Everyday words
Lesson 1 of 13≈ 10 min
20 words to open a door
You can now read the sounds. Let's put them to use with vocabulary that's useful from the first encounter. Twenty words and phrases covering the essentials: greeting, thanking, saying yes or no, asking to enter someone's home.
Most forms come from shimaoré (Ma) — the best-documented dialect in France. Ng / Nz variants are flagged when they diverge.
Essential vocabulary
| Shikomori | English | Dialect | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| jeje | hello, what's up | Ma | between peers, informal |
| kwezi | respectful hello | all | to an elder |
| marahaba | thanks | all | swahili origin |
| kwaheri | goodbye | all | swahili origin |
| hodi ! | may I come in? | all | before entering |
| karibu | welcome | all | reply to hodi |
| ewa | yes | all | short interjection |
| êhê ! | yes! right! | all | interjection (nasal ê) |
| na | and, with | mostly Ma | conjunction |
| ɓasi | well then | Ma | discourse marker |
| haya ! | let's go! | Ma | interjection |
| de waja | okay | Ma | casual expression |
| ya hali ! | that's expensive! | Ma | market exclamation |
| tsilemewa | I'm tired | Ma | physical state |
| nisihuvendza | I love you | Ma | affectionate expression |
Listening
- jeje (Ma)
- kwezi
- marahaba
- kwaheri
- hodi !
- karibu
The doorway ritual
Never enter a home without saying hodi ! and waiting for the karibu ! reply. A fundamental mark of respect in the Comoros and Mayotte.
Likewise, the canonical greeting order is:
1. Jeje (or Kwezi for an elder)
2. Wa fetre ? (how are you?)
3. Tsa fetre, ewa. (fine, thanks)
Skipping a step feels abrupt — even impolite.
Practice
How do you greet an elder?
You say ___.
What do you reply to hodi!?
You reply ___.
Mini-quiz
What does marahaba mean?
marahaba = ___.
You can greet in shikomori!
Next up: numbers 1 to 10. A neat Bantu detail: numbers agree with the noun class of what they count (cf. Module 3) — we're laying the ground now.