How To Pronounce Swahili

In British English, Swahili is pronounced /swɑːˈhiː.li/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [sʷwɑːˈhiː.li]. In American English, it is pronounced /swɑːˈhiː.li/.

Swahili has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.