Note that in Kiswahili, all vowels are pronounced as in a romance language, and in these examples, all consonants are pronounced without any surprises and as an English speaker would expect. In all but one example, which will be noted, the accent falls on the second to last syllable. Words should be said aloud in order to appreciate them.
- Shagalabagala--The most wonderful Kiswahili word. The accent is on the sha and the ba. This is slang, so you really shouldn't say it, but it's just so much fun to say! It means things are hopelessly chaotic with possibly some swearing about the chaos, which is exactly what this sort of word should mean.
- Pili pili ho ho. The second most wonderful Kiswahili word. I feel it is somewhat wasted on the humble bell pepper that it names.
- Wasiwasi. Anxiety, worry. It's really more fun to say "don't worry," which is usiwasiwasi.
- Hii ni nini? A question meaning "what is this?" The fact that such a phrase is a valid sentence in this language or any language makes me happy.
- Sawa. Labda. Bado. Sawa is general agreement, labda is maybe, and bado indicates not yet but sometime in the unspecified future and labda never. These three words, used judiciously with some smiling and nodding, can be used to successfully navigate most conversations without actually understanding them.
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