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

What is the Kenyan Swahili word for a shared minibus taxi?

Kenyans call it a matatu.

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  1. Dala dala
  2. Bodaboda
  3. Matatu ✔

Why: In Kenya, the vans and minibuses that run set routes around cities are called matatus. In Tanzania the same ride is a dala dala.

Huh, didn't know that: Sheng, the Nairobi street slang, was popularized partly by matatu drivers.

The dad joke
Why did the matatu break up with the bus? It needed its own route in life.
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References

Answer: Matatu. In Kenya, the vans and minibuses that run set routes around cities are called matatus. In Tanzania the same ride is a dala dala.

  1. University of Wisconsin-Madison LCTL Resources: Swahili Lesson on Traveling Around Town wisc.pb.unizin.org/lctlresources/chapter/swahili-lesson-on-traveling-around-town
    known in Kenya as matatus and in Tanzania as daladalas
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison LCTL Resources: Not Swahili, Not English: Sheng wisc.pb.unizin.org/lctlresources/chapter/not-swahili-not-english-sheng
    popularized by rappers and drivers of Nairobi’s minibuses
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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