User Reviews for Swahili Primer - Learn To Speak And Write Swahili Language: Grammar, Vocabulary & Exercises
4.72 out of 5
71 Ratings
7 years ago, Mazziestarz
Swahili primer ni fit!
I am just loving this app! Swahili primer breaks down the language in a way that is really understandable to non-native speakers and is so much better than any class I have taken. I may be moving to rural Tanzania and this will be immensely helpful!
I am loving this app, along with two others, to learn Swahili. The vocabulary sections are especially helpful, as is the breakdown of how the words change depending on whose got what! One of the other apps seems to expect you to know when to use "mtanzania" vs "watanzania" etc. The words were suddenly introduced without explanation. With this app, now I know. That other app also doesn't offer pronunciation. The reason for four stars here? I couldn't find the very common "asante" (thank you) in this app. I had to go to the other app to find it. Also, some of the links to pronunciations are off. However, I did write the developers and got a quick reply they are working to fix it. So far, this is the one app I would pay for, once they work out those bugs.
When used with other Apps. The good thing here is some very necessary terms to help construct Kiswahili grammar correctly show up. They are also correct, best I can tell. Other apps seem to have various mistakes or colloquialisms or Sheng input. What’s here tracks with various dictionaries. I greatly appreciate the way this app is put together; simple yet powerful. THANK YOU!
I love this app! It really love the portability of it and the wide variety of vocabulary and lessons. They’re are a few typos like in numbers section, they say kitabu is bed when it is actually book for example. Other than that, it’s great!
I too was having a problem with the app crashing but after closing the app and restarting the iPad and then restarting the app, I haven't had another problem with it crashing. It is a great program for the cost. I only wish it were more geared toward casual conversation such as Hujambo for a greeting. My wife and I are quickly learning to converse with each other in Kiswahili using this program. Again this is a very good program.
Before I installed the update everything was fine. What sets this app apart from the others I have downloaded is the quiz section. I like that I can test my knowledge after completing a session. The narrators voice is nice and clear and the interface is nicely designed. However, after the update I could not even launch the program without it immediately crashing. What I wound up doing is deleting the app from my iPad and reinstalling it. I thought I would be prompted that I already purchased the app, but that message never came up and I was charged a second time for the app :-/ So now it at least starts. I've tried the posting to Facebook option and that worked fine, as well as the word of the day. I have not tried recording my voice yet so I don't know if it will crash at that point or not. Anyway, all in all it's a pretty solid app that I'm willing to take the $2.99 hit..... Maybe ....
Its clear, its easy to use, and its a fun language for me . I tried to use Duo Lingo but they don't have any african dialects in their categories. This ones 10x better anyways because your learning sentences and conversations you really could be having with someone who speaks Swahili. With Duo lingo, i spent 4 months on that app to learn spanish and you can only get as far as "the cat drank the milk" before you have to pay for extra lessons. This app wins
After buying about 9 Swahili Apps I finally found one that is so much worth it! This app surpasses expectations, please don't waste money on other expensive apps, they don't measure up to this one. This is it!. It is fun, easy to memorize. Its simplicity makes learning a breeze. The voice is so clear and real. I am just sorry I spent so much money on other apps before I found this one. Kudos! Please make more language apps. Thanks!
For the price, this app is priceless! I have learned so much in just a few days . The soundbites help with pronunciation so much. And the exercises are a great way to test your progress. I can't believe I'm starting to learn Swahili! Thanks for such a useful tool for a beginner. I recommend this to anyone just starting from scratch on speaking & understanding Swahili. Definitely worth it!!!!
The narrator's voice is clear. I love how I can record my own voice to hear if I'm saying the phrase correctly and that there is a quiz for every section.. U can even post it to Facebook. I wish there were more words and phrases and would pay more money if there were because I love the set-up and layout!
The info in this app is NECESSARY to learning Swahili!
Before I got this app, I had just been floundering around memorizing Swahili words. This app actually explains the grammar behind word and sentence construction, so now I can actually speak sentences and figure out how to properly express things and decode new words. Don't try to learn Swahili without it!!!
