Tafadhali zungumza kwa uwazi.

Please speak clearly.

Breakdown of Tafadhali zungumza kwa uwazi.

• tafadhali: please
• kuzungumza: to speak
• kwa uwazi: clearly

Questions & Answers about Tafadhali zungumza kwa uwazi.

What is the literal breakdown of the sentence?

• Tafadhali: please
• zungumza: speak/talk (imperative, addressing one person)
• kwa: with/by/in (expresses manner)
• uwazi: openness, transparency; also “clarity” in the sense of being plain/straightforward (an abstract noun from the adjective wazi “open/clear”)

Literal sense: “Please speak in/with openness.”

Is this an imperative? How do I say it to more than one person?

Yes, zungumza is the second-person singular imperative. To address several people, use the plural imperative by replacing final -a with -eni:

• Singular: Tafadhali zungumza kwa uwazi.
• Plural: Tafadhali zungumzeni kwa uwazi.

How do I say the negative (Don’t speak openly)?

Use the negative imperative with usi- (singular) or msi- (plural) and the verb ending -e:

• Singular: Usizungumze kwa uwazi.
• Plural: Msizungumze kwa uwazi.

Where can I put the word “please” (tafadhali)?

It’s flexible:

• At the start: Tafadhali zungumza kwa uwazi.
• After the verb: Zungumza tafadhali, kwa uwazi.
• At the end: Zungumza kwa uwazi, tafadhali. All are polite; initial position is very common.

Could I use other common verbs for “speak,” like ongea or sema?

Yes:

• zungumza: speak/talk/converse (neutral, a bit formal; very common)
• ongea: speak/talk (colloquial, very common in everyday speech)
• sema: say/tell (often used when telling someone to “say it”)

Alternatives:

• Tafadhali ongea kwa uwazi.
• Tafadhali sema kwa uwazi. (more like “Please say it plainly/openly.”)

Does kwa uwazi mean “openly” or “clearly”? What if I mean “loudly” or “slowly”?

• kwa uwazi most naturally means “openly/frankly/transparently” (be straightforward).
• It can also imply “plainly/clearly” in the sense of being easy to understand (not hiding anything), but not “clearly” as in articulation or volume.

If you mean:

• Louder: zungumza kwa sauti kubwa (“speak loudly”), or ongea kwa sauti ya juu.
• More slowly: zungumza polepole or sema polepole (“speak slowly”).
• More clearly (enunciate): People often say sema kwa uwazi or pair it with “slowly,” e.g., Sema kwa uwazi, polepole, though for enunciation specifically you may also hear sema kwa ufasaha (“speak eloquently/fluently”).

What’s the difference between kwa uwazi and waziwazi?

• kwa uwazi: “openly/with openness,” neutral to formal.
• waziwazi: adverb formed by reduplication, meaning “very openly, plainly, bluntly,” often stronger and more emphatic.

Example: Tafadhali zungumza waziwazi = “Please speak very openly/bluntly.”

Can I say kwa wazi instead of kwa uwazi?

Yes. Both are common and mean “openly/clearly (plainly).”

• kwa wazi uses the adjective wazi adverbially.
• kwa uwazi uses the abstract noun uwazi (“openness”). Stylistically, kwa uwazi can sound a touch more formal, but the difference is small.

How do I say “Speak to me openly”?

Use na (“with”) plus the short form pronoun:

• Zungumza nami kwa uwazi. = “Speak with me openly.” Note: nami = na mimi (“with me”) combined; both are correct, but nami is tidier.

How do I make this more polite, like “Could you speak openly, please?” or “I request that you speak openly”?

• Ability/polite question: Tafadhali, unaweza kuzungumza kwa uwazi?
• Polite request with “I request”: Naomba uzungumze kwa uwazi. or Nakuomba uzungumze kwa uwazi. These are very natural in everyday Swahili.

How do I say “Let’s speak openly”?

Use the hortative/subjunctive with tu- and the ending -e:

• Tuzungumze kwa uwazi. = “Let’s speak openly.”

Any pronunciation tips for the sentence?

• Tafadhali: the dh is like the “th” in “this.”
• zungumza: in Swahili, ng (without apostrophe) is pronounced [ŋg], like the “ng” in “finger.” IPA: [zuŋˈɡumza]. Stress is on the penultimate syllable: zu-NGUM-za.
• uwazi: [uˈwazi], with stress on WA.

Are there register or regional preferences for these words?

• zungumza and sema are widely used and understood across the region.
• ongea is very common in everyday speech; some consider it slightly more colloquial.
• kwa uwazi / kwa wazi are common in media, meetings, and everyday conversation when asking for frankness or plain speaking.
• waziwazi is punchier/emphatic, fine in both casual and formal contexts when you want to stress “no sugar-coating.”