People and Jobs in Swahili
People and jobs in Swahili are the words a learner uses to talk about roles in a community — who someone is, what they do, and how they are named. This lesson covers 10 job titles, from soldier and doctor to farmer and king, each recorded by a native speaker.
Some names will be recognisable from context: daktari (doctor), mwalimu (teacher — familiar as a title of respect in East Africa), nesi (nurse). Others are distinctly Swahili: mkulima (farmer), mfalme (king), mtawa (nun), padri (priest). Two that often come up together: daktari and nesi — both appear in hospital contexts, and teaching them side by side helps a learner understand the scene they describe.
Fundi seremala (carpenter) is a compound — fundi means skilled craftsperson, and seremala specifies the trade. That structure — fundi plus trade name — is productive in Swahili and appears across many craft roles. Knowing fundi seremala gives a learner the template for a whole category of job titles.
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Job names in Swahili appear in everyday scenes — neema going to work, jabari returning from work. Knowing the job vocabulary makes those sentence patterns more meaningful. A learner who has worked through this lesson will also find the action phrases easier to contextualise.
Introduce a job name when it comes up naturally. Say daktari at a hospital visit, mwalimu before school, mkulima when talking about food or the countryside. A learner who connects the word to a real person or a real moment will hold it longer than one who meets it only on a list.
Unlock the paid Swahili lessons to access a practice game for all 10 job titles, with score tracking across sessions.
Audio recorded by Naomi, native Swahili speaker.
Naomi, a native Swahili speaker, recorded every word in this lesson. Her audio for mwalimu is worth a close listen — the word is commonly heard in East Africa and carries a specific respectful intonation that a written transcription cannot convey. Play her recording before using the word in conversation.