Swahili Shopping & Clothes Vocabulary

Shopping vocabulary is one of the most practical topics in Swahili, whether you're at the soko (market), stepping into a duka (shop or store), or deciding what to vaa (to wear) today. This list gathers the core nouns and verbs for everyday transactions: bidhaa (product), ununuzi (purchase), uuzaji (sale), and the people involved, muuzaji (seller) and mnunuzi (buyer).

You'll also find the clothing words that come up naturally in shopping talk, like nguo and mavazi (both given as clothes), kofia (hat), sare (uniform), and kitambaa (cloth), plus everyday items you might pick up at a duka, such as kalamu (pen), kisu (knife), and mfuko (bag). Learning them together, with example sentences, builds vocabulary you can actually use while browsing maduka (shops or stores) or asking what's for sale.

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Swahili Shopping & Clothes Vocabulary: the list

#	Swahili	English	Type	Example
1	bidhaa	product	noun	Ninapenda kununua bidhaa za ndani na za nje.
2	soko	market	noun	Leo nitakwenda soko kununua matunda na mboga.
3	kununua	to buy	verb	Ninataka kununua chakula cha jioni leo.
4	maduka	shops or stores	noun	Ninapenda kwenda kwenye maduka ili kununua chakula na vinywaji.
5	kuuza	to sell	verb	Ninataka kuuza bidhaa zangu mtandaoni.
6	kalamu	pen	noun	Ninahitaji kalamu ili kuandika barua.
7	mfuko	bag	noun	Ninahitaji mfuko ili kubeba vitu vyangu.
8	sare	uniform	noun	Wanafunzi wote wanavaa sare shuleni.
9	nguo	clothes	noun	Ninahitaji nguo mpya kwa ajili ya sherehe.
10	kisu	knife	noun	Nahitaji kisu ili kukata matunda.
11	ununuzi	purchase	noun	Leo nitafanya ununuzi wa chakula sokoni.
12	duka	shop or store	noun	Ninapenda kununua matunda katika duka la karibu.
13	uuzaji	sale	noun	Mwalimu alifundisha kuhusu uuzaji wa bidhaa.
14	mavazi	clothes	noun	Ninahitaji mavazi mapya kwa sherehe.
15	vaa	to wear	verb	Unapaswa vaa mavazi rasmi kwa sherehe.
16	muuzaji	seller	noun	muuzaji wa bidhaa hizi ni mzalishaji mzuri.
17	karata	card	noun	Ninapenda kucheza karata na familia yangu.
18	mikoba	bags	noun	Alienda sokoni na mikoba mbili za kubeba bidhaa.
19	kitambaa	cloth	noun	Ninahitaji kitambaa safi ili kufunika jeraha langu.
20	kofia	hat	noun	Alivaa kofia ili kujikinga na jua.
21	nunua	to buy	verb	Unapaswa nunua chakula kabla ya kwenda nyumbani.
22	mifuko	bags	noun	Ninatumia mifuko za plastiki kununua chakula.
23	kuuzia	to sell to	verb	Mtu anakuja kuuzia bidhaa zetu.
24	mnunuzi	buyer	noun	Yeye ni mnunuzi wa bidhaa za ndani.
25	uzwa	to be sold	verb	Ni muhimu uzwa lugha ya Kiswahili.
26	mikanda	belts	noun	Aliweka mikanda kwenye rafu ya maktaba.
27	shati	shirt	noun	Ninavaa shati nzuri kwa sherehe.
28	belt	belt	noun	Ninahitaji belt mpya kwa suruali zangu.
29	kiatu	shoe	noun	Ninahitaji kiatu mpya kwa ajili ya sherehe.
30	kuvaa	to wear	verb	Ni muhimu kuvaa mavazi safi na ya heshima.
31	viatu	shoes	noun	Ninahitaji viatu mpya kwa ajili ya sherehe.
32	fulana	t-shirt	noun	Ninahitaji fulana mpya kwa ajili ya sherehe.
33	makavazi	clothing	noun	Tunaweza kutembelea makavazi za zamani.
34	begi	bag	noun	Ninahitaji begi kubwa kwa safari.
35	makasha	boxes	noun	Ninahitaji makasha zaidi za kuhifadhi vitabu.
36	makontena	containers	noun	Meli inabeba makontena nyingi za bidhaa.
37	uza	to sell	verb	Tafadhali uza bidhaa zako kwa bei nzuri.
38	joho	cloak	noun	Alivaa joho la buluu kwenye sherehe.
39	kadi	card	noun	Ninahitaji kadi ya mkopo kwa ajili ya ununuzi.
40	mabegi	bags	noun	Alibeba mabegi makubwa ya vitu vyake.
41	mafuko	bags	noun	Alinunua mafuko kadhaa ya mboga sokoni.
42	kuuzwa	to be sold	verb	Bidhaa hii inapaswa kuuzwa kwa bei nzuri.
43	vazi	garment	noun	Alivaa vazi la hariri kwenye sherehe ya ndoa.
44	fuko	bag	noun	Ninahitaji fuko mpya ya kubebea vitu.
45	jalada	cover	noun	Ninahitaji jalada la ripoti yangu.
46	khamis	khaki	noun	Leo ni khamis, na tunapanga kwenda sokoni.
47	koti	coat	noun	Ninahitaji koti yangu kwa sababu ni baridi leo.
48	kununuliwa	to be bought	verb	Mikate hii imekamilika kununuliwa jana.
49	linge	sleeve	noun	Ninahitaji linge ili kuandika barua.
50	sokoto	trousers	noun	Alivaa sokoto nzuri kwenye sherehe.
51	tela	fabric	noun	Ninahitaji tela mpya kwa ajili ya sherehe.
52	kuyatinga	to wear clothes	verb	Ni muhimu kuyatinga mazingira yetu.
53	gwanda	a coat	noun	Alivaa gwanda la mvua.
54	inauzwa	to be sold	verb	Nyumba hiyo inauzwa kwa bei nzuri.
55	jeans	jeans	noun	Alivaa jeans na t-shati kwa ajili ya matembezi.
56	jenca	jacket	noun	Aliweka jenca lake kwenye meza.
57	kivalia	to wear	verb	Ni vizuri kivalia mavazi rasmi kwenye sherehe.
58	kuvalia	to wear	verb	Anapenda kuvalia mavazi ya kisasa.
59	mahagi	bargain	noun	Kila mahagi ina hadithi yake ya kipekee.
60	bangili	bangle	noun	Alinunua bangili nzuri sokoni.
61	boya	paint	noun	Tunaweza kutumia boya hii kwenye meli.
62	soksi	socks	noun	Ninahitaji soksi mpya kwa ajili ya mchezo wa mpira.
63	uvaaji	wearing	noun	uvaaji wa mavazi ni muhimu katika sherehe.

