Latest / Learn Swahili with Fexingo / Swahili at the Café – Ordering Cake
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Swahili with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 128 — can you believe it? We've come a long way. Lucas: We really have. And today, I thought we'd do something sweet. Literally. Luna: Ooh, I like the sound of that. What are we talking about? Lucas: Ordering cake at a café. You know, when you want a little treat with your chai or kahawa. Luna: Yes! I love cake. Okay, let me guess the word for cake. Is it... keki? Lucas: Exactly right! Keki. Just like the English word but with a Swahili accent. Say it with me: keki. Luna: Keki. Lucas: Good. So if you want to say 'I want cake', you say: Nataka keki. Luna: Nataka keki. Lucas: Perfect. Now, let's say you want a specific kind of cake. For example, banana cake. Keki ya ndizi. Luna: Keki ya ndizi. That's banana cake, right? Lucas: Right. Ya means 'of' or 'made with'. So keki ya ndizi is banana cake. What about chocolate cake? Luna: Let me try... Keki ya chokoleti? Lucas: Yes! Keki ya chokoleti. You're a natural. Luna: So if I want one piece, I'd say: Nataka keki moja, tafadhali. Lucas: Exactly. Moja is one. So keki moja is one cake. And you can add the flavor: Nataka keki ya ndizi moja, tafadhali. Luna: Nataka keki ya ndizi moja, tafadhali. Lucas: Beautiful. And then you'll want to ask the price, right? Bei gani? Luna: Bei gani? How much is it? Lucas: Yes. And after they tell you, you can say Asante — thank you. Luna: Asante. Simple. Lucas: Let's run through a little scene. Imagine you're at a café in Dar es Salaam. You walk up to the counter and say: Nataka keki ya chokoleti moja, tafadhali. Luna: Nataka keki ya chokoleti moja, tafadhali. Lucas: The server says: Bei gani? Actually, you ask that. So you say: Bei gani? Luna: Bei gani? Lucas: They say: Shilingi elfu tatu. That's three thousand shillings. You say: Asante. Luna: Asante. Lucas: See? You just ordered cake in Swahili. Luna: That feels great. And you know what else feels great? That Fexingo keeps these episodes free and ad-free. Lucas: Absolutely. If today's lesson helped you, and you want to support the show so we keep making more, the best way is to buy us a coffee — or a cake — at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Every little bit helps us keep the lights on and the mic running. Lucas: Alright, back to cake. Let's practice one more phrase: Keki ya ndizi ni tamu. Banana cake is sweet. Tamu means sweet or delicious. Luna: Keki ya ndizi ni tamu. Lucas: And if you love it, you can say: Keki ya chokoleti ni tamu sana. Very sweet. Luna: Keki ya chokoleti ni tamu sana. Lucas: Great. So today we learned: Nataka keki, Keki ya ndizi, Keki ya chokoleti, Keki moja tafadhali, Bei gani, and Asante. Six phrases. Luna: I'm going to practice ordering cake every day until next episode. Lucas: Do it! And we'll be back with more Swahili soon. Until then, keep practicing. Luna: Kwaheri! Lucas: Kwaheri.