My boyfriend is Kenyan, and he has so many cute pet names for me! I want to call him something besides "baby" and "sweetie" all the time. I'm wondering if "Moja" would be a good nickname, or if it means what I think it means in Swahili? Any help?
2007-12-18 10:14:08 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ Africa & Middle East ➔ Kenya
Oh, also, his friend calls me "mzungu." I know he means it endearingly, we're close and joke around a lot. Does anyone know a good teasing nickname I could call him back?
2007-12-18 10:17:57 · update #1
Arjen - that's what I thought. I wondered if calling him Moja would mean I'm calling him my #1? Like the first in my life or something?
And yes, I know mzungu means white person :-) I was a little insulted at first, but he assured me it's not meant in a bad way. He just likes teasing me. It's actually ironic to call me that, because I'm half Navajo, and my dad is Tunisian and Italian! So I consider myself part African, albeit North African/Arab. (My dad's not Arabic, but he's not very dark like most people assume when I say "African." I'm sure you know the difference though ;-)
2007-12-18 13:14:42 · update #2
Arjen - Thanks for the translator :-)
2007-12-19 05:50:27 · update #3
Thanks everyone for the help! Before I got keem's message, I used that online translator to look up "darling" and ended up calling him a word that means "loogie"! He laughed really hard, but he's flattered that I'm trying to learn :-) Good thing he has a great sense of humor, that's one of the things I love about him! All Kenyans I've met seem to have a pretty great sense of humor. It reminds me of my Navajo family :-)
P.S. I think the translator Arjen sent is accurate, and I've used it to look up quite a few words. My bf speaks a weird dialect with a bunch of slang though - I'll just ask him from now on instead of trying to surprise and dazzle him with my new-found language skills! Lol!
2007-12-21 02:16:16 · update #4
when i was in kenya, and the kids at first would point at me and say, "mzungu! mzungu!" i would say in return "wapi?" meaning, "where?" and pretend i didn't know who they were talking about. the kids always laughed when i did that.
also, when i visited kenya, i fell in love with the song, "malaika" which means "angel".
the song goes... "malaika, nakupenda malaika."
malaika, i love you malaika.
this is a popular song, and i'm sure you could look up the lyrics or listen to it online.
you could call your boyfriend malaika and sing him the song!
2007-12-26 07:50:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nickname means literally "another name" from Old English.
2016-05-24 22:55:51 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mzungu Meaning
2016-11-08 07:16:56 · answer #3 · answered by donaldson 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi, I'd have to agree with missfun. "moja" simply means "one"
and honestly, it's not romantic at all. "chali yangu" is good and so is "mpenzi wangu" which means "my love" or simply "mpenzi"
as for the person feeling insulted by the word "mzungu" trust me, it's not a deragatory word. it simply means a white or european person.
If someone is black-skin color, and resides in a majority white society, they'd simply describe him as "black" same thing for awhite person in kenya or eastern africa, mzungu is used to describe them, or in slang "jungu" or deeper slang "odiero"
2007-12-21 09:13:57 · answer #4 · answered by mshikaji 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Moja" means "one" in Swahili. If you would like to call him "the first", it would probably have to be "a kwanza".
But I'm not entirely sure...
No doubt you are aware that "mzungu" means "European" or "white person".
Arjen
http://www.kenya-advisor.com
Additional information:
Here's a great online Swahli <> English translator, just type in what you want to translate and press "Look up":
http://africanlanguages.com/swahili
2007-12-18 11:09:59 · answer #5 · answered by Arjen 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
"mzungu" is "white person" or "stranger" and yeah, it is claimed not to be insulting. I lived in East Africa for over 20 years and see it somewhat differently- but then IMO it is the tone of the voice which matters most.
funny though - if any name is "routinely" applied to people of other races, it rapidly becomes proof of racist thinking???
If I were this friend though, I'd break the habit of calling people "mzungu". insulting it might not be, but a term of endearment it definetly is not!
2007-12-20 22:56:00 · answer #6 · answered by cp_scipiom 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mzungu is not a racist name, we have got used to referring that way to European or white people in nairobi. It is a fond reference, it even denotes respect.
Moja is a swahili word meaning one, doesnt sound very romantic though lol.
You can try callig him "chali yangu". Means my man, my guy. It is a sheng term i.e. popular with young nairobians, and cool.
Kwaheri!
2007-12-20 23:58:15 · answer #7 · answered by missfun 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Moja means one. if i were him i would like to be nicknamed
"moran" meaning "warrior". I am sure every woman would feel
safe having a " warrior" boyfriend. Her security would be guaranteed.
2007-12-20 18:45:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah.but it just mean one.From Love point of view i suggest you call him Mpenzi,which means,"my lover"
2007-12-25 18:06:32 · answer #9 · answered by BARNAI J 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could call him mapenzi (love) or moyo wangu (my heart) if you wanted other options.
2007-12-19 10:10:56 · answer #10 · answered by keem773 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