LESSON NOTES

Survival Phrases #13 Swahili Restaurant, Part 3 Smoking or Non-Smoking?

CONTENTS
2 2 2 3 3 5 Swahili English Vocabulary Sample Sentences Grammar Cultural Insight

13

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SWAHILI
1.

Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? Ndio, unaruhusiwa. La, hauruhusiwi. Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? Ndio, hauruhusiwi. La, unaruhusiwa.

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ENGLISH
1.

Excuse me, is smoking allowed here? Yes, it is [allowed]. No, it isn't [allowed]. Excuse me, is smoking forbidden in here? Yes, it is [prohibited]. No, it isn't [prohibited].

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VOCABULARY
Swahili uvutaji English smoke Class noun

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #13 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 3SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING?

sigara unaruhusiwa hauruhusiwi hapa

cigarette permit prohibit here

noun verb verb adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES
Uvut aji sigara ni hat ari kwa maisha yako. Uvut aji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa?

"Is smoking is dangerous for your healt h."

Hauruhusiwi kunywa pombe kabla ya miaka kumi na nane.

"Is smoking permit t ed here?"

Uvut aji sigara hauruhusiwi kwa nyumba yet u.

"You are not permit t ed t o drink alcohol before 18 years."

Kuna benki kadhaa hapa.

"Smoking is prohibit ed in our house."

Nasimama hapa.

"There are several banks around here."

Usit upe t akat aka hapa.

"I am st opping here."

"Do not lit t er here."

GRAMMAR
In the last lesson, we learned how to make a reservation in a restaurant. Now that you know how to get a table, you have another big issue to tackle. If you want to enjoy your meal, the smoking issue is very important. If you are a smoker in a nonsmoking establishment, or a non-smoker in a smoking establishment, this can ruin your meal. In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a smoking or non-smoking table.

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #13 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 3SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING?

Let's imagine rst that you are a smoker. Before entering a restaurant, you need to ask, "Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?": Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? Samahani, as we have seen, means "Excuse me." We follow this with uvutaji, which means "smoking." And then with sigara, which means "cigarette." Next we have unaruhusiwa to mean "permitted" Last is hapa, which means "here." Here's the whole sentence: Samahani, uvutaji sigara unaruhusiwa hapa? The answer to this question is very simple: Ndio, unaruhusiwa, "Yes, you can smoke," or La, hauruhusiwi, "No, no smoking." If the answer is "You are not allowed to smoke here," the expression "I'm sorry" often comes before the negative answer: samahani. Another way of asking is: Samahani, uvutaji sigara hauruhusiwi humu? This literally means "Excuse me, is smoking prohibited in here?" uvutaji sigara means "to smoke a cigarette." hauruhusiwi means "forbidden." that humu means "in here." On some signs, you will see the phrase Sigara limeharamishwa. This means "Smoking cigarettes is prohibited," and you'll see it next to the familiar image of a cigarette inside a cancel sign. Now let's go over the possible answers to the question, "Is smoking prohibited in here?" If it's a positive answer, you might hear: Ndio hauruhusiwi. All we did was add the Swahili word for "yes," ndio, in front of the sentence.

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #13 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 3SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING?

Because the question has a negative meaningwe're asking whether smoking is prohibiteda "yes" answer will mean "Yes, it is prohibited": Ndio hauruhusiwi. If what you're pointing at is a smoking table, you'll hear: La, unaruhusiwa. The rst word, la, means "no." The second word unaruhusiwa means "permitted."

CULTURAL INSIGHT
Quick T ip 1

Kenya has stipulated non-smoking policies, so smoking is forbidden in most restaurants, cafs and bar, and in the general public. Anti-smoking campaign has helped to reduce the huge number of smokers in Kenya. However, to help protect the general public, and to help people addicted to smoking, the government has set up smoking booths in public places where smoking is allowed.

Quick T ip 2

The legal age for drinking and smoking in Kenya is 18. You may be asked to show some kind of ID when buying cigarettes or alcohol, even if it's only a pint of a beer in a pub. Try to take it as a compliment.

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SURVIVAL PHRASES #13 - SWAHILI RESTAURANT, PART 3SMOKING OR NON-SMOKING?