened to be from East Congo, I was impressed to learn that he speaks (appart from english) French and Swahili. He also told me that Swahili is close to arabic and I am just amazed of how much it actually is!. I speak spanish and because the arabs occupied the spanish peninsula for so many years (Al-andaluz caliphate) I can also relate some sapanish words of arabic origin, here are some:
aceite: oil. From Arabic az-zayt (الزيت) "oil."
aceituna: olive. From Arabic الزيتون (az-zaytun) "olive."
acequia: irrigation canal. From Arabic as-saqiyah (الساقية)"the irrigator."
ademán: gesticulation which expresses the will to do something. From Arabic aD-Daman (الضمان), literally meaning legal guarantees. The change of meaning is due to the exaggerated promises and gesticulations which were offered in such a plea.
aduana: customs house; customs. From Arabic diwan (ديوان).
... just a few from the wikipedia, but there several others!
cheers,
pytlozvejk (not verified)
Another Spanish word from Arabic
Mon, 2008/05/19 - 20:42How about Spanish "arroz", from Arabic "ar-ruzz", meaning "rice"?
BTW, "zaytun" in Arabic is the plural, meaning "olives". "Zayt" is the singular, viz Hebrew "zayit".
Note: in Arabic, words beginning with "sun" letters, such as "r" and "s", change the definite article "al" to "ar", "as", and so on. Hence "dar es-salaam", abode of peace. Ar-ruzz and az-zayt are part of this pattern. They're called "sun" letters because the word for sun is "shams" (viz Hebrew "shemesh").
salem (not verified)
actually the word zaytun is
Tue, 2014/04/08 - 10:18actually the word zaytun is also there in swahili, it is written Zaituni, meaning olive too
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