Swahili Money & Finance Vocabulary

Talking about money in Swahili means mastering a compact set of everyday nouns and verbs: what something costs (bei, gharama), what you owe or earn (deni, mapato), and how you manage it (bajeti, uwekezaji, benki). This themed list gathers words that turn up constantly in shopping, banking, and news about the uchumi, so you can read a price tag, a bank form, or a headline about mfumuko without stopping to guess.

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Swahili Money & Finance Vocabulary: the list

#	Swahili	English	Type	Example
1	dola	dollar	noun	Mimi nilinunua dola. kwa ajili ya likizo yangu.
2	uchumi	economy	noun	Nchi nyingi zinategemea uchumi ili kuendelea na maendeleo yao.
3	fedha	money	noun	Mimi nina fedha nyingi katika benki.
4	ushuru	tax	noun	Watu wengi hulipa ushuru kila mwaka kwa ajili ya huduma za serikali.
5	bei	price	noun	bei ya chakula ni ghali sana leo.
6	gharama	cost	noun	Kila kitu kina gharama yake, hivyo ni muhimu kupanga bajeti.
7	kifedha	financial	adjective	Hali yangu kifedha si nzuri hivi sasa.
8	benki	bank	noun	Ninapenda kwenda benki kila mwezi ili kuweka pesa zangu.
9	uwekezaji	investment	noun	uwekezaji ni muhimu kwa maendeleo ya uchumi wa nchi.
10	bajeti	budget	noun	Tunahitaji kupanga bajeti yetu vizuri ili kufikia malengo yetu.
11	deni	debt	noun	Mimi nina deni kubwa kutoka kwa benki.
12	utajiri	wealth	noun	Nchi hiyo ina utajiri mkubwa wa rasilimali.
13	kulipa	to pay	verb	Unapaswa kulipa bili yako kabla ya tarehe ya mwisho.
14	mauzo	sales	noun	Watu wengi walihudhuria mauzo ya bidhaa mpya.
15	mapato	income	noun	Familia yangu inategemea mapato kutoka kwa biashara yetu.
16	fidia	compensation	noun	Mwalimu alitaka fidia kwa kazi yake ya ziada.
17	hasara	loss	noun	Kufanya biashara bila mpango kunaweza kusababisha hasara kubwa.
18	mfumuko	inflation	noun	Wakati wa mfumuko wa bei, watu wengi wanakabiliwa na changamoto za kifedha.
19	malipo	payment	noun	Mtu anahitaji malipo kabla ya kuondoka.
20	dhahabu	gold	noun	Mfalme alivaa pete ya dhahabu.
21	wekeza	to invest	verb	Ni vizuri wekeza katika elimu yako.
22	shilingi	shilling	noun	Ninahitaji shilingi nyingi kununua chakula.
23	mikopo	loans	noun	Watu wengi wanahitaji mikopo kwa ajili ya masomo.
24	kudaiwa	to owe	verb	Ninataka kudaiwa pesa zangu haraka.
25	pato	income	noun	Mimi ninapenda pato kwa sababu ni chakula kitamu.
26	wawekezaji	investors	noun	Watu wengi wanataka kuwa wawekezaji katika biashara mpya.
27	makadirio	estimates	noun	Tunahitaji makadirio ya gharama za mradi huu kabla ya kuanza.
28	mkopo	loan	noun	Alipata mkopo kutoka benki kwa ajili ya biashara.
29	kipato	income	noun	Kila familia inahitaji kipato cha kutosha kuishi.
30	akiba	savings	noun	Nina akiba ya fedha kwa ajili ya siku za usoni.
31	hisa	shares	noun	Kununua hisa ni njia nzuri ya kuwekeza.
32	ruzuku	subsidy	noun	Serikali inatoa ruzuku kwa ajili ya miradi ya maendeleo.
33	mishahara	salaries	noun	Wafanyakazi wanatarajia mishahara bora.
34	riba	interest as in financial interest	noun	Benki inatoa riba juu ya mikopo.
35	akaunti	account	noun	Nina akaunti benki mpya.
36	bilionea	billionaire	noun	Yeye ni bilionea maarufu duniani.
37	mshahara	salary	noun	Alipokea mshahara wake mwishoni mwa mwezi.
38	ada	fee	noun	Ninahitaji kulipa ada ya shule.
39	kutoza	charge or impose a fee	verb	Mtu anapaswa kutoza ada ya huduma.
40	lipia	to pay	verb	Tafadhali lipia bili yangu ya umeme.
41	badilishanaji	exchange	noun	Kuna badilishanaji wa mawazo katika mkutano.
42	kukopa	to borrow	verb	Ni muhimu kukopa fedha kwa ajili ya biashara.
43	bima	insurance	noun	Ninahitaji bima ili kulinda mali zangu.
44	kulipia	to pay for	verb	Ninahitaji kulipia bili yangu ya umeme.
45	kulipwa	to be paid	verb	Wafanyakazi wanatarajia kulipwa kwa wakati.
46	kugharimu	to cost	verb	Kununua nyumba inaweza kugharimu pesa nyingi.
47	mtaji	capital	noun	Kuwekeza mtaji ni muhimu kwa ukuaji wa biashara.
48	pauni	pound	noun	Ninahitaji pauni kadhaa kununua chakula.
49	kugharamia	to finance	verb	Ninahitaji kugharamia masomo yangu.
50	bitcoin	bitcoin	noun	Ninataka kununua bitcoin kwa ajili ya uwekezaji.
51	kuwekeza	to invest	verb	Ni muhimu kuwekeza katika elimu ya watoto.
52	kibenki	banking	noun	Ninahitaji kibenki ili kuweka pesa zangu.
53	ulipaji	payment	noun	ulipaji wa kodi ni muhimu kwa serikali.
54	tozo	fee	noun	Kila biashara inahitaji tozo kwa huduma.
55	senti	cent	noun	Ninahitaji senti kadhaa kununua mkate.
56	ukopaji	borrowing	noun	Mtu anahitaji ukopaji ili kununua nyumba mpya.
57	nauli	fare	noun	Tafadhali lipa nauli kabla ya kuondoka.
58	chumi	wealth	noun	Nimepata chumi nyingi za kuwekeza.
59	mamilionea	millionaire	noun	Watu wengi wanataka kuwa mamilionea katika maisha yao.
60	lipwa	to be paid	verb	Mshahara wangu unapaswa lipwa mwishoni mwa mwezi.
61	dei	debt	noun	Ninahitaji dei ili kununua chakula.
62	mkopeshaji	lender	noun	Ninahitaji mkopeshaji ili nipate mkopo.
63	ghushi	forgery	noun	Tafadhali usitumie ghushi katika biashara.
64	posho	allowance	noun	Wafanyakazi wanapata posho kila mwezi.
65	rupia	rupee	noun	Nilinunua kitabu kwa rupia chache.
66	saldo	balance	noun	Ninaangalia saldo yangu ya benki kila mwezi.
67	ukwasi	wealth	noun	ukwasi wa familia hii ni wa kushangaza.
68	kufidiwa	to be compensated	verb	Ninatarajia kufidiwa na msaada.
69	kuikopesha	to lend it	verb	Ninataka kuikopesha rafiki yangu pesa.
70	kuilipa	to pay it	verb	Ninahitaji kuilipa deni langu kabla ya mwisho wa mwezi.
71	lipewe	to be paid	verb	Mshahara wako unapaswa lipewe kwa wakati.
72	paundi	pound	noun	Ninahitaji paundi kadhaa kununua chakula.
73	yamegharimu	to have cost	verb	Mradi huu yamegharimu fedha nyingi.
74	kuwagharimu	to cost them	verb	Kila mtu anapaswa kuwagharimu gharama za safari.

