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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/sw-kiboko

How do you say hippopotamus in Swahili?

Hippo is kiboko.

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  1. Kifaru
  2. Kiboko ✔
  3. Chui

Why: Kiboko means hippopotamus. Kifaru is rhino and chui is leopard, so do not mix them up on safari.

Huh, didn't know that: Punda milia, the zebra, starts with punda, the word for donkey.

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Why do you not argue with a kiboko? It always gets the last splash.
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References

Answer: Kiboko. Kiboko means hippopotamus. Kifaru is rhino and chui is leopard, so do not mix them up on safari.

  1. University of Kansas Kiswahili, Lesson 50 kiswahili.ku.edu/sites/kiswahili/files/documents/lessons/lesson_50.pdf
    kiboko [hippopotamus]
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. University of Kansas Kiswahili, Lesson 50 kiswahili.ku.edu/sites/kiswahili/files/documents/lessons/lesson_50.pdf
    kifaru; pea [rhinoceros]
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  3. University of Kansas Kiswahili, Lesson 50 kiswahili.ku.edu/sites/kiswahili/files/documents/lessons/lesson_50.pdf
    punda milia [zebra]
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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