Free · No sign-up needed
Swahili Pal
Your friendly pocket teacher. Learn the Swahili words that make Zanzibar smile back at you — in small, easy steps.
Learn
Start with greetings, polite words and market phrases — grouped by real travel moments.
Practise
Flip flashcards and take two-minute quizzes. Your progress is saved on this device.
Listen
Tap any phrase to hear how it sounds, then say it back.
Speak
Join free live sessions with a friendly Zanzibari partner — 20 minutes a day.
Step 2 · Practise
Two minutes a day is all it takes
Speak a little
Swahili that opens doors
Vowels never change: a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in or, u as in flute. Stress the second-to-last syllable and you'll be understood everywhere.
Zanzibar runs on greetings — never skip them, even in a shop.
Jambo / Hujambo
Hello / How are you?
JAM-boh / hoo-JAM-boh
Sijambo
I'm fine
see-JAM-boh
Habari?
What's the news? (how are things?)
hah-BAH-ree
Nzuri
Good / fine
n-ZOO-ree
Mambo? — Poa!
What's up? — Cool!
MAHM-boh — POH-ah
Shikamoo — Marahaba
Respectful greeting to elders — the reply
shee-kah-MOH — mah-rah-HAH-bah
Karibu / Karibuni
Welcome (one / many)
kah-REE-boo / kah-ree-BOO-nee
Kwaheri
Goodbye
kwah-HEH-ree
Learn Swahili by chatting with a real person, not a robot
Swahili Pal pairs you with a Zanzibari conversation partner — a real human who greets you, corrects you kindly and talks about ordinary things until the language stops feeling foreign. Twenty live minutes a day, on video or voice, at a time that fits your life.
A real pal, not an app
Live human partners from Stone Town and Paje.
20 minutes a day
Short, daily and easy to keep up with.
Chat, don't cram
Conversation first — grammar arrives on the way.
Speak it on arrival
Greet, bargain and joke by the time you land.
Swahili Pal · how it works
Basic Swahili — 20 live minutes a day
Enrol, tell us when you're free, and your pal messages you on WhatsApp to set the first chat. Eight guided sessions take you from your first greeting to holding your own in the market — with free conversation practice in between.
Free
one-off enrolment
Free
per 20-min session
- One-to-one with a real Swahili pal
- Book only the days you're free
- Free starter ebook on enrolment
- Sessions unlock as you progress
The eight-session path
1Session 1 — Sounds & greetings
Swahili vowels (a-e-i-o-u never change), greeting ladders and the respectful shikamoo.
2Session 2 — Introducing yourself
Names, countries, jobs, family and the verb 'to be'.
3Session 3 — Numbers, money, markets
Counting to a million, prices, bargaining lines that actually work.
4Session 4 — Directions & transport
Getting around Stone Town, taxis, daladalas and boat times.
5Session 5 — Food & ordering
Menus, spices, dietary needs and Forodhani night-market Swahili.
6Session 6 — Present tense verbs
Ni-na-, u-na-, a-na- — building your own sentences for the first time.
7Session 7 — Safari & nature vocabulary
Animals, weather, landscape and talking with your guide in the field.
8Session 8 — Free conversation
Twenty unscripted minutes with your tutor — no script, just talking.
Enrol with Swahili Pal
Enrol first — your downloadable starter ebook unlocks straight after. Email and WhatsApp are required so your Swahili pal can reach you and set your first chat.