The 100 most common Swahili words

Swahili builds sentences differently than English does, folding subject, tense, and object straight into the verb and sorting every noun into one of roughly ten classes that ripple out through adjectives and possessives. This list gathers the hundred words that show up most in daily speech, giving you a running start on the vocabulary and the patterns underneath it.

How to use this list

Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.

The 100 words

#	Swahili	English	In use
1	na	and / with	Ninapenda kusoma na kuandika.I like reading and writing.
2	ni	is / am / are	Yeye ni daktari.She is a doctor.
3	si	is not / am not	Mimi si mwalimu.I am not a teacher.
4	kwa	to / by / with	Nilimwandikia barua kwa Kiswahili.I wrote him a letter in Swahili.
5	katika	in	Tunaishi katika mji wa Dar es Salaam.We live in the city of Dar es Salaam.
6	wa	of	Watoto wa shule wanacheza nje.The school children are playing outside.
7	la	of	Jina la mtoto ni Juma.The child's name is Juma.
8	cha	of	Kitabu cha mwalimu kiko mezani.The teacher's book is on the table.
9	hii	this	Nataka kununua nyumba hii.I want to buy this house.
10	hiyo	that	Gari hiyo ni yako?Is that car yours?
11	huyu	this (person)	Mtu huyu ni rafiki yangu.This person is my friend.
12	mimi	I	Mimi natoka Kenya.I am from Kenya.
13	wewe	you	Wewe ni rafiki yangu mzuri.You are my good friend.
14	yeye	he / she	Yeye anafanya kazi ofisini.He works in an office.
15	sisi	we	Sisi tunaenda baharini.We are going to the seaside.
16	ninyi	you (plural)	Ninyi ni wema sana.You all are very kind.
17	wao	they	Wao wanaishi Mombasa.They live in Mombasa.
18	-angu	my	Simu yangu ni mpya.My phone is new.
19	-ako	your	Nyumba yako ni kubwa.Your house is big.
20	-ake	his / her	Mbwa wake ni mkubwa sana.His dog is very big.
21	-etu	our	Gari letu ni jipya.Our car is new.
22	-enu	your (plural)	Nyumba yenu ni nzuri.Your house is nice.
23	-ao	their	Nyumba yao ni kubwa sana.Their house is very big.
24	nani	who	Nani aliandika hii?Who wrote this?
25	nini	what	Unafanya nini leo jioni?What are you doing this evening?
26	wapi	where	Unaishi wapi sasa?Where do you live now?
27	lini	when	Utarudi nyumbani lini?When will you return home?
28	namna gani	how	Ulifanya hivyo namna gani?How did you do that?
29	kwa nini	why	Kwa nini uko na huzuni?Why are you sad?
30	-ngapi	how many	Una ndugu wangapi?How many siblings do you have?
31	hapa	here	Nimeishi hapa kwa miaka kumi.I've lived here for ten years.
32	pale	there	Duka liko pale ng'ambo ya barabara.The store is over there, across the road.
33	sasa	now	Lazima niende sasa.I have to go now.
34	kisha	then	Kwanza tule, kisha tuzungumze.Let's eat first, then talk.
35	daima	always	Ninaamka mapema daima.I always wake up early.
36	kamwe	never	Sitasahau siku hiyo kamwe.I will never forget that day.
37	tayari	already	Nimeshakula chakula cha mchana tayari.I've already eaten lunch.
38	bado	still / yet	Bado inanyesha mvua.It's still raining.
39	sana	very	Filamu hii ni nzuri sana.This movie is very good.
40	tu	only / just	Nina dada mmoja tu.I only have one sister.
41	pia	also	Mimi pia napenda kahawa.I also like coffee.
42	lakini	but	Ninaenda nyumbani, lakini yeye anabaki.I'm going home, but she's staying.
43	au	or	Unataka chai au kahawa?Do you want tea or coffee?
44	kama	if / like	Kama utafika mapema, tutaenda pamoja.If you arrive early, we'll go together.
45	kuwa	to be	Ninataka kuwa mwalimu.I want to be a teacher.
46	kuwa na	to have	Nina kaka wawili.I have two brothers.
47	kutaka	to want	Nataka kujifunza Kiswahili.I want to learn Swahili.
48	kujua	to know	Sijui ufunguo wangu uko wapi.I don't know where my key is.
49	kuona	to see	Ninaona mlima kwa mbali.I see a mountain in the distance.
50	kwenda	to go	Sasa ninaenda dukani.I'm going to the store now.
51	kuja	to come	Tafadhali njoo kesho saa mbili.Please come tomorrow at eight.
52	kusema	to say	Ulitaka kusema nini?What did you want to say?
53	kufanya	to do / make	Lazima nifanye kazi ya shule.I have to do my homework.
54	kufanya kazi	to work	Ninafanya kazi hospitalini.I work in a hospital.
55	kupata	to get	Nilipata barua leo asubuhi.I received a letter this morning.
56	kupa	to give	Nipe kitabu kile, tafadhali.Give me that book, please.
57	kuchukua	to take	Chukua mwavuli kwa sababu mvua itanyesha.Take an umbrella because it's going to rain.
58	kufikiri	to think	Unafikiri nini kuhusu hili?What do you think about this?
59	kuzungumza	to speak	Ninazungumza Kiswahili na Kiingereza.I speak Swahili and English.
60	kuangalia	to watch / look	Ninapenda kuangalia mpira wa miguu.I like watching soccer.
61	wakati	time	Sina wakati wa hili.I don't have time for this.
62	mwaka	year	Mwaka ujao nitakwenda Italia.Next year I'm going to Italy.
63	siku	day	Leo ni siku nzuri.Today is a beautiful day.
64	mtu	person	Kila mtu ni tofauti.Every person is different.
65	watu	people	Kuna watu wengi sokoni.There are many people in the market.
66	mtoto	child	Mtoto anacheka sana.The child is laughing a lot.
67	mume	husband	Mume wake anafanya kazi kama daktari.Her husband works as a doctor.
68	mke	wife	Mke wangu anapika chakula cha jioni.My wife is cooking dinner.
69	nyumba	house	Tulinunua nyumba mpya.We bought a new house.
70	mji	city / town	Dar es Salaam ni mji mkubwa nchini Tanzania.Dar es Salaam is a big city in Tanzania.
71	dunia	world	Ningependa kuona dunia.I would like to see the world.
72	maji	water	Tafadhali nipe glasi ya maji.Please give me a glass of water.
73	chakula	food	Chakula hiki ni kitamu sana.This food is very tasty.
74	pesa	money	Sina pesa za kutosha.I don't have enough money.
75	kazi	work / job	Kazi yake ni ya kuvutia sana.Her job is very interesting.
76	shule	school	Watoto huenda shuleni saa mbili.The children go to school at eight.
77	rafiki	friend	Yeye ni rafiki yangu mkubwa.He is my best friend.
78	familia	family	Familia yangu ni kubwa.My family is big.
79	neno	word	Sijui neno hili.I don't know this word.
80	kitabu	book	Ninasoma kitabu cha kuvutia sana.I'm reading a very interesting book.
81	-zuri	good	Hii ni wazo zuri sana.This is a very good idea.
82	-kubwa	big	Wana bustani kubwa.They have a big garden.
83	-dogo	small	Tunaishi katika mji mdogo.We live in a small town.
84	-pya	new	Nilinunua simu mpya.I bought a new phone.
85	-kuukuu	old	Nyumba hii ni ya kuukuu sana.This house is very old.
86	-refu	long	Njia ya kwenda baharini ni ndefu.The way to the sea is long.
87	kwanza	first	Hii ni siku yangu ya kwanza kazini.This is my first day at work.
88	-ingine	other	Chukua kipande kingine cha keki.Take the other piece of cake.
89	yote	everything / all	Asante kwa yote.Thanks for everything.
90	-zima	whole	Nilikula pizza nzima.I ate a whole pizza.
91	maisha	life	Maisha ni mafupi.Life is short.
92	mkono	hand	Alishika kitabu kwa mkono wake.He held the book in his hand.
93	kichwa	head	Ninaumwa na kichwa.I have a headache.
94	nyumbani	home	Nitaenda nyumbani sasa.I'm going home now.
95	mvulana	boy	Mvulana anacheza mpira wa miguu.The boy is playing soccer.
96	msichana	girl	Msichana anasoma kitabu.The girl is reading a book.
97	kitu	thing	Hiki ni kitu muhimu.This is an important thing.
98	mahali	place	Hapa ni mahali pazuri.This is a beautiful place.
99	asubuhi	morning	Ninakunywa kahawa kila asubuhi.I drink coffee every morning.
100	jioni	evening	Tutaonana jioni hii.We'll see each other this evening.

