Sheng Flashcards
Niaje (knee-ah- jay)
What’s up?
Poa- Cool
Fiti- fit/cool
Sasa
What’s up?
Poa- Cool
Fiti- fit/cool
Mambo.(ma-m-bow)
Mambo vipi
What’s up?
Poa- Cool
Fiti- fit/cool
Howayu
How are you
Mathee (ma-they), Mum, matha
mother. sometimes disrespectful
Buda (pronounced as it is),
Father
mbuyu (m-bu-you),
Father
mzae (m-za-ay)
Father
mtasis(m-ta-sis)
Sister
broda (brow-da),
brother
Shosh (show-sh), mnyanye (m-nya-nye).
Grandmother
Cuzo
Cousin
wife
wife
Huzzy (Her-zi)
Husband
Mpango wa kando (m-pango wa ka-ndo),
Mistress/man you are having an affair with- Mpango wa kando (m-pango wa ka-ndo), in
Kiswahili it literally translates to a side arrangement.
Clande (clan-day)
Mistress/man you are having an affair with- Mpango wa kando (m-pango wa ka-ndo), in
Kiswahili it literally translates to a side arrangement.
Dem (dame)
girl
mrembo (m-rem-bore)
beautiful girl
mresh
girl
Chile (chil-ay)
girl
mami
girl
Chali (Cha-lee)
boy
Kijana (Key-jah-na)
boy
‘Nganya’ (nga-nya)
mat
his is the 14 seater or 32 seater mini-van that is used as public transport in all parts of the country.
Pints
Beer/ Alchohol
keroro (kay-row-row),
Beer/ Alchohol
Gej (gauge)
Beer/ Alchohol
Twende (tu-ende)
Leave
ganji (gah-n-gee)
Money
Pesa
Money
doh (dough),
Money
mapeni (ma-pay-knee)
Money
mkwanja (m-kwa-njah)
Money
You guy
dude
Sawa (sa-wa
ok/cool if you
someone says something you agree with you
respond by saying ‘sawa’.
Beba beba
This is a phrase used by matatu
conductors when they are trying to woo in
passengers into the vehicle, it roughly translates to ‘get into the vehicle’ or ‘board the vehicle’ but in Kiswahili it literally means ‘carry carry’.
Haiya (her-ee-ya)
Its a word used to express surprise, whether good or bad e.g. ‘Haiya! You bought a new car?’
Nini
Very widely used by Kenyans. It acts as a filler in conversations. Normally it refers to a thing, and means ‘thing’ . It is used to refer to something whose name you do not know or cannot immediately remember. e.g. I saw Mary wearing that nini on her head that looks like a bow.
Nani
Just like the above word, nani is a filler in conversations as well. It refers to a person whose name you cannot remember at that moment or do not know. e.g. I went to nani’s place, Tom’s friend, to get my phone charger.
Mzungu (M-zu-ngu).
White person, simply anyone who is white regardless of where they come from.
Ching Chong
Because one day a Kenyan was listening to Chinese and thought that Chinese
had a lot of ‘ching chong
Maze (ma-zay)
this is a tough one! It roughly translates ‘man’ when used in conversation. The way Americans use it, like when they say ‘Man! this burger tastes like cardboard!’. That is
exactly how we use it, so if it was a Kenyan speaking it would be, ‘Maze! this burger tastes like
cardboard!’
Eish! (ay-ish
ts a word used to express surprise, most likely a pleasant surprise. For example;
‘Eish! You have a nice dress!’.
Ati (ah-tee)
This word can mean many things but the most common meanings are ‘what’ and ‘that’. For example;
‘Ati?’ meaning ‘what?’. Commonly used when someone says something that you didn’t hear or understand.
‘Ati Hannah is pregnant?’- Means, ‘That Hannah is pregnant?’. This statement shows that you are shocked that Hannah is pregnant.
Omo (oh-mow).
detergent
colgate
toothpaste
