Swahili Conversations 001 Safari to Zanzibar

Im having a difficult time trying to figure out the difference between Kufahamu and Kuelewa. I tought Kuelewa meant to understand but from the translations, its saying that Kufahamu means to know, and to understand. But i thought Kujua meant to know. 

Any clarification would be appreciated. 

This is the passage I'm referring to:

Daniel : Asante sana . Labda kabla sijaondoka hapa nyumbani nilikuwa nataka ufahamu kwamba tutaondoka na usafiri wa umma kwasababu hii itakuwa ni rahisi kwetu lakini vilevile nauli itakuwa ni bei rahisi .

Dayana : Sawa . Nitafanya hivyo .

Daniel : Sawa sawa . Basi jambo la msingi hakikisha kwamba siku ya Jumatatu umejiandaa vizuri ili saa moja kamili ikifika asubuhi tuanze safari .

Dayana : Asante sana Daniel , nimekuelewa

That's a good question. The definitions you have are correct. But you will often hear them used interchangeably in native speech. It can vary by region and by speaker. And there are lots of other verbs that this happens to in Swahili. For example, kufika = to arrive, but can be used in place of kwenda = to go. Have you ever been to Tanzania = Umeshafika/kwenda Tanzania?

I would advise just using the verbs the way you think they should be used, and adjusting if the natives around you consistently use them differently. Even if you don't make adjustments, you will be understood, and you will be able to understand them, so hamna shida bwana.

leosmith wrote:

That's a good question. The definitions you have are correct. But you will often hear them used interchangeably in native speech. It can vary by region and by speaker. And there are lots of other verbs that this happens to in Swahili. For example, kufika = to arrive, but can be used in place of kwenda = to go. Have you ever been to Tanzania = Umeshafika/kwenda Tanzania?
I would advise just using the verbs the way you think they should be used, and adjusting if the natives around you consistently use them differently. Even if you don't make adjustments, you will be understood, and you will be able to understand them, so hamna shida bwana.

Thanks for the response!