The ones English speakers get wrong

Noun classes instead of gender

Swahili doesn't have masculine or feminine like French or Spanish. Instead nouns fall into about ten noun classes, for people, things, places, and more, each with its own prefix and its own agreement pattern for adjectives and verbs. "Kitabu kizuri" (a good book) and "nyumba nzuri" (a good house) both mean "good," but the root "-zuri" changes shape to match the noun's class.

The verb carries the whole sentence

A single Swahili verb often packs in the subject, tense, and object all as prefixes and suffixes around the root, so "ninakupenda" breaks down as ni- (I) plus -na- (present) plus -ku- (you) plus -penda (love), meaning "I love you" in one word. Learners need to parse the verb carefully rather than hunting for separate words the way English sentences work.

ni and si, the invisible copula

"Ni" (is, am, are) doesn't change for person or number the way "to be" does in English, so "mimi ni mwalimu" (I am a teacher) and "wao ni walimu" (they are teachers) use the exact same word. Its negative counterpart is a different word entirely, "si," as in "mimi si mwalimu," not a negated version of "ni."

Negation lives inside the verb

"Hapana" is the general word for "no" used on its own, but negating a sentence is built into the verb itself with prefixes rather than a separate word, so "I don't understand" is "sielewi," not a phrase built around "hapana." Learners who try to negate the English way, with a standalone "no," end up with something ungrammatical.

Borrowed vocabulary from Arabic

Centuries of trade along the East African coast left Swahili with a large layer of Arabic loanwords, including basics like "kitabu" (book), "wakati" (time), and "dunia" (world). These words behave fully as Swahili now, taking Swahili noun class prefixes and agreement, but recognizing the layer can help learners who already know some Arabic.

What to do next

A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Swahili and following it.