Tips

Learn the buying and selling verbs as one family: nunua and kununua (to buy) on one side, and kuuza (to sell), kuuzia (to sell to) and uzwa (to be sold) on the other, where the endings mark who the action is aimed at or that the subject is acted upon.
Notice the agent nouns: muuzaji (seller) and mnunuzi (buyer) come from the same roots as kuuza and kununua, so knowing the verb often gives you the person.
Drill singular and plural pairs from the same noun class: duka becomes maduka (shops or stores), mfuko becomes mifuko (bags), and mikoba (bags) shows the same mi- plural. Say both forms aloud until the switch is automatic.
Don't assume nguo and mavazi are interchangeable: both are translated here as clothes, so read the example sentence for each and note the context in which it appears.
Keep the non-clothing items separate in your mind: kalamu (pen), kisu (knife) and karata (card) are things you buy, while kofia (hat) and sare (uniform) are things you wear.
Build short shopping dialogues out loud using a place (soko or duka), an item (bidhaa, nguo, mavazi) and an action (kununua, kuuza, vaa), then use the flashcards to lock in the spelling of each word.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between nguo and mavazi?

Both are translated as clothes in this list. Since the meanings overlap, the most reliable way to tell them apart is to study the example sentence for each and notice the context in which each word is used.

How do I remember all the buying and selling verb forms?

Treat kununua and nunua (to buy), kuuza (to sell), kuuzia (to sell to) and uzwa (to be sold) as one family from shared roots, and practise them together rather than one at a time. Pairing them with muuzaji (seller) and mnunuzi (buyer) makes the connections easier to recall.

Are words like kalamu, kisu and karata really shopping vocabulary?

Yes. Kalamu (pen), kisu (knife) and karata (card) are everyday items you might buy at a duka (shop or store), so they fit a general shopping list even though they aren't clothing words like kofia (hat) or sare (uniform).

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