{"id":73016,"date":"2024-01-02T15:42:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T14:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/safariavventura.com\/swahili-alphabet\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T10:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T09:32:02","slug":"swahili-alphabet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/safariavventura.com\/en\/swahili-alphabet\/","title":{"rendered":"Swahili alphabet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swahili ( Kiswahili<\/em> in Swahili) is written using the Latin alphabet<\/strong>. There are 24 letters if you count the \u201cch\u201d<\/em> group as a single letter. The letters Q and X are missing, and C appears only in the \u201cch\u201d<\/em> group. The good news for an Italian speaker is that almost everything is read as it is written: the five vowels sound like ours, and the stress almost always falls on the penultimate syllable. The challenge isn\u2019t reading Swahili, but its grammar, which is based on prefixes and noun classes.<\/p>\n

The letters of the Swahili alphabet and how they\u2019re pronounced<\/h2>\n

The table lists individual letters. For each one, it shows the closest sound in Italian and a word you might hear while traveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Letter<\/th>\nPronunciation<\/th>\nExample<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
At<\/td>\n“home”<\/td>\nThanks,thanks<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B<\/td>\nb as in “boat”<\/td>\nbahari<\/em>, sea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CH<\/td>\nc for “ciao”<\/td>\nchai<\/em>, tea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D<\/td>\nd for “dado”<\/td>\nduka<\/em>, store<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
And<\/td>\nand \u201cgood\u201d<\/td>\nembe<\/em>, mango<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
F<\/td>\n“f” as in “faro”<\/td>\nfisi<\/em>, hyena<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/td>\nis always pronounced as a hard “g,” as in “gatto,” even before ” e<\/em> ” and “i”<\/em><\/td>\ngari<\/em>, automobile<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/td>\nis aspirated, as in the English word “house”<\/td>\nhabari<\/em>, news (used as a greeting)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The<\/td>\n“wine”<\/td>\nsimba<\/em>, lion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J<\/td>\ng of “gelato”<\/td>\njambo<\/em>, hi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
K<\/td>\nc as in “cane”<\/td>\nkahawa<\/em>, coffee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L<\/td>\n“moon”<\/td>\nlala salama<\/em>, sleep well<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M<\/td>\nm from “mare.” Before a consonant, it forms a syllable on its own<\/td>\nmtoto<\/em>, child (m-to-to)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N<\/td>\nn from “nave.” The N before a consonant can also form a syllable<\/td>\nnne<\/em>, four (n-ne)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Or<\/td>\nor \u201csun\u201d<\/td>\nmotion<\/em>, fire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
P<\/td>\np as in “bread”<\/td>\nslowly, little by little<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/td>\na vibrated r, as in Italian<\/td>\nrafiki<\/em>, friend<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S<\/td>\nalways unvoiced, as in “sole,” even between two vowels<\/td>\nsafari<\/em>, trip<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T<\/td>\n“table”<\/td>\ntembo<\/em>, elephant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U<\/td>\nu for “moon”<\/td>\nusiku<\/em>, night<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
V<\/td>\nv for “sail”<\/td>\nviatu<\/em>, shoes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
W<\/td>\nshort “u,” as in “uomo”<\/td>\nwatu<\/em>, people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Y<\/td>\nshort “i,” as in “ieri”<\/td>\nyai<\/em>, egg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Z<\/td>\nA voiced “s,” like the “s” in “rosa” as pronounced in Northern Italy. Never like the “z” in “pizza”<\/td>\nZanzibar<\/em>, Ziwa<\/em> (lake)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Letter Combinations: Where Italians Go Wrong<\/h3>\n

In Swahili, certain sounds are written with two letters. Some of these combinations are the same as in Italian, while others can be misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Group<\/th>\nHow to pronounce<\/th>\nExample<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
NY<\/td>\n“gnome”<\/td>\nnyama<\/em>, meat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SH<\/td>\nshort for “scena”<\/td>\nshamba<\/em>, cultivated field<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NG’<\/td>\na nasal ‘ng’ from the English “sing,” without the final ‘g’ (the apostrophe is required)<\/td>\nng’ombe<\/em>, cow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NG<\/td>\nn + hard g, as in “fango”<\/td>\nngoma<\/em>, drum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DH<\/td>\nth from the English “this.” It is found in words of Arabic origin<\/td>\ndhahabu<\/em>, gold<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TH<\/td>\nth from the English “think”<\/td>\nthelathini<\/em>, thirty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GH<\/td>\na guttural sound, similar to the French “r”<\/td>\nghali<\/em>, expensive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KH<\/td>\nsimilar to the Spanish “j.” It is rare, and many speakers pronounce it as a simple “h”<\/td>\nkhanga<\/em>, often written as kanga<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

There are two differences that change the meaning of words. The first is the distinction between ng’<\/em> and ng<\/em>: ng’ombe<\/em> (cow) and ngoma<\/em> (drum) begin with two different sounds. The second concerns the S, which is always voiceless: sasa<\/em> (now) is pronounced with two S\u2019s as in \u201csun,\u201d never \u201csaza.\u201d Double consonants, on the other hand, do not exist: safari<\/em> is pronounced with only one F.<\/p>\n

Stress: The Rule of the Penultimate Syllable<\/h2>\n

In Swahili, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable<\/strong>, as in many Italian words:<\/p>\n