Café & Drinks

1. Kayieu shai

   I want tea

   Usage

   The basic way to ask for a drink. Swap shai for another word

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. "Kayieu + noun" means "I want ...". The stem -yieu takes the first-person prefix (Kayieu / Ayieu). Shai is a loanword from Swahili chai. Borrowed word; native review recommended

2. Kayieu kahawa

   I want coffee

   Usage

   Asking for coffee

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. Kahawa is a loanword from Swahili and is common in modern speech. Borrowed word; native review recommended

3. Kayieu kule

   I want milk

   Usage

   Asking for milk. Milk is an everyday drink among cattle-keeping communities

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. Kule is a plural-form noun meaning "milk". The singular form ale also exists, but kule is much more common in speech

4. Kayieu enkare

   I want water

   Usage

   Asking for drinking water

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. Enkare is a feminine noun (en- marks the feminine singular). The plural inkariak changes the stem as well

5. Kayieu enkare nairowua

   I want hot water

   Usage

   Asking for hot water

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. The adjective nairowua (from the verb airowua, "to be warm or hot") follows the noun, and a feminine noun such as water takes the na- form

6. Nchooki enkare

   Give me water

   Usage

   Asking for water. No dedicated polite word for "please" has been confirmed, so add Ashe (thank you) after the request

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. Nchooki is the imperative of "give" plus -ki ("to me"); Inchooki is also used. The object follows the verb

7. Nchooki enkilasi

   Give me a glass

   Usage

   When you need a glass or cup to drink from

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. Enkilasi is a loanword from English "glass" and takes the feminine en- prefix. Borrowed word; native review recommended

8. Ropiyiani aja shai?

   How much is the tea?

   Usage

   Asking the price of a drink. Replace shai with another item

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. "Ropiyiani aja + item" asks the price. Ropiyiani means "money" and aja asks "how many". "Kempisai aja + item" is also said, mpisai being another word for "money"

9. Iyieu shai?

   Do you want tea?

   Usage

   Offering a drink to one person

   Grammar Note

   Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended. The second-person singular of -yieu is Iyieu. A question keeps the same word order and is marked by intonation (? in writing)

10. Enkare

    Water

    Usage

    A single word for asking for water

    Grammar Note

    En- is the feminine singular prefix and is written attached to the word. The plural is inkariak. The stem also appears in many place names and compounds

11. Shai

    Tea

    Usage

    A single word for asking for tea. Tea is usually served with milk and sugar

    Grammar Note

    A loanword from Swahili chai that takes no noun prefix. Borrowed word; native review recommended

12. Kule

    Milk

    Usage

    A single word for asking for milk

    Grammar Note

    A plural-form noun that stands for milk in general. The singular ale also exists, but kule is the usual form in speech

13. Esukari

    Sugar

    Usage

    Asking for sugar for tea or coffee

    Grammar Note

    A loanword from Swahili sukari, written with e-. Borrowed word; native review recommended

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