Latest / Learn Swahili with Fexingo / Swahili at the Market – Buying Onions
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Swahili with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 147, can you believe it? It's starting to feel like we're old friends catching up over chai. Lucas: Totally. And speaking of catching up, I was at the market yesterday and realized we've covered buying tomatoes, eggs, fish... but we skipped a real staple. Luna: Oh yeah? What's that? Lucas: Vitunguu. Onions. You need them for almost every Swahili dish — from mchuzi to kachumbari. Luna: Yeah, I love kachumbari. So today we learn how to ask for onions? Lucas: Exactly. First phrase: Nataka vitunguu. Say it with me — Nataka vitunguu. Luna: Nataka vitunguu. Lucas: Perfect. Means 'I want onions.' Now, if the seller asks how many, they'll say: Vitunguu ngapi? Luna: Vitunguu ngapi? That's 'How many onions?' Right? Lucas: You got it. So you reply with the number. Let's say five onions: Vitunguu vitano, tafadhali. Luna: Vitunguu vitano, tafadhali. Vitano is five, from earlier episodes. Lucas: Nice recall. Then you ask the price: Bei gani? Luna: Bei gani? Simple and direct. Lucas: The seller might say: Vitunguu ni shilingi mia moja. Onions are one hundred shillings each. Luna: Shilingi mia moja. So for five, that's shilingi mia tano. Lucas: Exactly. And you say: Asante sana. Thank you very much. Luna: Asante sana. That's one I'll never forget. Lucas: Let's practice the whole exchange. I'll be the seller. Lucas: Karibu. Unataka nini? Luna: Nataka vitunguu. Lucas: Vitunguu ngapi? Luna: Vitunguu vitano, tafadhali. Bei gani? Lucas: Vitunguu ni shilingi mia moja. Luna: Asante sana. Lucas: That was smooth. You're ready for the market. Luna: I love how practical these episodes are. I could actually use this. Lucas: And speaking of using it — if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with Swahili, a few listeners support us through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that keeps the show ad-free and lets us keep making these episodes. No pressure, just if it's helped you. Lucas: Exactly. Now, back to onions. Let's try one more time with a different number. Luna: Okay, let's say I want three onions. Vitunguu vitatu, tafadhali? Lucas: Perfect. Vitatu is three. And if you want just one? Vitunguu kimoja. Luna: Vitunguu kimoja. That's 'one onion.' Interesting, it's not moja for vitunguu. Lucas: Right, because vitunguu is in the noun class that uses kimoja for one. We'll cover noun classes more later. Luna: So many layers. But for now, I can get my onions. Lucas: Let's do a quick recap. Nataka vitunguu. Luna: Nataka vitunguu. Lucas: Vitunguu ngapi? Luna: Vitunguu ngapi? Lucas: Vitunguu vitano, tafadhali. Luna: Vitunguu vitano, tafadhali. Lucas: Bei gani? Luna: Bei gani? Lucas: Vitunguu ni shilingi mia moja. Luna: Vitunguu ni shilingi mia moja. Lucas: Asante sana. Luna: Asante sana. Lucas: Beautiful. Now you can buy onions at any Swahili market. Luna: I'm hungry just thinking about the kachumbari I'll make. Lucas: Practice these phrases, and next time you're at the market, try them out. People appreciate the effort. Luna: See you all next time. Kwaheri! Lucas: Kwaheri, and happy Swahili learning.