This app has really helped me start to learn the basics for Swahili in an organized way. I really like the quizzes, which help wrap up the information learned. The only thing I would change is to be able to expand the vocabulary on the app. Very useful and helpful app!
Super helpful app! Teaches grammar and vocabulary and all the basics for the language. It is well organized and it is easy to access the information. I would recommend this app to anyone who wants to learn Swahili.
It is a very through app & gives great information. I use the record option often to listen to myself to see if I sound like the recording. I wish there were more review games. If there were more games to practice the skills it would be a 5 star app.
Mine has never crashed. iOs 5.1.1 Great selection of common words/phrases with excellent sound clips and quizzes. I think quizzes are too easy, and I'd love if quizzes were audio, and you had to recognize the phrase by ear. I'd also like some explanations about the language structure. For example, why does "Je?" Precede most questions?
This is an amazing app. Very detailed and plenty of lessons to either learn, or get better at Swahili. I travel to east Africa every year and use this app to keep my Swahili fresh. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn.
This is by far the best app I've found to learn basic Swahili! It's always been a dream of mine to speak this language, and this app has helped me achieve my dream! Wish it was a little more innovative but it met my needs!!;)
I have been to Tanzania. By the time I got home I had developed a passion for the African people, this program gave me a way to learn more Swahili. I look forward to going back to Africa with a better understanding of Swahili.
I like this app and the exercises but they are some inconsistencies. For example bed is sometime translated kitabu sometime kitanda or during the exercises the number is 18 but there is no option to choose 18. Because of the different mistakes that I've seen I am not giving it a five but this is still a good application to learn
I've been using this app for quite awhile now. The interface is clean, the voice is clear and paced. I love that there is a quiz at the end of each lesson and the word of the day option helps keep me motivated. This is one of the best Swahili apps out right now.
This may not be the best resource for learning an entire language but it's definently a great place to start! Many great words and phrases that will help anyone with a passion to learn the language grow in fluency.
This app is really detailed when it comes to the grammatical structure of Swahili. Very cool & useful. The developer is also very responsive to reports of issues/bugs.
Thanks for putting together a great introductory app! It would be ideal to do another iteration with more phrases and to test actual sentence construction, but this is fantastic to start!
I am taking Swahili at Ohio State and this app is helping me already. App used to crash. They fixed it a week after my review. This app saved me today during class!
Asanta sana. for putting basic Swahili on iPhone. I improve this language when I use my iPhone. Mungu akubariki who put it on the iPhone Asante sana tena.
After the most recent update I can't even open the app. Automatically crashes every time. Also, If this app had the ability to copy & paste, I would definitely give it more stars, that is after I can use it again.
A wonderful adjunct to the Pimsleur course. I already knew how to pronounce so this is a great way to build my vocab. Highly recommended for beginners or brusher-uppers.
I loved this app and was learning at a rapid rate. Once I had to update, the app does not work anymore! I am greatly disappointed because in the beginning I would have given the app a 5 star rating. Please fix!
If you want to speak and write Swahili language Swahili Primer is the most comprehensive Swahili audio training language course on the iPhone and iPad. FIFTEEN TOPICS ============== Learn fifteen exhaustive topics to get you from a complete beginner to an intermediate speaker as quickly as possible. Some of the topics include, Alphabet & Digraphs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Tenses, Telling Time, Human body etc. CUMULATIVE LEARNING ==================== Start learning from the Alphabet and progress to Prepositions and so on. Your current topic is built on previous topics. You should proceed to the next topic after you complete the two challenges presented in your present topic. LEARN WITH AUDIO ================= You will learn the Swahili grammar rules and tips with a lot of example words and sentences under all the 15 topics. Each topic presents you with a list of words and example sentences with audio. This is to help you grasp the pronunciation. Play and listen to each one and record and compare with the native pronunciations. TRY THE CHALLENGES =================== Each topic is evaluated with two challenges; Fill the Gaps and Listen Carefully. You should do these challenges when you've learned enough under each topic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are feeling generous with your time please take a moment and let me know what you think of the course. I really hope that Swahili Primer will help you to get up to speed with learning Swahili.
