Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Swahili
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Swahili language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. This reflects Standard Swahili, and dialects may have more or fewer phonemes. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters .
Consonants
IPA Examples
English approximation
ɓ b ab a[ˈɓɑɓɑ] 'father'
b ill
ɗ d ola[ˈɗɔlɑ] 'dollar'
d elta
ð dh ambi[ˈðɑᵐbi] 'sin, offence'[ 1] th at
ʄ dʒ maj i [ˈmɑʄi ~ ˈmɑdʒi] 'water'
j ab
f f isi[ˈfisi] 'hyena'
f ocus
ɠ g ani[ˈɠɑni] 'what, of which'
g ag
ɣ gh ali[ˈɣɑli] 'expensive'[ 1] Scottish loch but voiced
h uh uru [uˈhuru] 'freedom'
ah ead
j y ey e[ˈjɛjɛ] 'he/she'
y ellow
k k itabu[kiˈtɑbu] 'book'
sc ald
l l akini[lɑˈkini] 'but'[ 2] l ack
m dam u [ˈɗɑmu] 'blood'
m ocha
m̩ m toto[m̩ˈtɔtɔ] 'child'
rhythm
ᵐb mb ali[ˈᵐbɑli] 'far'
clamb er
ᶬv mv inyo[ˈᶬviɲɔ] 'spirits'
Humv ee
n n in i[ˈnini] 'what'
n inny
n̩ n chi[ˈn̩tʃi] 'country'
even (syllabic nasal)
ⁿd muhind i [muˈhiⁿdi] 'corn, maize'
hand y
ᵑɡ ng oma[ˈᵑɡɔmɑ] 'drum'
fing er
ⁿdʒ inj ili [iˈⁿdʒili] 'gospel'
rang e
ⁿz kwanz a [ˈkwɑⁿzɑ] 'to begin'
pans y
ɲ ny oka[ˈɲɔkɑ] 'snake'
cany on
ŋ ng' ombe[ˈŋɔᵐbɛ] 'cow, ox'
sing
p kikap u [kiˈkɑpu] 'basket'
sp ill
r r afiki[rɑˈfiki] 'friend'[ 2] N. Am. and Australian at om
s s is i[ˈsisi] 'we'
s tole
ʃ sh amba[ˈʃɑᵐbɑ] 'farm, field'
sh ell
t mot o [ˈmɔtɔ] 'fire'
st and
tʃ ch umba[ˈtʃuᵐbɑ] 'room'
ch ase
θ th elath ini[θɛlɑˈθini] 'thirty'[ 1] th ink
v v itabu[viˈtɑbu] 'books'
v ittle
w w atu[ˈwɑtu] 'people'
w ith
x subulkh eri [suɓulˈxɛri] 'good morning'[ 1] Scottish loch
z maz iwa [mɑˈziwɑ] 'milk'
z oo
Vowels
IPA Examples
English approximation
ɑ ba ba [ˈɓɑɓɑ] 'father'
fa ther
ɛ nde ge [ˈⁿdɛɠɛ] 'bird'
le t
i Ki swahi li [kiswɑˈhili] 'Swahili (language)'
mea t
ɔ mto to [m̩ˈtɔtɔ] 'child'
o ff
u u hu ru [uˈhuɾu] 'freedom'
foo l
ː kondoo [kɔˈⁿdɔː] 'sheep'
vowel length
^ a b c d Only found in loanwords.
^ a b Swahili /r/ is either a short trill [r] or more commonly a flap [ɾ /l/ and /r/ is a recent one, and many speakers have only a single sound, often an alveolar lateral flap [ɺ ]
^ Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable of a word.
Contini-Morava, Ellen (1997), "Swahili phonology", in Kaye, Allen (ed.), Phonologies of Asia and Africa , vol. 1, Eisenbrauns, pp. 841– 860 Mohammed, Mohammed Abdullah (2001), Modern Swahili Grammar , Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd., ISBN 9966-46-761-0
Comparisons Introductory guides