Tips

Several of these finance nouns belong to the N-class and keep the same form in the singular and the plural — fedha, bei and gharama among them — so rely on numbers, context or verb agreement rather than the noun's ending.
Learn kifedha (financial) next to fedha (money): seeing the ki- form beside its base noun makes both easier to recall in a test.
Drill the verbs in their full infinitive form — kulipa (to pay), kudaiwa (to owe) — and pair them with objects such as deni or ushuru in sentences you write yourself.
Mapato and pato are both glossed 'income' here; note that pato is the singular and mapato the plural, and write one example sentence for each so the difference sticks.
Practise the currency words dola and shilingi together with numbers, since stating amounts is the most common real-life use of this vocabulary.
Review in contrasting pairs — utajiri and deni, mapato and gharama, uwekezaji and hasara — so you are testing meaning, not just recognising isolated words.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mapato and pato?

Both are glossed 'income' on this list. Pato is the singular form and mapato is its plural, which is the form you will most often meet for income or earnings; compare the example sentences for each to see how they are used.

How is kifedha related to fedha?

Kifedha (financial) is the ki- form built on the noun fedha (money). Learning the pair together is a quick way to fix both the noun and the adjective in memory.

How should I practise dola and shilingi?

Dola (dollar) and shilingi (shilling) are currency nouns you will mostly meet alongside numbers, for example when stating a bei or a gharama. Rehearsing them with quantities is more useful than memorising them in isolation.

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