Kiswahili
1
6.8
- proper noun
- /kɪsˈwɑːhɪli/
- I remember endless stars at night, questions about America, learning KiSwahili, and adventures while on safari.
- speak Kiswahili
- Kiswahili and English
Examples
-
Both populations belong to the same Bantu group and speak the same Kiswahili dialect.
Academic text (2000) -
For instance, it mandates the use of Kiswahili as a medium of instruction, but also requires that schools teach English "properly" in pre-primary and primary schools across the country.
Academic text (2018) -
In fact, most have not completed secondary school, though they are as much at ease speaking English as Kiswahili.
Academic text (2005) -
The new ETP ended several decades' debate on whether to use English or Kiswahili as a medium of instruction.
Academic text (2018) -
My research interviews were all conducted in Tanzania's national language, Kiswahili.
Academic text (2008) -
Also, mastery of Kiswahili would help them more easily blend and integrate into the larger Tanzanian society and culture.
Academic text (2018) -
By standard 8, students are expected to know the Kenyan National Anthem in English and Kiswahili and to be aware of the anthem's origin and how it should be performed.
Academic text (2000) -
To legitimize his power and neutralize the opposition to his presidency, Moi launched the political philosophy of Nyayo, "footsteps" in Kiswahili.
Academic text (2002) -
"In East Africa, when a baby dies, or the roof of a house collapses, or the harvest fails, it is said in Kiswahili to be shauri ya Mungu, translated as the "will of God." In Arabic, the word Inshallah is similarly used.
Academic text (1993) -
In Tanzania, children learn to read and write in their national language, Kiswahili.
Synonyms
15
3.4
A language from East Africa spoken in Kenya and Tanzania and used as a common language across the region
1
3.5
A language spoken in East Africa that many people use to talk to each other
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word Kiswahili is made from the Bantu prefix Ki- for languages and Swahili, a word from Arabic that means 'coast'. So Kiswahili means 'language of the coast', which helps explain why it started and is spoken along the East African coast.