Voices & languages
Waridi starts with exceptional Tanzanian Swahili, then widens out across East Africa and beyond. This page lists what the preview supports today and what is planned.
Language codes
| Code | Language | TTS | STT | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
sw-TZ |
Swahili, Tanzania | yes | yes | Preview. Our primary language and the default everywhere |
sw-KE |
Swahili, Kenya | yes | yes | Beta. Kenyan pronunciation, vocabulary and number formats |
en (within Swahili) |
English code-switching | yes | yes | Preview. English words and phrases inside Swahili speech |
| Sheng | Nairobi urban mix | no | experimental | STT only, with language: "sw-KE" |
auto |
Detect | no | yes | STT and streaming only. Picks between sw-TZ and sw-KE |
English-only speech is transcribed, but Waridi is not tuned as an English-first engine. Uganda, Rwanda and more African languages are on the roadmap. We will announce each in the changelog when it is ready to try.
Code-switching
People in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi move between Swahili and English mid-sentence. We treat that as normal speech, not an edge case.
- TTS: write the sentence the way people say it. "Tafadhali confirm order yako kabla ya saa kumi." English words get English pronunciation, Swahili words get Swahili pronunciation.
- STT: keep
code_switching: true(the default). Each segment is taggedsw,enorsw-en.
Preview voices
These voices were recorded with professional Tanzanian and Kenyan voice talent who consented to this use and were paid for their work.
| Voice ID | Accent | Character | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
zawadi |
Tanzanian | Warm, friendly, mid pitch | Agents, customer service |
baraka |
Tanzanian | Calm, steady, low pitch | Banking, utilities, announcements |
neema |
Tanzanian | Bright, upbeat | Ads, apps, onboarding |
juma |
Tanzanian | Relaxed storyteller | Narration, audiobooks, dubbing |
wanjiru |
Kenyan | Clear, professional | Kenyan customer lines |
otieno |
Kenyan | Confident, energetic | Radio-style promos |
All six work with sauti-standard and sauti-pro. Voice IDs stay stable through early access. You can listen to every voice in Waridi Studio before you write any code.
Custom voices
Need a voice that is yours alone? Clone one with the verified consent of the speaker. See Voice cloning.
Regional pronunciation
Setting language changes more than the accent:
| Item | sw-TZ |
sw-KE |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | TSh 15,000 → shilingi elfu kumi na tano |
KSh 1,500 → shilingi elfu moja mia tano |
| Time | Swahili time by default: 16:00 → saa kumi jioni | Same, with Kenyan phrasing where it differs |
| Phone numbers | Read in pairs, Tanzanian style | Read in groups, Kenyan style |
Spotted a word we get wrong? Send it to hello@waridi.io with the correct pronunciation. Fixes like these are exactly what early access is for.