So if you are ever in Nairobi,
there are certain words you
will hear people say. It is
nice to familiarize yourself
with them and maybe
surprise someone with your
basic sheng, here we go:
Greetings
All of the following words
mean ‘hello, how are you
doing?’
1. Niaje (knee-ah- jay).
2. Sasa. Pronounced as
it is.
3. Mambo.(ma-m-bow).
It could also be
something like
‘Mambo vipi’, which
is also acceptable.
4. Howayu- Pronounced
like ‘How are you’
without the spaces
in between the
three words.
People
1. Mother- Mathee
(ma-they), Mum,
matha (pronounced
like ‘mother’), old
lady. Use the words
‘mathee’ and ‘matha ‘
with caution as they
may be disrespectful
in some settings, if
you want to play
safe, then call her
‘Madam’.
2. Father- Buda
(pronounced as it
is), mbuyu (m-bu-
you), old man, mzae
(m-za-ay)
3. Sister- sis, mtasis(m-
ta-sis)
4. Brother- Bro, broda
(brow-da),
5. Grandmother- Shosh
(show-sh), mnyanye
(m-nya-nye). It is
worth noting that
the ‘nya’ sound is
similar to ‘ña’ in
spanish in the word
‘niña’.
6. Grandfather-
Grandpa, guka (gu-
ka).
7. Cousin- Cuzo (cuu-
zo)
8. Wife- wife
9. Husband- Huzzy
(Her-zi), Hubby.
10. 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)
11. Girl- Dem (dame),
mrembo (m-rem-
bore) or mresh,
sister, Chile (chil-ay)
and boys sometimes
call them mami.
12. Boy- Chali (Cha-lee),
Kijana (Key-jah-na)
Every day words you need to
know
1. Matatu- This is the
14 seater or 32
seater mini-van that
is used as public
transport in all parts
of the country. In
sheng, we call it
‘mat’ or
‘Nganya’ (nga-nya)
2. Beer/ Alchohol-
Pints, keroro (kay-
row-row), Gej
(gauge)
3. Leave- Bounce,
Twende (tu-ende, e
as in egg)
4. Money- Pesa, ganji
(gah-n-gee), doh
(dough), mapeni
(ma-pay-knee),
mkwanja (m-kwa-
njah).
5. You guy- It means
the same thing as
‘dude’ in
conversation.
6. Sawa (sa-wa)- It
means ok or cool. If
if you someone says
something you agree
with you respond by
saying ‘sawa’.
7. 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’.
8. Haiya (her-ee-ya). Its
a word used to
express surprise,
whether good or bad
e.g. ‘Haiya! You
bought a new car?’
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Mzungu (M-zu-ngu).
White person, simply
anyone who is white
regardless of where
they come from. The
exception is for
people of Chinese/
Korean/Japanese
descent who
are called;
12. Ching Chong.-
Because one day a
Kenyan was listening
to Chinese and
thought that
Chinese had a lot of
‘ching chong’ in it,
and because a lot of
us do not know how
to differentiate
between Chinese/
Korean/Japanese
people, all people
with slit eyes are
hence referred to as
‘Ching Chong’.(Sorry
for the cultural
insensitivity, was not
intended)
13. 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!’
14. Eish! (ay-ish)- Its a
word used to
express surprise,
most likely a
pleasant surprise.
For example; ‘Eish!
You have a nice
dress!’.
15. 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.
